Hacker News Reader

Comment by eropple | Hacker News Reader

Why can’t you use a key to turn a lock?

As a matter of practice, no one would carry a physical, metal key they use once a year. The key-card tackles this problem. It can be tucked away in a wallet.

I carry a physical, metal key for my car that I’ve used once in four years. It’s part of the key fob. It’s on my key ring. I carry a physical, metal key I’ve never used. It unlocks the back door of my house. I carry another physical, metal key I’ve never used too, now that I think about it: the one that unlocks the keypad front door if the battery dies.

Do you not have other keys? Or like, is it up to Amazon or whoever, along with battery electrochemistry, to let you into your house, too?

(“Physical, metal key”. That actually makes me incredulous, to be honest, as if carrying three grams is a burden. Are we just a parody of ourselves now?)

This is like carrying a thick wallet with every card you might ever need. It's logistically advantageous, but most of the time it just gives you back pain (thick wallets in back pockets mess up posture). You can do what works for you! But I like to stash fail-safe keys in strategic places, like a house key in the car, and a car key in the house.

By "physical, metal key" I'm just disambiguating between key fobs, key cards, phone-keys, and tumbler keys.

I only carry my phone and my wallet when I go out. If I’m driving I bring my car’s key fob, no attached keys. I get in through my garage. If the power is out for some reason, I can grab my spare key hidden on the property. Why would I want to bring a physical, metal key around with me? Is it the 1900s?

It’s an electric car, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to have an electronic security system tied to locks, alarm and immobiliser. If there’s no power you’re not going anywhere anyway.

If there’s no power, you still need to be able to get in or out of the car. It doesn’t matter if the 12V or the HV electronics are failed: you cannot leave somebody with only breaking a window as the method of ingress or egress from a physically intact vehicle. It is genuinely mystifying.

There's a mechanical door handle on the interior.

If you run out of batteries completely and need to get in the procedure is:

1. Open a small panel on the front and apply 12V to the emergency cables to unlock the frunk (this only works if the car is powered off as I understand)

2. Jumpstart the car's low voltage battery, located under a panel under the frunk

3. Unlock and open the door normally

4. Attach an EVSE charger to get the HV back online as well

> There's a mechanical door handle on the interior.

Only the front doors in the Model Y[0] and Tesla warns using them "May cause damage to the window trim."

[0] https://i.redd.it/aicn8uafkto41.png

Reply on news.ycombinator.com