Frozen doors, gear tunnel, hood -- experienced during icy snow trip

[Peterc]

I just got back from my first snow trip. One thing I struggled with was the gear tunnel, doors, and hood all froze closed at various points. Has anyone else had trouble with this?

The gear tunnel doors froze and there are obviously no handles. I ended up using a plastic de-icer to chip away ice and pry the door open.

Same with some of the doors. I wasn’t sure how hard I should pull on the handle.

The hood opened a tiny bit and I could manually lift it but the motor wouldn’t open it up.

It all worked out in the end but I was only in icy stormy weather for a day. I imagine it would be frustrating if I had to deal with that more often. Curious if anyone’s got any tips.

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[atebit]

If you can open one of the rear doors, it exposes part of the gear tunnel door that you could potentially use as a handle/lever.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Clear the snow off the hood before opening it up. You can force it up by hand but it won't stay up because the linear motors aren't balanced for that much extra load.

 

[kewlasu]

Someone else i know added a hair dryer to their tool kit to melt the ice.

 

[RivianDeac]

Someone else i know added a hair dryer to their tool kit to melt the ice.

^This. I have used a heat gun without tripping any fuses.

 

[atebit]

 

[Peterc]

Clear the snow off the hood before opening it up. You can force it up by hand but it won't stay up because the linear motors aren't balanced for that much extra load.

Oh for sure. Even then it wouldn’t open more than half an inch.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

+1 for hair dryer. I've used a variety of methods over the years, but that's probably the safest (beware sudden large temperature swings in materials, that tends to stress them to the point of causing defects).

 

[louisdeg]

Watch out for heat guns, I partially melted the drivers handle on my old Tundra with one. A hair dryer sounds safer

 

[iansriv]

^This. I have used a heat gun without tripping any fuses.

I suppose I better start looking for a flame thrower.

 

[Zoidz]

Or this….with jr in training…..

 

[moosehead]

Dad looks out the window into the snow, turns red and gets furious.

"What's the matter, dear," his wife asks.

"It's our daughter's new boyfriend. He's written his name in the snow with pee."

"Oh. That's not so bad."

"Yeah, but it's in her handwriting."

 

[IPTV65]

I suppose I better start looking for a flame thrower.

Elon has you covered
https://www.boringcompany.com/not-a-flamethrower
Maybe he built it as an electronic car accessory??? Ha ha. It probably has something proprietary that probably only works with Tesla though.

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