Taken seriously…
Well, I was the first reply to this thread and absolutely stand behind what I said, still. I'm surprised by 15 pages of replies and the lengths people have gone to, as well as the heights (depths?) to which tempers have gone.
I don't think there was anything wrong with the loaner I was driving when it happened to me, though I was surprised there wasn't a sensor preventing retraction. Now that I also have a S, I haven't had it happen again because I pay more attention now to how long the car's been waiting after extending the handles. Never felt a need to do it again and see how much force is applied now vs. on the loaner early on. I read the OP's post exactly as he meant it, I think, original title and all. He, like me, got pinched a bit, was startled by it, and was surprised it would happen. I told the service center about it when I returned the car. He posted here to see what others had experienced. Both were reasonable reactions, and if the humor of the title was taken as something serious and inflammatory, that's unfortunate. Frankly, I doubt there's anything wrong with the OP's car, but if he thinks the force might be too strong, he should absolutely get it checked out, and would love it if he reported back. Too bad the thread has framed it such that it nearly scared him off from posting again.
When it happened to me, I didn't think OMG I'm going to lose my finger, my first thoughts weren't of lawsuits, fingers falling to the ground, nor of Kleenex being folded over and used to test the force. Like others later suggested I, being startled as the handle started to retract, started pulling my hand out, and my fingertips got pinched. It hurt. It didn't damage, nor did I say anything about injury. I said it hurt a little - "somewhat painful" were my exact words. Anyone telling me that can't possibly be true, much less trying to prove it "scientifically" is astounding to me, to the point where I didn't figure arguing it was worth it. Things go so over the top here sometimes, it's amazing.
That said, I actually do appreciate the spring gauge test, and description of the actual construction of the door handle and how it works. That's good info and helpful to understand what's going on. It's too bad that so much condescending and flat out hostility went with it in many of the posts on this thread though. Makes me sad, and I've lost some of the respect for some of the members that had previously earned much respect from me from really great other posts.
Recycled/recyclable canvas bags all the way, Baby! And just to stay on topic; the wider, none scrunching properties of the canvas bag handles allows you to carry more groceries on one wrist because the weight is distributed over a larger surface. (I won't tell you how bad that soda is for you.)
