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Door handle pinched my hand while retracting

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I couldn't even get it to leave an imprint when I tried previously...

I ordered a digital force gauge and will do some tests next week against the handles and various other things (like the force of opening a door or carrying a grocery bag) to compare. Pretty sure the Model S door handles will land pretty dang low on this list, but, will use the scientific method to be sure.

Hypothesis: Model S door handle retraction exerts less force on the fingers than the vast majority of real world activities that exert force onto fingers.
 
Did you know that the MS door handles are great for opening a bottle of beer?

I have mice in my garage, so I put some cheese on my door handles, and... CHOP! no more mice!

So then,

I called Steve-O to come do a Jackass episode with my door handles, and he attached one to his nipple ring... but threw up on my car!

Also, my kid puts his GI Joe's in there, grabs the FOB and does sound-effects, "Aarrrghhh!!"...

(Having trouble forming a droll one-liner tonight)
 
The motors push the handles out from the flush position. What you are hearing is the motor return to the flush position.
What people here are saying is that the handle is attached to the motor by springs.
If the motor was pulling the handle into the door, you would not be able to stop it without damaging the motor.

One way you could test this is to hold the handle to prevent it from retracting. The motor sound continues even while the handle doesn't retract. Likewise, when you do let go, the motor doesn't start up again, the handle simply snaps into the flush position.

Ah, got it; thanks for the clear explanation. I can confirm that my handles do behave the way you've described. If I forcibly hold the handle in the fully extended position (without pulling on it further, which would open the door) and then press the fob to retract the handle, the motor operates normally and the other 3 handles retract to flush, while the handle I'm holding stays out where I'm holding it. Once the motor stops, letting go causes the handle to snap back in quickly, and with more apparent force than when I just allowed it to close on my fingertip gradually.

One hypothesis is that my handle springs are under greater tension than (most of) yours, or out of tolerance in some way. Another hypothesis is that our handle springs have identical tension, and the difference is strictly due to pain tolerance. In either case, the force gauge should be able to quantify this and provide some numbers for comparison. (And yes, I do intend to ask the SC whether the handle tension is within spec when I have my next appointment.)

I note that only one finger (my middle finger, which is the longest and also the thickest) was actually caught and pinched. All the force was applied to it at a single point. If I had been gripping the handle more securely with four fingers, the force would likely have been distributed across my hand.
 
Looked on Amazon for "force gauge" and there are quite a few, with a wide price range. There's an analog one for $65 that measures either push or pull. Will put it in my cart, since I'm now curious to know the answer.
You can search for luggage scale, like one for theese: luggage scale - Free Shipping - DX


The title before it was changed it was a little more aggressive in how it described damage to the fingers but can't remember what it was.
The old title was: "Door handle tried to dedigitate me! Ouch!"


Also, I wanted to do a little test to see if I was affected. Here is my result:
Tesla door handle test. - YouTube
This is an October 2014 Model S 85. vin: P580xx
 
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I couldn't even get it to leave an imprint when I tried previously...

I ordered a digital force gauge and will do some tests next week against the handles and various other things (like the force of opening a door or carrying a grocery bag) to compare. Pretty sure the Model S door handles will land pretty dang low on this list, but, will use the scientific method to be sure.

Hypothesis: Model S door handle retraction exerts less force on the fingers than the vast majority of real world activities that exert force onto fingers.

Lol.. Even though I agree w the conclusion I can up front tell you the experiments won't be the path to proving it. But have fun!

You can also do a simple force gauge with a little string and a pulley to a weight on a kitchen balance. More pull=less weight on balance. Folks may also have a luggage scale handy, but those are quite imprecise.
I guess it's more fun to have the gizmo than do the contraption ... and have the experiment critiqued because of the noise the contraption adds. :)
 
Still means nothing. Prove the Model S caused this from that low res pic. Good luck.

@whoever left negative reputation for the above post being "provocative."

First, how the heck do you leave negative rep? I would love to spread *that* love around a bit. Assuming this is a moderator ability...

Second, lol. Seriously? I wasn't aware this post broke any rules. Feel free to point me in that direction if so. Otherwise I'd like that crap removed from my account please, thanks.

As for the post above, it is a completely legitimate gripe with the "evidence" presented here. Anyone believing what was said based on that alone would be silly.
 
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@whoever left negative reputation for the above post being "provocative."

First, how the heck do you leave negative rep? I would love to spread *that* love around a bit. Assuming this is a moderator ability...

Second, lol. Seriously? I wasn't aware this post broke any rules. Feel free to point me in that direction if so. Otherwise I'd like that crap removed from my account please, thanks.

As for the post above, it is a completely legitimate gripe with the "evidence" presented here. Anyone believing what was said based on that alone would be silly.

Only moderators can leave negative rep and they are suppose to sign that rep. I know, for a fact, that latter part doesn't always happen (for some reason). You (admittedly - it's in a post somewhere around here) are provocative (I picked that word, I believe you said blunt or something along those lines), so why you'd be shocked that someone would take offense is, well...shocking. I can rewrite the post in question for you (as an example) so as to show you how to say the exact same thing without getting someone's hackles up. I do charge a fee for that, though. It'll cost you one positive rep for me. :smile:
 
I think a much better use of the OPs time than posting pictures of his fingers would be a video showing the force the handles exert, that would make it much easier for others to judge. I'm sure that the OPs camera is capable of shooting video as I haven't seen one made in a long time that couldn't, and it is much easier to show force that way.

