Granny wouldn't know how to get into the frunk and find that battery to jump.
Tesla locked owner out with child inside.
- Thread starter loneryder
- Start date
Lead acid batteries can and do fail suddenly, completely, and with no warning. I've experienced it twice in my years of driving. Once in a parking lot and once on the road.
I drove my 1990 GMC truck 15 miles to meet friends for breakfast. The resting voltage before starting and charging voltage were completely normal. After breakfast I was met by a totally dead truck, and I mean totally dead, 0V. A new battery solved the problem.
I was on a motorcycle trip in Oregon, humming down US97 at 70 mph. Two backfires and the bike was totally dead, no lights, no spark. The battery had failed open causing the voltage regulator to loose its reference, dumping the full unregulated voltage of the alternator into the system. Both ignition modules were fried, the H4 headlight bulb had exploded, and every other bulb that was on was burned out. This was 400 miles from home.
Systems that can provide you a warning are great in an ideal world. Sometimes the world chooses to not be ideal.
Ed
That's the problem. Even the simple backup solutions are still difficult. This is 5 steps worse. Physical locks that aren't used gum up and then either aren't useable or get damaged when they need used. The problem here is that I know I can pull the front tow hook cover and pop any Tesla front trunk with a 9v battery. Not exactly secure, but just confusing enough for the average person to not know it's there. That means that you need a power source and a jump box to wake the car up to get it to charge the low voltage circuits just to open the door from the outside.
I like the car and all, but I've ran into a few situations with it that I'd prefer some things to be more like normal cars. The connectivity solution for Spotify/Apple Music/Apple Podcasts etc. has just become progressively annoying to me. The interface is great and all, but I drive in areas where I lose connection occasionally. No problem when I have Apple CarPlay, I just download all my podcasts so they are available no matter where I am. Can't do that with a Tesla. I'd have to go back to basic Bluetooth audio to do that. Rivian and Lucid are doing the same.
Being different for the sake of being different isn't always the best solution. Giving a keycard instead of a physical key for the base design isn't great. To be fair, they'll still sell you the fob. The app is fine when it works, but it drives me nuts having to open the app if I need to do something where I could have just pulled a key fob out of my pocket. I think this was by necessity to get rid of a physical key blade, because if there was one, they'd likely just supply a fob with a hidden blade like every other "keyless" car. They could have just had a key slot that manually actuated the latch for emergencies since there is no mechanical connection to the door handle.
It's great when it works, but it's the real world and there needs to be a better backup plan when it doesn't. Sure a dead battery can be jumped to make it work, but what if there was an electrical issue that didn't allow adding power to the car or it did not respond to that added power to turn on so the doors still didn't work? If I would drive the car daily I'd keep a 9V in my work bag and a small jump box in the front trunk(I already carry one daily in my VW and keep an extra fob battery in my work bag).
I read that post. Looked up the Tesla Owner's manual for my own edification.
Here is what you have to do:
- Pull out the tow cover.
- Detach the two connected wires.
- Determine the polarity (it changes with model years)
- Attach a 12V source to those wires
- Open the trunk
- Attach a 12V source to the Low Voltage battery
- Open the doors with the fob/card/app
And that, my friend is not really an option for a grandmother with a trapped child. Nor should a firefighter be expected to know all that, or have the equipment to do all that.
That is a dealer-level fix.
So, no, Tesla did not give you, the owner, an option. They gave a mechanic an option.
Not an owner.
I’m not totally in disagreement with Tesla here. Other than their ridiculous door handles, Porsches for a long time have required a separate a 12v power source to pop the the trunk when the battery dies.
Here is the Tesla process. Go to the 1:50 minute for the demo. Is it a good, or easy solution? No.
And my understanding is getting the bumper cover off may require a pry tool. I haven't tried it.
I doubt very many Tesla owners know how to do this or are prepared to do so.
I know how, but I don't carry a little battery around in my pocket or behind the bumper cover.
