Frunk Security Issue - can be opened without a key - Feature not a bug

[kort677]

as noted in a similar thread, almost any lock on any car can be defeated in seconds using a screwdriver.
fortunately the there aren't many thieves who know that there is a frunk.

usage of the term interwebs isn't really displaying a level of knowledge
Urban Dictionary: interweb

 

[AMPd]

Yes, that is a valid point and probably was the original intent of the post. Also cutting the wire would probably lead to an expensive repair, but I just thought of another thing that can be done easily and be even more dangerous. Cutting the break line. At least with the orange wire cut you can't do anywhere. I would rather have that than to go 30-45 MPH and then not being able to stop for a red light.

Actually you wouldn't be able to start driving your car if you had no brakes.

 

[cookpwr]

Yeah? Well can you do this?

 

[MoonChou]

Actually you wouldn't be able to start driving your car if you had no brakes.

Good point. You could never build enough pressure in the brake line to start the car

 

[AMPd]

Good point. You could never build enough pressure in the brake line to start the car

That and you need to hold the brake to select a gear.
I often release the brakes too soon and try selecting a gear and I'll get a message saying hold the brakes to select a gear

 

[gearchruncher]

You think the interlock on putting the car in drive is on actual hydraulic pressure not pedal position?

 

[AMPd]

You think the interlock on putting the car in drive is on actual hydraulic pressure not pedal position?

I would assume so, but I'm not a mechanic so I don't know for sure

I just know I can't select a gear without holding the brake.

 

[gearchruncher]

Teslas use a Bosch iBooster. This knows pedal position, but not hydraulic pressure. I really don't see why they would add a pressure sensor just for this.

 

[Jason S]

models built after 2014 have this feature.

Oh, had me worried for a bit.

 

[Btr_ftw]

I wonder in a car as computerized as a Tesla if the car wouldn't tell you before you put it into drive that the brakes wouldn't pressurize.

.

If someone cut the brake line(s) you wouldn't get very far until you saw, ABS, Traction control disabled, stability control disabled etc, the abs pump knows when there isn't fluid going through one of the lines.

Not only that but you'd feel it in the brake pedal almost instantly.

 

[Not1Drop]

We love the frunk and use it a lot in the winter. We use it as an over sized cooler for all our frozen goods when shopping. Or a place to put the beer from the fridge in the store for the drive home so it's extra cold when we arrive. Glad to see the post though, wasn't aware of the emergency release. Don't think i'd keep a laptop in there during drives from December to March anyhow.

 

[dhanson865]

If someone cut the brake line(s) you wouldn't get very far until you saw, ABS, Traction control disabled, stability control disabled etc, the abs pump knows when there isn't fluid going through one of the lines.

Not only that but you'd feel it in the brake pedal almost instantly.

I almost never push the brake pedal in normal driving so I'm glad to know the dash would warn me.

My normal routine is to do a 3 point turn reversing out of garage/parking space at a couple of mph which I'm assuming even a cut line system might stop (given it'd be a second or two after taking the car out of park).

Then I might be blocks away before I hit the pedal again and at that point I'd be crossing traffic if regen doesn't do the trick.

 

[JohnnyG]

We love the frunk and use it a lot in the winter. We use it as an over sized cooler for all our frozen goods when shopping. Or a place to put the beer from the fridge in the store for the drive home so it's extra cold when we arrive. Glad to see the post though, wasn't aware of the emergency release. Don't think i'd keep a laptop in there during drives from December to March anyhow.

Who cares about the laptop... I'm coming to Canada to steal your beer!!!

 

[gearchruncher]

I almost never push the brake pedal in normal driving so I'm glad to know the dash would warn me.

How do you accomplish this? Tesla regen only works down to about 5 MPH.

 

[dhanson865]

How do you accomplish this? Tesla regen only works down to about 5 MPH.

I did say "almost never" not "never".

Leaf and Prius regen cut out between 5 and 7 mph but friction (rolling), drag (aero), slope (gravity) and other factors can slow you down enough to not have to use friction brakes much or at all. The key there is to gently brake well before the stop so that you have time for those factors to slow you after regen cuts out.

I've been driving cars with regen so long that I use regen for 99% of my braking. I take my foot off the go pedal way way way before I'd ever think about putting it on the brake pedal.

