How do I open the Mercedes EQS’s hood?

Even though Mercedes says you can’t open the hood to an EQS, it’s not impossible.

A photo on Reddit’s A**hole design subreddit recently got a lot of attention showing a Mercedes EQS infotainment warning screen titled “Notes on the hood.”

This new Mercedes EQS that locks you out from opening the hood. Access by the customer is not permitted – only qualified specialists

The warning screen then lists five other sub-warnings informing the reader there’s a risk of accident and injury with the Mercedes EQS’s hood open.

Furthermore, it says, “Only the specialist personnel of a qualified specialist workshop should open the hood. Access by the customer is not permitted.”

The Reddit thread title, “This new Mercedes EQS that locks you out from opening the hood” and that warning makes it seem like it’s literally impossible for Mercedes EQS owners to open the hood.

It’s like Mercedes is locking out its customers on purpose.

So, is it possible for anyone, including Mercedes EQS owners, to open the Mercedes EQS hood?

Yes, anyone can open the hood to a Mercedes EQS. According to a Mercedes Technician, “The lever to open the hood is still down there, Mercedes put a plastic cover over the hood release. Anyone can pull the cover out and open the hood if they really wanted to. But, there’s no gas struts or prop, so something has to be jammed in there to prop the hood up.”

Here’s a Mercedes salesman opening up a Mercedes EQS hood in real time.

And, here’s a video of how to open a hood on a Mercedes EQC. I imagine the hood latch location on the EQC is the same, if not similar, to the EQS. Note, the EQC has hood dampers while the EQS does not.

Why Mercedes legally has to warn you not to open the hood of a Mercedes EQS and why you probably shouldn’t.

If you didn’t already realize, the Mercedes EQS is an electric vehicle. Like the Tesla Model S, the EQS comes in single and dual motor configurations.

Embed from Getty Images

While other EV manufacturers make the space where an engine normally would be into a frunk, Mercedes filled the EQS with a pre-filter housing for its HEPA filtration unit.

Although regular people and owners are instructed not to use the hood, there are practical reasons the Mercedes EQS even has a hood in the first place.

Despite the electric motor and battery pack technically being lifetime units, it doesn’t make them immune to repairs and troubleshooting as needed.

If repairs or maintenance by qualified technicians is needed, access from up top via the hood is there.

Redditor Raistan77 makes it doubly clear,

“It’s an all electric car, nothing under the hood is user serviceable without special equipment to place the high voltage system into servicing mode.”

“Washer fluid is added at the front left fender.”

“There are no fluids under the hood for the owner to check just the 2 AC 3 phase motors and the high voltage inverter converters.”

“This is also a very expensive luxury model most owners do not self-service.”

“That’s why the hood is not user operable.”

Here’s another warning Mercedes gives you in their owner’s manual.

As the manual hints at, there’s more harm than good that comes from non-professionals and owners opening the hood for whatever reason.

If you do open the hood and end up smashing your windshield , your fingers because there’s no hood prop, or, get exposed to harmful battery fumes because you tried to open the hood, fearing that would cool the battery pack, Mercedes is legally covered.

They clearly stated in the owner’s manual and on their infotainment screen you should not open the hood.

But, as mentioned, it’s not impossible for people to open the hood of a Mercedes EQS, it’s just that there’s no reason TO open the hood.