Crunch! Falcon Wing Doors fail to sense obstacle

[Mark Z]

...The SC manager told me the reason why the door failed is because the sensor that controls the FWD distance to the ceiling is at the top of the glass on the roof. If you stand on a chair and look at the top of the roof, you will see two circular sensors...

*** CORRECT ***. I wondered who would post the right answer.

However, my teenage VIN Model X has only ONE sensor on the roof of the car. Do the newer production vehicles have two?

Be VERY careful whenever there is a low ceiling. One look at the OP photo and I saw that the roof sensor was under the higher ceiling of the garage and not the lower beam.

Enjoy your Model X.

 

[ModelXBoy]

@Drivin I want to know if you actually own a Model x or not. How can you dislike my answer which i got from a SC manager? Do you have anything better to say or a better solution to solve this problem better than someone who worked for Tesla for more than 5 years and led a team of 50 electrical technicians? Please educate me! I am confused.... And yeah, i get pretty mad when i get dislikes for providing useful information!

 

[eloder]

That sucks. However, people ding their doors unintentionally all the time. The Falcon Doors would have to prove less reliable than a person before deciding whether or not they are poorly designed.

Yup, this!

An automated system that is safer than a manual car door failing once doesn't mean it's suddenly worse than a manual car door.

 

[Krugerrand]

Still seems like an awful lot of cost and engineering to add a couple inches of access to the least-used part of the car. Even Elon admitted his mistake. Gullwing doors would have been a cool idea for their next 2 door toy sports car, but not for a family suv.

First of all, it's not a 'couple of inches of access'. There are plenty of posts on this forum of people living with the doors and thankful every single day for them. Ask owners with small children for starters. Ask owners with elderly parents.

Secondly, Elon admitted no mistake in regards to the FWD. What he said was a mistake was adding ALL the new tech to the car ALL at once. If he had it to do all over again, he'd likely implement the tech in stages.

Thirdly, the 'falcon wing' (as opposed to 'gullwing') doors are exactly what 'families' enjoy about the vehicle. See 'first of all'.

And lastly, this is the first I've read of the doors hitting an object. One incident here or there doesn't make the doors a bad idea, but it does give Tesla the opportunity to make them even better.

 

[Xponential]

@Drivin I want to know if you actually own a Model x or not. How can you dislike my answer which i got from a SC manager? Do you have anything better to say or a better solution to solve this problem better than someone who worked for Tesla for more than 5 years and led a team of 50 electrical technicians? Please educate me! I am confused.... And yeah, i get pretty mad when i get dislikes for providing useful information!

I agree with you, but trying to give @Drivin the benefit of the doubt, maybe what he meant is that he dislikes the fact that the sensor placement makes the doors ineffective at dealing with situations such as the OP's.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

@Drivin I want to know if you actually own a Model x or not. How can you dislike my answer which i got from a SC manager? Do you have anything better to say or a better solution to solve this problem better than someone who worked for Tesla for more than 5 years and led a team of 50 electrical technicians? Please educate me! I am confused.... And yeah, i get pretty mad when i get dislikes for providing useful information!

He doesn't own a Tesla, and is generally negative on any thread involving Tesla. Don't let it get to you, just a factor of an open forum.

 

[Xponential]

First of all, it's not a 'couple of inches of access'. There are plenty of posts on this forum of people living with the doors and thankful every single day for them. Ask owners with small children for starters. Ask owners with elderly parents.

Exactly! I am one of them. My lower back sings odes to Elon and the whole design department at Tesla each and every time I put my toddler into his car seat in the X. The roof cutout provided by the FWD is absolutely amazing.

 

[longtimeowner]

My colleague had the same issue, FWD hit the beam in the garage. Was so looking forward to confirming my order for MX but decided to cancel and wait for MX v2.0.

 

[cclaygo]

That sucks and I would be crying like a baby! However, I would never expect Tesla to pay for my mistake! Sure, I would love the doors to detect any and all obstacle in every situation, but that is practically impossible. I would just take personal responsibility for the fact that I didn't look before opening. Same as if I am opening a regular door with a high curb.