I do sit on the brakes after I hit a full stop to avoid creep and/or gravity roll. I do have to brake with friction for hard stops and have to hold with friction for stop signs and red lights. But I actively avoid using friction brakes. Its just habit now.

 

[gearchruncher]

Which means you'd only make it to the first full stop before you learned about it, and you'd hit the car going about 3 MPH.

I was being pedantic about your statement "I almost never push the brake pedal in normal driving" which makes it sound like you can drive a full day and never use the brakes and might take a long time to learn about failed brakes. You use the brakes every single time you stop, just for a lot less energy absorption than in other vehicles. You'd know in exactly the same amount of time as you would in an ICE car. You'd actually be better off because regen would have slowed you down.

 

[Shock-On-T]

The cable you cut under the frunk is the ground for the 12V system. This disables the 12V in the car, which turns off the high voltage inside the battery via a relay so there is no high voltage in the car anywhere. Cutting it is no more dangerous than putting your hand on the ground of a 12V battery and the body of the car which humans have been doing for a century.

If it was high voltage, what good would rubber boots do you? The high voltage in the car is not grounded to the body of the vehicle, so high voltage only exists between two wires. On top of that, the rubber tires insulate the car from the earth. So how will current travel through your feet?

500V rated gloves are a good idea though and required by Tesla in any high voltage service.

You've obviously never peed on an electric fence (ah the follies of youth).
I encourage you to try it both with and without boots on.
Gives a new meaning to being grounded.

 

[gearchruncher]

You've obviously never peed on an electric fence (ah the follies of youth)

In what way is a Tesla electrically connected to the Earth / ground?

Even in the follies of my youth I understood Kirchhoff's law and know that peeing on a fence is a bad idea because the fence is at a different potential versus the ground because that's the point of an electric fence. The ground is not part of the circuit to a Tesla.

 

[Shock-On-T]

In what way is a Tesla electrically connected to the Earth / ground?

Even in the follies of my youth I understood Kirchhoff's law and know that peeing on a fence is a bad idea because the fence is at a different potential versus the ground because that's the point of an electric fence. The ground is not part of the circuit to a Tesla.

It's electrically connected to the ground by a dear little barefoot gearcruncher who's cutting the high voltage line without his rubber boots on.

 

[JohnnyG]

Very true, and a fuel line is a lot easier than a high voltage cable. Better wear rubber boots and gloves...

The cable that gets cut is not high voltage, nor positively charged (as noted below).

The cable you cut under the frunk is the ground for the 12V system. This disables the 12V in the car, which turns off the high voltage inside the battery via a relay so there is no high voltage in the car anywhere. Cutting it is no more dangerous than putting your hand on the ground of a 12V battery and the body of the car which humans have been doing for a century.

If it was high voltage, what good would rubber boots do you? The high voltage in the car is not grounded to the body of the vehicle, so high voltage only exists between two wires. On top of that, the rubber tires insulate the car from the earth. So how will current travel through your feet?

500V rated gloves are a good idea though and required by Tesla in any high voltage service.

You've obviously never peed on an electric fence (ah the follies of youth).
I encourage you to try it both with and without boots on.
Gives a new meaning to being grounded.

The air filled rubber tires are already acting as a better insulator than your rubber boots would (as noted above).

In what way is a Tesla electrically connected to the Earth / ground?

Even in the follies of my youth I understood Kirchhoff's law and know that peeing on a fence is a bad idea because the fence is at a different potential versus the (Earth) ground because that's the point of an electric fence. The (Earth) ground is not part of the circuit to a Tesla.

It's electrically connected to the ground by a dear little barefoot gearcruncher who's cutting the high voltage line without his rubber boots on.

The wire that first responders cut is neither high voltage, nor positively charged (as noted above).

I don't normally get in the middle of other gents scuffles, but as I started my career as an electronic electrical engineer, @ShockOnT is just not correct here, and could take the opportunity to learn from what @gearchruncher is trying to help with spreading correct knowledge here for everyone to gain from. I'm a strong advocate of folks admitting when they might be wrong about something that they're not an expert in, so that they may expand their knowledge and help spread that knowledge for all to benefit from. A noble trait I picked-up from my father.