• 5 Card Draw@lemmy.fmhy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    15
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

    • derf82@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • Creat@discuss.tchncs.de
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        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).

    • HughJanus@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

    • Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

  • Determinator@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    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

    • socsa@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

  • whynotzoidberg@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    1 year ago

    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?

    • kiddblur@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      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

  • entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    1 year ago

    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

    • socsa@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • kiddblur@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        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

        • socsa@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          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.

  • EeeDawg101@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • B0rax@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      On some Mercedes vehicles I hear that this is the ONLY way to charge the 12V battery.