Group Buy for Power Trunk/Frunk Liftgate!

[Garlan Garner]

Ok - I'm done installing mine successfully. I followed a combination of the instructions that were provided by the manufacturer (which are terrible):

Tesla Model 3 electric tailgate installation instructions | Intelligentized Auto Parts | Hansshow

And this YouTube video:

I wasn't anticipating having to remove the bumper to do this installation, so it was more work than I originally thought. Going through the firewall was really not a big deal at all because you're just going through a rubber grommet that's already there. I didn't use the 1/2" bit like suggested in the video. I used a much smaller bit and then shoved the power connection through so it makes a nice tight seal. Really, running the power was actually the easiest part even though I thought it would be the hardest. Also note you need to remove the plastic piece under the passenger side dash to get to that grommet where you need to drill through. I already knew how to do that from having to replace the air filters. If you need help with that step, just find one of the videos on replacing the air filters and it will show you how to pop that piece off.

Also, my kit cable with an extra button and an extra cable which apparently I don't need unless I want to use the second button. It doesn't look like you need to connect the CAN-H or CAN-L connectors and I never figured out what the Yellow wire is for. Here is the cable that I ended up not using:

View attachment 466030

In order to get the car to think the trunk is always closed so that I can close the trunk from inside the car or from the app (by clicking OPEN when it's already open) I had to make one modification. There is a blue wire on the harness that goes to the existing trunk latch that needs to be removed from the harness. This is not documented anywhere. I'm not sure if maybe some kits come with this wire already removed?

View attachment 466031

Once that wire was removed, I could control open and close from inside the car.

Also worth mentioning is that with the default settings, it wouldn't close at all. You need to increase the closing power setting to 5 to get it to close properly. In order to do this, you need to use a screwdriver and put it in the latch so that the box thinks the trunk is closed, then hold the little black button on the controller until it beeps 5 times I think. I had to increase the speed setting as well by holding down the trunk close button. These steps are outlined in the written documentation link at the top of this post, but the english is not great, so it might be confusing.

Overall I'm very happy with the final results, even if it did take the better part of a day to get it done.

Excellent job.

Please remind people that if you trick the car to think the trunk is ALWAYS closed....then that's what the car will think and display in the car and display remotely on the phone.

You will ALWAYS have guess if the trunk is closed or not if you hit your "open trunk" button on the phone and can't see your car.

Its not a problem for everyone but it might be for some people who forget to close their trunk when backing out of the garage. NOTE: you can see through the trunk opening when the car is in reverse and the trunk is up.
Normally the car will alert you with alarms when the trunk is open and the car is in drive.

That's just an FYI for those in apartment buildings using remote trunk closes and those with low ceiling garages who forget to close the trunk when they get in or something.

Those are potentially very pricey non-warranty mistakes if executed.

 

[Petermcg]

I received my frunk lift today. It came with the hardware only and no instructions, just a warranty card. Good thing the internet exists or I wouldn’t know how to install it.

 

[firstflyer]

Really happy for all of you that have received yours in good to hear that some people have already installed their items but I am not quite ready for the install videos yet.
Not whining, no I take that back I am whining because as of this moment I have received nothing except my receipt from PayPal back on September 22. After catching up on the thread I realized that I should be checking on this. Yesterday I emailed Hansshow and this is the response I got:

"It will takes about 10 days ship the parcel to your address."

This is the total response I received, not just one line or one paragraph from the email but this is everything there was in their answer.
I did not need information on how long it takes to ship from China, but what I did ask for is where is my order and why have I heard nothing from them since they took my money back on September 22.
Personally I cannot recommend them to anybody at this time if after placing orders the only way we receive our items is by following up and bothering them with emails, etc.
With the answer they gave me would you be satisfied and be willing to take their answer as-

Yes the package is shipped.
No the package has not shipped but we are shipping it and you should get it in 10 days.
No the package has not shipped and we will let you know when we get around to sending it.
Another explanation that I'm not seeing here.

The sad part about all of this is they have had my money for over three weeks and did not feel it necessary to tell me in their response why my items have not been shipped, when they would be shipped and maybe even offering to make it right by finding a quicker way to send me my items when they get around to actually shipping.

It really should not be necessary for us to keep hitting on these people to get our items delivered. I know these items are supposed to be discounted but it is still no excuse when you spend $500 or more with the business and still get such poor responses. I know some people have said that they responded very quickly but that has not been the case for me.

If anybody else is in the same boat as me it would be nice to hear and maybe as a smaller group than the original we can pester them enough to get what we paid for.

 

[TomT]

Has anyone been able to confirm that the kits came with the updated firmware that solved the foot sensor over speed bumps problem?

 

[silentcorp]

Firstflyer I got the same exact response a few days ago. Today I got a text that it'll be here on Thursday. It looks like most of them have indeed shipped at this point.

