I installed the one from EV Offer about 9 months ago. Installation was time consuming but not difficult. Hardest part is getting to the bottom mount point on the struts. My left forearm just barely fits through the access point on the driver side and was fairly beat up after I was done.
It worked pretty well up until recently. There were a few random times when it would pop open but not automatically raise itself up …… but I could just push it up by hand. No sweat. And there were a few times when it didn’t respond to the “close” command …… but did when tried the second time.
However …… about 3 weeks ago, the latch popped and the hood only partially released. I couldn’t figure out how to get it open. It would re-latch when pushed back down, but again would only partially release when actuated. I pulled and pulled on the emergency release cable with no results. That really ticked me off.
Finally took it to the Service Center and got some real friendly folks there. They were ready to just put in a new Tesla latch system for free. But then the Tech came out and told me they weren’t permitted to work on aftermarket items, which didn’t really surprise me, but that he would try and get it open for me. He eventually did, mostly by fiddling with it and driving it a little when partially open for a while …….. until it spontaneously popped open. Neither of us could really figure out why it decided to open.
It proceeded to work fine since then.
BUT ….. now I’ve lost my confidence in it because:
- It might happen again
- The emergency release does not work
- I might not get lucky with a nice Service Center Tech again
- It might malfunction in a more severe way (for example, the Tech told me about a “regular customer” of his who had to have his Tesla wiring harness replaced three times due to shorts from the frunk kit)
So …….. I pulled it out a couple days ago. My left forearm and hand are just about recovered. It is WAY harder to remove the motorized struts than it was to remove the OEM ones. The motorized ones that come with the kit have VERY strong clips.
Although the auto-frunk was cool …….. it is really not much trouble to lift the hood open …… and I’ve learned how to close it properly.
Yeah ….. it was cool to be able to just hit the button and open/close it ……. And I’m a little disappointed ……….. But I’m not really gonna miss it much.
hansshowbayarea.com
