[flyinglow]

I wish they would!

It's interesting to me though, because it isn't like GM hasn't had the chance to study the fobless experience with other vehicles. I appreciate that they offer the option to PIN-protect a user profile, but requiring it is downright silly, especially when paired with other vehicle behaviors.

For example, the truck turns off when the driver door is opened. It just turns off. So if I stop to check the mail, I have to climb back into the car and input my PIN again to continue traversing my driveway. It's so obnoxious I turned off the trusted device thing after one day.

GM should have done better on day one, in my opinion. They've been shown the way by many, especially Tesla.

Maybe I'm just salty because I have to carry a fob again, but I feel like I shouldn't have to. I want to walk up to the truck with my phone in my pocket, have it unlock and turn on and set itself to my driver profile (with a setting to prefer my phone over others as this is my primary vehicle,) and I want it to turn off and lock itself after I walk some distance away, not just when the driver door is opened.

While I don't object to a fob, the issue for me is that I already have another on one my keychain and adding a second will make it unreasonably bulky.

Phone as key needs to work from your pocket without the need to take it out and aim it at a sensor. I can reach into my pocket and activate a button on a fob but can't do that on a phone.

There is one advantage to the fob: When I head to my local swimming holes I can take the physical key out of the fob, which isn't affected by being in water, and leave the rest in the vehicle.

 

[Grandma-EV]

While I don't object to a fob, the issue for me is that I already have another on one my keychain and adding a second will make it unreasonably bulky.

I would really LOVE phone as a key. My phone is ALWAYS in my pocket. My fob lives in my purse on a bulky keychain. Lately, I have taken to not carrying a purse. You guys have it made, those things are oppressive!

I pay for most things with my Google Wallet on my phone. Sometimes I'll put my skinny wallet, that's just a flat card holder, in my pocket too. But pockets on women's clothing suck! They're shallow and disgorge important items. Or they are just non-existent. I actually buy pants now based on if my phone fits in the front pocket! I don't want to have to carry a fob too. If I need the fob, then I have to take the whole stupid purse! So, many times I am working around the yard or garage and need to move my car, I have my phone, but have to go into the house to get the purse, just to move the car 10 feet.

My front door has keyless entry. If I am driving I have a garage door opener. I really don't need any keys anymore. My phone is a more powerful computer than the one used on the Apollo Moon landings. It is more than capable of being a car key. Surely, they can write the code to make this work.

 

[HawaiiEV]

I only have my phone and small magnetic card/cash wallet on the phone. I won’t be going back to key fobs.

 

[Suburban]

Using the phone app, does a Tesla unlock immediately when you approach it?

 

[HawaiiEV]

Yes and adjust all settings, climate, seat, mirrors, loads my Apple music with the song I left it, gps is already programmed with what I selected on my phone in the office. When my wife drives it with her phone all the settings change for her, including loading her radio presets and podcasts. All you have to do is shift to drive and go, click one more time and it will drive itself starting from my driveway to parking at destination.

 

[akldjian]

Yes and adjust all settings, climate, seat, mirrors, loads my Apple music with the song I left it, gps is already programmed with what I selected on my phone in the office. When my wife drives it with her phone all the settings change for her, including loading her radio presets and podcasts. All you have to do is shift to drive and go, click one more time and it will drive itself starting from my driveway to parking at destination.

I do love that kind of automation.

 

[originalprime]

Using the phone app, does a Tesla unlock immediately when you approach it?

That’s correct. It works very well. I only carry their “credit card key” because I travel a lot, and need it for valet.

 

[flyinglow]

I would really LOVE phone as a key. My phone is ALWAYS in my pocket. My fob lives in my purse on a bulky keychain. Lately, I have taken to not carrying a purse. You guys have it made, those things are oppressive!

LOL. Here I am, a dude, and I carry one of those weird over the shoulder half backpacks because of all the crap I lug around. Leaving a fob in it doesn't work because I leave it in the vehicle most of the time.

 

[Suburban]

That’s correct. It works very well. I only carry their “credit card key” because I travel a lot, and need it for valet.

Do the 3 and Y behave the same as the S and X in that the car visibly wakes up when you approach it? If so, does it happen instantly similar to unlocking a car with a fob. My Silverado RST is keyless and will immediately unlock when the button on the exterior door handle is pressed. My Lucid Air is a bit erratic about immediately unlocking when approached with the phone in my pocket. It might take 15-20 seconds to un stow the mirrors and present the door handles. Sometimes waking up the phone required unless you want to stand there for 30 seconds.

