DRIVETRIBE shared a new video on Wednesday, in which host James May (the former host of BBC’s Top Gear) breaks down how his Tesla Model S has failed – due to the failure of the conventional 12-volt battery in the car’s front trunk.
This particular battery seems to have died in May’s car while he was away for a time, and thus, he was not able to unlock his Tesla, despite it being plugged into the home charger and being connected to multiple other batteries.
The battery failure happened because, as May explains, when the larger battery becomes fully charged, the car’s charging system shuts off – effectively leaving the frunk’s 12-volt battery to slowly drain away.
Since May left the Model S plugged in and “charging” for so long without moving it, the frunk battery slowly drained its charge away until it died, which then caused the locks and other basic functions to stop working. The failed system also locks the frunk when the battery has died.
In order to get in, May ended up having to take the front plastic panel off the Model S, and use two emergency releases that opened the frunk, then removing several more panels and components to get to the deeply-buried frunk battery, before charging it slowly back to life.
Instead, May suggest putting a simple battery charging port that can be accessed without removing all the panels and elements.
The Model S has come a long way since its 2009 debut, but accessing the 12-volt battery is no easy task if it dies, according to May.
You can watch May explain his Tesla Model S battery issue below:
