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How many of you had Door handle issues on your Model S?

jlv1

Twice as much fun
Oct 14, 2015
461
443
Central MA
2017, just under 4 years old, 46K miles. Never had a problem with any of the door handles.

(I keep wondering if I should get an extended warranty in case my door handles start to fail)
 

David_Cary

Active Member
Dec 17, 2012
1,144
627
Cary, NC
2015, 82k miles.
2 out of warranty repairs. Total cost $30.
So that would be zero for the first 4 years of ownership and 50k miles.
I believe I have 2.0s. Certainly not bullet proof but not horrible either.
3.0s are only about $280 to replace. The parts for 2.0s have gotten more expensive - I think to encourage moving to 3.0s.
 

‘Merica

2013 Model S 85
Jun 3, 2019
115
124
Northern Virginia
In two years, I rebuilt one due to noise on my 2013 S, but not a failure. The tiny spring was misaligned on the shaft. All of mine see heavy use as a family hauler. My car is garaged 90% of the time at home and work. I wonder if those with multiple failures have cars that spend more time exposed to the elements.
 

NickFie

Member
Sep 28, 2017
513
546
Near Philadelphia, PA
2017 S100D 49K miles, over 3 years, pretty heavy family use. Fewer than 7 days parked under cover.

Zero door handles replaced or repaired.

Inventory car purchased with 1,100 miles. It’s possible a door handle was replaced while it was Tesla’s.
 

thebishop

Member
Dec 14, 2014
222
188
Sweden
In two years, I rebuilt one due to noise on my 2013 S, but not a failure. The tiny spring was misaligned on the shaft. All of mine see heavy use as a family hauler. My car is garaged 90% of the time at home and work. I wonder if those with multiple failures have cars that spend more time exposed to the elements.

Not me at least - always parked in heated garage.
 

LarryC

Member
Aug 18, 2014
38
3
SoCal
2014 with 45K miles when I sold it Nov. 2019 to get a 2020 S. Never had a problem with the handles. Parked in the sun most days, garaged at night.
 

Covidius

Member
Apr 26, 2020
25
28
Las Vegas
I have 2020 LR, barely 2000 miles on it. Driver side acts up, have not had it looked at yet since it's intermittent and I always prefer for car repairs that you have something tangible to show. But sometimes, the door handle either does not retract so I'll be driving and hear the gears running. Reaching through the window and just a gentle lift results in it thumping back into retracted position. More rarely, it will just thump back into retracted position on its own with a large clunk.

Oddly, while this seems to happen randomly, it happens almost like clockwork when I park at a certain location. I can't imagine why that would be.

But in conclusion NO this is absolutely not fixed and it still an issue with my car which was built less than a year ago.
 

jelloslug

Active Member
Jul 21, 2015
4,655
5,983
Greenville, SC
2016, ~87,000k miles, no issues.

I think another question to ask is: Do you use the outside door handle to shut the door? I never use the door handle to shut the door and I wonder if that has anything to do with it.
 
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AZP85

Member
Jun 17, 2019
131
59
Mount Albert, ON
Previous owner said they had 3 or 4 handles replaced and just this past summer I replaced the one gear myself. I bought the kits from EV Tuning. When another handle stops working I will be buying another kit from EV Tuning.
 
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Reactions: David29

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