Model 3 rear door no unpowered emergency release safety

[powerzone1111]

I've reserved an M3 and am expecting delivery soon - but as I started looking through the manual tonight to prepare, I noticed that the rear doors don't have a manual handle or release that can be used in an emergency that cuts power to the doors!

Safety is one big reason for my purchase (both preventive and structural), and given the other safety-focused features and design, this seems like a huge oversight and problem - particularly since I often have rear seat passengers.

I'm currently regretfully planning to cancel my reservation.

If anyone else here has considered the safety implications of the lack of a manual rear door release in an emergency where battery power is lost, would appreciate any insights/thoughts.

Thank you.

 

[Araex]

If you're fine with DIY, there's a walkthrough on how to install one

 

[Needsdecaf]

Honestly shouldn't be all that hard to crawl to the front to get out. But I do like this method above. Seems a dawdle to install, will definitely do it.

 

[jjrandorin]

I've reserved an M3 and am expecting delivery soon - but as I started looking through the manual tonight to prepare, I noticed that the rear doors don't have a manual handle or release that can be used in an emergency that cuts power to the doors!

Safety is one big reason for my purchase (both preventive and structural), and given the other safety-focused features and design, this seems like a huge oversight and problem - particularly since I often have rear seat passengers.

I'm currently regretfully planning to cancel my reservation.

If anyone else here has considered the safety implications of the lack of a manual rear door release in an emergency where battery power is lost, would appreciate any insights/thoughts.

Thank you.

I dont quite understand the concern. Under what fringe case circumstance do you envision someone inside the car needing to get out of the back, without power, where there is no one in the front seat who could get out to assist with that?

 

[Needsdecaf]

I dont quite understand the concern. Under what fringe case circumstance do you envision someone inside the car needing to get out of the back, without power, where there is no one in the front seat who could get out to assist with that?

Um, an accident with kids in the rear where the driver becomes incapacitated for some reason is an unlikely, but not implausable, case.

 

[alsetym]

There is a release behind the speaker. It's in the owners manual.

 

[jjrandorin]

Um, an accident with kids in the rear where the driver becomes incapacitated for some reason is an unlikely, but not implausable, case.

An accident, where the driver becomes completely incapacitated and unable to exit the vehicle, and has children in the back seat that are old enough to be able to get out of their booster seat, and mobile enough to get out of the seat (and old enough to understand the mechanical latching), but not able to climb from the back to the front?

Most kids in the back seat would be in some form of restraint system that would require them to need assistance exiting the vehicle anyway, right?

 

[Puddles]

There is a release behind the speaker. It's in the owners manual.

I'm not seeing this in my manual. Do you have a screen shot?

 

[mongo]

There is a release behind the speaker. It's in the owners manual.

That is on the X, not on the 3.

From the manual:

 

[mtndrew1]

I'm not seeing this in my manual. Do you have a screen shot?

That speaker release is in the Model X, not 3.

I agree this is a super weird concern and not a reason to cancel the car.

The Venn diagram of car accidents where the driver and front passenger are totally incapacitated, the 12V power source is out of service, the rear passengers are unable to get to a front door, a first responder is unavailable to free passengers, and accidents which are survivable for anyone in the vehicle probably doesn’t have much overlap.

 

[MP3Mike]

The Venn diagram of car accidents where the driver and front passenger are totally incapacitated, the 12V power source is out of service, the rear passengers are unable to get to a front door, a first responder is unavailable to free passengers, and accidents which are survivable for anyone in the vehicle probably doesn’t have much overlap.

Yep, and don't forget that the rear doors aren't jammed and can be opened without the jaws of life to your list of conditions.

 

[Petrlol]

Elon Musk on Twitter

 

[mtndrew1]

Yep, and don't forget that the rear doors aren't jammed and can be opened without the jaws of life to your list of conditions.

In addition most cars have a rear child door lock switch that can’t be overridden inside the car which prevents rear doors from opening even though the doors have a mechanical release.

The Model 3 has a software child lock which CAN be turned off from inside the car (or automatically after a collision). It’s not hard to imagine the same scenario where children are trapped in the back of a conventional car because the child locks are engaged.

