this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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Numerous Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power.::Numerous Tesla owners say they have been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power.Teslas come with manual door releases, but they can be hard to find

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[–] indigomirage@lemmy.ca 130 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Have they tried subscribing to Twitter Blue? As I understand it, it 'unlocks' the door feature...

/s

[–] phoneymouse@lemmy.world 29 points 1 year ago

Musk has been disabling the power door locks of his political enemies.

[–] meejle@lemmy.world 87 points 1 year ago (2 children)

We're deleting 'doors' as a feature. They just don't make sense.

— Melontusk

[–] LEDZeppelin@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

‘Doors’ feature will only be available as a subscription service*

  • your subscription can be revoked at any moment if you’re mean to Melon on Xitter
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[–] Spectacle8011@lemmy.comfysnug.space 76 points 1 year ago (14 children)

This is how the BMW a friend owns works, and it's not an EV. The unlock button in the driver's seat just stops working if the car is off.

How do I know this? I decided to stay in the car while my friend went to go get something, and it auto-locked as he walked away. After about 5 minutes of trying everything I could think of to get out (including attempting to climb into the boot, which was too small for anything except a malnourished child to fit through), he came back and unlocked it.

There is no manual way to unlock the door from the inside. I checked the driver's manual. It says it's impossible to do without "special knowledge" and does not provide any pointers on how to do so. The friend asked a guy at the BMW place after a service how to unlock it from the inside, and he said "oh, yeah, there's no way to do that," and laughed it off.

Previous BMW models weren't designed like this. I can't imagine what they'll do to the next generation...

[–] sndrtj@feddit.nl 49 points 1 year ago (3 children)

This sounds like a very dangerous design.

[–] Spectacle8011@lemmy.comfysnug.space 34 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 15 points 1 year ago

How idiotic. Manual interior trunk releases were mandated for a reason. BMW designers saw that and said "hold my beer!"

[–] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How is that even legal? It sounds like that is literally going to kill people.

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[–] meeeeetch@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago

At last, able-bodied adults will join kids and pets in checks notes dying in a hot car

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[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Teslas have manual door releases on the front doors though.

[–] freeman@lemmy.pub 7 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Im surprised thats not a NHTSA mandate. Its a safety thing. Like why you have to have a windsheild and mirrors on a car. Even if you can remove the windshield (ie: Jeep Wranglers) if you are caught on the road with it down, you are gonna get a ticket.

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[–] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I can’t imagine what they’ll do to the next generation…

Given the heated seats subscription, we can make a guess...

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[–] Cabrio@lemmy.world 58 points 1 year ago (3 children)

These same people drive into lakes because the GPS said so.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 60 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I am inclined to agree, except that I've also worked at Tesla and they're not well designed or put together. They don't have things where every other car on the market has them, and some things fall apart easily or dont work in the first place.

[–] atp@lemmy.world 36 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Owning a Tesla is basically a scavenger hunt to find out where they cut corners during design and manufacturing. (Hint: It’s literally everywhere possible.) I’ve never been so disappointed by a car in my life (‘23 MYP).

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[–] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de 43 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I am flabbergasted about how little some people know about cars.

In a discussion about a potentially mandatory hardware cutoff button for EVs after the accident in China:

  • But that's just an electric button! What is a button good for if the electronics fail?

Do you know what a hardware cutoff does?

  • Could I press it accidentally?

Such button would be mounted somewhere you can see and easily reach but normally don’t have hands there, like the dashboard.

  • What if I'm going 80 mph on a highway and the cutoff somehow activates?

Did you realize that you don't actually stop dead when the motor is disconnected? You will start coasting, gradually slowing down (unless it's downhill) and come to a halt in about a minute.
However, the software (or hardware, if the manufacturer is actually safety aware) will "notice" the cutoff and turn on brake lights (& hazards if they are separate), and inform you that you need to pull the button back up to reconnect the contacts. If you realize your mistake immediately, you can revert it in less time than it takes beginners to shift gears on some old cars (which is also a time when the motor is not engaged).

  • But how do I stop a rogue car if the button actually does not do it by itself?

Slamming the brakes all the way should mechanically engage the brake pads regardless of whether the electronics works. If not, the car is not road legal.

  • Cars did not use to have this!

Do you know what the ignition key does? It physically prevents the motor from firing any further if it is pulled.

Stop complaining about mechanical overrides to electronic systems! Any software engineer will tell you that they'll happily be able to pull the plug if their computer tries to kill them!

[–] Yendor@reddthat.com 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The brakes in a Tesla are move powerful than the motors. If the guy in China had actually been hitting the brakes, the car could have never reached 150kmh. The chance of a simultaneous failure of the mechanical brakes, the electrical interlocks and the drive software is FAR less likely than the chance the driver was pushing the wrong peddle.

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[–] rubythulhu@lemmy.blahaj.zone 41 points 1 year ago (2 children)

i hear that numerous tesla owners say they’ve been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

i’ve also heard that numerous tesla owners say they’ve been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

that, on top of the news that numerous tesla owners say they’ve been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power makes me realize we may be facing a horrifying truth: that numerous tesla owners are being trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

[–] BluJay320@lemmy.blahaj.zone 22 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Did you hear that numerous Tesla owners say they’ve been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power?

