Closing the Frunk/Trunk?

[harry]

While there is a secondary latch on the front trunk, both latches release with the same fob push or touchscreen selection. At least when the car is sitting still the secondary latch does nothing to prevent the release of the front once the button is selected. Obviously I haven't tried it while driving, but if there is some electronic lock out then the secondary latch wouldn't be needed anyway. I don't understand it.

@Brianman

On the topic of closing the frunk, if you can't do it as indicated in the photo then how do you close yours. You have to push down quite firmly, and you have to be really close to the front edge of the panel to prevent denting the aluminum.

 

[brianman]

@Brianman

On the topic of closing the frunk, if you can't do it as indicated in the photo then how do you close yours. You have to push down quite firmly, and you have to be really close to the front edge of the panel to prevent denting the aluminum.

I've only (opened and) closed my frunk once, so I don't really have a technique established.

What I think the DS took issue with was not the nearness to the front (towards the license plate) but how central (along the lengthwise axis of the car) Chad's hands are placed in the picture. More specifically, my DS indicated that you want the pressure points to be about where Chad's pinky fingernails a(beyond the edges of the license plate).

Let me try to make a mockup.

Original

Modified

 

[harry]

Yes, that makes sense -- and in fact my hands are just about as you indicate in the "modified" photo when closing the frunk!

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[Moray]

The frunk is one of the first things people are going to want to show off on their Model S. it should close like a German car door, not with a clunk and an extra push. It's not a hood that only auto mechanics have to deal with. Hopefully Tesla will improve this.

 

[MikeK]

Over on the Tesla forums, somebody suggested that the frunk should close like the trunk on the Tech Package -- i.e. that there's a motor to pull it down and latch it, once you've closed it softly. I completely agree. I use the frunk fairly often -- whenever I want to leave something in the car that will be out of sight and secure. It's more cumbersome than it needs to be to close the frunk, especially if you're parked somewhere that it's not so easy to walk in front of the car.

To be clear, I don't mean that it should close automatically from a fully-open position (although I wouldn't object). Rather, I'm suggesting that it should have a motorized system to pull it the last inch or so. Like many cars have on their trunks so that you don't have to slam them.

 

[jerry33]

I'm not sure how the regulations limit what you can do it in the front. I do know--from first hand experience--how it feels to have the hood fully open while driving. Based on this experience, I suspect that if a regulation change is required to get a power frunk it will be very hard to achieve.

 

[dtich]

The frunk is one of the first things people are going to want to show off on their Model S. it should close like a German car door, not with a clunk and an extra push. It's not a hood that only auto mechanics have to deal with. Hopefully Tesla will improve this.

i agree the frunk hood is not as robust as it should be. i want to point out that the picture above shows hands in a position that my DS told me was the wrong position. and i'll say that i tried, very gently, to put my palms on the hood near the front edge, as in the picture, where i would have presumed the ideal pressure point to be, i.e. above the latch -- this is a BAD idea. the hood could easily buckle doing this. you can feel how flexible the metal is at this point when you try, and it's obvious you can put a dimple in it without much effort. they should have put another layer of filler or whatever in between the top and bottom layer of the hood so you can press it here (i feel) since physically it's the most sensible spot, but they didn't.

so, my DS recommended, and i can say from my experience this is the better way to do it: place your palms on the hood about where the curves are in the shaping, near the front but not too near the front edge.. the metal is thicker there and if you try it gently the first couple times you will get the feel for it.

edit: borrowed a fellow tmc'ers photo for illustrative purposes:

 

[ChadS]

So we've had 3 DS's all give different instructions.

But at least they all agree you should use two hands, and not in the center.

 

[aronth5]

So we've had 3 DS's all give different instructions.

But at least they all agree you should use two hands, and not in the center.