 

[J24]

Do the 3 and Y behave the same as the S and X in that the car visibly wakes up when you approach it? If so, does it happen instantly similar to unlocking a car with a fob. My Silverado RST is keyless and will immediately unlock when the button on the exterior door handle is pressed. My Lucid Air is a bit erratic about immediately unlocking when approached with the phone in my pocket. It might take 15-20 seconds to un stow the mirrors and present the door handles. Sometimes waking up the phone required unless you want to stand there for 30 seconds.

No, the 3 and Y do not visually unlock as you walk up. They don’t have presenting door handles, so it only “wakes up” or does anything when you actually start using the door handles. Once you press the door handle in, the car unlocks and mirrors unfold.

My 2022 Yukon Denali will “wake up” and the lights flash as I approach it with the fob, and then like you said, as soon as I press the button on the door handle it unlocks and the mirrors unfold.

 

[HawaiiEV]

Huh I would have assumed Lucid would have this issue solved, good to know, that would be frustrating... The best part of the Y is I don’t have to park or lock it I just open the door and walk away. I know some fobs do the walk away lock, but I love how the Y parks itself, safer too.

 

[Suburban]

Huh I would have assumed Lucid would have this issue solved, good to know, that would be frustrating... The best part of the Y is I don’t have to park or lock it I just open the door and walk away. I know some fobs do the walk away lock, but I love how the Y parks itself, safer too.

The door handles on the Y have to be physically deployed by the driver unlike the Model S and Lucid. As I recall now, my dad’s Model S has the same delay. Tesla and Lucid use the same type of Bluetooth protocol. What I like the most about the Lucid is the driving dynamics, interior materials and design, the general esthetics, range and charging speed. It also engages park automatically and locks but that doesn’t factor much in my choice of vehicles. Some BMW cars have been engaging park if you tried to drive with the seatbelt unbuckled or hood open for about 15 years.

 

[HawaiiEV]

I was talking about the phone key, which I take for granted since it works unless my phone is dead!! The best part of the Model Y in general is it cost 45k a year and a half ago when I bought it, I’ve since put 24k miles on it almost entirely solar charged at 4 miles per kWh. Saved me a bundle, and somehow I can still fit a stack of solar panels in the back with all my tools underneath.

 

[originalprime]

Do the 3 and Y behave the same as the S and X in that the car visibly wakes up when you approach it? If so, does it happen instantly similar to unlocking a car with a fob. My Silverado RST is keyless and will immediately unlock when the button on the exterior door handle is pressed. My Lucid Air is a bit erratic about immediately unlocking when approached with the phone in my pocket. It might take 15-20 seconds to un stow the mirrors and present the door handles. Sometimes waking up the phone required unless you want to stand there for 30 seconds.

That's a good question! I cannot speak for the 3, but the Y does unlock when approached, as confirmed by one of my siblings who owns one. With regards to my personal experience with the Model X, the integration is seamless. It just works. Approach the vehicle and the lights turn on, rearview mirrors fold out, and the car is unlocked by the time I get to the door to open it. Tesla has an "auto present" option for the Model X, but I have not used it for reasons.

I had the Tesla choke precisely once, when it took ~20 seconds to recognize my phone. For iOS users, Tesla reminds you to keep the app running, so they can communicate with the car more quickly.

edit: to clarify that Model Y "unlocks" when approached instead of saying "wakes up."

 

[J24]

That's a good question! I cannot speak for the 3, but the Y does unlock when approached, as confirmed by one of my siblings who owns one. With regards to my personal experience with the Model X, the integration is seamless. It just works. Approach the vehicle and the lights turn on, rearview mirrors fold out, and the car is unlocked by the time I get to the door to open it. Tesla has an "auto present" option for the Model X, but I have not used it for reasons.

I had the Tesla choke precisely once, when it took ~20 seconds to recognize my phone. For iOS users, Tesla reminds you to keep the app running, so they can communicate with the car more quickly.

edit: to clarify that Model Y "unlocks" when approached instead of saying "wakes up."

I've owned a 2023 Model Y for about a year and a half (had a Model 3 before that for nearly 3 years) and that is not how mine works - nothing unlocks or wakes up prior to physically using the door handle.

