... Man dies trapped inside corvette...

[nwdiver]

Can you imagine the headlines if this had been a Tesla?

Even with the fancy door handles on a Tesla opening the door from the inside is still electro-mechanical... no need to search for a special lever if you loose power.

 

[FlasherZ]

Can you imagine the headlines if this had been a Tesla?

Even with the fancy door handles on a Tesla opening the door from the inside is still electro-mechanical... no need to search for a special lever if you loose power.

...for the front seat only.

This will likely gain some attention to ensure there are failsafes for these types of things across all manufacturers, like the glowing-handle trunk releases we've seen.

 

[nwdiver]

...for the front seat only.

This will likely gain some attention to ensure there are failsafes for these types of things across all manufacturers, like the glowing-handle trunk releases we've seen.

For the S or the X? I thought all 4 doors were the same on the S.

 

[Petra]

For the S or the X? I thought all 4 doors were the same on the S.

Front doors on the Model S open mechanically with a full pull of the inside handle. The rear doors, on the other hand, require pulling a little mechanical release tab/cable that's located under a flap of carpet just below the rear seats on either side.

 

[nwdiver]

Front doors on the Model S open mechanically with a full pull of the inside handle. The rear doors, on the other hand, require pulling a little mechanical release tab/cable that's located under a flap of carpet just below the rear seats on either side.

.... wow.... guess I missed that part of the owners manual... ~3 years and I never knew. I don't spend as much time in the back seat as I'd like to :wink:

 

[green1]

I always thought that was a horrible design in the vette, and I was very disappointed to see the same decision made in the back seat of the MS.
As auto manufacturers obviously have no regard for occupant safety, it will probably be up to governments to legislate away this horrible, and bordering on criminal, design decision in many modern vehicles.

The test should always be "can a person unfamiliar with the vehicle, and in a complete panic, exit the vehicle quickly in an emergency." This stupidity doesn't pass that test.

on a side note... Am I the only one who thinks it looks like the man pictured in the article is wearing a Tesla hat???

 

[GregTexas]

>Rogers was parked at a Port Arthur restaurant and appeared to have struggled to get out before he died.

There seems to be a lot of assuming in that story. They should explain how it appears he struggled.
How do they know he didn't have a heart attack and die and the battery went dead from something staying on. You would think he could get the the attention of another Denny's customer.

 

[nwdiver]

>Rogers was parked at a Port Arthur restaurant and appeared to have struggled to get out before he died.

There seems to be a lot of assuming in that story. They should explain how it appears he struggled.
How do they know he didn't have a heart attack and die and the battery went dead from something staying on. You would think he could get the the attention of another Denny's customer.

Reading the story the two parts that lend credence to him being trapped are the part that the car had lost power and he had the owners manual in his lap when he was found... that last bit wasn't mentioned in the article but was discussed when this story was broadcast on inside edition.

 

[DFibRL8R]

on a side note... Am I the only one who thinks it looks like the man pictured in the article is wearing a Tesla hat???

Texas Longhorns. Does bear a striking resemblance though

 

[ecarfan]

This story is bizarre. Parked in a restaurant parking lot and he was not able to attract anyone's attention by yelling or pounding on the window?

...he had the owners manual in his lap when he was found...

One would think he would have had enough time to read the entire manual and somehow he missed the emergency door release instructions.

 

[nwdiver]

This story is bizarre. Parked in a restaurant parking lot and he was not able to attract anyone's attention by yelling or pounding on the window? One would think he would have had enough time to read the entire manual and somehow he missed the emergency door release instructions.

Apparently that part was on page 86... and it was ~98F (this is an old story from the summer)... he was probably panicking a bit and starting to lose higher brain function due to heat stress. Hot cars can be lethal very quick.

Until I read this I didn't realize healthy adults dying this way was something that happened...

 

[musicious]

Everyone in any car should keep a tool like this, for $10 it is small enough to keep on a keychain, can cut the seatbelt and can brake the window.