I recommend a video with the tissue test discussed previously, however some other good ones based on the claimed strength of the handles could be good. If it does damage to fingers, it would probably be enough to cut a hot dog in half, that would be a fairly dramatic video to prove the point.

As long as all we see is pictures of supposed damage to fingers, without any evidence of the mechanism doing said damage, some (many?) posters are likely to be skeptical.
 
Only moderators can leave negative rep and they are suppose to sign that rep. I know, for a fact, that latter part doesn't always happen (for some reason). You (admittedly - it's in a post somewhere around here) are provocative (I picked that word, I believe you said blunt or something along those lines), so why you'd be shocked that someone would take offense is, well...shocking. I can rewrite the post in question for you (as an example) so as to show you how to say the exact same thing without getting someone's hackles up. I do charge a fee for that, though. It'll cost you one positive rep for me. :smile:

Pretty sure in the forum rules it specifically says "Challenge others' points of view and opinions" No where was I disrespectful. My post was to the point saying to simply prove that the Model S caused what was shown in the thumbnail sized picture of a finger, which proves nothing other than it being a picture of a finger.

Ah well, whatever. I'm just going to remove this thread from my subscriptions and if in the future I feel compelled to perform objective testing of this door handle issue as I had mentioned previously in this thread I'll do so elsewhere. This moderator, who doesn't seem to have read the rules and is passing judgement outside of them, has effectively deprived TMC of that contribution, so you know who to thank.

 
My first post:

Has anyone else had the door handle retract just as you've got your fingers are grabbing it? It's a painful experience that left a mark on my finger for a few days. I think what happened is that my wife had the fob in her purse, and was walking in the house as I was opening the door to grab something. At the exact moment I had my fingers under the handle and was about to pull, they retracted on me. They came right back out to release me from the neo-chinese finger trap I found myself in. It's only happened the one time, thankfully!

So, examining this:

1) I was asking if anyone else had a similar experience.

A few others have posted that the handle has 'bitten' them before, but nobody is complaining of a widespread issue that needs emergency resolution.

2) I mentioned it left a mark on my finger for quite a long while.

I didn't say that I went to the ER, or the chiropractor, or an orthopedic surgeon. I said, straight away, that it left a mark on my finger. I (and others) later posted pictures of the mark you can get on your finger. While it isn't evidence of a childbirth-like pain, that was never alleged. A mark on your finger that remains for a while can certainly be construed as evidence that perhaps it was more painful than eating cotton candy however. Less than an arrow in the eye. But more than a marshmallow resting in your nose. Somewhere in between perhaps. It's all subjective.

3) I constructed the likely scenario that is causing this happen.

I believe the fob was either far enough away to cause the auto-retract thing, or the fob's batteries are to weak to maintain good signal with the doors. So it's closing on my fingers sometimes.

4) I mentioned that they didn't extend after closing on me.

I was under the impression that, like the back hatch, if it encountered resistance while closing, it would open again. It doesn't.

5) I mentioned it's only happened the one time.

I didn't say this was an epidemic that needed to be shouted from the rooftops in all corners of the world. I asked if anyone else had experienced this, too. Because it was strange, unpleasant, and I figured it was uncommon.


So the acrimony here is unnecessary. Just smile. It's just a door handle. Others have said it's because Tesla is unfairly attacked in the press sometimes - fair enough. My silly title was changed. At this point - if you aren't going to be friendly I ban you from my thread. I've got no power to do that, so it's a self-enforcing banishment. If you are feeling like you need to get your grouchies out, do it on another forum. If you are feeling like you need a hug or a smile or a laugh, feel free to post.
 
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Pretty sure in the forum rules it specifically says "Challenge others' points of view and opinions" No where was I disrespectful. My post was to the point saying to simply prove that the Model S caused what was shown in the thumbnail sized picture of a finger, which proves nothing other than it being a picture of a finger.


Well, that all is a matter of opinion and subjective. Somebody (with the power to give you negative rep) thought it was disrespectful - probably more than one person thought it was disrespectful. That is the way of the world. Not everyone is going to like what you say or how you say it and/or will misinterpret your words or intent. Considering all the little green squares you have, I'm not really sure why it matters so much. When you've had as many green squares taken away as I have, then we can talk on that subject.

This moderator, who doesn't seem to have read the rules and is passing judgement outside of them, has effectively deprived TMC of that contribution, so you know who to thank.

Well, no. I have no idea who to thank or not thank since the person didn't sign your negative rep. :wink: We could do some guess work and narrow down who it was by how many points you lost and that I know that AO signs all his negative rep (even when he gives it to you multiple times), so it very likely wasn't him. Nigel always signed his negative rep, but he's not a mod anymore so it wasn't him. If it was a whole whack of points - like in the 200 range - that really narrows things down. Or you could just ask Doug about it. He prefers his mods sign their negative rep, so he tells me.
 
All the data in the world, from experiments conducted on door handles other than the OPs, only proves that the retracting handles used in the "scientific experiment" didn't cause injuries.

Seems like something is wrong with the OPs handles & should be checked by a service center.