Frunk Dent (Frustrating...)

[Bill D]

I'm curious if anyone WITH a hood crease is of the opinion that it is NOT a design flaw.

This seems like one of those issues where one's opinion flips 180 degrees when it hits home. Reminds me of Intelligence Committee Chairman Senator Dianne Feinstein being OK with unlimited government spying of US citizens until she found out they were spying on her last year. Boy did she flip 180 in a heartbeat.

For the record, I don't have a hood crease, but this issue seems like a simple design flaw that a great company like Tesla should have fixed by now. After all, if they can add a motorized auto-close to the charge port, one would think....

 

[HankLloydRight]

Can someone post a good pic of what the frunk hood dent/crease looks like?

 

[Bill D]

Can someone post a good pic of what the frunk hood dent/crease looks like?

The 1st post in this thread has a picture. The front 1 inch of the leading edge is never creased. It has a double thickness of aluminum. The creases I've seen are always along the back edge of that double thickness area.

 

[InTheShadows]

I'm curious if anyone WITH a hood crease is of the opinion that it is NOT a design flaw.

This seems like one of those issues where one's opinion flips 180 degrees when it hits home. Reminds me of Intelligence Committee Chairman Senator Dianne Feinstein being OK with unlimited government spying of US citizens until she found out they were spying on her last year. Boy did she flip 180 in a heartbeat.

For the record, I don't have a hood crease, but this issue seems like a simple design flaw that a great company like Tesla should have fixed by now. After all, if they can add a motorized auto-close to the charge port, one would think....

We have it and I don't view it as a design flaw. I'm positive ours happened when I tried to put too much stuff in the Frunk and forced it closed. It wasn't really that it was too much stuff, it's that I had a soft duffle bag on top of a carry on and it was sticking up about 6 inches above the Frunk liner and I forced it closed then drove 200 miles that way.

This is why I think the electronic latch is a good idea. It can be set like the trunk is and if the force required to close the Frunk is too great it will not latch and open back up.

This has not stopped us from using our Frunk we use it every week. The only time we use the trunk is if we can't fit whatever it is in the Frunk. It's more convenient since we pull into our garage to not have to walk behind the car to unload our groceries or whatever we got.

 

[FlasherZ]

I'm curious if anyone WITH a hood crease is of the opinion that it is NOT a design flaw.

This seems like one of those issues where one's opinion flips 180 degrees when it hits home. Reminds me of Intelligence Committee Chairman Senator Dianne Feinstein being OK with unlimited government spying of US citizens until she found out they were spying on her last year. Boy did she flip 180 in a heartbeat.

For the record, I don't have a hood crease, but this issue seems like a simple design flaw that a great company like Tesla should have fixed by now. After all, if they can add a motorized auto-close to the charge port, one would think....

I tend to look at all things objectively. If mine had a crease, I still would say it's not a design flaw. Perhaps it's not optimal design, but to say it's a flaw is disingenuous.

Keep in mind that prior to Model S, your hood was raised only once every 3, 6, or 12 months (unless you owned a BMW or a Jaguar, in which case it might be weekly). And yes, those hoods indeed were subject to the same potential amount of damage. The only difference is that the Model S frunk is expected to seal so that the compartment isn't subject to water, which adds some resistance in closing.

A motorized latch could solve the crease issue, but I have a feeling that it would either a) back off repeatedly as it can't draw down the seal to the level needed to protect the compartment, or b) make the seal less effective as Tesla reduces its size so that a motor could detect the difference between obstructed and sealed normally. Tesla could make it an unsealed compartment, which would solve this problem but make the storage space less effective.

Recommendations for design changes should be sent to [email protected] for US/Canada residents. Perhaps Model X will be different, or maybe they'll introduce an update for Model S soon.

 

[islandbayy]

I have May, 2013 Production car #9846. I have 52,000 miles. I open and close my Frunk 4-10x/day. I have no Frunk Crease. I do no song and dance, in fact, I made the service center cringe when they saw how I close my Frunk. Single hand, I lower it down to latch, then press it shut directly over latch with palm of my hand. I MUST do it this way, as I usually have my disabled son in my other arm.

 

[InTheShadows]

I have May, 2013 Production car #9846. I have 52,000 miles. I open and close my Frunk 4-10x/day. I have no Frunk Crease. I do no song and dance, in fact, I made the service center cringe when they saw how I close my Frunk. Single hand, I lower it down to latch, then press it shut directly over latch with palm of my hand. I MUST do it this way, as I usually have my disabled son in my other arm.

This is exactly how I close ours.

My damage was not caused by me closing it this way. I know exactly when it happened and why. See above.

 

[JRP3]

Perhaps it's not optimal design, but to say it's a flaw is disingenuous.

