Closing the Frunk

Unless something's changed with how the D closes over my P85's frunk you shouldn't drop it from a high level to close like you would an ICE hood.

But it yes I agree with you. I use my frunk all the time. Daily and wish it was also electric.

Because it is a bit awkward to close, and because one can open it (assuming access to near the
glove compartment) without power, I intend to use it for storage of emergency supplies and other
seldom accessed items.

Is the frunk as waterproof as the trunk in the Model S85?

wayner said:

The one thing on my new Model S that feels awkward is closing the Frunk. I never seem to get it right when I drop it from a high level so I have to put both hands on the front and push hard. I am worried that I am going to put a dent in the front and this gets your hand covered in road salt/grime. They should have come up with an automated option for this as well - at least you close it gently and it does the final latching itself.

A minor quibble, but a quibble nonetheless.

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Don't drop it from on high! Just set it down on the latch and use the double-reversed-palm technique specified in the manual.

wayner said:

The one thing on my new Model S that feels awkward is closing the Frunk. I never seem to get it right when I drop it from a high level so I have to put both hands on the front and push hard. I am worried that I am going to put a dent in the front ......

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Why are you dropping it? If you are concerned about damage, abrupt motions and transitions should be avoided. FWIW, I set it down gently, put my two palms on either side of the latch area as per instructions with the heels of my hands facing forward and finger tips hanging over the edge and gradually apply my body weight (I weigh 150 lbs.) by leaning forward and downward and it clicks shut before I am halfway done with the leaning and pressing. No "ooomphs" with my hands. I believe abrupt blows or thumps are more likely to cause creases than gradual movements. Of course some latches may be more resistant than others so you'll just have to find out what works best for you.

Note that the palms on the hood with fingers back towards the front of the hood is no longer recommended per the user manual (updated June 2014). There's green zones that indicate where to keep your palms, fingers point out to the lights so your fingers don't enter the red zones. Use that method.

Tesla dropped the ball here. They should have gone over this at delivery for you.

garygid said:

Because it is a bit awkward to close, and because one can open it (assuming access to near the
glove compartment) without power, I intend to use it for storage of emergency supplies and other
seldom accessed items.

Is the frunk as waterproof as the trunk in the Model S85?

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I think it is water tight. I haven't seen any water in mine after driving through pretty severe storms.

Our hoods are made of aluminum and WILL dent if you drop it like other vehicles' hoods. Always set it down and push down on both sides of the latch.

Lintrix said:

Our hoods are made of aluminum and WILL dent if you drop it like other vehicles' hoods. Always set it down and push down on both sides of the latch.

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I have a friend who never reads anything about Tesla, does not care, and drops his hood to close it, just like a '54 Ford. Or maybe a '74, since he is younger than me. I can't tell him anything. He drives 100 miles per hour "because he can", and had to push it into the supercharger last week, when if he'd gone 3 miles per hour slower there would not have been any problem, even if it had only been the last 2 miles, but he can't learn that. Much less that the chances of him, his wife, and kids could all be some of the first fatalities in a Tesla. By the way, he's a professional.

And his frunk has never dented. WHANG! No dent. Ever.

Go figure.

roblab said:

I have a friend who never reads anything about Tesla, does not care, and drops his hood to close it, just like a '54 Ford. Or maybe a '74, since he is younger than me. I can't tell him anything. He drives 100 miles per hour "because he can"

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How does he avoid speeding tickets?

What motivated him to buy a Model S? He sounds like an atypical owner.

Doug_G said:

Do NOT drop it from any height.

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Agreed. There's tons of disagreement on the "correct" way to close the frunk, and Tesla's been little help in coming to a consensus on this so far, but I think the one thing everyone agrees on is that the hood should not be dropped. Hopefully Tesla didn't tell you to do it that way, but I suppose anything is possible.

I actually tried dropping it once because the two palm routine sounded to crazy to me (no dent, thank goodness). Mine did not close completely. I now use the recommended method and am always paranoid that I will get the dreaded "Frunk Dent". Haven't yet, fortunately. But like some others, I only have emergency supplies up front so as to not have a need to open it much. As I have said in another post, not having the Frunk automatically close is a huge fail in my opinion. The back does it. Sounds like they were cutting corners.

TDial said:

As I have said in another post, not having the Frunk automatically close is a huge fail in my opinion. The back does it. Sounds like they were cutting corners.

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More likely either they had difficulty getting the regulator approval in a timely manner, or tests with auto closing dented the hood more than manual closing. The difficulty seems to be compressing the seals. Some cars are harder to close than others. One way to eliminate the problem would be to have seals that move as part of the closing mechanism (at the cost of some complexity). Then it would take almost no force to close the hood and the seals could be powered similar to the door handles.

as amazing as the frunk is, hood fragility is so disappointing. not i8-levels of terribad, but certainly worse than most ICE hoods.

as someone said before, there are many reasons why you wouldnt want to soft close using your palms like that. Cold or rain comes to mind.

cant wait till the law OK's powered frunks.