Frunk Dent Prevention Strategy

[eye.surgeon]

I agree. I believe it is caused by a locked-in stress that remains in the outer aluminum skin after variations in the stamping process. This leaves some hoods highly vulnerable and some not. As a result, some owners believe their closing technique has prevented creases but they really have just benefited from the "luck of the draw".

Interesting...another similar possibility is the tension adjustment of the latch. Mine is quite tight, I could see where there is some variance in the tightness of the latch causing some hoods to fold slightly over time. That seems more likely to me than variance in the hood itself as the manufacturing tolerances are quite tight for panels but I would imagine less tight for measuring latch spring tension.

My crease is very subtle, at first I was upset but time heals all wounds I still love this car to death.

 

[Damiano]

It appears that some people have tighter fitting hoods than others. If you have a non-tight hood, you will be fine opening and closing it using the normal instructions. If you have a tight fit, you will either need to be comfortable having the crease (even flawlessly executing the perfect frunk closing procedure), or just forgo ever using the frunk.

I have a tight fit, opened the frunk less than 5-10 times with Olympic-quality flawless execution, and still got a crease. The service center also opened it during services, but I wasn't there to observe their technique. After having it repaired, I have simply decided to never use the frunk, except in cases of extreme luggage need. The trunk has tons of room, so for most needs, the extra bit of frunk space is not usually necessary.

Tesla still needs to address this significant design flaw, but hasn't and likely won't. They provide repairs on a case by case basis, but from what I seen, they have not changed the structural design of the hood to fix the problem (I don't count orange goo as a fix).

- - - Updated - - -

You're mostly right, the opportunities someone would have to close the frunk improperly when you are nearby are few and far between. Still, Runs' point is also valid. You shouldn't need to stress over whether someone will close the frunk improperly in the 2 seconds you aren't watching it like a hawk.

Tesla should do what it takes to beef up the frunk so that it can be safely closed without oversight. How much would the extra aluminum required add to the price of the car? $10? $100? I'm sure most owners would agree it's a worthwhile endeavor to not have to worry about it anymore.

I'm not sure if the issue originates with a manufacturing defect in the aluminum, as some have suggested, or variations in latch and seal height that cause variations in the amount of force necessary to close the frunk. However, it seems like it should be fixable by Tesla by incorporating a high-strength lightweight substructure (nylon or other very rigid plastic) directly under the aluminum front part of the hood. This would not add much cost, but would eliminate any possibility of flex in the aluminum.

 

[jthompson]

We'll be receiving our Tesla S85 in a few weeks (Jun 14th). Already I'm stressing on the frunk dent issue. And I'm wondering if there's something preventative that can be done to alleviate the dent issue.

Has anyone tried to shoot the insulation foam that expands to fill cavities? I don't know the construction of the hood, nor if there's an airspace beneath it, but it seems something like that might prevent it.

And on the otherhand..... if that's not possible.. how many times would someone get their frunk repaired.. it seems that it would be a pervasive issue.

First off, you needn't stress about anything! Enjoy it, ok? Read the Owners manual (page 12) and it will tell you the proper way to do things.