Tesla is facing fresh scrutiny and is now promising a fix after several reports that its Model Y’s door handles can jam when the vehicle loses low-voltage power, potentially trapping occupants. This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a formal probe, and Tesla’s chief designer confirmed the company is rethinking how its doors work.
According to documents from NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), about 174,000 Model Y SUVs from the 2021 model year are under preliminary review.
The agency has received nine formal complaints that vehicles’ exterior door handles failed notably when the car’s 12-volt “low-voltage” battery didn’t deliver enough power. In four of those cases, owners said they were forced to break a window to get back in.
Tesla does include manual interior door releases, but NHTSA and other reports emphasize that those are hard to access, especially for children or other passengers in back seats. Many owners reportedly did not see any low-voltage warning on their dashboards before the failure.
Tesla’s response: combining manual + electronic
Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s design lead, told Bloomberg in a podcast that the company is working on a redesign that would combine the electronic and manual door-release mechanisms into a single control. The idea is to reduce confusion or delay during emergencies, which Tesla calls “panic situations.”
In current designs, the mechanical/backup release is separate, less visible in rear doors, and hidden behind a cover. Tesla tweaked rear emergency releases earlier (2022) to improve visibility, but the new redesign aims to go further.
Broader context & risk
This isn’t Tesla’s first rodeo with door-or latch-related safety concerns. Electronic door mechanisms are increasingly common, especially on luxury or electric vehicles seeking a sleeker design. But they bring an inherent risk: power loss. In emergencies like accidents, crashes, or battery drain, fast physical access can be critical.
Analysts warn that even rare failures can damage public perception and expose automakers to recalls, lawsuits, or regulation. One safety expert told me, “Designs can be beautiful, but if someone can’t escape a car during a fire or heatwave, that’s not just a design trade-off, it’s a liability.”
From a user’s perspective, many Tesla owners I spoke to said they had never even been aware of the manual backup lever or how to use it, which raises questions about whether instructions and interface design are intuitive enough.
What it means for Tesla owners (and everyone else)
If you own a 2021 Model Y, or are considering one, this is more than a technicality. The risk exists around scenarios that many drivers don’t routinely think about, such as what if the car loses 12-V battery power, or you leave the car only to find you can’t get back in to remove someone, like a child in the rear seat?
Tesla’s redesign, if it delivers as von Holzhausen suggests, could simplify things: one lever/button that works whether there’s power or not, located where you already instinctively reach. But there’s no timeline yet for when the new design will roll out.
Regulators will likely monitor both the technical fix and whether Tesla’s owner education (manuals, alerts, visibility of the backup releases) improves.
Tesla’s door-handle issue is not just about inconvenience; it’s about safety in rare but serious circumstances. The company recognizes this, and its plan to merge manual and electronic mechanisms is a logical step. Still, as always, execution matters. If owners can’t find or operate backup releases under stress, the problem persists.
For now, keep an eye on future recalls or firmware/hardware updates from Tesla. And if you own a relevant vehicle, check your manual for how the emergency release works. Knowing how to escape might end up being the most important thing.
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