Passenger rear door popping open and screen going black

[rustycole]

Hey!

Has anyone else had a problem with their rear passenger side door popping open when they park or try to start the car? This has happened to us multiple times without any notification. I'm concerned it will pop open when we are driving.

Our main panel screen is often going black as well. Are others having this problem?

We just got this call in Oct and it has less than 10K miles and we are having a ton of problems with it.

 

[jeffro01]

Nope, I've had some wind noise issues, a dash rattle here and there, a defective passenger seatbelt, and a loose seal here and there, all of which has been addressed by my local service center.

Have you reached out to your local service center?

Jeff

 

[DDotJ]

I had a driver's door pop open once. Tesla took care of it by replacing the door handle. No idea about the center display, just contact Tesla Service and they should take care of your issues for you.

 

[davidc18]

Keep in contact with the local SC and follow up with the [email protected] (if the SC does not respond in a timely fashion) - ours has been into the SC so many times its just embarrassing. I can say that none of my neighbors will be getting a tesla anytime soon based on what they have witnessed with our ordeal.

 

[Maximus8]

So far so good, a week into ownership and no issues. I do notice the auto lane change does not work. I may have check the sensors since I had the whole car wrapped with Xpel

 

[jeffro01]

So far so good, a week into ownership and no issues. I do notice the auto lane change does not work. I may have check the sensors since I had the whole car wrapped with Xpel

Silly question perhaps but have you turned on the feature?

Jeff

 

[JPP]

Hey!

Has anyone else had a problem with their rear passenger side door popping open when they park or try to start the car? This has happened to us multiple times without any notification. I'm concerned it will pop open when we are driving.

Our main panel screen is often going black as well. Are others having this problem?

We just got this call in Oct and it has less than 10K miles and we are having a ton of problems with it.

The retractable door handles have a small microswitch inside. When you pull on the handle, the switch causes the electric lock to release. Sometimes the switch is out of adjustment. When you put the car into Park, and the handles extend, they move a millimeter too far and hit the microswitch, thus causing an 'auto-open'. Happened to me. TM Service did the fix. No worries.

 

[Ryan MF]

Hey!

Has anyone else had a problem with their rear passenger side door popping open when they park or try to start the car? This has happened to us multiple times without any notification. I'm concerned it will pop open when we are driving.

Our main panel screen is often going black as well. Are others having this problem?

We just got this call in Oct and it has less than 10K miles and we are having a ton of problems with it.

What did Tesla service say? I assume you would have contacted them before posting the car is a lemon on forums.

 

[rustycole]

I have video of it doing just that I was going to show the service manager.

I have been in touch with the service center and awaiting a callback. I was just wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

 

[Caligula]

People over-react way too easily here sometimes. OPEN, it's a limited but known issue. Don't worry too much and let the SC fix it.

 

[rustycole]

People over-react way too easily here sometimes. OPEN, it's a limited but known issue. Don't worry too much and let the SC fix it.

That is what I figured. It is just concerning that it popped out.

 

[CHG-ON]

Hey!

Has anyone else had a problem with their rear passenger side door popping open when they park or try to start the car? This has happened to us multiple times without any notification. I'm concerned it will pop open when we are driving.

Our main panel screen is often going black as well. Are others having this problem?

We just got this call in Oct and it has less than 10K miles and we are having a ton of problems with it.

Sorry to hear about your problems. Not fun with any new car, especially an expensive one. As mentioned earlier, the door is typically an easy fix, though annoying. Being a potential safety issue, Tesla typically hops on these lickety split. Not sure about the screen. Have you tried rebooting the car? If they didn't tell you how to do it:

Center screen: per Tesla tech support,

Place the car in park, press and hold the brake throughout the process, pull all USBs, press both scroll wheels on the steering wheel and hold until the screen goes black (oops! might already be!) and hold continuously until you see the Tesla T emblem appear. Release. Give it about 2 minutes to reload.

Instrument panel:

Do the park/brake thing. Press and hold the two top buttons on the wheel in the same manner to reboot the IP display. Then release the brake.

The brake keeps the car from going to sleep, which, according to Tesla, can happen quite quickly and interrupt the reboot.

This sequence seems to solve most of the ills with the car. Remember, we are essentially driving a Mac with wheels.

I have had my car for 18 months and I think I have only had to reboot possibly 5 times. Usually because something just seems off.

I hope this helps.

 

[WMAC]

Lemon means it has been to the service center seven or more times with no fix. The title is a massive over reaction. Door handle problem? Yes. Lemon? Unlikely.

 

[SMSMD]

Courtesy @ Calix
Here is from the Califronia gov website it looks like they have 30 days to fix before it becomes a lemon.

