Help! Door handle motors won't stop working

[Prachatice]

So it snowed a got a little cold here in Boulder over the weekend. Noticed rear passenger door handle would not open. No big deal, thought maybe it was frozen. Front passenger door worked fine. After a few hours of driving around, parked at home (outside). Around 25 degrees. Car was parked for several hours and when I went outside, I heard the handle motors operating on both passenger side doors but handles won't open. I assume these motors work on the 12 volt battery? and eventually the battery would go dead. Car worked fine this morning but motors are still going but handles won't open. I already have a service appt in a few weeks but I'm scared that the battery will go dead. Any ideas of how to either open the handle or stop the motors from going? TIA!

 

[PWlakewood]

First thing to try is a reboot and or power off

 

[brkaus]

The paddles are likely broken. They extend the door handle. The door handle does't extend, so the switch doesn't trigger telling the motor to stop.

The 12v will not go dead. The car will occasionally charge it from the main battery.

 

[Barry]

Probably broken paddle gears. Well known design flaw of the car.

 

[amiral_sub]

here is a permanent fix:
Tesla Model S Stainless Steel "Paddle Gear" Replacement for 1042845-00-A

 

[Prachatice]

Thank you. Weird that the paddle gear would break on two doors at roughly the same time. I guess maybe they froze and that caused them to break? Car is under warranty for about 4 more years so I guess I'll just get them fixed in a couple weeks.

 

[brkaus]

Thank you. Weird that the paddle gear would break on two doors at roughly the same time. I guess maybe they froze and that caused them to break? Car is under warranty for about 4 more years so I guess I'll just get them fixed in a couple weeks.

yes, pushing against the frozen door handle was probably the final straw. I feel like they would be weakened by things like closing the door using the handle. Or anything that pushes against them while they are extending.

 

[terryna]

Probably broken paddle gears. Well known design flaw of the car.

Agree

 

[Prachatice]

Is there anything that can be done or just let the motors run for two weeks straight until my appointment?

 

[agtdDelirium]

I have no great advice for you, but these situations beg the statement...

Wouldn't it be great if we could actually call a service center and speak to a human being about these kinds of issues? This is exactly where Tesla service fails us over and over.