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Wanted: auto-open rear hatch

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scottm

Legacy account
Jun 13, 2014
3,070
2,389
Canada
What I want to add on the rear hatch is a hands free opener to make it ideal. It's usually easy enough with hands full removing stuff, to press the close button with a pinky finger or whatever... but approaching the car loaded down fully with grocery bags makes it hard to use fob (still in pocket, doh!) or reach the latch by the license plate.

My wife is a much better grocery getter than me and is well trained to be carrying fob in hand approaching car. She pops it from 10 paces still so the gaping maw is ready to receive as we get there. (My guy thinking is carrying the fob reduces your clutching capacity for carrying more grocery bags.. there, see? That's why I don't. Self justifying man thing to do, when I really just forget every time to do it.)

I've seen other cars with hatches with a "foot detector".. when fob is near enough the car (allows unlocking) when a foot is passed under a sensor under the rear area it lifts the hatch. I want similar capability.

OR my wife suggested... Tesla should have a grocery getter feature they can do this in software: when you leave the car, you set a one-time feature that, on the next re-approach to the car (after it has been locked externally) detecting the fob within proximity to the car just automatically pops the hatch for you. The feature would be one-shot, and must be set to trigger each time prior to when it is wanted, as part of the process of leaving the cabin. Easy, right?

Implementation suggestion: put the feature on the fob, no new hardware. Even works on older cars without bumper sensors. Here's how: lock the car. Then within 5 seconds after that, lock the car again. Done, now the trigger is set for next approach to auto-pop the hatch. What do you mean Ooops? Didn't mean to set the feature. Doing any subsequent action on the fob after setting the trigger cancels the feature. So, lock a 3 time, 4 or 5th time just to be sure... cancels the feature. Unlocking from fob also cancels the feature. Open the frunk, the chargeport... also cancels the feature. You'd use unlock after intentionally setting up the trigger if you come out of the store empty handed.... just unlock the car from a distance (further away from where the proximity detect works) and no hatch opens when you arrive, and the car is waiting to be hopped in to go.

This is right up Tesla's alley! Where do I submit this kind of brilliance for them to-do? :D
 
I suppose cars with bumper sensors could have their implementations improved: not only fob proximity, but bumper sensor activity could be used to delay the opening until someone arrives right there. This would have the added benefit of not having to cancel the trigger if you approach from the side of the car empty handed and hop right in, after an auto-present. Or in other words, not using the feature after it's trigger has been set also cancels the feature.
 
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+1 would love the foot detector thing. busy moms with kids and kids' stuff need it badly !!
Ford has had this available for a while, seems like a cool feature.

It could also be done simply from the Tesla app. Button: auto-open trunk upon approaching the car. Set this while you are in the supermarket. You can turn on climate control at the same time.
 
Ford has had this available for a while, seems like a cool feature.

It could also be done simply from the Tesla app. Button: auto-open trunk upon approaching the car. Set this while you are in the supermarket. You can turn on climate control at the same time.

Waiting for new function to surface on the next version of the App is like ... never never land.

Getting a user convenience function added to the car in the first place is still like ... wishful land. Telsa is off spending programming resources on useless things like self-driving.

I'm thinking of making an add-on module to the car that will do this, based on my description in the OP in this thread.
 
Pretty sure you could add another switch in parallel, shifting the problem from being a "hands on" problem to a "foot on" problem. Balancing there with grocery bags on one foot as the other gropes for the switch.

It would be a hoot see an owner come up to the rear of their car and apparently kick the bumper and the hatch pops open! Where would you mount the switch to make it easy for foot, with a strike zone large enough to take a blow from my size 12's?

The "kick" switches from other manufacturers are sonar based, no physical contact required. Just a disruption in the space-time-foot field under the car.

I'd be inclined to have a "hands free" and "foot free" solution. All the tech needed is already on the car to make this a reality with no new external hardware.
 
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Actually, I would be happy if the lighted T mod would include making the T touch sensitive and hooked into the trunk release. It is a good height to touch even with your hands full and you wouldn’t need to hop around on one foot.
 
good one! keep the ideas coming

Someone on the X forum suggested getting the foot sensor (sonar I believe) off a Ford or BMW SUV that uses them, and retrofit in parallel with the hatch release button. SO at least it's touchless, you'd only waggle or swipe a foot under the car bumper to get it to pop.