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[–] ThePac@lemmy.ml 38 points 1 year ago (9 children)

The manual door release can be tricky to find unless you've combed through your car's owner's manual.

Absolute horseshit. Practically every person who gets out of my car for the first time goes for the manual handle. I have to make a point to tell them to use the button.

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[–] Steeve@lemmy.ca 27 points 1 year ago (10 children)

https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_au/GUID-7A32EC01-A17E-42CC-A15B-2E0A39FD07AB.html

Really doesn't look that hard to find... and who the fuck is getting into any car without knowing how to open it in case of an emergency lol.

Pretty stupid that there's only a manual open for the front doors though, at least on the model 3.

[–] aircooledJenkins@lemmy.world 61 points 1 year ago (3 children)

and who the fuck is getting into any car without knowing how to open it in case of an emergency lol.

I think most people assume car doors all operate reasonably similarly. I don't necessarily specifically check "how to open the door if I need to" when getting into a rental, an Uber, or a friend's new car.

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[–] Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world 28 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I have never once in my life asked the driver of a vehicle how to open a door in case of emergency, because you should just be able to use the handle like any other fucking door.

What kind of absolute dipshit asks every driver they ride with where the hidden emergency door releases are on their car? That's never been a thing. Never. Because no one would imagine a door would be so poorly designed.

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[–] Deiv@lemmy.ca 25 points 1 year ago

Why would you assume pulling up on the inner part of the door is easy to find? It looks dumb as fuck and I would not think to try pulling that part

[–] PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

I can’t believe there isn’t a manual unlock for the back doors. They shouldn’t be road legal to lack that safety feature.

[–] FireTower@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

They could have at least put a label or symbol on it. I can totally understand if someone was looking for the emergency door handle and didn't see it because it blends in. If the normal handle is marked it's not unreasonable to presume the emergency handle would be too.

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[–] ThePac@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 year ago (2 children)

People... There are manual door handles right where you expect them to be. Why isn't this in the title hmmmmmmm?

[–] MrBusiness@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 year ago (4 children)

For the model S and X the handles look normal, but not for the model Y and 3. The handles for the model Y and 3 are in front of the window buttons, easy to miss. On top of that using the manual release handles for the model Y and 3 could possibly crack your window trim. Stupid, but true.

Try looking up the models they're talking about in the article before assuming things hmmmmmmm?

But seriously, everyone should look up the emergency info for your vehicles. May you never need it, but it's good to know. Like not all Tesla models have a back seat/trunk escape if you find yourself in a serious front end collision. Or how in the Model X you have to pry off the speaker grill to access the manual release wire.

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[–] Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

Teslas come with manual door releases, but they can be hard to find

This is misleading. The door releases are extremely hidden, and seem to be specifically designed to not be found by anyone who has not received special training to find and use them. Also, they are not the same on every model, and are sometimes not even the same on all versions of the same model.

Some releases are hidden inside of door panel molding, others are hidden inside speaker grills, some are hidden under floor mats and even then must be pulled a specific direction to function.

Tesla seems to be going out of their way to kill people by trapping them. It's fucking bizarre.

[–] tony@lemmy.hoyle.me.uk 27 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Like the ones on the 3 and Y that are literally the first things the people go for if you haven't told them where the open button is..

I mean, if you're functionally blind, you could argue they're hidden..

[–] Cqrd@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 year ago

This is actually true, I did this last week. The owner had to show me the open button. However, I think I’ve heard the S or X might have an actually difficult to find release, but not sure.

[–] Yendor@reddthat.com 24 points 1 year ago

The first time I ever rode in a Model 3, I accidentally used the mechanical door handle instead of the electronic one. It’s exactly where a normal door handle is. The driver said it happens all the time.

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[–] clausetrophobic@sh.itjust.works 22 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I get that people could be more curious about their cars, but hiding an emergency release like some kind of hidden book on Hogwarts that you have to yank on seems like a dumb idea. Car doors have established design language, and if you break that design language it has to be pretty fucking obvious how to do the action your users were trained to do.

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[–] Bell@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Just when I start to think there's alot of great information in the posts and comments on Lemmy, I read some like this.

[–] MrNorm@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Yep I thought the same after seeing 3 Tesla bashing posts one after the other in my feed. I don't care for the brand but I also don't want to hear about every single defect with them in individual posts.

I think the 'technology' topic is too broad and allows for this sort of shit slinging to happen too easily.

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[–] MeanEYE@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

It's a feature, not a bug. This way you can admire interior even more. /s

[–] silvercove@lemdro.id 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

Fact #648637 why Tesla is a bad car. It just feels very sloppy and badly engineered.

[–] Thann@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago (4 children)

the door handles are the definition of over-engineered

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[–] db2@lemmy.one 7 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I hate to be the voice of reason here, but if you get inside a powerful device to pilot it you should at minimum read the directions first.

[–] Darorad@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Have you read your entire car manual? Mine's like 200 pages, no way I'd remember everything even if I did read all of it. It's best used as a refefence when you need to do something.

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