Elon Musk says if a product needs a manual to operate properly it's a flawed product. I wonder what he'd say about a product that needs a manual, with different versions showing conflicting information, as well as a video demonstration, and conflicting data from company personnel?

 

[morbot]

Does the frunk have a design flaw?

Well let me put it this way... I'm so nervous about causing a crease/dent in the hood that I don't use the frunk. I have an emergency roadside kit in there which I rarely if ever need access to but aside from that the entire space is wasted, I didn't even like showing it off when the car was new.

If I'm that paranoid about using it... yeah, I'd say its flawed.

I wish they'd offer a power latch enhancement with a retro-fit option, I'd pay for it.

 

[Cyclone]

Elon Musk says if a product needs a manual to operate properly it's a flawed product. I wonder what he'd say about a product that needs a manual, with different versions showing conflicting information, as well as a video demonstration, and conflicting data from company personnel?

I think this is the crux of it. I would also not say it's a design flaw, but a poor design to common/expected use by humans. As such, it requires said special handling instructions and as you've stated, we know what Elon says about a product with a manual. Now if only one of his kids would complain about it!

 

[beeeerock]

Consider the number of cars built in the last - let's say '50 years' - that have had a trunk. And allowing that the trunk was reasonably required to be watertight, you'd think that the ability to close it without doing lasting damage to the metal panel would have been designed to death by now. If the lid itself has been given an adequate structural design, it shouldn't have this problem... full stop. How many times have you seen a trunk treated like an overstuffed suitcase, with the owner practically sitting on it to get it to close? Yes, that would sometimes cause damage, but the point is you had to really try.

This is a problem that's cosmetic. It doesn't impact crash testing and it doesn't impact range. On the To Do list, it won't be as high as fixing the mapping software (for example). But it does need to be fixed because eventually it'll be held out by naysayers as an example of how GM does things sooooo much better. Trivial, yes. But like was mentioned above, you shouldn't need a training manual to close the frunk - that requirement is simply ridiculous and actually quite embarrassing.

 

[sorka]

I'm not convinced this isn't something that just happens due to driving on bumpy roads and that it might not have anything to do with closing technique. The frunk is held down by one latch over a pretty stiff seal that's always pushing up on it at the edge....always.

 

[Bill D]

In this and other threads, it seems like many owners with creases claim they close their hoods the same way as owners without creases and vice-versa. Some folks have posted that the Tesla they had for over a year has no crease, but their new "D" quickly developed a crease and they closed it the same way. If true, this raises the possibility that all hoods are not created equal.

It's possible that variations in manufacturing make some hoods prone to easily crease.

My P85 was delivered with two slight smooth "bumps" in the crease area. Since there is an inner skin in that area, there's no way the bumps could have been caused by closing the hood on something. There's also no way the bumps could have been caused by pushing down on the hood. Tesla determined it was a manufacturing defect and replaced the hood.

 

[InTheShadows]

I think the primary reason it is an issue is because the hood is a soft design. The design is ment to lessen the trama to a pedestrian that is hit by the car.

I personally prefer the current design in that the unfortunate situation of a pedestrian stepping in front of our car and we hit them that our hood gives and lessens the trama to the person.

I cringe at the thought of someone doing a "Bo Duke" slide across the hood.

 

[brucet999]

I visited the local service center yesterday and out of 23 owners' or CPO cars in the peking lot, counted 5 creased frunks and one with a convex "bubble" near the front margin a little right of centerline. Technician on break said that he sees a lot of cars with damaged frunks but mostly on the older two-latch versions which, he said, require more force to close than the new single-latch cars.

 

[Larry93428]

There are two rubber seals that must be compressed before the latch can engage. These seals must be tight to keep bugs, dust and rain from entering the area.
I put talcum powder on the surfaces to aid them slip and conform to each other. I press slowly and firmly to allow them time to compress. This is working OK so far.
~Larry

 

[brucet999]

There are two rubber seals that must be compressed before the latch can engage. These seals must be tight to keep bugs, dust and rain from entering the area.
I put talcum powder on the surfaces to aid them slip and conform to each other. I press slowly and firmly to allow them time to compress. This is working OK so far.
~Larry

"Slowly & firmly" is exactly how the SC technician demonstrated closing the frunk. He used fingertips instead of heals of hands

 

[ecarfan]

I have used the heels of my hands always on my December 2013 car and never had a problem.

 

[Alysashley79]

"Finger tips" is exactly where my car got its 3 small dents. Slowly and firmly with the palms of your hands and no problems since.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Has anyone gotten this fixed under warranty?

Yes, absolutely. Per my local service center, they have fixed this issue for owners at no charge.

nope

Actually yup, see above.