 

[mal_tsla]

Yep, this is unrealistic. If you're willing to cancel over it, you're just looking for a reason

 

[jjrandorin]

Elon Musk on Twitter

Thats interesting information. Because sometimes people wont click the link, here is a screenshot from the link you have provided, with the information you were sharing

 

[Ryephile]

Yep, this is unrealistic. If you're willing to cancel over it, you're just looking for a reason

Came here to say this. The Model 3 is the safest or nearly the safest car on the road according to NHTSA, IIHS, and NCAP. Chances are whatever car the OP is driving now is significantly less safe in a crash.

 

[TydalForce]

This is a good thread actually; lots of information about how the locks work, and an interesting DIY alternative. Very informative.

Another last-resort option for you: Pull down the rear seats, climb through the trunk, and use the trunk's emergency release. Admittedly, you're more likely to be able to get out the front doors than have to resort to going out the trunk, but it's still a path.

 

[powerzone1111]

The DIY option is really helpful to know about but not sure how confident I'd be in getting that done correctly.

I do appreciate the sentiment behind the Venn diagram comment, but it would be good if the car actually had a manual rear door release so we didn't have to calculate probabilities. Probabilities are virtually impossible to do correctly with the limited M3 crash history.

Also, I don't think kids or older relatives with lower mobility can be assumed to, in a post-accident daze, be able to crawl through the car or trunk to try to get out.

My other options are ICE cars with the highest TSP+ IIHS ratings and high performing automated emergency braking -- and conventional door handles.

Here's the thing though: if the M3's AP can on balance help prevent an accident better than those, the result (even given the baffling safety omission leaving out manual rear door handles), the net effect could still be in favor of the M3 since no accident at all is better than an accident with protection.

But given some of the AP issues/accidents due to partial lane incursion detection issues (for example the tow truck partially in lane here), it's not clear the AP today is providing that net positive. Perhaps this will be fixed soon and so this isn't a real issue???

Honestly looking for a reason to keep my delivery, not cancel - it's in most ways an amazing car.

 

[mtndrew1]

The DIY option is really helpful to know about but not sure how confident I'd be in getting that done correctly.

I do appreciate the sentiment behind the Venn diagram comment, but it would be good if the car actually had a manual rear door release so we didn't have to calculate probabilities. Probabilities are virtually impossible to do correctly with the limited M3 crash history.

Also, I don't think kids or older relatives with lower mobility can be assumed to, in a post-accident daze, be able to crawl through the car or trunk to try to get out.

My other options are ICE cars with the highest TSP+ IIHS ratings and high performing automated emergency braking -- and conventional door handles.

Here's the thing though: if the M3's AP can on balance help prevent an accident better than those, the result (even given the baffling safety omission leaving out manual rear door handles), the net effect could still be in favor of the M3 since no accident at all is better than an accident with protection.

But given some of the AP issues/accidents due to partial lane incursion detection issues (for example the tow truck partially in lane here), it's not clear the AP today is providing that net positive. Perhaps this will be fixed soon and so this isn't a real issue???

Honestly looking for a reason to keep my delivery, not cancel - it's in most ways an amazing car.

If you have kids in the back of a conventional car with the child safety locks engaged you’re in the exact same boat. There’s no mechanical way out.

I really feel you’re over-thinking a problem that doesn’t exist. If it makes you uncomfortable then obviously choose a different car but this is pretty far out in the weeds.

As far as probability of death and injury in an automobile go the biggest factors are by far seatbelt usage, avoidance of impairing substances, and buyer demographic. Everything after that gets in to minuscule diminishing returns.

Some cars with terrible crash test scores have low aggregate injury and death rates and the inverse can be true as well.

Any car will have the back-door-release equivalent of “what if this really specific situation happens while these other specific things are happening.”

 

[Not Sure]

I dont quite understand the concern. Under what fringe case circumstance do you envision someone inside the car needing to get out of the back, without power, where there is no one in the front seat who could get out to assist with that?

I'm not sure. After a crash perhaps?