Is this really news?
So if I get locked out of a car, I’m suddenly worthy of making headlines? There are bigger things to draw attention to than this.
The “news” is because there is no mechanical backup option. It’s indicative of their “all computer” approach to design.
There are similar stories of people being stuck at Superchargers when the stupid electrical latch fails. There’s a backup release in the trunk but guess what? It’s also electronic 🤦♂️
Oh and your user manual? Guess what? There’s no copy stored on the car or in the app. There’s no printed copy included in the car. So if you don’t have the wherewithal to print or otherwise save a local copy, and don’t have cell service you’re boned if you need it. When I first got my car it used to crash the entire infotainment system when I tried to open it.
Any other car has a physical key as a backup. If the battery dies you can use the physical key to open it up and pop the hood to get to the battery to charge it.
With a Tesla you can’t do that because they don’t have a physical key.
There’s a manual latch on the front that works for the battery if it’s dead to open the hood. This isn’t news it’s just clickbait Tesla hate.
The article itself says the owner tried to jump it several times before having to get it towed… like he would have for every other car brand.
No there isn’t
- A Tesla owner
There are wires that hang out of the left tow hook you can use to pop the electronic latch but you need another battery to do that.
I know how to use my car. That is not a “manual latch”. It is exactly what I described in the comment you just replied to. Learn how to read.
It’s a manual override to open the hood for when the battery is out. The whole point of the article/thread is that people think there isn’t one when there clearly is.
You don’t need a key because you can replace the battery without one even if the car is dead.
Any other car has a physical key as a backup. If the battery dies you can use the physical key to open it up and pop the hood to get to the battery to charge it.
With a Tesla you can’t do that because they don’t have a physical key.
Not if you lose a key, of course. But getting locked out over a mechanical failure that happens often (a dead battery) is newsworthy. This seems to be yet another serious design flaw.
The list of cars you can’t open anymore once the battery dies is much longer than just “Tesla”. Some may have cumbersome workarounds (I’ve e heard some only have non-electric mechanism to open the trunk). Others require you to have a physical key that you normally don’t need and isn’t part of the everyday key (so it’s probably at home somewhere in a box, and this would’ve had the same result).
A cumbersome workaround is better than no workaround at all. I’d take a hidden backup cylinder over no cylinder at all.
I have never seen a mechanical door key suddenly fail. If a mechanical system fails, there’s normally weeks or months of door or key mechanism sticking that give the user time to figure out a repair.
Meanwhile my Hyundai Ioniq not only allows you to open it with just the physical key, it also has a button to charge the 12v portion of the battery off of the larger hybrid battery
Teslas automatically keep the 12v topped up from the HV system. But like any car battery they can die and eventually won’t take a charge at all. What they should so is have a bypass circuit you can activate to let the whole 12v subsystem pull directly from the HV system as long as the car is not in drive. The issue is that the HV battery needs a physical disconnect in an accident which is why they have the 12v battery in the first place.
That override system would be awesome. For a simpler solution they should just report the life of the 12V battery so this guy could’ve known it was bad and gotten it replaced. Although five years is a decent lifespan for that battery. I know I’m planning on just going ahead and replacing mine around then as well because historically that’s when they’ve died in my other cars
The car is actually pretty pushy about letting you know if it thinks the battery is dying. It’s obviously not a perfect system, but some percentage of these stories are people who definitely ignored warnings for weeks.
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That’s exactly what they have switched to. I got a retrofit from Tesla for $80 which is honestly kind of a good deal considering high end lead acid batteries are twice that.
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The Tesla owner said he had to spend about $200 to have the electric car towed to Tesla . . .
Did Tesla stop including tow as part of their warranty / roadside program?
Article says it’s a 2018 model, so likely no warranty left. I’ve heard of enough issues with Tesla roadside that I just shelled out for AAA as well (which has paid for itself with hotel discounts anyway). Thankfully I haven’t needed to call roadside for mine at all yet
Ah yeah I missed the year. Cheers.
I had my first roadside call on a 2019. Puncture in the tire. Tesla roadside did a pretty solid job and didn’t cost a dime to take me to Costco.
That being said, I’ve had very, very bad experiences with Tesla’s service department. I can see how their roadside could be a gamble, too.
I’ve heard the quality of service varies wildly from city to city. I’m in Pittsburgh and have only made one small mobile service call but I had a decent experience with them. I do wish their prices for “standard car stuff” aka alignments, mounting tires, etc, were more competitive
Correct me if I’m wrong here, but from a safety perspective shouldn’t this mechanism fail open? Especially given the fact that I don’t believe they even have a physical key, it’s only the electromechanical locking mechanism
Nah, because otherwise it would be pretty easy to find ways to short out the battery, blow a fuse and open the car. This can happen on any vehicle which uses electronic locks and isn’t really unique to Tesla. The difference is that Tesla has no physical backup key (I’m not sure if anyone else had dropped the physical backup), but it does have an external jump point you can use to provide 12v.
There are physical overrides on the inside though.
That would suck. It’s like when it’s so cold out cars can have issues starting, but at least you can get inside. You’d think if the 12v battery was dead on the Tesla you could plug it into a charger on the outside of the car. Maybe a feature for a future model.
On some Mercedes vehicles I hear that this is the ONLY way to charge the 12V battery.
This is the case. The car has an external jump point.
Article says he tried a jump.
