Power Trunk Retrofit on Model 3s now Available Direct from Tesla [09.14.2023 - 2018 model 3 not eligible]

[Jiver]

Lurking here, thanks for the info. I was considering this for my 2018 but had ultimately decided that I'd rather put the $800 towards my next car. Tesla has confirmed that decision for me since it won't work anyway. I appreciate this forum and the great information.

My wife will continue to stare at the open trunk, asking "where is the button like in my Model Y" for the foreseeable future.

 

[GalacticHero]

Hopefully they didn't just cancel the product after the model year snafus.

And maybe one day we'll see heated steering wheel retrofit too

My hopes aren't high of it becoming available, but I would buy it if they offer.

 

[TSteve]

My hopes aren't high of it becoming available, but I would buy it if they offer.

Probably wouldn't be compatible with pre-2021, because Tesla.

 

[Durzel]

Pre-2021 have different left body controllers, that have different connectors and apparently more beefier MOSFETs. I tried to get Tesla to enable my heated steering wheel but nothing they did made it work, something in the signal path didn’t allow it. They thought that the left body controller had a firmware that didn’t support it.

All of that is to say that I don’t think we’ll see heated steering wheels on pre-2021 cars.

 

[ItsErik]

Got a response from Tesla. I asked if the issue was the CANBUS and if there were plans for a 2017/2018 retrofit in the future.

Thank you for reaching out regarding Model 3 Powered Liftgate Retrofit. At the moment we don’t have a firm ETA we can share, and we cannot speculate on unreleased product. Please feel free to reach out to your local service center regarding the compatibility questions. They should be able to provide accurate information. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for understanding!

 

[wise82guy]

So... they pulled it entirely?

 

[stopcrazypp]

So... they pulled it entirely?
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No, as per previously linked by others they simply created a new page with some inaccuracies fixed:

I just noticed that Tesla created a new product page with the retrofit button:

https://shop.tesla.com/product/model-3-powered-trunk-retrofit

The old url (with product images from 2021+ trunk) is now 404:

https://shop.tesla.com/product/model-3-powered-liftgate-retrofit

 

[TSteve]

What's everyone's bet on when/if this is ever released for pre-2019? Is it going to be like the CCS retrofit that still isn't released?

 

[wise82guy]

Thanks @stopcrazypp sorry I missed that!

 

[msb175]

Just picked up after getting this installed. Surprisingly it took a couple days. Both struts are definitely powered. I can see wired connections to both. The latch on the trunk itself was replaced and button is as pictured in updated site. The trunk doesn’t seem to open as high as when it was the manual struts. I was able to push up maybe just under half inch, hold button for beep and close. But it doesn’t seem to keep that adjusted height.

The trunk bump stops seem different, more springy. Also looks like they took apart many areas by the looks of the wiped down clean areas on the car. (My car is very dirty).

 

[msb175]

Forgot to mention, button is backlit. A nice touch.

 

[Durzel]

Not available in the UK yet, but am curious as to whether anyone has tried getting this done with an aftermarket powered trunk in situ. Are people trying to remove this themselves before taking their cars in, or asking Tesla if they will do it for them? I imagine they're taking apart similar things so seems logical to ask if they can remove stuff as they are installing stuff, no?

I also want someone to ask whether they can buy/supply the OEM trunk trim piece with the OEM button already installed, rather than using the retrofit one. I wonder if they drill out a hole in your existing trim or whether there's a new part for this retrofit?

 

[msb175]

Yes, they use the existing trunk trim and modify it for the button. My trunk trim was scratched up enough to know it's still the original piece they modified.

 

[jjrandorin]

Was the $800 parts and labor?

It was, yes, however I was unable to get it installed because its not available for 2018 vehicles (found out after the fact)

 

[Merchant Zhang]

Hello everyone, I am a Chinese Tesla owner. I own a 2020 tesla model 3. like everyoneit doesn't have a Power Trunk Retrofit. I see people talking about this office power Trunk Retrofit button. In the previous year i did a DIY. I tried a lot of ways in order to make my aftermarket electric trunk look more like the OEM one. Ended up purchasing a newer rear tailgate cover as well as chopping off some plastic before finally putting it on. he wasn't perfect, there were a lot of gaps as well as the escape button inside the tailgate was facing the opposite way. A couple of points I would like to make.

• There are some differences in the sheet metal structure between the Model 3 with an electrified trunk and the model 3 without an electrified trunk, resulting in slightly different shapes of the inner cover of the trunk.
• The opening direction of the escape button is also completely different on these two cars.
• It is unavoidable to install gaps in the trunk lid of new cars on older cars.
• It is very difficult to install new OEM buttons in the old cover because there are some supporting structures inside the cover.

Hope this information is helpful.

 

[msb175]

Unrelated, but i was taking a closer look at the trunk install and noticed my driver-side outer tail light wasn't aligned. I pushed it in and it adjusted back into the light recess. Anyway, upon closer inspection, the 2 bolts behind the the light was not properly tightened, causing the light to get lose and protrude outwards. Simple tightening fix, but made me wonder if there were other areas that weren't properly re-installed and/or tightened down.

 

[Rippin1Gear]

Hello everyone, I am a Chinese Tesla owner. I own a 2020 tesla model 3. like everyoneit doesn't have a Power Trunk Retrofit. I see people talking about this office power Trunk Retrofit button. In the previous year i did a DIY. I tried a lot of ways in order to make my aftermarket electric trunk look more like the OEM one. Ended up purchasing a newer rear tailgate cover as well as chopping off some plastic before finally putting it on. he wasn't perfect, there were a lot of gaps as well as the escape button inside the tailgate was facing the opposite way. A couple of points I would like to make.

• There are some differences in the sheet metal structure between the Model 3 with an electrified trunk and the model 3 without an electrified trunk, resulting in slightly different shapes of the inner cover of the trunk.
• The opening direction of the escape button is also completely different on these two cars.
• It is unavoidable to install gaps in the trunk lid of new cars on older cars.
• It is very difficult to install new OEM buttons in the old cover because there are some supporting structures inside the cover.

Hope this information is helpful.

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Yikes, that is good information that it’s not direct plug and play plastic trim. Looks like you might be best off finding a used power hatch to swap over if you want a true OEM look with the retro kit.

 

[Durzel]

Yup, that at least explains why Tesla haven't been providing the OEM tailgate trim & button on these retrofits - either in China where it has been available for months, or more recently the US & Canada.

Bit of a shame that.. I wonder why that trim was changed so much?

(I just noticed there's no hand grip recesses on the new trim.. thought to myself "strange they removed those", then I remembered the entire point of the 2021+ tailgate was that you didn't need to pull it down with your hand )

 

[Devin94539]

As of 10/10/23 im no longer seeing the model 3 trunk retrofit option on the Tesla US app or online. Does anyone know why?

 

[henh2o]

As of 10/10/23 im no longer seeing the model 3 trunk retrofit option on the Tesla US app or online. Does anyone know why?

Does not work on 2018 model any longer. Never did. Tesla did oopsie