 

[MJP.P3D-]

I received a text as well that also states Thursday 10/17 as the expected delivery date. Seems like progress....

 

[Luudcrs]

Has anyone successfully installed the trunk kit by themselves by watching YouTube videos? I’m thinking of tackling this project myself, but only if there’s enough resources out there to get through the entire installation process.

Also, did I see a mention of a possibility of connecting to a power source in the rear to prevent drilling through the firewall?

Installed mine over the weekend. Took about 5 hours as I ran into a couple issues. Having gone through it, I can confidently say I can do it again in half that. My kit: no CANBUS, no foot sensor, no driver's button. I used a combination of 3 YouTube videos: i1Tesla, Teslatunity, and a long one posted by Hansshow but not made by them. Below are my takeaways.

- Hardest part is definitely fishing the wire through the cable boot leading from trunk lid to trunk. My kit came with the harnesses attached! I saw some videos where newer kits came with it unattached so you can fish them easier. With them on, they're impossible to get it through the boot. I wasn't sure if the harnesses are able to be removed then re-secured, so I cut them all off and soldered them back on after fishing. This took the longest time. If you've got newer kit, then lucky you!

- You NEED a T45 torx bit to remove/reinstall the trunk latch. Mine didn't come with it, some may have.

- I initially ran the power cable through driver's side, but found it too difficult to get it through the footwell. So I ran it through the passenger side instead as i1Tesla did. There's a rubber grommet in passenger footwell, easy to get through to battery under hood.

- Wrapped the control module and latch actuator in the packaging foam and dumped it in the well in front of rear right tail light. No shifting/noise issues so far.

- The buzzer is quite loud. You may want to muffle it a bit or remove entirely.

I took a look at Hansshow's written instructions, which I had to pull online...but they weren't much help. It is pretty straight forward if you have the patience. All the harnesses only fit in one place, so you can't even **** it up if you tried. Loving it so far, everything is working as I expected. Hope this helps.

 

[scgator1]

Installed mine over the weekend. Took about 5 hours as I ran into a couple issues. Having gone through it, I can confidently say I can do it again in half that. My kit: no CANBUS, no foot sensor, no driver's button. I used a combination of 3 YouTube videos: i1Tesla, Teslatunity, and a long one posted by Hansshow but not made by them. Below are my takeaways.

- Hardest part is definitely fishing the wire through the cable boot leading from trunk lid to trunk. My kit came with the harnesses attached! I saw some videos where newer kits came with it unattached so you can fish them easier. With them on, they're impossible to get it through the boot. I wasn't sure if the harnesses are able to be removed then re-secured, so I cut them all off and soldered them back on after fishing. This took the longest time. If you've got newer kit, then lucky you!

- You NEED a T45 torx bit to remove/reinstall the trunk latch. Mine didn't come with it, some may have.

- I initially ran the power cable through driver's side, but found it too difficult to get it through the footwell. So I ran it through the passenger side instead as i1Tesla did. There's a rubber grommet in passenger footwell, easy to get through to battery under hood.

- Wrapped the control module and latch actuator in the packaging foam and dumped it in the well in front of rear right tail light. No shifting/noise issues so far.

- The buzzer is quite loud. You may want to muffle it a bit or remove entirely.

I took a look at Hansshow's written instructions, which I had to pull online...but they weren't much help. It is pretty straight forward if you have the patience. All the harnesses only fit in one place, so you can't even **** it up if you tried. Loving it so far, everything is working as I expected. Hope this helps.

Does the rear bumper need to be removed if you’re not installing the foot sensor? Think I saw that in one of the videos

 

[Luudcrs]

Does the rear bumper need to be removed if you’re not installing the foot sensor? Think I saw that in one of the videos

Absolutely NOT!

 

[firstflyer]

Firstflyer I got the same exact response a few days ago. Today I got a text that it'll be here on Thursday. It looks like most of them have indeed shipped at this point.

Thanks for the info. I hope that is the case and I will actually receive it sometime in the near future. It would be nice to have some kind of shipping label or number but maybe I will come home sometime in the next week and be pleasantly surprised!

 

[clockwrkz]

Installed my frunk... install was quick. Maybe 1.5 hours. Longest part is making sure all the wires are tidy.

Only issue I have is when the frunk closes the drivers side sits slightly higher than the passenger side on the front lip of the frunk hood. Any one else see something something similar? I just don't know if this is how it how it always sat or not.

 

[TKOGUY]

Installed my frunk... install was quick. Maybe 1.5 hours. Longest part is making sure all the wires are tidy.

Only issue I have is when the frunk closes the drivers side sits slightly higher than the passenger side on the front lip of the frunk hood. Any one else see something something similar? I just don't know if this is how it how it always sat or not.

