The compactness of electric motors enabled Tesla to offer a front trunk or frunk which can be used for extra storage.
Sometimes, the Tesla Model 3 frunk can fail to open with the touchscreen icon, key fob, or smartphone app, and you’ll have to open it manually.
This becomes especially challenging if your 12V battery dies and you can’t plug it in. So, how to open Tesla Model 3 frunk manually?
How To Open Tesla Model 3 Frunk Manually
To manually open the frunk on a Tesla Model 3, you’ll first need an external 12V power source. Behind the front tow eye cover, you’ll find two wires which you can use to connect to a power supply via its positive and negative terminals.
After connecting the cables, turn on your power supply. The front trunk should pop out.
Remember that you can’t open the front trunk without an external power supply. Tesla introduced this safety measure to prevent break-ins.
The front trunk area could have valuable items as its an important storage space and also houses important components such as the coolant tank.
What if You Don’t Have a Power Source?
Opening the Tesla Model 3 frunk if your battery is dead and you don’t have an external 12V power source is not possible.
The front trunk with a small 9V battery even when the car was locked. This posed a great threat to the overall safety of the car’s essential systems, making the Model 3 incredibly easy to break into.
As a result of the risk of a break-in, Tesla disabled being able to open the trunk without an external 12V power source.
If your battery is dead, you should call roadside assistance or try to find an external 12V power source in any way you can.
Opening Tesla Model 3 Frunk Manually from Inside
The easiest way how you can open the Model 3 frunk is to do it via the infotainment system. Be sure to put the car in park and look for the front trunk opening button, which should do the trick.
The touchscreen displays the Door Open indicator light when a door or trunk is open.
You can also open the Model 3 frunk via your phone. It’s worth mentioning that the Tesla Model 3 does not come with a true manual release for the trunk.
Related: Front Trunk Mats for the Model 3
What can cause your Model 3 front trunk to not open?
A few things can go wrong and prevent you from opening the front trunk. The most common two reasons you wouldn’t be able to open the front trunk are either a dead battery or a software issue.
A dead 12V battery is usually the reason why your frunk won’t open
Teslas are arguably too dependent on the 12V battery as almost all the opening/closing releases on a Tesla are purely electrical and not mechanical.
This means that the interior door handles, the trunk handle, the front trunk, and even the glovebox can’t be accessed when your Model 3’s 12V battery has completely run out of juice.
There is a manual release for the doors and a manual release for the rear trunk, but that’s about it.
If your battery dies, you will not be able to open your frunk or glovebox, as there is no manual release for either compartment.
Tesla started sending pop-up phone notifications when the 12V battery is near the end of its life. Do not ignore these warnings. Schedule a service appointment as soon as it appears on your smartphone or
Software issues may also prevent you from opening the front trunk
As we know, Tesla relies on software solutions and on-touchscreen commands for most functions.
That enables them to use less hardware and physical buttons to accomplish basic car commands. And also because it’s just cooler to use a simple hardware component and mix it with advanced software solutions. However, the software is also prone to having issues.
Therefore, a software glitch/bug/failure can cause the front trunk not to open. If you are sure your 12V battery is in good shape, the next thing to try would be to scan the car for faults and go from there.
Sometimes the issue can be related to both a faulty battery and software issues which is why you should consider both when troubleshooting trunk issues.
Final thoughts
The Tesla Model 3 can unfortunately rely too much on its 12V battery. The front trunk can fail to open, and the only way to open it is to connect your Tesla to an external 12V power source, like another battery.
Most of the time your front trunk fails to open is due to a discharged 12V battery. Make sure to keep an eye out on the 12V battery warnings on the center screen or your Tesla smartphone app.
