True Story or Not?: "Frunk opened at 115mph and caused $20k damage on brand new P85"

[MrClown]

Rear-hinged hoods are pretty well established for the last 80 years or so. They made the right choice

Agree completely they made the right choice. The only part I question is the bypassing of the secondary latch when you open from the FOB or UI. That has not been well established and, as someone above mentioned, doesn't buy you much in the way of convenience.

 

[tga]

similar to the Spitfire's bonnet.

That's exactly what my old '72 looked like - British Racing Green over tan. Hard to believe you could have that much fun with 60hp. A bit slower than an S.:smile:

 

[ecarfan]

I wonder if the designers ever looked into having the frunk hood open forward...

I am glad Tesla didn't go that route as it would have made unloading and loading the frunk quite awkward.

 

[Icewoman]

My front trunk opened as I was going 50 mph on a 3 lane main street. Fortunately I was able to see through the crack and pull over to close the trunk. According to Tesla, I must have pushed the front of the key fob instead of the top and therefore unlatched the front trunk. One would not realize that since the trunk didn't open when I got in the car. It wasn't until I was on the road that I finally heard an alert but by that time the hood was in my face. VERY VERY SCARY. Has anyone else had this experience? Clear design flaw which needs to be fixed before someone is seriously hurt or worse.

- - - Updated - - -

Icewoman again - AND $4,000 plus to fix but Tesla is doing the right thing and taking care of it - big NO at first, my responsibility, etc.

 

[eco5280]

You heard the alert the moment you got in the car and started moving at all.

 

[dpeilow]

I've had the charge port open on my Ampera while driving from a button press on the key fob in my pocket posing against my leg. Easily done.

 

[dsm363]

My front trunk opened as I was going 50 mph on a 3 lane main street. Fortunately I was able to see through the crack and pull over to close the trunk. According to Tesla, I must have pushed the front of the key fob instead of the top and therefore unlatched the front trunk. One would not realize that since the trunk didn't open when I got in the car. It wasn't until I was on the road that I finally heard an alert but by that time the hood was in my face. VERY VERY SCARY. Has anyone else had this experience? Clear design flaw which needs to be fixed before someone is seriously hurt or worse.

- - - Updated - - -

Icewoman again - AND $4,000 plus to fix but Tesla is doing the right thing and taking care of it - big NO at first, my responsibility, etc.

Could you scan your service document that deals with this (edit out any personal information of course). Curious what Tesla wrote exactly. Thanks.

 

[SherSlick]

I am gonna throw my Tesla on a dyno and try to open the frunk from the remote or any other way possible. Also try it only past the first latch point and see how it reacts.

 

[mdevp]

My front trunk opened as I was going 50 mph on a 3 lane main street. Fortunately I was able to see through the crack and pull over to close the trunk. According to Tesla, I must have pushed the front of the key fob instead of the top and therefore unlatched the front trunk. One would not realize that since the trunk didn't open when I got in the car. It wasn't until I was on the road that I finally heard an alert but by that time the hood was in my face. VERY VERY SCARY. Has anyone else had this experience? Clear design flaw which needs to be fixed before someone is seriously hurt or worse.

- - - Updated - - -

Icewoman again - AND $4,000 plus to fix but Tesla is doing the right thing and taking care of it - big NO at first, my responsibility, etc.

My frunk doesn't open while in drive. How did yours?

 

[dsm363]

My frunk doesn't open while in drive. How did yours?

She is saying I think that she accidentally pushed the button before getting in the car I think (easily done) but that it didn't fly up and no warning was given in drive before 50mph.

 

[swengl]

I wouldn't mind seeing an option in the car's control panel and/or mobile app to disable the frunk button on the remote altogether. That would take care of any "inadvertent" pressing of the button.

 

[ecarfan]

She is saying I think that she accidentally pushed the button before getting in the car I think (easily done) but that it didn't fly up and no warning was given in drive before 50mph.

I'm pretty sure that when you change from Park to Drive, if anything is open like a door, the trunk, or the frunk, there is a warning message displayed on the dash and a chime sounds.

You can of course ignore the warnings and start driving.

It is also possible that there was a glitch and the warning system failed. If that happened the vehicle logs might not accurately record what really happened.

While most cases like this are explained by user error, some are not. Software is not perfect...and neither are people: the drivers or the programmers.

 

[Yggdrasill]

She is saying I think that she accidentally pushed the button before getting in the car I think (easily done) but that it didn't fly up and no warning was given in drive before 50mph.

Well, not quite. She is saying she didn't notice a warning until it was too late. That means that either no warning was given, or she was irresponsibly oblivious. You really need to look at the logs to determine the exact course of events.

(Though, if Tesla is paying for the repairs, that could suggests that the logs were inconclusive, or showed that the warning system malfunctioned.)

 

[eco5280]

It might also conclude that this isn't an authentic driving experience / owner post. I'm skeptical of any of these reports personally. I don't think it is too much to ask for a modicum of evidence or proof. I'm not being snippy - I am just trying to determine if these are real or not.

 

[wycolo]

My early MS (<2k) requires two clicks on fob to open frunk. IMO there should be a hand-release lever to MANUALLY do the final opening. Basic safety here. Tesla is just showing off with this fob-only opening trick. This is why suicide doors were discontinued way back when, come on! :scared:

Yes, hood hit windshield @50 mph in a 1975 Checker cab I was driving . . a cherished moment indeed!
--

 

[bonnie]

The Checker cab had four standard opening doors...

He was referring to the hood flying open. Looks like the Checker cab has a hood that opens from the front.

 

[eco5280]

This is why suicide doors were discontinued, come on! :scared:

They totally disappeared from the auto world! Except:

1) Most/all extended cab pickup trucks
2) Mazda RX-8
3) Saturn SC + Ion
4) Honda Element
5) Toyota FJ Cruiser
6) BMW i3
7) Rolls Royce Phantom
8) Various other models from Citroën, Lancia, Opel, Panhard, Rover, Saab, Saturn, Škoda, Spyker, Kia, and Volkswagen.

Other than those they've totally disappeared! :tongue:

 

[ecarfan]

She is saying I think that she accidentally pushed the button before getting in the car I think (easily done) but that it didn't fly up and no warning was given in drive before 50mph.

Her post says that her frunk opened at 50mph but she was able to "see through he crack" and come safely to a stop. That tells me that her frunk lid did indeed "fly up" at speed.

I am doubtful that "no warning was given". I think she was not aware of the warning. But I could be wrong, I wasn't there. And even if I was, two observers of the same event can give very different descriptions of the event. Happens all the time.

 

[eco5280]

He was referring to the hood flying open. Looks like the Checker cab has a hood that opens from the front.

Ahh you're totally right. I misunderstood.

 

[Lloyd]

I bet we see a software update that will prevent the car being put into gear if the frunk is not properly latched. That will take care of this issue.