Toll Roll Call: How to Get the E-ZPass You Want

The eighty member responses to our 12/2019 E-ZPass® New York survey yielded some worthy insights.

The Breakdown

More than 55% have standard E-ZPass windshield-mount transponders, while barely 7% opted for the Green Pass version of the internal tags (more on that later). Just over 18% have plate-mount external E-ZPass transponders, compared to 16% with external Green Passes. Two-and-a-half percent indicated they are batting zero, with no transponders at all.

Why Poll in the First Place?

The real motivation was from one of our Model 3 owning members who posted on our forum about an issue obtaining an internal transponder. Word has it that E-ZPass New York decided internal transponders do not work with Teslas. They have solely offered external tags in the past for all vehicles with metallized windshields (including an ICE-age Saab that I assumed I was enjoying in a prior decade).

To fact-check this, we asked a Tesla service technician who vouched that Model S and Model X do indeed have metallized windshields . . . but that Model 3 does not.

Outdated E-ZPass Info to Blame?

This is where the Green Pass comes into play. When I ordered mine for one of the early Model 3s back in the spring of 2018, the E-ZPass New York website still had only Model S and Model X (plus Roadster, if you're keeping score) in their regular E-ZPass pulldown menu selection for updating the vehicle type.

They have since added Model 3 as a vehicle choice but still have been informing a number of Tesla owners that they will not provide them any internal transponders.

Denied!

According to our survey that asked whether E-ZPass New York denied any owner an internal tag, we have corroboration from among 55 Model 3 respondents (11, to be precise):

"Yes. New York wants us to use only the one that mounts on the license plate."

"Yes, they stated only outside mounts work."

"Yes, they said that there was something with the windshield that would block the signal."

. . . and on, and on.

This response takes the cake for the best snapshot of those having trouble:

"Yes. It depended on who I talked to. Sometimes they said I would get the internal. Sometimes they said the opposite. Eventually I got a letter stating I would get the external. I got tired of fighting with them. I don't like the external tag. Judging by their website and application process to get the Green Pass (no online application, you must send a snail-mail letter) they need to modernize big time."

YMMV, Big Time

It's true, a number of Model 3 respondents replied 'no' on our survey and received an internal transponder after requesting one:

"I believe we received one front plate transponder before they sent us the green windshield one."

"No, but I purchased from a toll booth."* *Author's favorite!

"No, but the process took months. Several phone calls before it was done properly."

Most Model 3 owners either "upcycled" a former vehicle's windshield-mount E-ZPass, changing the vehicle description to Model 3 online, or just put up with receiving whichever transponder E-ZPass New York mailed out (most often plate-mount).

It is clear from our data that the windshield of Model 3 easily supports E-ZPass, and any discrimination is based on stale info.

Metallized Windshield Theory Merited?

Not so fast. Some Model S and Model X owners have had success with internal transponder signals, though others only with plate mount, making it appear that your particular S or X may need some experimentation.

One Model S owner with a Green Pass plate-mount had this to offer:

"I actually requested the front license plate mount for my 2015 Model S because the interior mount would not transmit through the windshield. I couldn’t even get a car wash pass to work through the windshield! Hopefully the newer models have addressed this problem with a specific 'transmit-friendly' space on the windshield. Here’s an extra note: I don’t have a front license plate on my car, so I used two zip ties to secure it just under the nose cone on the driver’s side of the horizontal grill. Pretty much out of sight, but it works!"

Then there was this, from another owner; Model X this time:

"I received 2 front plate mounts and returned both asking for the green windshield mount that I finally received."

One other member went as far as suggesting the vintage of the toll lane may be a factor:

"I can tell you that it does not read correctly in the older lanes, so that may be the reason for this issue."

To add to the head scratching, our friendly service tech also seemed to think that some early Model S specimens did indeed have a "transmit-friendly" patch on the windshield expressly for transponders. That ship appears to have sailed.

Summing It Up!

The results show that E-ZPass New York still defaults to plate-mount tags for the bulk of Model 3 owners, even though not one respondent complained that their windshield-mount transponder was not working. Every Model 3 owner who shifted their old ICE car's windshield transponder has had nothing but stellar luck. On the contrary, a plate-mount version had certain issues operating from within the cabin:

"I have done some experimenting on my own with this. . . . My external transponder died after 7 months (when it was on my front plate), I notified them and they sent me a new one. Instead of re-mounting it on the front plate, I decided to place it inside behind the screen (to see if it would still work) and it said to call E-ZPass when I passed a toll booth, but it ended up working correctly when I checked my account online. So now I leave it inside."

As for Model S and X owners, the results are similar: no choice of transponder offered, yet if you're persistent, it's not impossible to argue for a windshield-mount (conventional E-ZPass or Green Pass). Sadly the success rate of windshield-mount transponders in Model S and X, while not zero, falls short of those in Model 3. The survey shows a 50/50 mix of S and X owners opting for front-plate vs. internal.

Last but not least, for those not in the know, the Green Pass Discount Plan offers a 10% toll discount to Teslas on the NYS Thruway, but not over all bridges. You must be an existing E-ZPass holder and request a Green Pass (bona fide green plastic for the internal one, but plain black for the external one) via a good old-fashioned letter. It's all explained here: https://www.thruway.ny.gov/ezpass/greentag.html

Do you have any other input on the subject? Please add your comments below, or call our toll-free number. . . .

-John W. (TOCNYS - Niagara Frontier)

P.S. Special thanks to staffer Joe Moore for amassing all the data, and to each and every TOCNYS member who participated in the survey. Look forward to more of these in the new year!

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