Tesla will improve door handles after complaints of sticking

Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen told Bloomberg News that the company is redesigning its cars’ door handles to make them less likely to jam and delay passengers inside the vehicles.

The announcement comes just a day after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a formal investigation into Tesla’s door handle problems. A previous Bloomberg investigation uncovered several instances of owners or passengers being unable to exit the cars after crashes.

Von Holzhausen said the company did not specify the exact timing of the decision to redesign the door handles. Meanwhile, China has already urged automakers in China to abandon fully concealed door handles over safety fears, although the country’s official regulator has yet to make a final ruling.

• The use of electronic locks, which can stop functioning when power is disconnected from the car battery.
• The presence of built-in manual opening mechanisms, which, however, are often difficult to find and use in an emergency.

“The idea of combining electronic and manual modes into one button is very sensible,” von Holzhausen noted. “We’re actively working on it.”

NHTSA launched an investigation after receiving nine complaints from Tesla owners experiencing door lock problems. In four cases, people had to break car windows to get out.

NHTSA’s investigation comes after receiving nine complaints from Tesla owners who experienced door lock problems.

It’s noted that Tesla’s owner’s manual describes the ability to use an external power source to unlock the doors if the electronics fail. However, a preliminary report from the NHTSA says that affected owners did not receive low-battery warnings, indicating that they were unaware of the cause of the problem.