The Tesla Model Y has many features that are extremely useful and the frequent software upgrade improves the experience. However, there is one feature that is glaringly missing which cannot be fixed by software – kick sensor for the rear hatch door. This is a feature that Ford Edge, Nissan Rogue, Honda CRV, Hyundai Santa Fe has. Kick sensor is great when you approach the car and your hands are full, you can place our foot under the rear bumper to trigger the hatch / trunk to open.
Now, there is a solution. Although it is after market, the price is reasonable. The installation leverages existing connectors by adding bypasses. Though my search, I found two products that would achieve this.
Hansshow – Model Y Electric Tailgate Kick Sensor ||||| EVOffer – Model 3/Y Tailgate Foot Activation
I went with Hansshow. I watched a few youtube videos and seemed the Hansshow was do-able. In full transparency, I was not aware of the one from EVOffer.
Install
In preparation for this, I watched and re-watched the 2 youtube videos I saved in Youtube. It seemed simple enough. Open the trunk panels, remove the trunk bin, thread the cable through, connect the plugs and magic! Both stated it took them roughly 1 hr and 30 min.
A little about myself, I am pretty handy but not the most mechanically inclined. I used to change the oil on my older cars but leave it to the professionals I am pretty techie but not with electricals. I would likely pass if I didn’t believe I could do it. Although, I did mentally prepare myself that I would hire a professional to install it if I failed.
This was the easy part. The rear panel on the hatch comes out in two pieces.
Next, I had to thread the harness through the rubber accordion. This was the most difficult part by far as there were already existing wires running through.
Success
Finally I had to connect the plugs. It took me a bit but I figured it out. The instructions that identified the location helped.
(R) the parallel clamp on to tap onto the “cigarette lighter” to access 12V
The others were self explanatory.
You also had to remove the trunk tub as the motion sensor had to be placed underneath it above the under guard. There are 5 bolts (4 hex, 1 star) to remove from the top and 5 bolts from the underbelly of the car.
In the end, this is how I threaded it per instructions.
Testing Kick Sensor
Here is the working Hansshow Model Y Electric Tailgate Kick Sensor in action.
Here is the opening. Very satisfied. I realized it works best when you do a quick in / out motion. It’s tempting to let your foot dangle but it actually hinders the sensor.
Here is the closing. Again, quick motion. There is a 2 sec delay for safety?
Overall, very happy. Both my wife and kids all had a kick out of it (pun intended). In total, it took about 3 hours. The reason due to the lack of proper fish wire and poor instructions. It also looks like Hansshow changed their harness a bit as the 12V was drawn from the left side and not the right side. The two youtube videos skipped the part about tapping into the 12V so I wasn’t sure what was done.