Amazon.com: resqme The Original Keychain Car Escape Tool, Made in USA (Black): Automotive

 

[Ocelot]

I always thought that was a horrible design in the vette, and I was very disappointed to see the same decision made in the back seat of the MS.
As auto manufacturers obviously have no regard for occupant safety, it will probably be up to governments to legislate away this horrible, and bordering on criminal, design decision in many modern vehicles.

The test should always be "can a person unfamiliar with the vehicle, and in a complete panic, exit the vehicle quickly in an emergency." This stupidity doesn't pass that test.

on a side note... Am I the only one who thinks it looks like the man pictured in the article is wearing a Tesla hat???

Agree on all accounts .

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

I really wish this post wasn't moved because it's extremely pertinent to the Tesla MS because of the electromechanical rear-doors. It's important for owners to understand what they are and to follow the manual on how to open them.

I don't really like them either, and to my knowledge Tesla uses them in 3 locations. The first location is the frunk, and the other locations are the two rear doors. The frunk it's not a problem in not being able to open it, but if it ever opened accidentally because of a glitch or some hack (which hopefully is next to impossible).

 

[WarpedOne]

Story is 'strange'.

I always thought that was a horrible design in the vette, and I was very disappointed to see the same decision made in the back seat of the MS.
As auto manufacturers obviously have no regard for occupant safety, it will probably be up to governments to legislate away this horrible, and bordering on criminal, design decision in many modern vehicles.

I was already starting to cook "yet another alarmist" post, but I stopped.
No, you are completely right. Relying on hidden levers for people to use when in panic is a bad design. Period.
Be it tesla or whoever. When in panic it is hard to remember things you do everyday, and impossible to remember things you maybe read once a long time ago.
Electronic levers should be designed to work in a mechanical way when out of power.
Tesla designed front levers to operate even without power, why should the rear ones be any different?

 

[nwdiver]

..... it gets stranger....

Hard to believe that they didn't even try to open the door...

 

[ken830]

Electronic levers should be designed to work in a mechanical way when out of power.
Tesla designed front levers to operate even without power, why should the rear ones be any different?

Not sure why this always comes up, but no one ever remembers why the rear doors don't have the same mechanical release on the primary lever... It's because of the child-lock feature on the rear doors. It's the same as other cars with a mechanical child-lock. You can't open the door from the inside. Tesla's child-lock is controlled by software via the touchscreen, not a mechanical switch on the door itself like most other cars. That's why they needed to "hide" the emergency release in a place where a properly-secured child will not be able to reach.

This means the emergency release latch will always work, whereas in most other cars that have the child-lock enabled, there is no way to open the door from the inside. Isn't that a bit safer in the emergency case?

 

[Rockster]

In response to this article, I made sure my entire family was aware of the rear seat releases and I followed up with them a couple of days later to ensure they remembered. Plus, I drove home the point that climbing over the seats and exiting via the front doors is an option. Finally, I put one of the window punch widgets in the glove box.

 

[bluetinc]

Out of curiosity, how do you get into the glove box when the door doesn't open?

Peter

In response to this article, I made sure my entire family was aware of the rear seat releases and I followed up with them a couple of days later to ensure they remembered. Plus, I drove home the point that climbing over the seats and exiting via the front doors is an option. Finally, I put one of the window punch widgets in the glove box.

 

[green1]

This means the emergency release latch will always work, whereas in most other cars that have the child-lock enabled, there is no way to open the door from the inside. Isn't that a bit safer in the emergency case?

No, this is very much less safe than those cars. Child locks are actually in use on a very small percentage of vehicles at any one time, yet the Tesla denies you emergency escape on every vehicle, all of the time.

The hidden emergency pulls are basically useless, people who know a car that well rarely sit in the back seat (except children who are the ones that you may want to stop from using them, so basically the emergency pulls are far more likely to be used by a child trying to circumvent the child locks, then by anyone in an emergency situation.)