Tesla to redesign door handles that could trap people inside
Tesla is reportedly rethinking its vehicle door handles following an investigation into incidents where people were trapped inside.
Line shaped door handle on white Tesla Model Y
Tesla is reportedly rethinking its vehicle door handles following an investigation into incidents where people were trapped inside.
An investigation launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cites nine complaints of people who were unable to open doors on the Tesla 2021 Model Y.
The most common complaint includes parents leaving the vehicle to get their children from the back seat – and then being locked out of the car. In four of the reported cases, parents had to resort to breaking the window to get in.
NHTSA says that although Tesla vehicles have door opening mechanisms inside the cabin, children may not be able to access them. This is especially concerning for when children are trapped inside a hot vehicle or have to remain there for a long period of time.
Based on the preliminary investigation, this happens when the electronic door lock receive insufficient voltage from the vehicle.
In response, Tesla design chief Franz von Holzhausen talked about the design change to Bloomberg for its Hot Pursuit podcast, saying the company is considering combining the electronic and manual door-release mechanisms.
This would reportedly make the handles more intuitive to operate in “a panic situation.”
“The idea of combining the electronic one and the manual one together into one button, I think, makes a lot of sense,” he told Bloomberg in an interview for its Hot Pursuit! podcast. “That’s something that we’re working on.”
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According to NHTSA reports, it has logged more than 140 complaints across different Tesla models since 2018 about its doors malfunctioning.
An investigation by Bloomberg has previously found a series of incidents, including severe injuries or even deaths of people who got trapped in their cars after a loss of power.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has announced that it’s opening a preliminary investigation into the scope and severity of the issue, currently focusing on how Tesla doors open from the outside, since it’s the only circumstance where there is no way to manually open the door.