Question: how many times have you intentionally slammed your own fingers closing the trunk of your car? I’d wager the answer is “never,” except maybe if you were a member of the Jackass crew and I just missed that episode.
So why do people keep putting their flesh on the line to find out if the automatically closing frunks of new electric trucks can detect fingers and back off without doing any harm? By the looks of it, the viral trend that began with the admittedly sharp Tesla Cybertruck is gaining more traction with the arrival of more EV pickups, such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV.
And before we go further, please stop doing this, dear online influencers.
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The sensor issue
All cars that have any sort of automatically closing trunk or hood have sensors that detect when there's an obstacle in the way. Some cars are more sensible than others when detecting things like thin fingers, though, which is why we get videos like the one embedded below.
A video posted on Reddit shows a brand-new Chevy Silverado EV in what appears to be a dealer parking lot. Right from the get-go, you know where this is going because there’s a man standing right next to the EV with his hand placed on the edge of the left front wing. The Frunk lid is open.
The guy filming it says, “I’m scared.” You know how this ends, but you know the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words." And viral clout is probably worth even more than that. The video was originally posted on TikTok but has since been removed, though it is embedded below.
Presumably, the man with the teal shirt had the key in his pocket and had to keep the button for the frunk pressed all the time. As per Chevy’s user manual, one needs to “Press twice to open the hood. Press twice and hold to close the hood.” That’s probably why the man who was filming the whole thing said, “Oh, you have to hold it.”
It looks painful and it most likely was painful. So please stop doing this.
It’s also worth noting that in a separate test, published on YouTube by American Cars and Racing, where a water bottle was used instead of a person’s precious fingers, the Silverado EV’s hood worked flawlessly and immediately went back up when it detected the obstacle.
The Rivian R1T and R1S are also known for their high sensitivity in detecting objects that could stop the frunk from closing. Meanwhile, the Tesla Cybertruck got the nickname “the finger guillotine” after several people filmed themselves getting injured while trying to prove a point. A lot of carrots were also used in the name of science and didn’t survive.
After the internet was filled with clips of people screaming for help, a software update reportedly fixed the Cybertruck’s appetite for pinching finger-like objects.
In any case, please stop doing this. Consider that your Pro Tip of the day from InsideEVs.
