How safe are FWDs for small children?

[Alset72]

i have a Model S and Model X. I perceive the regular doors on the Model S to be safer for my two-year old than the FWDs on the Model X. I feel one has to pay extra attention in the Model X to where other passengers (not just children) are located before closing the door, and they have to stay away from the door once they start closing. That's also why they keep the FWDs fully open in show room - too much risk of accidents.

So I guess the questions is: Are the FWDs more susceptible to accidents (bang on the head, pinched finger, etc.)?

 

[IdaX]

i have a Model S and Model X. I perceive the regular doors on the Model S to be safer for my two-year old than the FWDs on the Model X. I feel one has to pay extra attention in the Model X to where other passengers (not just children) are located before closing the door, and they have to stay away from the door once they start closing. That's also why they keep the FWDs fully open in show room - too much risk of accidents.

So I guess the questions is: Are the FWDs more susceptible to accidents (bang on the head, pinched finger, etc.)?

I don't know about if they're *more* succeptible or not. I've got small kids (7, 7, 5, 3) and they're great with the FWD. They're careful with it. It's nice that the doors make a loud beep as they close -- the kids have become attuned to that. They've closed on me before and it's not a big deal, they stop and reverse a bit when they hit an obstacle. What's nice is that the kids can open and close their own doors, or I can do it for them from the console.

 

[outie]

With the FWDs you have to constantly look out for the surroundings before closing them. I also have to make sure they are seated and/or buckled up properly first.

However with proper training and constant reminders the doors have not caused any issue for my toddler. The second baby just turned one so we'll have to see how that goes.

While the doors will stop after hitting something, it's really not something you want to happen to young kids. I've seen the videos showing cucumbers getting snapped. You never know when the doors fail to work properly.

 

[rainforest]

The biggest fear is having their hands caught between the top of the FWD and the door frame.

 

[Peteybabes]

sliding doors on a minivan have the same pinch risks...

 

[FarmerDave]

My concern is more with grandkids opening the FWD when it's not safe (cars approaching, etc.), so I used the control setting to prevent them from opening the doors. No issues with them closing the doors themselves.

 

[martinicus]

2 and 4 year olds here, no serious incidents yet. You have to teach them to respect the doors and announce when you're closing them. My biggest fear is the top glass, I had a hanging garage door handle that got stuck in there and cracked the FWD top glass closing on it. No sensor stopped it. If that was a finger..

 

[commasign]

I got the the new falcon wing door switch retrofit which makes it easier to use, but unfortunately my 2 yo has become fixated on it and will push or try to push the button at every opportunity. So we just have to be extra careful. As for the doors themselves, we all learned pretty quickly where to stand and what to check before opening or closing them. No falcon wing door accidents for us (myself, my wife, our 6yo, and our 2yo) in over a year, not counting the occasional guest or visitor getting smacked.

 

[Terthen]

We have a 4 yo and 1 yo. No accidents here, although it took a lot of "training" to get my 4yo to stop using his feet to activate the door. (Our light headliner has all these footprints...sigh, I digress). As a door I don't think it's any more susceptible than a regular door or sliding door, except that these can be opened/closed easily via the remote. We had one accident where I bumped my wife on the head because somehow the triple click activated in my pocket, so I disabled that. For your 2yo, actually it's a huge blessing being able to stand straight up to put kids in so your back will enjoy a few years of comfort if you go with the X.

 

[Mrcook4590]

We have five (12, 10, 9, 7, and 6), and we've had no trouble with getting pinched. The doors have actually stopped themselves from hitting a tree I didn't see, so that was a good thing! Lol! I also have the parental controls set so I open the doors from up front. I did almost hit the Vice Principal in the head when I first got it because I hit the wrong button (they seem backward to me), but aside from that, we've been good.