What's Under The Model 3's Frunk & How To Take It Apart

[@TRYtoHELPyou]

You can see the excellent design effort the moment you look under the frunk! Thanks for doing this! I feel the more cars they design the better they will be at designing and building cars.

[@foam27]

So much better than the mess in the Model S.

[@NaterFernat]

Design effort? It was poorly painted inside lol

[@snowrocket]

@@NaterFernat A lot of newer cars have one color for the unseen parts of the unibody. They only paint the parts you actually see the color you are buying.

[@MartinzW]

Thanks for detailed look. My car reports that front right, near door us sensor can't be reached. At the same time my AC is not working and system reports low pressure of refrigirant. Your video showed me that the coolant lines do run near front right side of the car and a leak there could end up dripping on the sensor electronics which could lead to some unwanted reaction. I won't be taking it apart but at least I can point the local service workers where to start looking.

[@Willdoitright]

Now I know what's going one inside my tesla, thanks!

[@SaraJAwesome]

Great video!

[@Monkeyheadtpc]

Yass! I do like to see other people take things apart. Thank you very much for your videos!

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

I never tire from watching this video over and over again!

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

Thank you for the tour, Alex!

[@raine2005]

Great video. It looks like most of the parts are easily accessible. I bet there will be a lot of DIY repairs in the future

[@xoukilong]

I learned more from this video than 99% of the other teslas videos I've been watching

[@peaches01010101]

You produce my favorite Tesla videos. Thank you.

[@Rick9482]

Informative under the hood look on the 3 Alex. This still new company is just killing it and making a lot of happy owners. Going to be very interesting how much the Koreans change the marketplace. They're looking like a real challenger to Tesla in the coming years.

[@kens97sto171]

I noticed at 5:30 mark you can see a sticker on the air conditioning piping that says R134a. That's nice to see because it's a much less expensive refrigerant. A little bit surprising as well because I think the model S use of the r1234. Which is extremely expensive. Great video looks like the car is well made and fairly well thought out under the covers.

[@bob15479]

Yeah Scotty Kilmer brought that up

[@kens97sto171]

@@bob15479 I saw his video about the new r1234y why I think it's called. and I could swear I saw a video about a Model S in Europe that was running that new refrigerant. It could be that it's a requirement for European emission law. I'm just glad the model 3 has the old r 132. from what I've been reading you can actually evacuate that new refrigerant and put in our 132 and it will actually work okay. it's probably illegal for a shop to do it but you can certainly do it yourself at home and you can buy are 132 at any Walmart along with a gauge set at Harbor Freight

[@basembarakat]

Amazing and informative video. Thank you for this tour

[@walterrowntree7031]

And you can inspect the inner tie rod end and take pictures for the Insurance Virtual Inspection App and move the claim process forward! Score! Thanks for the video, it gave me the confidence to pull the frunk.

[@steveburke3]

Can you access the AC drain with this liner removed? Thanks for uploading

[@imho7250]

Nice job Alex, Just be careful, the last guy to do this (Ingineerix) disappeared from KZbin 2 months ago. LOL @5:55 that battery looks a lot easier to replace than a model X battery. I wonder if that size is one you can find any any battery store. Flooded cell is better than AGM or Gel cell for that application since you can put an equalizing charge on the flooded cell every few months without damaging it. And a $50 battery is better than a $150 battery when it does fail. So far, I haven’t seen any decent “Model 3 maintenance” videos. I think many owners will want to do their own oil and filter change, replace 12v battery, service the glycol system. Nobody even did a video owners manual, showing step by step things that are intended for the owner to do, such as jump starting the car, topping off fluids, etc. there are still people thinking the 12v wires in the front bumper will charge the battery.

[@AlexVenz]

Maintenance/service videos are a good idea, but more information gathering will be needed before going very far down that road... mostly to avoid gotchas of the "haha, you need Toolbox for this" variety. It looked like Tesla's techs had to access Toolbox just to replace my Model 3's charge port door & they confirmed that their laptops don't have local installs of Toolbox, which significantly reduces the likelihood of a version popping up in the wild. This stuff will all get figured out with time.

[@imho7250]

That would be a good category, things you can do without Toolbox. Once their are a million model 3, maybe someone will know how to jail break it without losing access to superchargers, but give you full control of your hardware you paid for.

[@snowrocket]

Turns out the 12V battery is best bought at Tesla. It's not very expensive at all AND it comes with that vent tube he showed. I think a LOT of servicing of the HVAC can be done with the frunk removed.

[@snowrocket]

(1-20-2025) Thanks for the excellent video all those 6 years ago. I'm going to buy a used 2018-19 Model 3 and want to know more about the parts under the frunk. I'm a DIY guy and may have to get in there to fix things myself. It looks pretty accessible for most everything.

