It does indeed.
No. Ours are parallel, however, our aft hook is offset by .012" to the pass. side (but not easily discernible).
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It does indeed.
No. Ours are parallel, however, our aft hook is offset by .012" to the pass. side (but not easily discernible).
This.
One problem I suspect is that there may be as many as 3 different frunk hood/latch designs out there now:
1- Original un-reinforced hood & latch (mine I believe)
2- Reinforced hood with original latch
3- New P85D latch mechanism with unknown hood reinforcement changes
And there's not any clear indication a single closing method is appropriate for all of them. What's more, online videos, SC folks, DS's, and different versions of the manual have differing instructions. Does the updated PDF version of the manual released after the P85D's apply to my 2013 S85?
Closing a hood/trunk/frunk is something that folks have long-standing expectations of how to do, and having to know a secret handshake (and the correct version of said handshake) in order to do it correctly shouldn't be necessary. Especially given that valets, friends, etc... may reasonably be expected to at some point close it during the lifetime of the car...
"LMB's method is to sit down gently on the front of the frunk..."
Whilst I can see that, in the strictest sense, such a technique might pay dividends - each cheek may well align closely with each of the 'green' areas - unfortunately you would need to have a rather large derriere on hand to achieve it. I have a rather diminutive one - some even say it is 'cute' - and so I suspect, for me, this idea is doomed to failure.
Why can't it just be shut like any other car bonnet (hood) without fear of causing thousands of £/$-worth of damage? I'm up for an aftermarket automatic system should anyone care to design and sell one as clearly Tesla is not bothered. It can't be rocket science!
I am also still of the opinion that the creasing may well be caused by slamming. The fact that 'lots of owners say they have never slammed their frunk lid but still have the crease' does not preclude the possibility that someone else may well have slammed it - friends, relatives, valets, mechanics etc... and they are hardly likely to own up to it either (assuming they even noticed the damage after they caused it). Can anyone actually say "I pushed down on my frunk lid to close it, with my hands in the wrong place, and saw I had caused a crease"?
Can't we just have a fix, please?
Whilst I can see that, in the strictest sense, such a technique might pay dividends - each cheek may well align closely with each of the 'green' areas - unfortunately you would need to have a rather large derriere on hand to achieve it. I have a rather diminutive one - some even say it is 'cute' - and so I suspect, for me, this idea is doomed to failure.
Why can't it just be shut like any other car bonnet (hood) without fear of causing thousands of £/$-worth of damage? I'm up for an aftermarket automatic system should anyone care to design and sell one as clearly Tesla is not bothered. It can't be rocket science!
I am also still of the opinion that the creasing may well be caused by slamming. The fact that 'lots of owners say they have never slammed their frunk lid but still have the crease' does not preclude the possibility that someone else may well have slammed it - friends, relatives, valets, mechanics etc... and they are hardly likely to own up to it either (assuming they even noticed the damage after they caused it). Can anyone actually say "I pushed down on my frunk lid to close it, with my hands in the wrong place, and saw I had caused a crease"?
Can't we just have a fix, please?
roblab
Active Member
Since we can't fix thoughtless, careless, ignore-ant people, I guess Tesla will have to come up with a fix. Some of us have cars over 2 years old with over 60,000 miles on them, and no crease on the frunk lid. How did that happen? On our car, we don't let anyone else close the lid. Some people grew up with old Buicks with solid steel hoods, and were taught to cram them down -- crash! Others just don't care, and use the one hand slam method. Some were taught how to close the frunk by the DS when they bought the car, but were busy looking at the 17" screen and didn't hear.
Come on, people. One hand on either side of where the latches are. Gently push down with palm pressure near the edge (the strongest part of the hood) until you hear the double click. This is aluminum. If it doesn't close easily, some lithium grease on the latch loop rod so it gets down into the latch works. There are few adjustments other that Grease and Gentle. If you already have a crease, well, live and learn.
Andyw2100
Well-Known Member
"...near the edge..."
That's great...you're giving advice in direct conflict with what is currently in the manual, and with what many of the DSs are now demonstrating. But because you happen to not have a crease, you are the authority that everyone should just listen to, right?
This is a complicated issue.
There seem to be at least three different versions of frunk hood and latch designs, and Tesla has, officially, gone back and forth on correct closing method, both in their manual, and in the videos they post online. For you to say, "Come on, people" and then over-simplify things seems a bit condescending.
Ah yes the fabled "butt cheek method". I use this as well!
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Tesla specifically checks for any damage to the vehicle. You can't really extrapolate from that.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
How about a remote controlled solid state relay to disconnect the power that runs to the opening solenoid? Those of us with the front facing camera kit have a remote with two extra buttons. This would be to lock out anyone from accidentally opening the frunk and then closing it wrong. Opening the frunk requires first hitting the remote to close the circuit. Could be even timed to disconnect after X minutes if you need access over a longer period of time.
