Remote Vehicle Control
Lock, unlock and immobilise a vehicle from the app over its CAN bus — what each button does, why some vehicles show fewer buttons than others, and why you should never press one twice.
Vehicles fitted with a Teltonika CAN-CONTROL adapter can be operated remotely: lock and unlock the doors, release the trunk, sound the horn, flash the indicators, and — on adapters with the immobiliser option — block the engine.
Access: Asset > Vehicle control
The buttons you see depend on the exact vehicle. Two vans on the same yard can offer different actions, because what a CAN adapter can do is decided by the vehicle's own electronics, not by the adapter. This is normal and not a fault.
What each action does
| Action | What happens | Available on |
|---|---|---|
| Unlock | Unlocks all doors | 78% of supported vehicles |
| Lock | Locks all doors — and closes windows where the vehicle supports it | 78% |
| Trunk | Releases the boot or tailgate | 47% |
| Flash lights | One flash of all indicators, via the hazard circuit | 94% |
| Horn | One short horn sound | 16% |
| Immobilise | Blocks the engine so the vehicle cannot be started | 55% of vehicles on IMMO adapters |
| Release | Removes the engine block | as immobilise |
Percentages are from Teltonika's published vehicle lists and are why an action may simply not appear for a given vehicle.
Where are the window controls?
There is no window button, and this is not an omission.
Windows are closed by the vehicle's own comfort closure routine, which some cars run when they receive the central-locking command. So on a vehicle that supports it, pressing Lock closes the windows too — and the app tells you so underneath the button. On a vehicle that does not, nothing would happen at all.
Only about a third of supported vehicles have comfort closure. A standalone "close windows" button would do nothing on the other two thirds, so we do not offer one.
Why a button might be missing
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| No buttons at all | No CAN control adapter is fitted, or the adapter fitted only reads data |
| "Not configured yet" | The adapter is fitted but has not been told which vehicle it is in |
| Some buttons missing | This vehicle model does not support those particular actions |
| No immobilise button | This vehicle needs the CAN-CONTROL + IMMO adapter, or its model does not support engine blocking |
Press once, then wait
Every control command is a switch, not a button. Sending the same command twice can undo the first one. If you lock a van and press Lock again, you may unlock it.
After you press an action, the app shows Delivered — awaiting confirmation. That means the command reached the vehicle, not that the vehicle has done it yet. Confirmation arrives when the vehicle next reports, usually within a minute. Wait for that rather than pressing again.
Safety limits on immobilising
Immobilising is refused unless the vehicle is safe to immobilise. The app checks, and will tell you which condition stopped it:
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| The vehicle is moving | Speed is above zero on the latest report |
| The engine is running | Ignition is on |
| The last report is too old | We cannot confirm the vehicle is stationary |
| The tracker is not connected | The device is offline |
| That action was just sent | A cool-down is running, to stop accidental double-presses |
These checks run on the tracking server itself, below the app, so they apply no matter how the command was sent.
Releasing an immobiliser is deliberately not restricted this way. A vehicle moving while immobilised is exactly when you most need to be able to undo it.
Who can do this
Remote control needs the asset update permission. Every action is recorded with who performed it, on which vehicle, and what the outcome was. Immobilising additionally requires a typed confirmation.
Related
- Driver Identification — controlling who may start a vehicle
- Diagnostics — device connection and command history