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

[thomasnhyde]

So when you put the system into transport mode (or some other special mode), the 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?

With the Porsche factory fitted tracker installed on my car, you put it in transport mode and it will imobilose the car for the duration of the setting (selected via app default is 10hrs). Nothing can undo it, the app failed consistently with comms errors, Vodafone can’t undo it either.

If you ignore the alarm notifications once the car has come out of the transport mode (setting expired), you will avoid putting the car into another default 10hr immobilisation cycle, via Vodafone snooze notification option.

Pretty cr@p for a car that costs +£100k

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[Tooney]

Bad situation regarding the tracker system. If your car is transported without being driven - say on a ferry - and you did nothing/no special modes, etc., what would happen? Would it get immobilized somehow anyway?

 

[thomasnhyde]

Bad situation regarding the tracker system. If your car is transported without being driven - say on a ferry - and you did nothing/no special modes, etc., what would happen? Would it get immobilized somehow anyway?

Nope, my transport setting expired and the car was fine to drive. I got an alarm notification a few hours later on a return ferry crossing, hit snooze notifications and that put it in a new ten hour brick mode cycle. That meant the recovery team couldn’t start it when it docked at port. The car won’t put itself in that mode and Vodafone won’t do anything without you asking them to. Best thing to do is never put it in transport mode and let the alarm do whatever it does (loads of car alarms go off on ferries, no one cares normally).

 

[Tooney]

@thomasnhyde you are now key resource in this forum's PVTS+ center of expertise.
I hope your Taycan gets off the ferry asap.

 

[kurand]

Hmm, this is not the way it worked for me on a recent Eurotunnel trip. In both directions, I drove into the train, parked up, then used the app to put the car into transport mode. For each trip, I selected a few hours transport mode duration. Then waited the 35 minutes of the crossing; fired the car up and drove off, no problems. I did not, however, get out of the car, or even open the doors whilst it was being transported.

As an aside, the trip to La Rochelle was pretty traumatic because the car was severely keyed on 3/4 of the panels while parked up on the first night ?

 

[tigerbalm]

Hmm, this is not the way it worked for me on a recent Eurotunnel trip. In both directions, I drove into the train, parked up, then used the app to put the car into transport mode. For each trip, I selected a few hours transport mode duration.

It has been the same for us. We've parked our Taycan on ferries for anything between 2 hours (fast ferry between Ireland and Wales) and 18 hours (ferry between Ireland and France).

Each time, we've set the transport mode for the length of the crossing + a few hours extra as a safety margin. We park up on the car deck and leave it there. When we arrive at the destination port – we've opened the car back up and it never had any issues starting up again. Usually – due to the safety margin – has the transport mode still running – but we just drive off the ferry and leave the mode expire an hour or two later while we're back on our road-trip.

As an aside, the trip to La Rochelle was pretty traumatic because the car was severely keyed on 3/4 of the panels while parked up on the first night ?

Sorry to hear that. We've had some wonderful times in La Rochelle – Taycan parked up in the public car park under the square – thankfully no issues. What bad misfortune.

 

[W1NGE]

Transport mode? What?

Anti tilt / tow mode - boats rock so good practice to set transport mode on. Car is still alarmed but not for tow/ tilt detection.

 

[Dabz]

I used Transport mode twice in the past week. Both times I set it for 2 hours despite the crossing being 40 mins. After 40 mins I just got in and drove off.

my understanding is that the mode is just for disabling security alerts rather than disabling the car itself

 

[snstevens]

I used Transport mode twice in the past week. Both times I set it for 2 hours despite the crossing being 40 mins. After 40 mins I just got in and drove off.

my understanding is that the mode is just for disabling security alerts rather than disabling the car itself

I agree - in the US the Car Security Package only enables notifications once the car is moved, lifted, tilted, etc. The purpose of the settings in My Porsche App is simply to disable notifications, not disable the car.

I think the package OP is describing is something else perhaps?

 

[W1NGE]

I agree - in the US the Car Security Package only enables notifications once the car is moved, lifted, tilted, etc. The purpose of the settings in My Porsche App is simply to disable notifications, not disable the car.

I think the package OP is describing is something else perhaps?

Personally, I wouldn't bother with transport mode and simply do the double tap on key fob or door sensor to deactivate the interior surveillance and inclination sensor.

Car is locked and alarmed.

 

[kurand]

Is this good enough if you have PVTS+ (with Vodafone) activated?

 

[W1NGE]

Is this good enough if you have PVTS+ (with Vodafone) activated?

Not much use when you are at sea as there is no cellular connectivity to the car.

PVTS+ provides other features but none are essential for this particular discussion.

Transport mode typically should involve contacting Vodafone SOC to avoid false (and potentially chargeable alarms).

 

[thomasnhyde]

Not much use when you are at sea as there is no cellular connectivity to the car.

PVTS+ provides other features but none are essential for this particular discussion.

Transport mode typically should involve contacting Vodafone SOC to avoid false (and potentially chargeable alarms).

This was exactly the problem. You inadvertently brick the car with the Porsche app using transport mode and neither you nor Vodafone nor Porsche can communicate with the car to do anything about it because there’s no signal at sea or deep in the bowels of a ferry. You have to just sit it out and wait for the car’s transport mode timing settings to expire by themselves.

 

[kurand]

Hmm, interesting point about cellular connectivity. During the 35minute tunnel crossing, I was exchanging text messages with a family member who was on the immediately preceding train, so I guess the tunnel has cellular repeaters.

 

[Dabz]

Yup good point - I have full 5G signal when I use the ferry (we have a house on the Isle of Wight do travel back and forth often)

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