Door handle pinched my hand while retracting

[Zythryn]

I'm amazed by the reports here.
I've done this by accident, and on purpose numerous times.

Four common straws side by side will prevent the handle from retracting (yes, I just tested it).
The only way to cause pain may be if you pull your hand up, rather than away from the car, rubbing your knuckle along the edge of the door frame.
If the handle starts retracting, pull against the movement, not up.
It requires very little force.

If you doubt that, do what I did, take 4 straws, place them in the door handle and lock the doors with the fob.
I show people at shows by leaving my hand in there all the time.

 

[MileHighMotoring]

I'm amazed by the reports here.
I've done this by accident, and on purpose numerous times.

Four common straws side by side will prevent the handle from retracting (yes, I just tested it).
The only way to cause pain may be if you pull your hand up, rather than away from the car, rubbing your knuckle along the edge of the door frame.
If the handle starts retracting, pull against the movement, not up.
It requires very little force.

If you doubt that, do what I did, take 4 straws, place them in the door handle and lock the doors with the fob.
I show people at shows by leaving my hand in there all the time.

I appreciate your efforts in experimentation but surely you're not suggesting that those of us who've experienced this are being dishonest?

 

[Zythryn]

I appreciate your efforts in experimentation but surely you're not suggesting that those of us who've experienced this are being dishonest?

Not dishonest, just misinterpreting.
Stand next to a corner wall.
Move your knuckles over the corner very slowly, say 1 inch per second.

Didn't hurt at all, did it?
Now, if you had moved your knuckles over the corner quickly (please don't do this, it could hurt), say 10 meters/second, it will hurt like the dickens.

If the door handle is closing, simply pull back so you don't rap you knuckles against the frame of the door.

And if you are skeptical, do what I suggested and put four straws in there and lock the door.

 

[AudubonB]

It appears that none of you is ready for the post-digital era.

 

[MileHighMotoring]

I suppose my best guess is that you're doing testing on a system and finding it working as expected. Some of us have experienced it, for a moment, not working as expected.

 

[scaesare]

It appears that none of you is ready for the post-digital era.

I see what you did there...

:wink:

 

[deonb]

Not dishonest, just misinterpreting.
Stand next to a corner wall.
Move your knuckles over the corner very slowly, say 1 inch per second.

Didn't hurt at all, did it?
Now, if you had moved your knuckles over the corner quickly (please don't do this, it could hurt), say 10 meters/second, it will hurt like the dickens.

If the door handle is closing, simply pull back so you don't rap you knuckles against the frame of the door.

And if you are skeptical, do what I suggested and put four straws in there and lock the door.

Another test I just did. I have no good scientific way to measure this little ft-lbs of force, so I used a piece of thin insulated wire to see if I can feel how much it deforms when I tug on my Model S handle vs. Highlander's handle.

So first wrapped it around the Model S handle and have it retract all the way. Then I pulled on the ends of the wire with 2 fingers - it opened fairly easily.

Then I walked over to my Highlander and I tried opening the door the same way - using the same piece of wire wrapped around the Highlander handle. I couldn't do it - the wire broke! Before it broke, I could tell with no degree of uncertainty that I had to exhibit significantly more force trying to open the Highlander door than I had to exhibit fighting with the spring in the Model S handle.

It would be nice if someone can measure actual ft-lbs (ft-ozs?) of force, but I'm willing to bet that the Model S door handles exerts at most half the force than a standard car handle.

I think the problem is that it looks like a scary jaws-like thing that appears to be retracting under power because it happens smoothly. So people naturally jump when this happens unexpectedly and it's this jerk-reaction that causes the injury, rather than the handle itself.

I think the DS's should take all new owners and have the handle close on their fingers, so that owners from the beginning associate that there is no powered actuator that is closing the door handles - it just looks like there is.

 

[gregincal]

I assume everybody knows this, and it's been alluded to in several postings, but since it hasn't been stated directly I just thought I say it. There is no motor that pulls the handle in, there is only a spring. All the motor ever does is push the handle out. When the motor stops pushing the handle out, it is pulled in by the spring (you could pull the handle out at any time if only there was a way to get a grip on it). So all we are talking about here is how hard the spring pulls. Definitely for me it doesn't seem like a very strong spring (after all its only job is to keep a very light door handle retracted).