[@jesse2200]

Perfect video thanks. Question though, my car is currently in at the SC getting work done due to mice chewing the wires. Any recommendations on what I should put here to stop the mice and rats?

[@johncampbell4214]

Tesla needs to employ guys like you and create garages that repair their cars when they fail. Come on tesla!!! people NEED to know they can take their cars to dependable mechanics locally.

[@w3072]

great job thanks for painting your garage

[@johny1220]

Tiny little piece of plastic from the clips that hold the access panel fell under the frunk, it’s tiny but is that something to worry about?

[@RW-zh7kl]

I am trying to get to the fog lights on my Model 3, looks like you have to do it from the underbody panel

[@gele8047]

To add a magnetically-mounted front license plate holder, can you show how to "remove" (actually, move forward just a few inches) the front plastic cosmetic bumper, please ... and reinstall it after the 4 disc magnets are attached to the inside surface of the cosmetic bumper.

[@Killahkron1992]

Is it possible to clean under hood of tesla with pressure washer??

[@billybong78]

what is the 12v battery for? accessories? does it get charged by the main batteries, so i can wire things to it?

[@AlexVenz]

The 12V battery runs the car's electronic systems, accessories, and provides power to close the high voltage battery pack's contactors (for safety reasons, it's best not to have the high voltage systems energized unless they need to be). The car does use a DC to DC converter to charge the 12V battery from the main high voltage pack as needed.

[@crgilligan]

Great video! Watched it and found it because I broke one of the frunk trim piece clips already. You referenced the improvement and I agree after watching your model S video. Any idea where I can find a replacement clip?

[@AlexVenz]

I haven't done the research to find replacement clips from third parties... so your best bet is likely going to be a Tesla service center.

[@rickydelima31]

Now what is the mystery wire with a dust cover. Location: 3 wire harness under the frunk latch assembly. Any guess here?

[@kcroeder]

Great video! So how do you know when you need to change that glyc fluid? How often?

[@AlexVenz]

The manual states that the coolant should be replaced every 4 years or 50k miles.

[@martinmaag8783]

Can you get to the front parking sensors after removing the frunk?

[@AlexVenz]

If I remember correctly, no. You'd probably have to pop the front fascia off to get to those. That said, it has been a while, so I'd pull the frunk apart & check before going to the trouble of messing with the fascia.

[@martinmaag8783]

@@AlexVenz Thank you very much...hopefully the Frunk is the trick!

[@usptact]

Nice video! Thanks!

[@Reddylion]

Nice

[@laurencecooke]

Great video, thanks. One question, can you access the front bumper parking sensors if you remove the trunk cover? I hit a small amount of debris and one of them has been pushed in.

[@AlexVenz]

If you're talking about the two front sensors, they can be accessed from inside the frunk area once the frunk trim is removed. I pulled my frunk apart this morning to take some pictures and put them in a Twitter thread, since I can't post images in KZbin comments: twitter.com/PTPetra/status/1251565577719574530

[@DailyBreadwithZO]

What do you think would cause the steering wheel to squeak? I have a 2019 Tesla Model 3 long range with a squeaky steering wheel. I’ve heard of people spraying lubricant down the steering wheel, I know this is a bad idea. Any thoughts?

[@snowrocket]

Are you sure it's the steering wheel shaft? It could be the common dry upper ball joint squeak from the front upper control arms.

[@DavidDrivesElectric]

great video!

[@ColeBender]

The glycol tank there is the coolant for everything in the car except for the battery. Tesla actually named it the "supertank" if you look closely, on the corner there's an image of a little tank with arms, legs, and a cape. "Supertank" those engineers are such nerds.

[@AlexVenz]

It's a shared cooling system... That glycol tank and pair of pumps, through a combination of valves, fittings, heat exchangers, cold plates, etc., is linked to pretty much everything *including* the battery. There's a line that comes off the tank and connects to the front of the battery pack at 4 points (likely 1 inlet for each of the 4 battery modules), which recombine at the rear and return to the tank. I left the cooling system mascot out of the video intentionally--increasing tooling cost for a gag that isn't even customer facing isn't something I want to encourage.

[@ColeBender]

@@AlexVenz Interesting. I clearly know far less about the workings of the car than you do. I'll take your word for it but I got my info from an employee that assembled model 3s for 2 months and is now one of 4 mobile technicians in his division. He is a very highly regarded employee.

[@mswmatt]

where is the refill of refrigerant line?

[@cristianfederico2411]

Do you think there is a hardware diference betwen the performance and the dual motor, or is just software limited?

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

Cristian Federico I bet that it’s a little bit of everything, hardware,software and profit margin.