 

[Vitold]

Here's what Tesla needs (and I'm half serious):

 

[systemcrashed]

So sorry to hear that happened to your new X, the FWD are an awesome addition to this car and add a specialized gadgety chic to an already amazing vehicle. Whenever a novel method is used to solve a specific problem for a minority of users there will be growing pains for the majority of users. If Tesla ever does redesign the FWD and replaces them with a standard door or a minivan door I will be glad I got mine in time to get the FWD. I hope Tesla does repair this for you out of good will , since this may help them learn about a scenario their engineers might not have thought through.

Same as when I dropped my new first generation iPad on its edge and shattered the screen when I got home after camping outside the Apple Store to get my hands on it. I took it in the next morning with the expectation that I would have to pay for the repair and wait weeks or possibly pay for a new one of which there were none in stock. To my surprise, the manager took my shattered iPad went in the back of the store and handed me a brand new one in the box at no charge. Sometimes if you're the first "unlucky" customer you get a break. Hope this is what happens for you.

On the flip side there is a disclaimer in the manual regarding the position of the doors an observing them as they are being used:

"Warning: Model X falcon wing
doors have several sensors to
detect the presence of an object
in the door's path. In most cases,
when an object is detected, the
door stops moving. However, the
sensors are unable to detect all
areas under all circumstances,
particularly when closing,
Therefore, you must monitor the
movement of falcon wing doors
to ensure the door's path of
movement is free of obstacles,
staying prepared at all times to
proactively intervene to stop the
door from contacting an object
(including a person). Failure to
due so can cause serious damage
or bodily injury."

Keep us updated on how you resolve this one.

 

[Blastphemy]

Warning: Model X falcon wing doors have several sensors to detect the presence of an object in the door's path. In most cases, when an object is detected, the door stops moving. However, the sensors are unable to detect all areas under all circumstances, particularly when closing, Therefore, you must monitor the movement of falcon wing doors to ensure the door's path of movement is free of obstacles, staying prepared at all times to proactively intervene to stop the door from contacting an object (including a person). Failure to due so can cause serious damage or bodily injury.

My favorite part about that quote from the manual is "...staying prepared at all times to proactively intervene to stop the door from contacting an object." Let's see how many people have the dexterity to reach up and stop a falcon wing door from inside the car once it has started to open. It quickly gets out of reach, and stopping it from hitting a ceiling one wouldn't expect it to hit would be nearly impossible!

We should all use this unfortunate experience to edumacate our 2nd row passengers that not only do they need to look through the side window before opening the door, but also look up! Or request that no one exit the 2nd row until the driver has exited the car and can evaluate whether it's safe to open the falcon wing door.

Sheesh - just writing that made me hate the doors on my own Model X! It's like a friggin' production just to get out of the 2nd row, now. "Wait for cue... mark... driver has exited the vehicle... stand by... stand by... left side may exit... engage... stand by right side... stand by... right side hold... right side please exist on the left side... repeat, right should exit on the left."

 

[vandacca]

Couldn't you simply keep your finger by the door switch and press it down & in (e.g. to close)? Wouldn't that stop the door in mid-flight?

 

[FoxXxy]

Looks like just the glass panel next to the window is broken? Hopefully that will be a quick easy fix.

As best I can tell, you are correct, Jeff. Here are some better photos of the damage (which appears to only be that small cosmetic glass section):



As to everyone who is deciding on my behalf whether I should pay or Tesla should pay, I never even brought that up nor stated an opinion. So please don't just assume I'm expecting Tesla to cover the cost of repair. It might be in their best interest to do so, but I doubt Tesla actually has any real liability for the damage. (Perhaps if the door had sustained significant damage I might feel otherwise, but then that's what insurance is for.)

That having been said, the doofus who actually opened that door (my husband, who has gone into hiding) is definitely going to pay for it, whether it was his fault or Tesla's fault.

