You shouldn't have to be close or facing the door. My previous cars worked at least a 100 feet away. But this does bring up something I've found curious about my door opener. When I turn onto my street and am about 100 feet away I can open the garage door just fine but when I'm backing out of the garage, I can be 2 feet from the door and have to hit the button 2 or 3 times before it will work.