[@AlexVenz]

There isn't really a good technical reason for the difference being anything other than a software unlock, assuming we're talking about base performance vs. LR dual motor (the performance upgrades package on top of base performance, obviously, adds bigger brakes, wheels, stick-ons, and other software changes).

[@cristianfederico2411]

@@AlexVenz Yes i was talking base performance vs dual motors.

[@BNJMIN]

Where is the brake master cylinder? Thanks

[@snowrocket]

Attached to the brake fluid reservoir. You can see the two brake lines coming out of it.

[@lucasmarcilio2725]

If there a way to run a wire from inside the car threw the firewall? Any1 knows any open access points?

[@MrQueSientes]

could i connect a motorized retractable front license plate holder to that 12v battery? Or would it not be good for the battery?

[@AlexVenz]

I suppose you could, though it would be continually powered... generally, it's best practice to look for switched 12V for that sort of thing. That said, I don't recall where you can pull switched 12V from in the front of the car.

[@hughvera3569]

Next post: rear trunk and synrm?

[@tjam4229]

Too much information in the wrong hands can be a bad thing. You are obviously competent, I doubt that most people will be. Good thing you’re doing it to show people...I hope most people never attempt this

[@toctoc9927]

Why tho? There is pretty much no risk as it's fairly easy to do and you can't damage anything important...?

[@thedp]

completely trival. worst you do is break a couple replaceable plastic panel holders.

[@22BOZIDAR]

Does it have a condenser in the front, its hard to tell in the video. Or does it use the heat exhanger in the cooling system.

[@AlexVenz]

The A/C condenser and radiator for the glycol loop are both under the shroud I pointed out. The car primarily cools the glycol loop via the radiator in the front & engages the refrigeration system as needed for additional cooling by opening the valve on the plate type heat exchanger (the valve is the black cylindrical thing at the refrigerant input to the plate hx).

[@MrConor159]

Dual power inputs for dual power steering motors for redundancy

[@AlexVenz]

Dual inputs for redundancy, yes, but as far as I can tell there is only a single assist motor (looks like redundancy is focused on power & control electronics).

[@MrConor159]

@@AlexVenz looked up a some photos from the Munro teardown on motortrend. Your right one motor two inputs.

[@Chrisb8s]

can you show us how to put it back together? I would have hard time clicking in all those tabs.. I think, I haven't tried

[@AlexVenz]

I didn't include assembly since, once you've taken it apart, it's very straightforward to put back together. The edge clips on the large frunk liner piece pop back in even with broad pressure, alignment isn't really an issue since the liner/tub assembly mostly self-centers, and the only mildly tricky bit to get fully locked in place is the rear access cover... but that's solved with a bit of thorough pressing and sometimes some light hitting (just to pop the pins into place). Oh, and make sure the wire for the frunk emergency release button doesn't get caught in the latch mechanism.

[@johncampbell4214]

Seems like they would make it easier to change the 12V batt???

[@AlexVenz]

You have to remove stuff to get to the 12V battery in a lot of new cars these days, so this wasn't that bad from a servicing standpoint.

[@jross3r]

Brave man

[@snowrocket]

Not really. It's a law that all high-voltage wires that could kill you are bright orange. He only risked breaking some plastic parts and clips. New or junkyard parts will solve that.

[@davn7723]

should show how to remove front bumper

[@teachingmaterial2011]

Alex do you still have your model S?

[@AlexVenz]

Yup, I do. Used it in last week's video, in fact.

[@HappyLeoul]

Can you show where the Autopilot computer is?

[@AlexVenz]

If I remember correctly, it should be accessible by completely removing the glovebox from the dash. Understandably, I tend to avoid unnecessary disassembly of car interiors.

[@toddschroeder8971]

The only dislike on this video MUST be Bob Lutz ;) Great video man!

[@iankphone]

That frunk is spacious compared to my S100D....

[@GATEWAY2MARS]

Idk why I like watching this but I do...

[@AlexVenz]

I'm just glad you do.

[@kelvinyang7475]

Oh yeah 3 days inventory time no joke

[@gahishgahba2415]

They forgot to paint the inside

[@billnipp2309]

Funny how the worlds safest car has so much plastic in the front end :)

[@AlexVenz]

It's light, cheap, and doesn't carry a risk of cabin intrusion in the event of a collision--sounds good to me.

[@billnipp2309]

Alex Venz yup.

[@SDav21]

It's not the safest. And in cars since the 90s engines don't intrude into the cabin even in severe collisions. All cars use plastic in the front. It's about the structure that absorbs forces.

[@billnipp2309]

watch and learn. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYmqf2h5rr-ggqs ty

[@robviolin1]

Good video, thanks 👍