How do I open the Mercedes EQS’s hood?

Plenty of people think they're "smart" - and assume they know better than a vague warning sign: When some people see a "Danger confined space" sign they're going to think the danger is banging your head on the low-ceiling; that's not the real danger of confined spaces: a bigger threat is unbreathable gasses, like CO2, that tend to pool at the bottom of confined spaces: that's often the real danger. But yet I've never seen a sign saying "Danger: confined space: CO2 pooling risk" or similar.

The electrical system checks for earth leakage faults all the time, and will switch off if it finds one. That means a baby can chew any of the big scary orange wires and still survive.

The only real dangerous bit of an EV is the battery pack - if you cut it open.

Help me understand what you mean?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29801119

Another way to look at this is, “are there any consumer-serviceable parts within the compartment?” and “are there instantly-fatal wires/terminals within the compartment?”. The pair of answers “no” and “yes” for the Mercedes demand a wholly different approach to risk management and safety design than a gas engine, whose pair of answers are “yes” and “no”.

EV high-voltage are not consumer-serviceable, as a regular consumer cannot be expected to understand high-voltage safety practices. Yes, some consumers know how to service them, but the necessary safety practices that are generally commonly understood for gas engines are not commonly understood for electric engines, and are regulated differently as a result.

That's a pathetic lifespan for such a large capital investment.

Pay zero down*. $XXXX (certainly 4 digits for a car like this) per month for 36-39 months. Return it and lease another one.

I suspect most luxury cars (and many non-luxury ones too) these days are leased like this, at least in the US.

*or at most, taxes & fees, if even that.

Volvo did exactly this for one of their small SUVs (an inch or so shorter than my Prius, but a couple inches taller, about the same width). It was $600 a month, which included insurance (!) and at least maintenance. Don't know what happened with that experiment. I believe you had to commit to at least one year.

Isn't this your average vehicle lease agreement, in simple terms?

(Cross-boundary terminology issues with gas/electric combination engines are solved by calling those “hybrids”, as a shorthand for “dual-engine ICE & EV hybrid” which no one ever says but is technically correct.)

I fundamentally disagree with the premise that just because something is dangerous that the owner of said property is 'disallowed' from operating on it.

I can own a house, and do all the electrical work myself. That's 120v AC for you North American households, or in rare situations 240v AC for certain appliances. I serviced an electric range just two months ago.

If you understand how something works, what the requirements are to repair it, then you should understand the caution you must take when repairing those objects.

I work on my own vehicle all the time. Yes, it is a gasoline powered vehicle. But the brakes on both an electric car and gas car must work. Something which is an easy repair and maintenance item is an object of which I know numerous drivers who would dare not touch, "because I don't want to break it". Which, is absolutely okay for those who would not want to work on it. But when someone who has the skills, knowledge, and abilities to work on a vehicle is told "no, you can't touch this brake because it requires a special RFID screwdriver to remove"

That's the crux of the argument. If something so dangerous is refrained from the owner being enabled to even inspect or maintain/repair such an object, then it's likely that said consumer item is not for consumers, and shouldn't be sold.

Moving parts that can chop off digits, deglove limbs, descalp, break limbs when clothing is caught and wrapped into them?

Hydraulic hoses with enough pressure that a leak can cause injection injuries, which can be fatal?

Pressurized coolant systems well over boiling that can severely burn a significant portion of the skin on your torso if opened, because many car companies use caps that completely release at a certain point, allowing them to blow off and gallons of coolant to come out?

You won't find high voltage anywhere on an EV except in the battery pack until the vehicle is switched on and the drivetrain computer closes the high voltage contactor inside the battery pack. Ie: you could literally jam two steak knives in to the HV connector on an EV battery pack and lick them, and the only thing that would happen is that you'd cut your tongue.

Every EV has very clear instructions and procedures for how to physically lock out the HV system for service. On many, it's a physical plug you pull.

God, I wish HNers would not talk about subjects they know nothing about.

I thought I read somewhere that's specific to common-law type jurisdictions.

> But to forbid me, presumably an adult, is a different thing. I prefer to own my own property.

I appreciate you accept responsibility for yourself, but please understand that it's a real legal argument to say "well, nothing specifically said I __couldn't__ do $thing, so I assumed it was safe to do so. I never imagined $thing could be so disastrous! Why didn't you include a warning?"

Such matters always boil down to a fairly protracted argument, sometimes of the legal persuasion depending on the country of residence for the customer. It really is a case of a few bad eggs ruining the bunch.

No one will stop you from hacking the car (e.g., the Mercedes police aren't gonna roll-up and arrest you for opening the hood), but for sure if they find your attempted repairs actually exacerbated an issue, the clause helps back that they tried to warn you "don't mess with this stuff it's not supported".

    good faith - noun - honesty or sincerity of intention

What does this sentence mean? (Grammatically, English is my 2nd language).

Often so indeed. I suspect it was not just old products though, but also something to do with a different alignment of incentives.

Why would a Soviet car have used DRM for example?

and if they could afford it there was a looooong waiting list. it was my parent's turn to get their landline phone connected in 2013 ... sadly communist poland collapsed before that and they have to live with smartphones instead.

You need at least some space in front of the console, because the wheel wells need to be forward of the cockpit so the front seat occupants have a place to put their feet. Traditionally you put the engine there, because it was an obvious empty spot. Cars that didn't generally made significant tradeoffs (like two seats) to accomodate a different engine placement.

But if you've got no engine, what can go there? Not the battery, that works much (much) better as a flat planar thing at the very bottom of the frame. You can put the motor there, sure, but an electric motor is tiny. Add in the random electronics and wiper fluid and whatnot and you still have a ton of space.

So you make it cargo. It works great. EVs that don't have a frunk (the ID.4, ahem) end up feeling like they're missing a feature.

Whether that's the hood of the car or somewhere else seems immaterial?

It's likely just a matter of persuasive messaging. They might not be able to void your warranty, but they might be able to lead you into thinking they can.

This kind of crap is just a reflection of the affects of modern culture that prizes risk aversion after you filter it though a massive corporate bureaucracy (like Mercedes)

In a fuel powered vehicle touching fuel related parts at most gets you dirty. Even touching fuel does not hurt you. Electricity is different. Merely touching the wrong part can hurt you. Guess who would get sued if that happened and the company did nothing or even just not enough to prevent it.

While fuel powered cars can have sharp, moving (or rotating) or even very hot parts, all of those can be seen or sensed. Electricity cannot be detected by human senses, so here too is more reason to prevent access.

Ah, yes, calibrated.

Let's say you are having it filled where the weather never gets below freezing, and driving to somewhere it does...