 

[ModelXBoy]

I think the best way to avoid this from happening again is to keep a set of close eyes on nearby object when you park. Just come out the car and look around, making sure all good then tell the people at the back seat to open the door. A step further, just put a tape on the back switch or something to warn people not to touch it. Use the center screen to open the FWD for the back passenger since you are the one who do all the checking when you first parked the car. Hopefully Tesla will integrate additional sensors to prevent the door from crashing into obstacles in the future.

 

[Canuck]

I'm surprised the force of the door opening is enough to break the glass.

Your human, we all make mistakes,...

Yes, your "your" proves we all make mistakes. (Sorry, I know commenting on grammar is lame but that was too hard to resist!)

As to everyone who is deciding on my behalf whether I should pay or Tesla should pay, I never even brought that up nor stated an opinion.

You don't need to. We've got that part covered...

Welcome to the forum!

 

[systemcrashed]

As best I can tell, you are correct, Jeff. Here are some better photos of the damage (which appears to only be that small cosmetic glass section):

View attachment 172426 View attachment 172427 View attachment 172428 View attachment 172429 View attachment 172430 View attachment 172432

As to everyone who is deciding on my behalf whether I should pay or Tesla should pay, I never even brought that up nor stated an opinion. So please don't just assume I'm expecting Tesla to cover the cost of repair. It might be in their best interest to do so, but I doubt Tesla actually has any real liability for the damage. (Perhaps if the door had sustained significant damage I might feel otherwise, but then that's what insurance is for.)

That having been said, the doofus who actually opened that door (my husband, who has gone into hiding) is definitely going to pay for it, whether it was his fault or Tesla's fault.

No assumptions were made, just expressing regret that it happened to a new MX owner. Would be a nice surprise for Tesla to cover the repair nevertheless. I'm sure your husband will never make that mistake again :-0 You have made every existing MX owner on this forum that more aware of a different scenario they may not have paid attention to. Uneven ceiling heights where FWD sensors are reading only the higher level and not recognizing the beam. Accidents happen that's why we have insurance. Just a little surprised to hear so many people hate the doors... I personally love them... But then again I haven't received my X yet.

 

[X Girl]

No assumptions were made, just expressing regret that it happened to a new MX owner. Would be a nice surprise for Tesla to cover the repair nevertheless. I'm sure your husband will never make that mistake again :-0 You have made every existing MX owner on this forum that more aware of a different scenario they may not have paid attention to. Uneven ceiling heights where FWD sensors are reading only the higher level and not recognizing the beam. Accidents happen that's why we have insurance. Just a little surprised to hear so many people hate the doors... I personally love them... But then again I haven't received my X yet.

I completely agree with @systemcrashed on this. All of us X owners need to be aware of these types of scenarios. I will be doing everything in my power to not have to use parking garages starting Monday when I take delivery of my X. I'm really sorry your X has been injured @FoxXxy.

 

[cclaygo]

As best I can tell, you are correct, Jeff. Here are some better photos of the damage (which appears to only be that small cosmetic glass section):

View attachment 172426 View attachment 172427 View attachment 172428 View attachment 172429 View attachment 172430 View attachment 172432

As to everyone who is deciding on my behalf whether I should pay or Tesla should pay, I never even brought that up nor stated an opinion. So please don't just assume I'm expecting Tesla to cover the cost of repair. It might be in their best interest to do so, but I doubt Tesla actually has any real liability for the damage. (Perhaps if the door had sustained significant damage I might feel otherwise, but then that's what insurance is for.)

That having been said, the doofus who actually opened that door (my husband, who has gone into hiding) is definitely going to pay for it, whether it was his fault or Tesla's fault.

I for one am glad to see that you have character....and a sense of humor! Some people posting on this need to chill out with the blame game.

 

[Seesaw]

Maybe in future iterations that could have a metal leading edge on that side of the window - so all the glass is 'framed'. It could look ugly though (I'm sure they could make it subtle) but it could provide protection in case sensors miss objects.

The pressure sensor in the door would stop the door once it hits something, but having vulnerable glass as a leading edge will turn tiny love taps into expensive outings.