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Tesla Under Investigation Over Concerns Model 3 Manual Door Handles Are ‘Hidden, Unlabeled’

forbes | 2025-12-24 15:10 | 395 views

Comments (40)
forbes 2025-12-24 15:11

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the emergency door release controls on some Tesla Model 3 sedans, over concerns that the mechanical release to open the doors manually is “hidden, unlabeled, and not intuitive to locate during an emergency.” Read more: [https://go.forbes.com/Q\_qC9M](https://go.forbes.com/Q_qC9M)

SnooHesitations1020 2025-12-24 15:15

It should be, they are completely unsafe in an emergency.

steve0387 2025-12-24 15:19

Nothing ever happens to this piece of junk company.

praguer56 2025-12-24 15:22

Could the NHTSA recall all Teslas and make them retrofit the back doors?

c3p-bro 2025-12-24 15:27

How has it taken like 10 years to look into this? It’s ALWAYS been like this

AutismFlavored 2025-12-24 15:35

I thought every model’s rear doors had this problem.

[deleted] 2025-12-24 15:52

[deleted]

[deleted] 2025-12-24 16:06

This is not being late to the party It's "the kid throwing the party moved out". He grew up. Moved out. Found a job. Had a kid. And that kid had its own party. AND YOU ARE STILL LATE!

AllAlo0 2025-12-24 16:13

NHTSA has been gutted year over year, its been a skeleton crew for a long time now

c3p-bro 2025-12-24 16:15

Our national spending priorities are so far out of whack it’s unbelievable.

HoleInWon929 2025-12-24 16:33

They should! [At least 15](https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20251224162/tesla-is-facing-fresh-government-scrutiny-over-its-controversial-doors) people have died over this.

Ambitious5uppository 2025-12-24 17:20

That was the threat that caused them to start fitting them in the first place. Originally the model 3 didn't have them. Now they have them but hidden. One step at a time.

habfranco 2025-12-24 17:30

Well if they’re not hidden you don’t need to label them, duh

torokunai 2025-12-24 18:03

yeah my 2023 Fremont-built MY has this issue. Utterly bizarre that NTHSA would allow it; cars shouldn't require emergency training for the passengers

Past-Spell-2259 2025-12-24 19:14

Who cares?! A bunch of poors too stupid to know how to open a car door. Natural selection at play. FSD will revolutionize the world. Elon should be king of the all earth. He is the future. /s

Pepparkakan 2025-12-24 19:21

Wait, the original model 3 **shipped** *with **zero** back-seat escape mechanisms in the case of electrical failure?* This is actually flabbering all my gasts…

[deleted] 2025-12-24 19:53

[ Removed by Reddit ]

Greenpoint_Blank 2025-12-24 20:26

[Relevant Fight Club recall scene.](https://youtu.be/IA2EBWFCULg?si=Evj3I0blrfS2nmkK)

DeathChill 2025-12-24 20:48

This is something I fully agree with. A secret release is not something that should be acceptable in a life or death situation.

Albin4president2028 2025-12-24 21:38

Doge, Musk and his muskrats, didnt help either.

BringBackUsenet 2025-12-24 23:08

Ralph Nader should drive a Tesla.

BringBackUsenet 2025-12-24 23:09

Is turning on FSD an emergency?

Fauxreigner_ 2025-12-25 00:03

I’ve never seen a door handle hidden behind a speaker grille before, but here we are.

[deleted] 2025-12-25 00:22

On this news, the stock his new ATH!

Hipsthrough100 2025-12-25 02:21

They could. They are currently applying an exemption to only TSLA so they can test FSD on public roads. TSLAs do not meet the safety standards applied against all other manufacturers entering the space.

Derrickmb 2025-12-25 07:21

Like I said earlier, the engineers are pompous and unorganized. They try to show off how smart and better they are vs. doing the collectively right thing.

shana104 2025-12-25 10:15

Yikes!

OneCheapBastard 2025-12-25 22:19

Yep! I think the idea was that trapped backseat occupants would climb into the front area and escape through the front doors in such situation, or at least that pitch was good enough to meet any relevant safety regulations on the matter

Pepparkakan 2025-12-25 22:21

Well it fucking shouldn’t have been!

Pandariism 2025-12-26 03:55

It is the driver’s responsibility to understand their vehicle, including all emergency functions. It is also the driver’s responsibility to ensure passengers are informed of emergency procedures if there is any uncertainty. This approach is standard in other forms of transport—for example, airline passengers are routinely briefed on emergency actions prior to every flight. A lack of familiarity with one’s vehicle is not a valid excuse. Claiming ignorance of critical features, such as the location of an emergency latch, reflects a failure to review and understand the vehicle’s operating manual, which is the responsibility of the driver.

Slytherin23 2025-12-26 09:56

All cars have those child door locks that disable internal door handles.

phate_exe 2025-12-26 16:36

>It is also the driver’s responsibility to ensure passengers are informed of emergency procedures if there is any uncertainty. So are you suggesting that it's reasonable for every uber driver to make their passengers review the owners manual for a vehicle they don't own?

PetriDishTech 2025-12-26 17:38

You do realize there’s a car called a coup that has only front passenger doors and no rear doors at all right?

Ambitious5uppository 2025-12-26 22:57

It wasn't. The requirement to fit rear escape handles which has been a regulation for over 50 years was considered so fucking obvious that it's part of the self-certification list. And Tesla self-certified that they had done it. It wasn't until then that any manufacturer had actually not done it.

Ambitious5uppository 2025-12-26 22:58

They have larger front doors and front seats which fold out of the way to allow access to those doors. Model 3 front seats don't move out of the way, and there's zero chance my grandmother could get through to the front doors. She could in a coupe though.

PetriDishTech 2025-12-26 23:00

The model 3 front seats do in fact move out of the way. You can actually control the front passenger seat from the rear screen and have it move forward and fold away. Alternatively, you can open the rear door of the model 3 using the Emergency release latch.

praguer56 2025-12-26 23:16

I think the point was that the earliest Model 3s didn't have the emergency cable hidden in the pocket, under the rubber mat and below the plastic panel. And if a passenger doesn't know it's there, they're fucked. Period. If the new driverless Model Y robotaxi doesn't come with a real, visible release handle, people will be trapped.

bunnywinkles 2025-12-27 06:23

Genuinely curious because I don't know... How do you get out of the rear seats in any other car if the child locks are engaged and there is a power failure? So say my Subaru ascent, if the 12v isn't working (Subaru OEM batteries are junk) and I'm in the second or third row with the child locks on in the rear. Wouldn't I need to climb through the front? Or if there is an accident, etc, do the child locks disengage?

Ambitious5uppository 2025-12-27 12:01

How wrong can you be in one comment? The earlier model 3s didn't have the emergency release on the rear doors. That's the point. They also didn't have the rear screen. Also. If the doors don't work because the power is out, the screen wouldn't work either... And neither would the seats. And even if they did work, no the seats don't move out of the way, they don't move anywhere near far enough front to actual get past and out of the door.

Jaymzmykaul45 2025-12-29 19:37

Fanboy says what?!?! Stop living in the past, Tesla is a grift and Mr.Swastikar is a Nazi.

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