A run-in with a kangaroo on the road left a Tesla driver with a repair bill worth hundreds of dollars because of a little known safety feature.
Adam Goff reported his troubles to fellow Tesla drivers in a dedicated Facebook group after hitting a roo on a rural NSW road at about 6am on Tuesday.
Mr Goff slammed the brakes and his dashcam caught the kangaroo colliding with his car so softly that the animal didn’t even fall over.
Despite both the kangaroo and the car escaping without a scratch, Mr Goff soon found himself $500 out-of-pocket to get his Tesla Model 3 serviced after its ‘active hood’ feature was set off.
The active hood pops the rear part of the Tesla’s bonnet after detecting a crash in order to reduce damage to the car itself as well as any people or animals that are hit.
Adam Goff was hit with a $500 repair fee after the active hood safety feature was set off in his Tesla Model 3 at about 6am on Tuesday
Mr Goff had been travelling along a rural NSW road when he gently tapped a kangaroo but the impact was enough to activate the safety feature
Mr Goff shared his troubles in the Tesla Owners Australia community group explaining the worst part of the crash was his embarrassment.
‘Had a run in with a roo, only tapped him by the time I jumped on the brakes so no damage to the car,’ he wrote.
‘The active hood has deployed though, how much is it to get reset and is there anyway I can push it back so it’s less embarrassing to drive around with.’
After parking the car, Mr Goff tried to move the bonnet back into place but those in the comments said it needed a service.
‘The process of the hood deploying is destructive. It needs the explosive struts replaced. Probably best go through insurance. It’s not as simple as it just simply being pushed down,’ one man wrote.
When the explosive struts are activated an error message remains on the dashboard until the car is serviced and the bonnet restored.
Another commenter advised Mr Goff to immediately book a service for the car as the owner’s manual stated that it was the correct course of action.
‘It says immediately take the car to the service centre, so do that – you can point them to the website as justification,’ they wrote.
When Mr Goff confirmed the quote from the service centre was $500 to put the bonnet back into place, some people observed he either ‘got off lucky’ or that there was more expense to come.
‘Happened to me about a month ago… initial quote they gave was $500. After a technician had a look at the service centre, I received a call saying it was going to be $2,000,’ one Tesla owner commented.
Mr Goff temporarily repositioned the bonnet back into place but after the active hood had been set off, an error message remained on his dashboard until it was properly serviced
Tesla owners have noticed that the brand’s sensory system, ‘Tesla Vision’, has trouble detecting kangaroos – but it can detect pedestrians, cyclists and dogs
Many commenters observed that Teslas are not well equipped to deal with kangaroos because of their overly sensitive safety features.
Another complaint was that the car’s motion sensor cannot detect them on the road.
The multi-camera ‘Tesla Vision’ system can detect pedestrians, cyclists and dogs, and then display them on the dashboard for the driver to see and avoid.
Kangaroos, however, appear to be phantoms to the system as one driver proved when they took a photo of one sitting right in front of their car undetected.
‘Just a heads up to Tesla owners who are driving cross country… Tesla Vision does not recognise our national fauna such as our iconic kangaroo,’ he said.
‘Please take the usual precautions to slow down and keep an eye out, especially during sundown and sunrise.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Tesla for comment on its active hood and kangaroo detection.
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