Please help: frunk flew open on highway, bent hood, and smashed windshield. Tesla refusing to repair

[geordi]

Are you sure? As I recall, my signature S had it.
I remember as it was one of the first things I checked out when it was delivered.

Quite sure. My 2013 and 2014 S are both RWD so they have the deeper frunk, and I've had both apart for repairs. There's no holes in the tub on those like the X that has a large rectangular hole in the front of the tub where the button is. They also both have a manual second latch, so if you ignore the opened frunk until the power latch times out, you can lift up a little bit and press down on a rubber cushion, and that releases the second latch. I was surprised with discovering the X didn't have that. It's either electric release and you lift it right away... Or you are pushing it closed and starting over. That was one reason why I got the power frunk, b/c I'm usually carrying things to the car and have my hands full.

 

[Mr. Ed]

Can you show a picture of this cap over the frunk button?

Here are three pictures. The cap used, the button without the cap, and the cap installed. This is on my 2017 model X and it is different than on the newer versions. The button in mine is more protected than on the newer Model X, but I have a lot of things in it and in an emergency I do not need to have something opening the frunk and blocking my vision. I am not worried about a kid getting locked in there with all the things that are always in it anyway.

 

[PA-Fatboy]

Sorry it happened to you, but the car is 7 years old. Expecting a lifetime warrantee on and automobile is asking a lot, you may want to report your incident to the The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If it's a fleet wide issue, I'd expect a recall.

It is a poor design IMHO, all other car's I've owned had a secondary latch on the front hood/lid/frunk/bonnet.

I understand what you are saying, but we are not talking about a gasket or rubber seal failing. The freaking hood latch failed. The OP, his family and others could have been hurt. If the latch DID FAIL, I think that should be a big hairy deal. If it was improperly closed and there were warnings in time, it’s a whole different matter.

I don’t know the procedure, but if I were the OP, I would look for legal and technical help to determine if the latch did indeed fail, or if it just wasn’t shut properly and the car gave appropriate warning. Armed with this information, the path forward should be fairly clear.

Simply writing off a hood latch failure was “normal wear and tear” is not at all acceptable in my view.

I have had a hood pop open on me like the OP had. Mine happened on a 1996 Dodge 1500 pickup. I bought 5th hand? There was a Recall not performed on the hood latch. I didn’t slam it hard enough or check the hood properly. At 55mph the hood flipped up, went smack against the windshield and I stuck my head out the window to pull over. I stopped 2 feet directly in front of a telephone pole. Jesus was my co-pilot… I truly believe that. This situation will test your sphincter muscle!

 

[evrepair]

Insurance should cover the damages, but definitely not the car manufacturer, not even if the car was under warranty still.

 

[Smileysam]

Not sure if this applies but you may want to contact the NTSB. I would imagine the latch mechanism on the S and X are pretty similar. My car was part of the recall but they checked it at the SC and found the latch to be mounted properly.

Tesla Recalls Model S for Misaligned ‘Frunk’ That Could Open While Driving - Consumer Reports

Tesla has issued a recall for the Model S because their frunks could open while the vehicle is in motion because of a manufacturing defect. Consumer Reports has the details.

www.consumerreports.org

I had tried recall too. The fix was too put WD-40 look the latch!

 

[stopcrazypp]

I had tried recall too. The fix was too put WD-40 look the latch!

Was it the same recall (SB-21-11-003)? According to the notice, that one involves checking for alignment and realigning if misaligned.