The “Lemon Law”: A special provision, often called the "Lemon Law," helps determine what is a reasonable number of repair attempts for problems that substantially impair the use, value, or safety of the vehicle. The "Lemon Law" applies to these problems if they arise during the first 18 months after the consumer received delivery of the vehicle or within the first 18,000 miles on the odometer, whichever occurs first. During the first 18 months or 18,000 miles, the "Lemon Law" presumes that a manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts to repair the vehicle if either (1) the same problem results in a condition that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the vehicle is driven and the problem has been subject to repair two or more times by the manufacturer or its agents, and the buyer or lessee has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the problem as provided in the warranty or owner's manual or (2) the same problem has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents and the buyer has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the problem as provided in the warranty or owner's manual or (3) the vehicle is out of service because of the repair of any number of problems by the manufacturer or its agents for a cumulative total of more than 30 days since delivery of the vehicle.

Horrible Horrible and Terrible Day!

 

[Ohms Andwatts]

Hey!

Has anyone else had a problem with their rear passenger side door popping open when they park or try to start the car? This has happened to us multiple times without any notification. I'm concerned it will pop open when we are driving.

Our main panel screen is often going black as well. Are others having this problem?

We just got this call in Oct and it has less than 10K miles and we are having a ton of problems with it.

Mine is an early 2013 P85 so no autopilot, no parking sensors but just this week I was plugging in to charge and the rear passenger door popped open. It shocked me because nothing like that has happened before and there is no way I am aware to replicate it. But interestingly, you mention screen going black and yesterday my GPS froze and I didn't notice initially but the stereo had been stopping and starting. When it stopped and didn't come back on, I realized the GPS hadn't changed in a couple of miles. When I rebooted, all was well.

So freezing of the screen or it going dark isn't such a surprise, especially for those of us with early models, but the rear door popping open is something that makes no sense - especially since I only use the front doors and the front and rear hatches. Seeing your post that included both these issues had me wondering if there is a problem or just a coincidence? It may be that the rear door popping open was a quirk for me but a problem for you. As to the screen, the car is a computer so hiccups with the screen are to be expected.

Your service people have probably mentioned that it is best to record the exact time when a problem occurs. Then, make sure they know about it within a week. I think that is as far back as their log for diagnostics go. I haven't reported this issue so I'll wait and see if it happens again before I do. Since your door opened more than once, it needs to be reported.

 

[Andyw2100]

Mine is an early 2013 P85 so no autopilot, no parking sensors but just this week I was plugging in to charge and the rear passenger door popped open.

<SNIP>

I haven't reported this issue so I'll wait and see if it happens again before I do. Since your door opened more than once, it needs to be reported.

I know you are trying to cut Tesla some slack, and not make extra work for them, but your door opening unexpectedly is pretty serious, and could easily be a real safety issue. If I were you, I would definitely report even the single occurrence to Tesla, and let them decide how best to handle it.

It would be different if you were talking about your stereo system malfunctioning, or your Homelink system working sporadically. A door popping open is not something to think twice about reporting, in my opinion. Just report it!

 

[Laurent]

Hey!
Has anyone else had a problem with their rear passenger side door popping open when they park or try to start the car? This has happened to us multiple times without any notification. I'm concerned it will pop open when we are driving.

I had the same problem with the right rear door opening on its own. I had Tesla fix it the last time I took the car for service. See attached service report.

 

[Ohms Andwatts]

Yes, I always cut them slack, but I also consider the fact that this was a one off occurrence and it isn't like a hood opening where it could be blown up in your face and obscure vision. A door that came unlatched would be kept from swinging open by the force of air passing by. People drive with doors unlatched all the time. Certainly it would count as a safety issue if you had a passenger back there, especially a child, but I don't. And I wouldn't hesitate to report it if it occurred a second time. But I don't like calling about every little thing.

I have brought to Tesla's attention a number of issues over the three years I had the car. Some are addressed with fixes and some are like anything else - tell us when it happens again. I can't complain about how they have treated me. Sympathy to those who report problems with Tesla service, but for me, they have gone above and beyond and been spectacular. I plan on buying two model 3's next Thursday and it will be interesting to see how the service is on those.

 

[rjcbox]

Sorry you're dealing w/ this issue so early in ownership, but I think something of this nature (safety) is rare. From reading thousands of posts over years, I think the more common scenario is a couple minor/annoyance issues during the first year. In 8 months/8k miles mine has been near flawless , just a few tiny issues I could have waited for my yearly check up.

 

[Edmond]

Your car is not a lemon. (yet)

But clearly it is haunted.