How about just a hidden switch in series with the solenoid? That would be simpler.
Mayhemm
Model S P85+ "Lola"
Or, the next time there is a Q&A at a public event, someone could ask Elon directly "What is the proper technique to close the frunk?"
Gizmotoy
Active Member
Wow. This is a nightmare. And it makes me angry, so I'm going to share stuff I previously decided not to. I asked for ONE thing. I spent a LOT of time talking to Tesla about this. They asked for more info, so I wrote up a document, with pictures, illustrating how I was instructed to close the frunk and the damage it caused. Tesla apologized and offered to fix my hood as a courtesy. I declined as my damage is minor, telling them in lieu of a repair I simply wanted them to fix their messaging and process so this wouldn't happen to anyone else (and that they'd hopefully redesign the frunk eventually). Even if they have done the redesign, they've done nothing to improve the situation if the above is any indication. If anything, it may have actually gotten worse.
Agreed. The suggested way makes me far more anxious than using the first few inches of the hood as I was instructed by the DS. The green areas have a lot of give. The hood doesn't do any bending in the area where frunks are being damaged, though, so it might still be better.
He has a Reddit Ask Me Anything today. I'll ask if I can remember. 9PM Eastern.
I would have been inclined to agree with you had I not walked the lot at TMC Connect a few months ago. Curious about how widespread the issue was, I wandered around looking at everyone's hoods. My results were unscientific given I have no idea how many Model S were in attendance, but the back lot held about 60 Teslas at a time and more spilled out into other areas of the facility. I'd guess maybe 100 in total. Of those, I found 18 hoods with some amount of damage. Most were minor, like mine, which I didn't even notice myself and was pointed out to me by Denarius, but 5 exhibited serious damage. The issue was far more widespread than I had expected.
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Andyw2100
Well-Known Member
Well, then you're going to absolutely LOVE this: recent discussion, over here, about whether or not there is an electronic component in the P85D frunk closing mechanism (the jury is still out on this one):Closing the single electronic frunk latch experience
Gizmotoy
Active Member
I saw that. Maybe European models only? Setting the frunk down on the first latch and having it electronically engage the second latch is how it always should have worked.
Edit: And to be clear, I'd be happy if this were true. It's silly that on a car with so many pioneering features we're still stuck discussing a stupid dent in some sheet metal 2 years later. It should never have had time to get this bad.
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Thank you, this is good information. From your informal count, it looks like 20% of frunks are suffering from this issue. That is significant.
Andyw2100
Well-Known Member
The OP in that thread is in Texas, and another poster who hears some electronic whirr, but who says it definitely does not pull closed, is in Colorado. (Two of us that say we hear nothing electronic at all are also in the US.) I think we can rule out the European model theory.
It would be great if Tesla did come up with an electronic closing mechanism. The reason I said, sarcastically, that you'd love this was that it was pretty apparent that whatever Tesla was doing, they weren't doing it consistently, and they certainly were still not communicating it consistently at all.
Gizmotoy
Active Member
Right. Also consider, though, that the TMC Connect fleet included a high proportion of early adopters. The cars probably weight disproportionately older than the average vehicle, and had the most time where the recommended closing process is the one which Tesla now claims causes damage. So it would seem they were likely the cars most at risk.
Also, note that the owners of those 13 other slightly damaged hoods might not even realize they're damaged. Most looked perfectly normal given a cursory glance from several feet away, but when viewed at acute angles the slight bend becomes apparent in the way light is reflected off the hood.
Andyw2100
Well-Known Member
Mainly just playing devil's advocate here, but if one wanted to make some arguments for why the numbers you saw could actually be on the low side, rather than the high side, one might point out that:
--some of the frunks you saw could have already been fixed (you would have counted those as not having been damaged at all)
--the TMC Connect attendees are probably better informed than the average Tesla owner and more inclined to be very meticulous about how they take care of their car, so in that sense LESS likely to have the crease than just an average Tesla owner (and if their frunk had creased, perhaps more likely to have had it repaired--see point above)
I'm just suggesting there's probably not much need to discount that 20% figure too much.
After 3 weeks my frunk has a crease also , this is my second Model S no problem with the first one which I had for 8 months. Now after 3 weeks my new P85D has a crease. I checked with service center on delivery to see if it was still the same procedure 2 arms wide apart at the edge and push. With the new latch sytem more pressure is needed. Sure enough I now have a crease. On close examination it would appear the technique I was told to use is wrong. It would have been better to push down on the edge with my hands 6 -10 inches apart over the reinforced area. I wished I had been instructed correctly a the old latch caused me no problems on my first TESLA.