Thats an easy fix, open the frunk and you will see two rubber frunk stoppers, screw or unscrew them to adjust the level.

 

[xilex]

Installed mine over the weekend. Took about 5 hours as I ran into a couple issues. Having gone through it, I can confidently say I can do it again in half that. My kit: no CANBUS, no foot sensor, no driver's button. I used a combination of 3 YouTube videos: i1Tesla, Teslatunity, and a long one posted by Hansshow but not made by them. Below are my takeaways.

Did you have to drill anything or splice into any wires? And you did not have to remove bumper, but did have to remove taillight(s) correct?

 

[yerEVan]

Really happy for all of you that have received yours in good to hear that some people have already installed their items but I am not quite ready for the install videos yet.
Not whining, no I take that back I am whining because as of this moment I have received nothing except my receipt from PayPal back on September 22. After catching up on the thread I realized that I should be checking on this. Yesterday I emailed Hansshow and this is the response I got:

"It will takes about 10 days ship the parcel to your address."

This is the total response I received, not just one line or one paragraph from the email but this is everything there was in their answer.
I did not need information on how long it takes to ship from China, but what I did ask for is where is my order and why have I heard nothing from them since they took my money back on September 22.
Personally I cannot recommend them to anybody at this time if after placing orders the only way we receive our items is by following up and bothering them with emails, etc.
With the answer they gave me would you be satisfied and be willing to take their answer as-

Yes the package is shipped.
No the package has not shipped but we are shipping it and you should get it in 10 days.
No the package has not shipped and we will let you know when we get around to sending it.
Another explanation that I'm not seeing here.

The sad part about all of this is they have had my money for over three weeks and did not feel it necessary to tell me in their response why my items have not been shipped, when they would be shipped and maybe even offering to make it right by finding a quicker way to send me my items when they get around to actually shipping.

It really should not be necessary for us to keep hitting on these people to get our items delivered. I know these items are supposed to be discounted but it is still no excuse when you spend $500 or more with the business and still get such poor responses. I know some people have said that they responded very quickly but that has not been the case for me.

If anybody else is in the same boat as me it would be nice to hear and maybe as a smaller group than the original we can pester them enough to get what we paid for.

I’ve received nothing but the original receipt.

 

[Luudcrs]

Did you have to drill anything or splice into any wires? And you did not have to remove bumper, but did have to remove taillight(s) correct?

Yes, you will need to drill a hole on underside of deck lid for the new push button, or wherever you want to place it. You also need to drill hole in the passenger footwell rubber grommet to pass power cable through to battery.

No splicing of any factory wiring needed as their harness kits act as Y-adapters and piggyback off existing wiring’s sockets.

Correct, no need to remove bumper. There’s nothing in/behind it that you need access to. You do need to remove taillights (very easy) to pass the new strut cabling through to trunk. You’ll use same access hole as taillights’ plug. Remember to protect rear glass with rag/towel when removing stock struts.

 

[clockwrkz]

Thats an easy fix, open the frunk and you will see two rubber frunk stoppers, screw or unscrew them to adjust the level.

Thanks! I just tried that but it doesn’t seem to pull the frunk hood down tight enough to push against those stoppers as adjusting the drivers side one didn’t make a difference. Will need to poke around at it some more tomorrow I guess. Sounded like a perfect, easy solution though!

 

[Petermcg]

Thanks! I just tried that but it doesn’t seem to pull the frunk hood down tight enough to push against those stoppers as adjusting the drivers side one didn’t make a difference. Will need to poke around at it some more tomorrow I guess. Sounded like a perfect, easy solution though!

Frugal Tesla Guy had a similar problem and corrected it by adjusting the entire front latch module. See it about 34 minutes into the video, where they try different solutions.

 

[notrhj]

Had an update from DHL that it did clear customs with a delivery for 10/17 by end of day

 

[xilex]

Yes, you will need to drill a hole on underside of deck lid for the new push button, or wherever you want to place it. You also need to drill hole in the passenger footwell rubber grommet to pass power cable through to battery.

Thanks for the insights. Do you think if I get a 12V splitter for the cigarette plug I can use the the 12V source from there? I know it's not always on, but that's the same behavior as default (sometimes when car is asleep trunk button doesn't open). I just want to avoid drilling a hole for power and am hesitant to tap the 12V source near the rear passenger seat.

 

[clockwrkz]

Frugal Tesla Guy had a similar problem and corrected it by adjusting the entire front latch module. See it about 34 minutes into the video, where they try different solutions.

Thanks.. I tried both of those same adjustments and didn't seem to change it. Looking at more closely today it seems its just the very bottom front lip of the frunk hood where it meets the bumper is about 1/16th or so high. It's flush along the quarter panel. So I think it's chalked up to panel alignment and not the install. Even if I was able to pull that bottom front corner down some more it wouldn't sit flush along the quarter panel then.