Car won’t start after activating transport mode on a ferry

[thomasnhyde]

Hi, looking to see if anyone has had this issue before please?

I activated transport mode to turn the alarm off on a ferry and it still has two hours to run until the mode reverts to normal.

The car won’t start to get off the ferry and I wonder if they are related? The app won’t deactivate the mode, Vodafone won’t either. Ive tried the two finger reset, the walk away and lock it and come back but nothing will get the car to start.

Has anyone had this before please? It’s the first time I’ve used this mode and I wonder if they are related despite the app saying it only turns the alarm off and not the engine.

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[tigerbalm]

I have taken many ferries (out of Ireland) – some 4 hours to UK, many 18 hours to France. Each time, I've used the transport mode with no issues.

The transport mode of PVTS+ has nothing to do with the car's ability to start – it is just a remote alarm if the car is sensed moving.

As you debug this issue – lean towards assuming it has nothing to do with the transport mode you activated.

I feel for you being stuck trying to get off the ferry.

 

[tigerbalm]

What's the symptom of the car not starting?

Does all the screen's come on okay – including the driver display?

The two-finger reset is only the PCM Infotainment computer – so wouldn't expect that to fix anything driving related.

Once, while trying to start my Taycan to get onto the Eurotunnel – it refused to start. In that case the screen behind the driver looked like it was still showing the "shutdown animation" from the night before. Nothing I tried would make the car start/boot up.

I found just repeatedly locking, waiting 30 secs, unlocking, pressing the start button and doing that about 8 times, the car did eventually "wake up" and start.

 

[Archimedes]

Transport mode? What?

 

[Tooney]

@thomasnhyde There are a couple of forum threads that discuss PVTS and immobilizing the car.
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...y-porsche-tracking-service.15409/#post-235107
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...nger-communicating-via-app.15248/#post-232123
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...iser-dashcam-and-detailing.14155/#post-213135

Edit: Also Porsche TSB - not for Taycan - "Certain Porsche Vehicle Tracking System (PVTS) control unit (CU) software is susceptible to false theft detection triggered by vibration"
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10199818-0001.pdf
And a TSB for Taycan: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10185106-0001.pdf

 

[tigerbalm]

What happened? Did you get off the ferry?

 

[Throb]

Hi, looking to see if anyone has had this issue before please?

I activated transport mode to turn the alarm off on a ferry and it still has two hours to run until the mode reverts to normal.

The car won’t start to get off the ferry and I wonder if they are related? The app won’t deactivate the mode, Vodafone won’t either. Ive tried the two finger reset, the walk away and lock it and come back but nothing will get the car to start.

Has anyone had this before please? It’s the first time I’ve used this mode and I wonder if they are related despite the app saying it only turns the alarm off and not the engine.

Once, while trying to start my Taycan to get onto the Eurotunnel – it refused to start. In that case the screen behind the driver looked like it was still showing the "shutdown animation" from the night before. Nothing I tried would make the car start/boot up.

I found just repeatedly locking, waiting 30 secs, unlocking, pressing the start button and doing that about 8 times, the car did eventually "wake up" and start.

I've used the PVTS "disable" function numerous times when traveling through the Channel Tunnel, and I've never had the car being unable to start. However, I've also forgotten to disable it a couple of times, and I've never had an alert that the car is moving without the ignition turned on, so I don't have much faith in it working properly.

What I have had once, just like you Damien, is the car refuse to start when boarding the Channel Tunnel. We pulled up at the barrier waiting to board. I stopped the car and turned it off for around ten minutes, but I didn't get out. My wife got out to use the toliet. About ten minutes later, after my wife had got back in the car, we started boarding, so I pushed the start button, but nothing happened. the screens were on, but the car refused to go anywhere. So it wasn't dead, just unresponsive. People behind us on the queue drove around us, but we went nowhere. We ended up missing the train. It was late and the next one was in another hour. A mechanic from Eurotunnel came to help but he didn't speak any English, and after five minutes when he offered to give me a jump start, I realised he didn't even realise it was an electric car. When I told him he walked around the back and saw it was a Porsche, and then said "I thought it was a Ferrari". I just told him I'll wait 15 minutes and try starting it. I locked it with the sleeping children in the back, and after ten minutes I got too close to it and it opened automatically. I decided to try starting it again and this time it worked. Had to wait ages for the next train, though.

