No self presenting door handles

[eisbock]

The handles can, most likely, be pushed out even if car is locked but they will not actuate opening mechanism.

You think so? I can see it now... Model 3 owners across the country plagued by missing door handles upon returning to their parked car.

I've heard stories about people finding scratch marks around their Model S doors as if somebody was trying to pry them open. Similar to Mercedes hood ornaments and Jag hood cats, I can see people swiping Model 3 door handles as a souvenir. People already pry off the T logos on S's now. I'm worried about the Model 3 emblem on the hood as well as the back!

 

[gregincal]

You think so? I can see it now... Model 3 owners across the country plagued by missing door handles upon returning to their parked car.

I've heard stories about people finding scratch marks around their Model S doors as if somebody was trying to pry them open. Similar to Mercedes hood ornaments and Jag hood cats, I can see people swiping Model 3 door handles as a souvenir. People already pry off the T logos on S's now. I'm worried about the Model 3 emblem on the hood as well as the back!

I don't get how you go from people being able to pull out the handle to being able to take them off. You can pull out the door handle on almost any car, but taking it off would be extremely difficult. A hood ornament or logo is totally different.

 

[FloridaGary]

If the Model 3 doors self open like the X, I wouldn't care about the door handles. If the doors do not self open, paint them the body color. I'm not a fan of chrome that shows all fingerprints and hot during the summer. When the handles self-present on my S, I just grab the back of the handle to open. They are not hot after 8 hours in the Florida sun.

 

[fasteddie7]

If the Model 3 doors self open like the X, I wouldn't care about the door handles. If the doors do not self open, paint them the body color. I'm not a fan of chrome that shows all fingerprints and hot during the summer. When the handles self-present on my S, I just grab the back of the handle to open. They are not hot after 8 hours in the Florida sun.

Elon has already said on the call that the 3 will not have self presenting doors (handles or doors) in the interest of simplifying production. I agree about the body color handles!

 

[Doug_G]

There was an issue with door handles at first, taken care of no charge.

Yes, it was taken care of. And then taken care of. And then taken care of. And then taken care of. And then... four years later my car is currently in service because of a door handle issue. I've lost count of the number of repairs, but it is at least 4X per door. And they upgraded my handles to the new style a couple of years ago.

But there were still some people who pointed out, again: "Pano roof? Just another thing to break." Sorry. I like my S. And Tesla. They wouldn't be where they are if the cars broke down all the time.

Speaking of Pano roof, mine has had repairs almost as frequently as the door handle. I think they may have finally got it solved with the last repair, but I'm not holding my breath.

The more things they build with off-the-shelf parts the better. Every time you "invent" something you run the risk of unexpected problems.

 

[N5329K]

Personally, I would be interested in knowing just how much drag reduction is won through those flush handles. Enough to be worth the inconvenience when wearing winter gloves and mittens? When iced over? Maybe. Or is it a case of form over function?
I am glad (and relieved) they don't "present", though. It's a door. It doesn't require spaceship controls.
Robin

 

[eisbock]

I don't get how you go from people being able to pull out the handle to being able to take them off. You can pull out the door handle on almost any car, but taking it off would be extremely difficult. A hood ornament or logo is totally different.

My point is that it would be more tempting to yank off than a traditional door handle because it's Tesla, it's a cool shape, and it looks fragile. And it's really not that hard to take a door handle off; there are plenty of stories about people both accidentally and maliciously ripping them off. Nobody would want to steal a regular car door handle though because they're boring. Losing door handles isn't an issue because of that. This door handle is interesting.

Door handle.