From yesterday's Live Stream of factory delivery, by Cinergi the DS demonstrates the two hand "palms" approach to closing the frunk.
Starts at 1:10. I believe it is the 4th video down. Checking to see if it is on Youtube yet.
http://new.livestream.com/accounts/1473684/events/1785508

 

[dtich]

From yesterday's Live Stream of factory delivery, by Cinergi the DS demonstrates the two hand "palms" approach to closing the frunk.
Starts at 1:10. I believe it is the 4th video down. Checking to see if it is on Youtube yet.
http://new.livestream.com/accounts/1473684/events/1785508

nice find!

well, shiz, that looks easy. definitely not what my DS said to do... but that looks good. right on the edge of the hood, on either side of where the logo is laterally. ok, gonna try that. all i know is that right near there, like in the center just up from where his hands are, is a very suspect spot, high high dimple potential....

thanks.

 

[MikeK]

I've been closing mine exactly as demonstrated in the live stream. I still say that electrically pulling the frunk down to latch would be a better solution, especially in close quarters. I can't quite imagine how having an electric pull-down mechanism would create a risk for the front that having a keyfob-initiated opening function doesn't already create, but I could be wrong!

 

[tezco]

What do you do about finger safety with a power close?

 

[MikeK]

What do you do about finger safety with a power close?

Whatever they did with the trunk.

 

[jomo25]

Whatever they did with the trunk.

Or the door handles

 

[MikeK]

Actually, that's a really good point. The door handles are retracted by a spring that you can overcome if your hand is caught in the handle. A motor is used to push the handles out.

If you've seen those soft-close kitchen drawers that are very popular these days, they are a combination of a spring and a dashpot. When the drawer is pulled open, that action stretches the spring to a predefined point, and then a catch holds it there as the drawer moves the rest of the way open.

When you close the drawer, the catch is released, and the spring pulls the drawer closed. The dashpot regulates the speed with which the drawer closes (the spring works against the resistance of the dashpot), and cushions any slamming of the drawer.

You could employ a very similar mechanism for the frunk. Use a spring to pull the hood closed, and a dashpot to regulate the speed and guard against slams. The spring would not be so strong that it would pinch your fingers, but would be strong enough to ensure a good seal on the frunk. There would be a a motor to cock the spring after the frunk is opened. There would have to be a second catch that engaged right at the bottom of the frunk's closing, to keep wind from getting under there and overcoming the spring and lifting it up an inch or whatever, but it would be secure and much more elegant than the current arrangement.

Anyway, this is a solved problem many times over as far as I can tell. My parents' Cadillac had a soft-close trunk in 1980.

 

[mknox]

My parents' Cadillac had a soft-close trunk in 1980.

Yeah, those were kind of cool. If I recall, it was a kind of corkscrew mechanism where you gently lowered the lid until the latch caught it and sucked it down. Problem was, people didn't realize they worked that way and continued to "slam" the trunk lids down, damaging the mechanism.

 

[MikeK]

Yes, just a gentle close and then let the trunk do the rest. These are still commonly installed, I think, or something really similar. The Lincoln Continental seems to behave exactly like my parents' Cadillac.

 

[tezco]

I've been closing mine exactly as demonstrated in the live stream...

Me too. I like the idea of putting the pressure on the part of the hood that has a double layer of material (which is right along the front edge where the metal folds back under itself).

One problem I've noticed is that even when the lid is closed, it doesn't seem to bottom out onto a stop set in the middle of the hood, so you think that it hasn't hit bottom, and needs yet more pressure to close. Haven't looked closely, but I'm guessing the stops were placed at either side of the hood.

 

[GreenMonster]

I love the extra space provided by the frunk in my Model S. Great for grocery bags, as it holds them upright, unlike the rear trunk that's just one big open space. However, I'm less inclined to use the frunk due to the lack of the auto open/close feature. Having to open and close the frunk manually and potentially getting my hands dirty (especially when it's cold outside) and/or leaving fingerprints on the frunk cover (which is white) is a deterrent. Perhaps Tesla will consider an auto open/close feature on future models.

 

[bbmertz]

I love the extra space provided by the frunk in my Model S. Great for grocery bags, as it holds them upright, unlike the rear trunk that's just one big open space. However, I'm less inclined to use the frunk due to the lack of the auto open/close feature.

+1. A service adviser recently demonstrated for me how I should initially close the frunk to the second latch position (remaining open about 3"), then gently apply pressure with two hands offset from the center of the hood down to about 1/2" open, followed by one last gentle push to close. Too complicated for me to use the frunk on a frequent basis, relative to the easy auto-opening/closing trunk.