Those of us who ordered our Tesla Model 3s in the first few weeks of availability, did so with something called HomeLink on the feature list. The feature has since been removed from an included line item, replaced by an optional extra for A$460.00.
Most Tesla updates are OTA software updates, but HomeLink is a hardware module that connects to your garage door, closing it as you leave for work in the morning, or opens it as you arrive home at the end of the day.
This is another one of those cool features, like folding your mirrors when you reach a certain geo-location in proximity to your home or work. In those Model S and Model X’s with air suspension, you can also specify locations (like your driveway) to change the height of your vehicle.
Once installed the Model 3’s display now shows a little home icon in the top left, which is used to configure HomeLink to work with your specific model of Garage Door.
The feature was retrofitted to my Tesla Model 3 this morning, which was also my first experience with Tesla Service. Located in Albury Wodonga meant the installation required a trip to Melbourne, but given I was down in Melbourne for Christmas anyway, the timing worked out that today was the day.
My experience of booking the HomeLink installation was smooth, just fire up the mobile app and detail what I wanted done. I was told the process would take around an hour.
In the weeks leading up to today, I received an error notification on the display that would come and go. The error suggested there was an issue with the charge door and that I should book in for a service. I opened my existing case for HomeLink and added a photo and explanation of the charge door error.
When I arrived at the Tesla Service Center in Richmond this morning, I was told they’ll take a look and if it’s a sensor replacement, it’d take just a few minutes extra, however if the charge door needed replacement, it would be up to an hour longer. I’d really allocated the morning to get this done, so that wasn’t a problem.
When dropping off the car (and the Tesla credit card key), I was informed they would be taking photos of the car prior to working on it (which I had also done for my own records). They also informed me DashCam would be disabled while they worked on the vehicle which I completely understand, I wouldn’t want people monitoring my work all the time either.
I left the car just on 8am and at 9:23am I received an SMS that the job was complete and the car was ready for pickup. I got back, inspected the car, everything looks great and the HomeLink icon is on the display.
At this point I can’t wait to get home and configure the Garage Door to work with my Model 3. It is unfortunate this isn’t standard anymore, but for those that got in early, it’s a really nice bonus.
Big credit to the Tesla staff at Richmond this morning, interacting with them, was an absolute delight, polite, courteous and incredibly helpful.
Here’s the final invoice, showing $0 for today’s work which was covered under warranty.
Hi Jason, What model of garage door opener do you use? I’m having trouble getting my to sync with the remote, and as far as I can see it is not compatible. Im up in Sydney..
Hi Dave, seems we have quite a few models of garage door opener in Aus that aren’t compatible (mine included). Seems we need an aftermarket add-on that’ll broadcast the signal to open on a different spectrum, this should wire into most, but haven’t pulled the trigger on that yet. For now, I’ve mounted my garage door opener on the underside of the display, hidden and easy to get to as I approach home.
If I buy the extra bit, I’ll certainly write it up.