PSA: don't slam your gear tunnel doors!

[Blackhatch]

I went to the Venice hub today and asked them for the proper way to close the gear tunnel.

After getting a look like I was a lizard alien. They showed me how they closed them.

She just used all her fingers spread out, not touching the gear door with her palm, positioned on the upper portion of the door. She gently closed it about three quarters of the way. Than with a rapid but gentle movement. Closed it shut. Around the same force as closing the passenger door.

There you have it

It’s a two step process. Press and then press. It’s always felt like the natural way to close them.

Wish this would trickle down to the delivery dudes. His words, "you gotta give it a good shut".

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[connoisseurr]

I kind of "toss" mine into place. It's not so much a slam hard but a stout toss. I hope I'm not bending mine.

This is what I do, and was told by both service center advisor and delivery agent, on how to properly close the gear tunnel. I was also advised that pressing to close can cause creasing in the panel.

Since then, four fingers on the panel and I just toss it upwards and it closes like butter.

 

[WSea]

Tried the softer click click method this morning vs. the kinda soft slam that I've been doing as was told to do. Think I'm switching the the click2 method. Biggest advantage is it's quieter

 

[madgrey]

no touch toss method

 

[PowerBugs]

I always slam mine since day 1 because if you do it in any other way it will leave a little gap no matter how much pressure you put into it. I will experiment again your PSA. Thanks.

So I tried that soft close and a push/pressure and it works!
Thanks again for the PSA.
now, how about that tailgate?

 

[happyjohn14]

Good to know. I remember when I was in delivery and the guide recommended I treat it rough, like any truck, and slam everything, which is against my nature normally.

 

[JGard18]

So I tried that soft close and a push/pressure and it works!
Thanks again for the PSA.
now, how about that tailgate?

You know, I've done both with the tailgate. I'd like to think it's much more robust than the gear tunnel doors, as it's load-bearing to a high degree, and much thicker than those gear tunnel doors. But doing a soft, consistent, two-click close is 100% possible for the tailgate if you're concerned. However, that never came up in conversation with the mobile tech, so I'm just relaying my personal experience with that.

 

[Tonicart]

I was surprised when people said they were slamming or "throwing" their doors. I tried it and it felt SO WRONG.

Gently close, then apply even pressure along the top edge to get the second "click". Feels right.

I always try to touch the paint as little as possible, but forget that the tunnel doors have PPF pre-installed.

 

[HAL]

absolutely sets the door out of alignment when you slam it. Bummer

 

[MichaelW]

You can't close any doors on my R1T without slamming them. Had the truck since October and we are still sitting on 2 times that either of the passenger doors closed fully on the first try...for anyone. Gear tunnel doors are so tight that if they do not close fully a 200lbs person throwing their body weight on it cannot close it. You have to fling them up. The seals/weather stripping is just that tight.

Already took it to the service center to check panel alignment all the way around. Hood was prying the fender off on closing and passenger side gear tunnel door could not be opened without a plastic car audio dashboard/trim pry tool. They fixed those and checked everything else and said that it's normal. They also failed to close the doors on the 1st try on the 3 doors they opened/closed and the gear tunnel door

 

[Christopher]

Counter-point: I use my gear tunnel doors several times a day; and over nearly 9 months over ownership I have no crease. I close the door gently to the first click, then apply gentle pressure with my thumb at the top to the second click.

That's interesting. I did something similar, except used the palm of my hand and pushed it but it required much more force than a gentle push (similar to the force used when you don't fully close a car door but the car is locked, so your only option is to push the door closed with your hand to engage the latch). Over time the crease started to appear.

To all those the aren't throwing/tossing/slamming your gear tunnel, why? When you close your car door, do you throw it shut, or do you gently close the door until it latches, then push it closed? Of course you just throw it shut (it's not a Lexu, so what makes the gear tunnel latch any different?

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

To all those the aren't throwing/tossing/slamming your gear tunnel, why? When you close your car door, do you throw it shut, or do you gently close the door until it latches, then push it closed? Of course you just throw it shut (it's not a Lexu, so what makes the gear tunnel latch any different?

I don’t slam my doors, either. I swing them with just enough force so they latch. My neighbors SLAM their doors and it pisses me off. I don’t understand why some people choose to oaf/ogre through life. Finesse is good.

the gear tunnel doors have less mass and are hinged differently so closing them by swinging them is not natural.

 

[Arky]

I just palm the door and 'throw' it into place. Haven't had a problem with any warping/bending but it's a pretty common way of closing doors to prevent having to 'push' on any particular part and apply more force to it. I wouldn't really call it 'slamming', but it's more force than gently pushing it that last bit for sure.

When you close a hood it's often advised to just let it drop from a foot rather than push it closed to avoid the same thing.

 

[Dark-Fx]

You know, I've done both with the tailgate. I'd like to think it's much more robust than the gear tunnel doors, as it's load-bearing to a high degree, and much thicker than those gear tunnel doors. But doing a soft, consistent, two-click close is 100% possible for the tailgate if you're concerned. However, that never came up in conversation with the mobile tech, so I'm just relaying my personal experience with that.

By surface area, the gear tunnel doors have a higher capacity than the tailgate does.

 

[Dark-Fx]

When you close a hood it's often advised to just let it drop from a foot rather than push it closed to avoid the same thing.

Dropping hoods can damage them in certain vehicles.

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