 

[markb1]

I assume everybody knows this, and it's been alluded to in several postings, but since it hasn't been stated directly I just thought I say it. There is no motor that pulls the handle in, there is only a spring. All the motor ever does is push the handle out. When the motor stops pushing the handle out, it is pulled in by the spring (you could pull the handle out at any time if only there was a way to get a grip on it). So all we are talking about here is how hard the spring pulls. Definitely for me it doesn't seem like a very strong spring (after all its only job is to keep a very light door handle retracted).

No, the motor does pull the handle in, via a spring. The spring doesn't normally come into play, unless something is blocking the handle from retracting.

 

[supratachophobia]

I've stuck other, more sensitive, body parts in there and it did not hurt.....

 

[firstpl@gmail]

My cousin had a piece of his finger ripped of when he tried to grab the handle BEFORE it fully emerged from the door... there is too much power pushing the handle out

 

[Densan]

I researched the doorknob , it has a touch sensor as Mercedes or BMW , and sees your presence when you move it , and Electric motors drive begins to produce electricity, so the moment of falling asleep to the motor is energized , and the closure they can not recognize the presence of your hand , although it is possible to programmatically configure a timeout at the beginning of folding to check the load or just to control the current folding.

 

[ecarfan]

My cousin had a piece of his finger ripped of when he tried to grab the handle BEFORE it fully emerged from the door... there is too much power pushing the handle out

I don't understand how that injury occurred. The handle is extending. How can you grab it in a way that an injury can result?

 

[Canuck]

It appears that none of you is ready for the post-digital era.

That's a really clever post.

I've stuck other, more sensitive, body parts in there and it did not hurt.....

That's far too much information.

 

[Zythryn]

I suppose my best guess is that you're doing testing on a system and finding it working as expected. Some of us have experienced it, for a moment, not working as expected.

If it were not working correctly I would certainly recommend having the car serviced.
I've seen the mechanism, I simply don't see a way for it to malfunction in such a way to cause injury.
The only way I can see doing that is to quickly move your hand in such a way that it strikes the doorframe at a fast enough speed to cause injury.

What did the service center say?

 

[Densan]

The only way I can see doing that is to quickly move your hand in such a way that it strikes the doorframe at a fast enough speed to cause injury.

+1
I think also can cause damage to the edge of the door under the handle

 

[deonb]

No, the motor does pull the handle in, via a spring. The spring doesn't normally come into play, unless something is blocking the handle from retracting.

No it's not. That's like saying that if you push open one of those mesh spring doors with a broom handle, and then slowly bringing the broom handle back so that the door closes gently on it, rather than slamming shut, that it's the action of the broom handle causing the door to close. It really is not.

Similarly, the motor doesn't pull on the spring or the handle in any way - it's stationary mounted like the mesh spring door. It merely extends the handle, and then stops extending it.

Do yourself a favor - wrap a piece of thin cloth (or even cut down paper) around the handle and have it close all the way. Then pull on the cloth to open the handle without the motor, and play around with it a little bit. It becomes very obvious how it works.

 

[firstpl@gmail]

I don't understand how that injury occurred. The handle is extending. How can you grab it in a way that an injury can result?

He put his hand inside the halfway out handle in a way that the tip of his middle finger got squeezed in between the emerging handle and the edge of the door under the handle. I saw it with my own eyes, it actually ripped the tip off! There was blood, and a lot of it

 

[Fezzik]

My 1 year old daughter got her fingers caught in there trying to open the doors. She just said daddy and didnt cry. I tired it myself when I first got the car due to my kids doing just this to make sure it wouldnt hurt them. No issues.

 

[yobigd20]

several times. There is no way it hurts or even leaves a mark.

this. it's happened several times to me. it's very soft and impossible to "hurt" you...

- - - Updated - - -

I've stuck other, more sensitive, body parts in there and it did not hurt.....

sorry the MS doesn't have a tailpipe. maybe there's a goat or two around that's probably better suited for you.