Tesla under investigation by US safety authority

Safety regulators in the US have launched an investigation into Tesla and its use of power-operated door handles, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) looking into several complaints involving the electric car-maker’s popular Model Y electric SUV.

The operation of power-operated door handles in Tesla vehicles is now under investigation in the US, following reports of children becoming trapped inside examples of the Tesla Model Y, forcing owners to smash windows to get access to the vehicle. 

According to the BBC, at least nine complaints had been made to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) around the power-operated doors in 2021-built Tesla Model Y cars, with reports the handles ‘suddenly stopped working’.  

Four of those cases lead to owners breaking the vehicle’s windows to access the vehicle.  

A preliminary review published by the NHTSA says the problem appears to occur when the electronic door locks receive insufficient voltage.  

It also states no owners reported seeing a low voltage battery warning prior to the exterior door handles becoming inoperative. 

The issue is thought to affect an estimated 174,290 examples of the Tesla Model Y (2021 model year) in the US with the safety body stating: “At this time, NHTSA’s investigation is focused on the operability of the electronic door locks from outside of the vehicle as that circumstance is the only one in which there is no manual way to open the door.”

That’s not the case in Australia, however, where carsales’ award-winning report earlier this year revealed around 65,000 Tesla vehicles  – including the Model 3 sedan built between 2017-2023 – do not come with internal manual door releases on the rear doors.   

In the event of ancillary power loss, it means any rear seat occupants trapped inside those vehicles would need to crawl into the front seats and exit using the manual releases fitted to the front doors.  

Potential faults with electronically-operated car doors affects plenty of other modern vehicles, including several Chinese EVs, American sports cars and even Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, which was hit with a major global recall a few months ago due to similar power-operated door issues, which Ford said could potentially trap vehicle occupants.

As carsales exclusively reported in February, Australia’s independent crash test safety authority ANCAP, will begin testing power-operated car doors from 2026 and has called on the government to close the “regulatory loophole” that allows manufacturers to sell cars in Australia without manually operable interior door mechanisms on every passenger door. 

The tech has been highlighted in other regions too, following a high-profile crash in China involving a Xiaomi SU7 EV earlier this year, which prompted auto regulators in China to investigate the use of semi-autonomous driving aids as well as powered doors.  

Safety authorities in China are reportedly now looking to ban the use of both flush exterior door handles and power-operated interior door handles as soon as 2027, according to CarNewsChina. 

Pending findings by the NHTSA, a recall could be issued for the circa-170,000 Model Ys thought to be affected in the US. 

carsales has reached out to Tesla Australia to find out if any incidents of power-operated door failures have been reported locally and we’ll update this story if we get a response.   

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