Both of my Teslas have choked lot more than yours unfortunately. It's not overly uncommon for my phone to not be immediately recognized. More often than not it works just fine, but every so often I have to actually take my phone out of my pocket and unlock it before the car recognizes it and will unlock when I press the door handle - pain in the ass when it's raining like it often is here in the PacNW. It's a small annoyance, but again, that's probably less than 10% of the time that it happens.

 

[originalprime]

I've owned a 2023 Model Y for about a year and a half (had a Model 3 before that for nearly 3 years) and that is not how mine works - nothing unlocks or wakes up prior to physically using the door handle.

Both of my Teslas have chocked a lot more than yours unfortunately. It's not overly uncommon for my phone to not be immediately recognized. More often than not it works just fine, but every so often I have to actually take my phone out of my pocket and unlock it before the car recognizes it and will unlock when I press the door handle - pain in the ass when it's raining like it often is here in the PacNW. It's a small annoyance, but again, that's probably less than 10% of the time that it happens.

It's interesting how different people's experiences can be, even within the same realm of utilization. For the Model Y specifically, I do not have that experience; what knowledge I have there comes from a sibling who's owned one since 2020. Perhaps I asked them the wrong question or asked it in the wrong way. It is important for anyone reading along to take note of your firsthand account.

And maybe my experience is "because Model X," but the phone-as-key integration is damn near perfect. It is certainly something other carmakers should take note of. I would hate to get stuck in the rain all the time!

 

[Grandma-EV]

It's interesting how different people's experiences can be, even within the same realm of utilization. For the Model Y specifically, I do not have that experience; what knowledge I have there comes from a sibling who's owned one since 2020. Perhaps I asked them the wrong question or asked it in the wrong way. It is important for anyone reading along to take note of your firsthand account.

And maybe my experience is "because Model X," but the phone-as-key integration is damn near perfect. It is certainly something other carmakers should take note of. I would hate to get stuck in the rain all the time!

What kind of phones do you two have? Apple or Android? Could that be the difference? How does the phone communicate to the car? Is it cell, Bluetooth, RDF chip?

Not nearly the same tech but the old MyChevrolet app and my 2018 Bolt had something called KeyPass. Since I have had that car, I have had 3 or 4 different Android phones, Samsung and Pixels. I have spent HOURS sitting in the car, trying to get KeyPass enabled. I have even been on voice with OnStar tech support, multiple times, and no one has been able to get that thing to work. I think all it does is turn on the lights as you approach, you still need the fob. But it sounded cool and I really wanted it to work and it nags me. Not every time, but occasionally when I start the car it asks, "KeyPass Available, would you like to enable it?" YES! But it never works. I hope the Silverado tech has improved.

 

[J24]

What kind of phones do you two have? Apple or Android? Could that be the difference? How does the phone communicate to the car? Is it cell, Bluetooth, RDF chip?

iPhone here. It just uses bluetooth as far as I know.

From what it sounds like, the Silverado has the same (or very similar) mobile app technology as my '22 Yukon Denali. It's fine, but nothing near what Tesla has. You can lock, unlock, remote start, track via GPS which is all great, but it's just not as useful as Tesla's app. @originalprime - please chime in if it's any better than this!

 

[HawaiiEV]

I bet it’s the phones. Maybe every other month mine isn’t instant and I complain as a pull the phone out then it works. It always locks though which is more important. Chevy app looks familiar…

 

[originalprime]

What kind of phones do you two have? Apple or Android? Could that be the difference? How does the phone communicate to the car? Is it cell, Bluetooth, RDF chip?

Not nearly the same tech but the old MyChevrolet app and my 2018 Bolt had something called KeyPass. Since I have had that car, I have had 3 or 4 different Android phones, Samsung and Pixels. I have spent HOURS sitting in the car, trying to get KeyPass enabled. I have even been on voice with OnStar tech support, multiple times, and no one has been able to get that thing to work. I think all it does is turn on the lights as you approach, you still need the fob. But it sounded cool and I really wanted it to work and it nags me. Not every time, but occasionally when I start the car it asks, "KeyPass Available, would you like to enable it?" YES! But it never works. I hope the Silverado tech has improved.

Ooooo good question. iPhone 13, but also worked with an 11 and my wife's 12. Tesla initially (or primarily) uses Bluetooth, but they have begun rolling out UWB for devices and cars that support it. The 2023 Model X, for instance, shipped with UWB hardware but it wasn't enabled until a software update ~two months ago. Older model Teslas may not have UWB hardware, but the Bluetooth experience should be pretty good.

Just don't ever force close the app or they will scold you with notifications!