Homelink signal strength and PCM not remembering settings

submatrix

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After 3 days with the car, two main issues have stuck out to me. The first, which is vital, is that I've found that the Homelink transmitter is somehow not working for opening my garage gate from the outside. When driving out of the garage from the inside, it works. My theory is that because the receiver is inside the garage, it is much closer to the car's Homelink transmitter when I'm inside the garage trying to leave, vs. when I'm outside the garage trying to come back in.

This is unfortunately a huge issue for me because it essentially makes Homelink useless for returning back home. The receiver isn't even that far, maybe 10-15 feet.

On top of this, I've found that my manual garage remote opener also rarely works from inside the car. I suspect that this is due to the insulated glass option that I have specced. If I can't use Homelink AND I have to stick my arm out with a garage opener every time I come home, that's gonna really suck.

Is there anything I can do about this?

The second issue is that the PCM is not remembering that I want the Electric Sport Sound on when I drive. It always defaults to off. I literally tested turning off the car with the power button, then turning it back on with the power button, and the Electric Sport Sound had reverted to off (its default value in Normal drive mode). Isn't this setting supposed to be stored with my driver profile, which I can confirm is successfully loaded every time I get in the car? I use Comfort Access, if it matters.
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Pozuelo

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Try this:

One small detail is important when programming any Homelink remote, whether on a car or copying the remote to another. THE REMOTE YOU ARE COPYING FROM, MUST HAVE FRESH BATTERIES !!! if the battery is not new, the range is decreased or may not work at all. This is because the frequencies vary slightly under voltage changes. This was explained to me by the European Homelink engineering department many years ago when I had problems with my first Homelink equipped Mercedes back in 1996 ! I have found that this advice has helped many people over the years that complained about range, including various head mechanics at different dealers ! I suggest you retry with fresh batteries. You can try an experiment: program a second memory for the same door with a fresh battery and test range for both.
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W1NGE

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Sport sound setting can't be saved in the on position by design.

Configure one of the 2 diamond buttons (steering wheel or RHS of the instrument binnacle) to save the setting for quicker access.
 
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submatrix

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Sport sound setting can't be saved in the on position by design.

Configure one of the 2 diamond buttons (steering wheel or RHS of the instrument binnacle) to save the setting for quicker access.
Interesting, is there documentation for this? Why would Porsche make this decision? If my personal driving preference is to have it on when I drive, I don't know why they wouldn't save that to my profile. Does the PCM remember if I'm driving in Sport mode?
 


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What I've found about Homelink is not so much that it's short range, rather that it depends on where I trigger it. It works farther out, and if I get in a range it wont work, and then works again as I get really close.

I try to trigger while the car is turning now to sweep it across the garage. :p
 

KensingtonPark

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Interesting, is there documentation for this? Why would Porsche make this decision? If my personal driving preference is to have it on when I drive, I don't know why they wouldn't save that to my profile. Does the PCM remember if I'm driving in Sport mode?
The PCM does not remember the driving mode that you were in the last time you drove the vehicle. This part is typical, as it is my understanding that the default start up mode is the mode at which vehicle fuel efficiency is tested and EPA ratings obtained. If the default can be overridden and "remembered," then you have to use less efficient mode. So you see this on virtually all cars, where the first thing people do is change the car to its "Sport" driving mode.

While that explains why it doesn't remember "Sport" or "Sport Plus," the inability to remember the preference for Sport Sound is quite baffling. I don't know the answer to that, so I save the "Individual" drive mode to have Sport Sound on. Sorry not to be able to shed any light on this one.
 
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submatrix

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The PCM does not remember the driving mode that you were in the last time you drove the vehicle. This part is typical, as it is my understanding that the default start up mode is the mode at which vehicle fuel efficiency is tested and EPA ratings obtained. If the default can be overridden and "remembered," then you have to use less efficient mode. So you see this on virtually all cars, where the first thing people do is change the car to its "Sport" driving mode.

While that explains why it doesn't remember "Sport" or "Sport Plus," the inability to remember the preference for Sport Sound is quite baffling. I don't know the answer to that, so I save the "Individual" drive mode to have Sport Sound on. Sorry not to be able to shed any light on this one.
Wait so, are you saying that you've defined a new "Individual" driving mode which has sport sound on, and that the Taycan automatically loads this profile when you get in the car? If so, that would achieve what I want. Sorry if this is not what you meant, as I have not dug into the driver profile settings yet.
 


Pozuelo

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What I've found about Homelink is not so much that it's short range, rather that it depends on where I trigger it. It works farther out, and if I get in a range it wont work, and then works again as I get really close.

I try to trigger while the car is turning now to sweep it across the garage. :p
After the WMA5 update, you must press the appropiate Homelink line and hold it for about a second for it to work properly. Before this “fix”, it randomly sent double signals which either stopped or reversed the intended function.
 

W1NGE

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I think you are reading out of context and the base vehicle setup items are stored (screen displays, date, time, radio setting etc (others are dependent on having the comfort pack).
 

KensingtonPark

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@W1NGE @KensingtonPark I decided to check the Good to Know app and I found this:

Doesn't this make it seem like the settings should be stored?
Yes, it does. And many vehicle settings are stored and remembered. Unfortunately, my experience at least is that the following are definitely NOT stored:
  • Electric Sport Sound
  • Recuperation
  • Preferred Ride Height
The only way that I can "store" these is to make them part of my "Individual" Drive Mode. Very early on in my ownership, even that method did not store Recuperation settings.
 
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submatrix

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Yes, it does. And many vehicle settings are stored and remembered. Unfortunately, my experience at least is that the following are definitely NOT stored:
  • Electric Sport Sound
  • Recuperation
  • Preferred Ride Height
The only way that I can "store" these is to make them part of my "Individual" Drive Mode. Very early on in my ownership, even that method did not store Recuperation settings.
Does Individual drive mode load automatically for you, or do you have to switch to it from Normal every time you get in the car?
 
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submatrix

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@Pozuelo your suggestion worked like a charm, thanks! I also found that Homelink's official website suggests the same if your car is having transmission range issues: https://homelink.com/faqs

Since I only have 1 garage I need to program, I just press the diamond (don't need to long press) and it just works, as expected. The PCM suggests the diamond function will bring up the Homelink display but I guess if you only have a single one programmed, it just chooses that automatically, which is nice.
 

XLR82XS

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Does Individual drive mode load automatically for you, or do you have to switch to it from Normal every time you get in the car?
No. At every startup the car is in NORMAL mode.
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