New door handle design

[jerry33]

I remember twenty plus years ago when everyone decried power windows as unnecessary complexity and just something else to break. And initially they were right. But now twenty years later you'd be hard pressed to find a car without them, and in twenty years I've never had one fail. hoping the door handles in the Model S end up benefitting from power window motor advancement and end up being as reliable as they are now.

The power windows in Dad's Lincoln failed all the time. More recently the ones in the VW TDI also failed (as did just about everything else in that car, including the engine).

 

[ToddRLockwood]

Or maybe you have a different version? Hard to say. I only had one replaced this time, and it behaves just like the others.

If my count is correct, I've had 8 handle replacements. When the car was new I had two doors popping open on their own, and the drivers' door handle was badly corroding (bad coating?). Then I had a door handle that would either fail to retract or fail to open. At service they replaced it, but when they went to deliver the car two more failed to extend so they went ahead and replaced all of them. Then I had a door handle that was occasionally balky about opening, and last month it got stuck in the fully extended position for a week, but retracted two days before my service appointment. They replaced it anyway.

I've seen the mechanism and it looks well designed, so I'm not sure why all the trouble. Hopefully they've got it sorted this time.

Wow, Doug. 8 replacements! I assume that your replacements have always been the original handle type—without the additional cm of travel when pulled. A ranger explained to me that cars equipped with the original version handle are not compatible with the newer version.

When cars experience doors opening by themselves, it is usually the left-rear door that does it. The door opening signals are managed by a CPU, and perhaps that left-rear door is at the end of a data buss. This architecture probably also accounts for the slight delay when pulling on a handle to open a door, along with the related window seal control. Opening a door involves a lot more than just a switch and a solenoid.

I also examined the door handle mechanism when one was changed on my car. I believe the door-opening "switch" is a hall-effect switch, not a microswitch. In the original handle version, the two halves of the hall-effect switch are located quite close to one another—only a millimeter or two apart. With such a tight tolerance, it's easy to see the potential for misfires. The new handle likely has a larger gap in the hall-effect switch.

 

[hans]

Wow, Doug. 8 replacements! I assume that your replacements have always been the original handle type—without the additional cm of travel when pulled. A ranger explained to me that cars equipped with the original version handle are not compatible with the newer version.

The ranger was wrong. I have had 6 handles replaced, the final 4 being a total switchover from the old design with no movement to the new design.

 

[mknox]

I noticed the loaner I just had was a bit different, in that there was a noticeable delay after you pulled on the handle before the door opened. I just had one handle replaced again, but it doesn't have the extra delay; it behaves like the other three handles.

I've had all four replaced (at the same time). The front passenger door has a much more pronounced "delay" than the other three doors, and it is the one that often sticks and won't open at all.

 

[jerry33]

I've had all four replaced (at the same time). The front passenger door has a much more pronounced "delay" than the other three doors, and it is the one that often sticks and won't open at all.

I haven't had any doors replaced and the passenger side has a more pronounced delay before the handles pop out. However, they all pop out at the same time.

 

[Doug_G]

Wow, Doug. 8 replacements! I assume that your replacements have always been the original handle type—without the additional cm of travel when pulled. A ranger explained to me that cars equipped with the original version handle are not compatible with the newer version.

No, my handles were switched to the new design this summer, when all four were changed. (They replaced 1, then two more handles failed so they swapped all four out... Hmm... Maybe that should count as 5, for a total of 9...)

My car has been a little jinxed. Luckily the service is great.

 

[mnx]

I have all 4 original handles, only 1 of them has given me any trouble. (front passanger) It has both failed to open (happens 1-10% of the time) and has popped open on it's own (again very infrequently maybe 3 times in a year, and it happened as the handles extended). I didn't bother to ask for service on it until my annual yesterday. I'll find out today what they did about it.

 

[ToddRLockwood]

The ranger was wrong. I have had 6 handles replaced, the final 4 being a total switchover from the old design with no movement to the new design.

Interesting. Obviously, Tesla doesn't want to encourage wholesale upgrades of handles, especially ones that aren't misbehaving.

- - - Updated - - -

No, my handles were switched to the new design this summer, when all four were changed. (They replaced 1, then two more handles failed so they swapped all four out... Hmm... Maybe that should count as 5, for a total of 9...)

My car has been a little jinxed. Luckily the service is great.

Good to know.

 

[William13]

The door handles are why I payed big money for both service and warranty extension. I trust the handles to randomly misbehave.

 

[TroyGuy]

Thanks for sharing a video Jomo25!

I definitely noticed a difference between your door handle and mine. Looks like the additional travel is 1 cm or so. I noticed that after you pulled it out the additional distance, opened the door, then closed the door, the handle retracted in the 1 cm so that the handle could be pulled again.

Interesting... I wonder how they'll handle the service of door handles for earlier models? Will failed individual Rev A handles get replaced with a Rev A or Rev B? And if you get one Rev B, will they replace all the door handles at once to Rev B? Just asking questions out loud... not that important what the answers are as long as Rev A doesn't continue to cause unintended door openings.

