When going to a new hotel for a short trip or other purpose, a valet will ask for the car to park in the parking lot. At that moment, a valet can use your car recklessly at high speed or reach your personal info if you don’t hide it.
For this purpose, Tesla has given a gifted feature aka Valet Mode in 2015 via the over-the-air-software update. In short, it is a private built-in driver profile that limits speed, acceleration, and power along with other features which seem risky to expose to a valet.
Here I’ll break down the ins and outs of the Valet Mode and provide the most-asked queries to understand this topic. Let’s get it!
What Is Tesla Valet Mode?
The Valet Mode is a feature that hides locations, limits speed, and turns off some features. It’s so that a valet doesn’t able to abuse your car when using it. By and large, you’ll find this feature on all series (MS, MX, MY, and M3) of Tesla cars.
As you need to leave your car to a stranger to park it inside, this feature seems handy as you don’t need to adjust things like deleting locations and so on.
Instead, it gives a short-cut way for you to simply turn this mode on and leave it safely to the valet. This feature works exactly like any other Driver Profile.
The only difference is it helps your car to become private. Plus, it protects your personal data while ensuring the car runs at a limited speed so that a valet can’t drive it recklessly.
The Features That Valet Mode Restricts!
When you turn on the Valet Mode, the car will privatize user data along with some features. Here’s how does Tesla Valet Mode work and restricts the features:
- Only Key Card works to grant access to the car.
- Limits speed to 70 MPH (113 km/h).
- Restricts max acceleration and power by setting to Chill mode.
- Locks the frunk and glovebox.
- Hides the Home and Work locations that are saved on the navigation system.
- Disable voice commands and Sumon mode.
- Autopilot convenience features are turned off.
- Locks Allow Mobile Access setting (not changeable).
- Hides the HomeLink feature (if available in your region) and Driver Profiles.
- Privatize all the keys list which can’t be seen (only on the Model Y and 3) on the car’s screens.
- Disable Auto-Shift out of Park (only on Model X and S cars).
- Turns off Smart Summon mode.
- Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth features.
In Valet Mode, you can’t pair, view, or delete paired Bluetooth devices. However, it can connect to a paired device or Wi-Fi network if the car is within range.
How to Turn On Tesla Valet Mode?
You can turn on the Valet Mode in 2 ways via using the touchscreen on the car or the Tesla App. Here’s how to do it yourself:
Using the Touchscreen
To begin with, click on Controls and then hit on the Driver Profile icon (at the top of the Controls section). Next, press Valet Mode and wait for a prompt to appear on the screen.
If it’s your first time entering this mode, create a 4-digit PIN that will grant access to use the Valet Mode. This code will be needed to cancel the Valet Mode later.
For that reason, use an easy-to-remember numeric passcode, and be sure to write it down on your phone’s notepad in case you forget it.
And also, be sure to add Driver to Tesla, or else your previous adjustment of seat, steering wheel position, and so on will go away!
Coming to the topic, the Valet mode will activate and the screen will show the word Valet. At this time, the Driver Profile will change to Valet Mode on the screen which is normal.
Using the Tesla App
Start by opening the Tesla App on your phone (Android or iPhone). Then, click on Security > Valet Mode. In usual cases, you don’t need to enter the 4-digit PIN. It’s because you already are logged into the app using the Tesla Account credentials.
But, if you enable the PIN to Drive setting on your car, then it will require you to enter the 4-digit PIN. In that case, enter the PIN when the app will show a Valet Mode prompt. Note that the car will disable the PIN to Drive setting when you activate this mode.
Never activate Valet Mode if you are towing a trailer on Model X and Y cars.
How Do I Bypass Tesla Valet Mode?
To bypass or turn off the Valet Mode in Tesla cars, use the car’s touchscreen to go to Controls and then hit on the Driver Profile icon.
Then, change the gear to P (Park). Next, click on the Valet Mode option and then enter the 4-digit PIN that you’ve used to start this mode.
Another way how you can turn this feature off is by using the Tesla App. To do that, park the car and then open the app to click on Security > Valet Mode. Just click on it to turn it off and it won’t require a PIN.
After canceling it, all the settings that have been changed will be returned and restored. In case your old Driver Profiles (that you’ve created) don’t work, be sure to fix Tesla add driver not working issue like this!
And if you forget the valet PIN, reset it by going to your Tesla Account credentials or hit on Clear PIN using the Tesla app. When you do so, it’ll cancel the Valet Mode.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Tesla Valet Mode need a key?
Well, Tesla Valet Mode needs a Key Card to grant access to a person who needs to park the car in a specific spot. However, if you want to turn the Valet Mode on, it won’t require a key as long as you have the Tesla App on your phone or use the car’s touchscreen.
2. Can you drive in Valet Mode on Tesla?
Yep! You can drive your car in Valet Mode. However, it might go at a limited speed, acceleration, and power.
3. What does Tesla Valet Mode do?
This mode restricts some settings when giving to a valet, technician, or other folks. It hides any personal information like your home or work address from the navigation system and limits the speed using a private built-in driver profile.
Overall Thoughts
In the end, I’ll suggest always using the Tesla Valet Mode whenever you leave the car to a valet or other folks who’ll abuse the car.
And, be sure to use the Speed Limit Mode feature (Security > Speed Limit Mode > Enter 4-digit PIN and hit on Submit) using the Tesal App for additional security.
Hope this guide helps you to understand all factors about the Valet Mode. I’ll see you in the next guide with a new topic!