Plus you still need a jump for the 12v battery to open the door.
Beyond this, there is a lot of other Tesla functionality that is probably not known.
How many know how to remotely "start" the car? Like many things, it's easy once you know how...
And my understanding is getting the bumper cover off may require a pry tool. I haven't tried it.
I doubt very many Tesla owners know how to do this or are prepared to do so.
I know how, but I don't carry a little battery around in my pocket or behind the bumper cover.
Plus you still need a jump for the 12v battery to open the door.
Beyond this, there is a lot of other Tesla functionality that is probably not known.
How many know how to remotely "start" the car? Like many things, it's easy once you know how...
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It is a poor solution and could be big trouble. But yes, Tesla is not the only vehicle that operates this way.
I think Tesla will only allow the bumper cover option to work is if the 12v battery is dead. Otherwise anyone could get into the car.
Perhaps there will be better solutions going forward.
When our RX450h battery died, I had to Youtube the key fob operation. To access the lock you pull the handle. And I could not turn the key by hand. In an emergency, the axe might have been the answer.
After using the pliers to get the door open, I still could not open the rear hatch to get to the rear mounted 12v battery.
I am sure most people could not open the rear hatch in an emergency, either from inside or outside.
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All good, stuff happens. I was just explaining that is all.
All that while the poor kid is locked inside a car in weather hotter than hell. Smash the window, get the kid out, clean the mess, fix the window and sell the car. That's what I'd be doing. Lesson learned. I'd venture a guess and say there are other people who would do the same thing too.
My CR-V auto locks. Great feature I like and want for that once in a while when I forget. But a minor nuisance when I'm doing stuff that I'll be going around and back and forth. So I open my door, hit the unlock button to unlock all doors, then ease the door back to click into the first notch. Car won't auto lock if the door isn't fully latched in the second notch. Then I can move around and do whatever and it won't lock me out.
So, if you put your grandchild in the back seat, would you close the door fully before getting in the driver’s seat?
I mean, you wouldn’t drive off with the door in the first notch, right?
So, you would be in precisely the same situation in which this person found themselves - grandchild in back, all car doors closed and locked.
The difference is - your CRV has a physical key on the fob, so you would have a way to get in if the battery died in that moment.
I would close my door fully after getting in the car to drive away. So I would not be locked outside the car. Not the same situation. My method prevents auto lock while I am outside the car. Now I don't know Tesla so I don't know if it has the first notch or if it will/won't auto lock while in the first notch, if it even has that. But I would never be in the position of auto locked with child inside and me outside as I understand this event to be.
I knew about this method but I don't have one of those tiny 12 Volt Batteries. I guess I should get one. Putting that tiny battery in a sealed bag inside the tow access point seems like a good idea.
It would be a good idea to have remote + and - posts (for the low Voltage battery) inside the frunk, similar to what was in my BMW 528i. That would make opening up a Tesla with a dead battery much easier. Tearing off bits of trim and reaching inside small spaces to attach booster cables is beyond what most owners (and maybe most automobile association service staff) would be prepared to do.
There needs to be a better solution, and owners need to know how to execute the procedure.
Having said that, I wonder how many people know how to open our RX450h and similar cars? Not to mention, the lock would not turn without pliers.
I now carry a jump box in every car and sometimes give them as gifts. They are the modern day jumper cables...
Fire Departments have 'keys' that open almost anything.....they call it a 'Halligan tool'.
I've attended Fire Dept meeting; those guys are serious!
I would imagine there is a certain amount of locale training knowledge. There are tons of Teslas (and other EVs) around here, so it is possible they have more specific knowledge. But their goal is life saving; do what works and do it now.
Those guys are aces!
This. You call 911 and ask for help to slim jim unlock or smash the window to open the door.
Or you don't wait for who knows how long for 911 to arrive. You reach into your pocket and remove this, squeeze it tightly to deploy the carbide tip punch and solve the problem yourself immediately.
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C79OR/Assist-trade-FRN-Orange/304
