I am trying to think of any other first generation first year car that had a problem so basic as being on the order of "car doesn't recognize the key/keyfob and so won't start" and I can't think of one.
My first-release Subaru XV wouldn't re-start lots during the stop-start feature... in traffic. You'd have to put it in park, completely turn the car off, take key out, put key back in, and restart the car. Turning off the stop-start was the "solution" offered online, which reset every time you got back in the car (so it was easy to forget).
Also the entire entertainment unit would "crash" every couple days, and not work until another full "reboot" of the car like above. The screen would just lock up, music would stop, nothing at all on the centre screen would respond.
I also had a VW Passat TSI that went back to the dealership 6 times in the first year for electrical issues. Everything from the gearbox sensors failing causing the car to go into limp mode, to the centre screen locking up like the XV (in this case it would just fail to boot when you turned the car on), to the electric seats moving themselves (bad ground). They ended up buying back that car after the entire motor AND gearbox needed replacing at 11mths in.
I've owned a fair few new cars, and very few haven't had issues. Most were so insignificant I just waited until next service schedule, but many needed to go back under warranty.
VW and Subaru don't rank near the top of anyone's reliability rankings. You don't seem bothered by the problems, but if you were you could always buy something like a Toyota/Lexus.
and yeah, Subaru doesn't rank too badly (sixth) on that list. I always thought of Subarus as being good, long-term powertrain reliability notwithstanding. The gas mileage they're getting while running normally-aspirated, full-time AWD powertrains is pretty impressive. I can't imagine why the parent's car was so utterly screwed up, but I wouldn't be happy about a problem that required me to turn the car off and take the key out.
I think the advice on getting a Toyota or a Lexus if you want to maximize your odds of not having problems like the parent described still stands. The conventional wisdom is that their reliability comes from making continuous small changes to their models instead of waiting to make major changes, although next year's Corolla hatchback looks like a pretty major one. It will be interesting to see what the first-year reliability of that model is.
OP did say that the key card worked but the phone recognition didn’t.
I’ve owned few cars with any sort of phone integrations beyond basic Bluetooth and they almost never work. Heck I own a Toyota truck they’ve been making for decades with a digital interface that’s probably five years mature and you still have to install one of their (overwhelmingly one-star rated) apps to do anything interesting with it. even if the app does work you get integration with a B-grade navigation app or iHeartRadio.
I think you misunderstood. He is saying the feature where it recognizes your phone is near the car and unlocks wasn’t working. The key fob and opening the app manually still work.
Yeah, I misspoke. It's a card not a fob. Like others said, it isn't a valet/guest card. It is actually the main "key" to your car in addition to your phone.
The key card is your backup for when the phone isn't available for whatever reason. It's not a valet key, it's the main car key. (Valet mode is activated from the touchscreen, or your phone.)
Personally, I'm looking forward to not carrying a bulky fob with me everywhere. The key card will go in my wallet with my other cards, and my pockets will be lighter.
As far as the radio volume issue they were having: My 1997 Audi A4 had a similar problem. Unlike the Tesla, I didn't have the option of a firmware update to fix it. :-)
It sounds like the key fob did work as others pointed out. However I'm sure there are still lots of unfinished things. When I was out in Chicago with my buddy late last year I got to drive the updated Model S and I noticed the windshield wipers wouldn't come on automatically whenever it rained. After digging through the menu we found a thing that said said something like "feature coming soon" for automatic wipers. Kinda sucks to not have feature a lot of very entry level luxury-ish cars have. Overall the tech is cool and I bet they offer a lot more future functionality through patching. Just feels like they are always in a rush to launch to get some cash in the door and they go with "that will do for now" as the solution.
I hear they got a patch out around last new years to finally address this.
It's only Model S with AP2 that had that problem: the original S and the AP1 S both shipped with working automatic wipers on day 1.
But yes, that's the kind of thing you should expect from Tesla... just like you should expect that the missing-but-common feature of backup-lines on the backup camera to be retroactively added 3 years after the initial cars shipped. Yin and yang.
Yea he has the AP2, thanks I forgot what it was called. Sadly that is the kind of thing I'd expect and it completely understandably takes away from the value of their products. Everyone has their own equation for what makes sense and I'm sure some are fine with these issues too. Good thing we have a free market with many options :-).
When I first got my S, if you left the windshield wipers on the automatic setting, and it had rained in the recent past, when you unlocked the car and opened the door, the wipers would activate once and throw water on you.
Mercedes, which uses the same wiper system, had the same bug.
The difference is that Mercedes never fixed those cars. Tesla did.
So yes, there are issues. But it's not a straight win for either Tesla or non-Tesla. It's just different.
I left my Keyless entry Mazda 3 keys on the drivers seat and it locked me out at the gas station. There are some things that should just not go wrong on a car!
Also the entire entertainment unit would "crash" every couple days, and not work until another full "reboot" of the car like above. The screen would just lock up, music would stop, nothing at all on the centre screen would respond.
I also had a VW Passat TSI that went back to the dealership 6 times in the first year for electrical issues. Everything from the gearbox sensors failing causing the car to go into limp mode, to the centre screen locking up like the XV (in this case it would just fail to boot when you turned the car on), to the electric seats moving themselves (bad ground). They ended up buying back that car after the entire motor AND gearbox needed replacing at 11mths in.
I've owned a fair few new cars, and very few haven't had issues. Most were so insignificant I just waited until next service schedule, but many needed to go back under warranty.
New cars are complex machines that have problems.