 

[tigerbalm]

I've never had an alert that the car is moving without the ignition turned on, so I don't have much faith in it working properly.

FWIW, one of the times I was heading back to Dublin from Holyhead in Wales – I forgot to enable the transport mode. Within 50 meters of the ship leaving the dockside, I was getting a call from Vodafone Telemetrics saying there was an alert.

I locked it with the sleeping children in the back, and after ten minutes I got too close to it and it opened automatically. I decided to try starting it again and this time it worked. Had to wait ages for the next train, though.

It's ridiculous all this standing around away from the car in the hope it "resets". Porsche, just put a "restart" menu item in the system settings already. Especially so when traveling with kids.

 

[ciaranob]

It's ridiculous all this standing around away from the car in the hope it "resets". Porsche, just put a "restart" menu item in the system settings already. Especially so when traveling with kids.

+10 - this really is absurd - at times it feel like we're working with some DOS based P(o)C from the '80s!

 

[McgR]

FWIW, one of the times I was heading back to Dublin from Holyhead in Wales – I forgot to enable the transport mode. Within 50 meters of the ship leaving the dockside, I was getting a call from Vodafone Telemetrics saying there was an alert.



It's ridiculous all this standing around away from the car in the hope it "resets". Porsche, just put a "restart" menu item in the system settings already. Especially so when traveling with kids.

The anti theft package is standard in Belgium on the CT. My insurance doesn’t require. My SA asked if I wanted it active but he advised against it. Maybe for this reason. And another: they may retrieve your stolen car after a week and most people would prefer just to have a new one when its stolen.

 

[tigerbalm]

The anti theft package is standard in Belgium on the CT. My insurance doesn’t require. My SA asked if I wanted it active but he advised against it. Maybe for this reason. And another: they may retrieve your stolen car after a week and most people would prefer just to have a new one when its stolen.

Definitely better if insurance doesn't require it – unfortunately here in Ireland my insurance explicitly demands an active subscription at the time of any claim. Thankfully, they don't mention it has to be working – just has an active subscription.

 

[Tooney]

It's ridiculous all this standing around away from the car in the hope it "resets". Porsche, just put a "restart" menu item in the system settings already. Especially so when traveling with kids.

Don't forget to have your 10mm socket wrench handy for the battery cable disconnect in case a 20-minute "terminal 30 reset" is needed.

 

[thomasnhyde]

Thanks for the help everyone.

Having spent all day on the phone to Vodafone and Porsche Assist I think this is what’s happened - hopefully helpful for others if this comes up again.

Porsche have designed and installed a floored tracker in certain models. Mine is the MBB tracker.

If you put the car in transport mode be very careful what time duration you choose. I didn’t appreciate that if you don’t time it to when your ferry arrives, it puts the car into complete sleep until the “special modes” expire - garage mode, transport mode etc.

Once the timer expires, the car starts again. Until then, it’s a brick. 10hrs seems to be default.

Absolutely terrible design if you inadvertently put the car in transport mode.

Vodafone can’t do anything to unlock the sleep mode. You’re basically stuck until it expires.

My car is on its sixth trip to France now this weekend.

To solve for this problem:
1. Don’t use transport mode ever
2. Don’t reply to Vodafone calls and don’t press 1 to snooze calls for 10 hours, this repeats the cycle and prolongs the shut down
3. You can speak to Vodafone and turn off the robot calls so you don’t get notified about the alarm. This then stops the car going into a repeat shut down as they won’t act on anything unless the owner tells them to (by text or call).

Absolutely shocking for this high end car and yet another glitch that makes me think we are all driving beta software products.

 

[thomasnhyde]

What happened? Did you get off the ferry?

Nope, hoping to drive it off the ferry when it arrives tomorrow morning for the third time into Portsmouth). If not, then AA truck on standby.

 

[Tooney]

So when you put the system into transport mode (or some other special mode), the PVTS system immobilizes the car?
You put it into transport mode because the car is moving and you are not with the car and you want to suppress notifications from Vodafone?

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