Cheers,
David

To answer your question, in my case (an early adapter #23 reservation holder of the Model S worldwide), they would not replace my door handle at all since it was out of warranty. Eventually, they did, but only after raising a stink. Honestly, should that be the case on my P85 $120,000 car? I made sure that they replaced it with a new generation door handle, but they would not replace the other 3. Now, only a few months later, the 2nd door handle has failed and now I am demanding that they replace all 3 door handles with the newer version. Tesla is still making every excuse in the book not to replace my remaining, unreliable door handles. Does this sound like Tesla Service Excellence to you? I am now in dispute with them over the remaining 3 door handles.

 

[MsElectric]

IMHO they should replace the retracting door handles with the Model X design.

There is then no need for a retracting door handle and it is so much more useful for the doors to actually open and close electromechanically as they do in the Model X. This is also a far better door design than even the "self close/soft close" doors of the Mercedes S Class.

Why try to reinvent/redesigned the Model S retracting door handles for a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th times when the Model X doors are so much more useful and even cooler.

 

[TroyGuy]

Yes, I can confirm that replacement of all four is now standard practice if you report problems with first generation handles.
I think my own car might have contributed to the change in policy! It had one handle replaced, and when they went to return the car two other ones failed. So they replaced all of them before returning the car - ended up being a late evening for them. A couple of weeks later a Ranger told me it was now standard policy to replace all four.

The new handles definitely work better.

That is interesting because that is not how they handled me when my 1st generation door handle failed. In my case (an early adapter #23 reservation holder of the Model S worldwide), they would not replace my door handle at all since it was out of warranty. Eventually, they did, but only after raising a stink. Honestly, should that be the case on my P85 $120,000 car? I made sure that they replaced it with a new generation door handle, but they would not replace the other 3. Now, only a few months later, the 2nd door handle has failed and now I am demanding that they replace all 3 door handles with the newer version. Tesla is still making every excuse in the book not to replace my remaining, unreliable door handles. Does this sound like Tesla Service Excellence to you? I am now in dispute with them over the remaining 3 door handles.

 

[mknox]

I made sure that they replaced it with a new generation door handle, but they would not replace the other 3. Now, only a few months later, the 2nd door handle has failed and now I am demanding that they replace all 3 door handles with the newer version. Tesla is still making every excuse in the book not to replace my remaining, unreliable door handles. Does this sound like Tesla Service Excellence to you? I am now in dispute with them over the remaining 3 door handles.

Could be an In Warranty / Out of Warranty issue, but Tesla replaced all 4 of my Gen 1 handles with the new design when one of them started acting up. In my case, I was still under warranty coverage.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

To answer your question, in my case (an early adapter #23 reservation holder of the Model S worldwide), they would not replace my door handle at all since it was out of warranty. Eventually, they did, but only after raising a stink. Honestly, should that be the case on my P85 $120,000 car? I made sure that they replaced it with a new generation door handle, but they would not replace the other 3. Now, only a few months later, the 2nd door handle has failed and now I am demanding that they replace all 3 door handles with the newer version. Tesla is still making every excuse in the book not to replace my remaining, unreliable door handles. Does this sound like Tesla Service Excellence to you? I am now in dispute with them over the remaining 3 door handles.

Tesla seems to be drawing a line in the sand with the warranty. Another forum member's windshield suffered a stress fracture recently because he had one of the older windshields that had a defect. Except, since his windshield didn't crack until it was out of warranty, it was not replaced to the upgraded version. Everyone else's, it appears, cracked under warranty and they were all replaced. I believe this even rose to a service bulletin status, I don't remember, but he was still denied a replacement out of warranty.

I don't know what other factors are in play here, but on the surface it kind of stinks that a service bulletin cannot be applied out of warranty free of charge. In 2013 a bunch of Norwegian owners had corrosion coming out of their side view mirrors caused by an uncoated part. It became a service bulletin. How would I know if my mirrors had the same uncoated part, or maybe they don't? I live in AZ, but what if I move to NY next year and I start experiencing the issue in a different climate. But if I'm out of warranty, I'm also out of luck. Doesn't seem right, but then I've never had to deal with these sorts of issues with another manufacturer.

 

[DDotJ]

Interesting thing happened while I was out driving today. Was sitting waiting for the light to change at the intersection and I heard a loud noise and an alert started going off. Apparently my driver's door unlatched and opened by itself. Door was securely shut before departure and I definitely didn't accidentally open the door. Called the service center to schedule a visit but I thought this issue was resolved with the new door handle design.

 

[Cintoman]

The Subaru XT of the 80's had these aerodynamic door handles. I'm sure the bottom part that you push in would get ridiculously scratched from your finger nails.

 

[zambono]

IMHO they should replace the retracting door handles with the Model X design.

There is then no need for a retracting door handle and it is so much more useful for the doors to actually open and close electromechanically as they do in the Model X. This is also a far better door design than even the "self close/soft close" doors of the Mercedes S Class.

Why try to reinvent/redesigned the Model S retracting door handles for a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th times when the Model X doors are so much more useful and even cooler.

Those model X doors are going to have their own problems and they are going to be major