Chastised by my Model 3

[Andrew]

While at a traffic light today, I was futzing with the center console (the hatch just in front of the cupholder, not the armrest), trying to click it closed. Apparently I was a little too aggressive (opening and closing it a bit too forcefully). Got a message on the display telling me to "Close Console Lid Gently."

Very interesting that the car is "aware" of the center console lid -- I'm guessing it's actually going to be lockable, so when the car is giving rides to strangers they won't be able to open it. And better yet, if someone is too aggressive with it, the car can just pull over to the side of the road and boot them out! Very nice.

 

[Zaphod]

I think your 3 is becoming self-aware....

 

[DFibRL8R]

That’s spooky!

 

[mongo]

TILT

 

[FlatSix911]

HAL 9000 ...
HAL 9000 - Wikipedia

 

[NOLA_Mike]

TILT

I was initially thinking only old people would know that reference (I know it) but then realized I have recently seen news snippets that pinball machines are making a come back.

Mike

 

[mongo]

I was initially thinking only old people would know that reference (I know it) but then realized I have recently seen news snippets that pinball machines are making a come back.

Mike

Ummm.... thanks? (What's the over under on old these days?)

 

[NOLA_Mike]

Ummm.... thanks? (What's the over under on old these days?)

50

 

[mongo]

50

Pinball Pete's still had multiple locations at U of M when I was there in the mid 90s. Loved me some Batman (shoot Flugelheim).

 

[swaltner]

Ummm.... thanks? (What's the over under on old these days?)

10 years older than I am of course!

And that’s pretty funny about the alert. I’ve seen references in some reviews that (at least initially) the door wasn’t very easy to close and have it stay closed.

 

[insaneoctane]

While at a traffic light today, I was futzing with the center console (the hatch just in front of the cupholder, not the armrest), trying to click it closed. Apparently I was a little too aggressive (opening and closing it a bit too forcefully). Got a message on the display telling me to "Close Console Lid Gently."

Very interesting that the car is "aware" of the center console lid -- I'm guessing it's actually going to be lockable, so when the car is giving rides to strangers they won't be able to open it. And better yet, if someone is too aggressive with it, the car can just pull over to the side of the road and boot them out! Very nice.

Seems like if it were lockable, there would need to be a motorized latch.... Any evidence of this?

 

[Andrew]

Seems like if it were lockable, there would need to be a motorized latch.... Any evidence of this?

I don't think it's motorized, but it's hard to tell.

There's a plastic stop on the inside left side, and the lid sticks to it via magnets when lowered. Those stops can travel down about 1/2". The lid can be opened either by pushing down (in which case it "clicks" and the magnet releases), or by simply pulling up.

As the stop travels down, it rotates a little, which seems to break the magnetic connection by separating the two components enough to allow the spring to lift the lid.

What's interesting is that if the lid is open, the stops won't move.

 

[gavine]

50

I resemble that remark.

 

[T34ME]

While at a traffic light today, I was futzing with the center console (the hatch just in front of the cupholder, not the armrest), trying to click it closed.

I don't think it's motorized, but it's hard to tell.

I had the opportunity to play with this hatch cover yesterday. I remembered this thread in so doing. The hatch opens with just the lightest touch. It closes with an equally light touch. It is definitely NOT motorized - spring loaded. I don't see how it can be locked.

 

[Az_Rael]

We futzed with the hatch last night. Found that you just close it with a very light touch, which was the opposite of the way we were trying at first, and it isn't real intuitive. Didn't close it hard enough for the warning, but kept waiting for it as we messed with it trying to get the dang thing to stay closed.

I'll just chalk it up to a new Tesla skill. Similar to knowing how to close a frunk properly. Makes you part of the club, LOL.

 

[Andrew]

@T34ME - You're right, upon further tinkering, I see it's easy to simply lift it up as well (or press down on the back end, near the cupholders). But this leaves me wondering: Why do they have a sensor here? It can't be just to warn us to be gentle...

 

[T34ME]

@T34ME - You're right, upon further tinkering, I see it's easy to simply lift it up as well (or press down on the back end, near the cupholders). But this leaves me wondering: Why do they have a sensor here? It can't be just to warn us to be gentle...

I'm sorry, you are doing it wrong. You open it by pressing DOWN on the front, forward end of the hatch. Press down lightly and lift your finger off immediately and the hatch will soft open. It is remarkable that the car warns you when you are using a technique that could ultimately damage something as simple as a hatch release.

 

[Andrew]

Oh, I get that. You can push down on the front end, in which case it depresses down about half an inch (and the internal stop moves down and rotates, thus breaking the magnetic connection). The video I posted above shows this technique.

OR, you can lift up too, just popping it open (only really doable if the far forward cell phone lid is up).

OR, you can press down on the back end (closest to the cup holders), which also pops it open.

I do agree that the most elegant/gentle way to do this is to press down to open, and let it spring open on its own. (The "spring" mechanism I referred to was the action that lifts/opens it once it's released.)

My point was that this car is not going to have a sensor here that's simply to warn you if you're pushing too hard. They've cut out anything extraneous, and the wiring for this adds additional production work and cost. I'm sure it's in there because it's needed for full autonomy/ride sharing (just as the internal camera is, above the rear-view mirror) in some way. The question is-- can this mechanism actually lock? Or is this sensor here for some other reason?

 

[Garlan Garner]

To the OP.....that's an amazing message to see on the screen. I find it amazing that Tesla would spend programing time concerning how fast the door gets closed. There seems to be more pressing features to be concerned about.

 

[Bigjohn892]

To the OP.....that's an amazing message to see on the screen. I find it amazing that Tesla would spend programing time concerning how fast the door gets closed. There seems to be more pressing features to be concerned about.

When you think about it, the programming time is small when amortized over the thousands of M3s. Also the sensor probably costs less than a dollar. I also believe the magnets reliability is much greater than mechanical latches. It also adds a neat item to show friends how smart your M3 is.