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"Person trapped in a tesla when battery dies" news story
- Thread starter dusty22
- Start date
Re: child trapped situation
Just a thought: While awaiting the arrival of emergency services, would someone with a coat hanger be able to pull the emergency release on the front door in this case? (Not in my car, as I said, I have access to that covered by a pocket bin tucked in there.)
That said, when was the last time you saw a wire coat hanger?!
Carrying the 9v taped to the outside of the car seems to be the best way to solve this without breaking a window, but again, I'm not sure I'd wait for that to happen if it was my grandkid; there'd be a broken window as fast as I (or someone else) could break it. Ironically, though, my window breaking tool is inside the car.
Just a thought: While awaiting the arrival of emergency services, would someone with a coat hanger be able to pull the emergency release on the front door in this case? (Not in my car, as I said, I have access to that covered by a pocket bin tucked in there.)
That said, when was the last time you saw a wire coat hanger?!
Carrying the 9v taped to the outside of the car seems to be the best way to solve this without breaking a window, but again, I'm not sure I'd wait for that to happen if it was my grandkid; there'd be a broken window as fast as I (or someone else) could break it. Ironically, though, my window breaking tool is inside the car.
Doubtful.
My latch needs a significant force to even get moving let alone open it. Couple that to the location and I am thinking no way garden variety coat hanger would do jack before straightening itself.
What the world needs is a wallet card that USB recharges so you always have 9v enough to get in. Have a LED put a small draw on it and let you know when it's time to recharge.
Alternative pendant style for those inclined.
They should have made clear that this can happen to any vehicle with an electronic door lock. GM, Ford, Audi, BMW and others all have vehicles with electronic door locks. My local news station in MI at least made that point. But this one made it sound like a Tesla specific thing.
E90alex
Active Member
The electric latches are stupid no matter who makes it.
I know the Germans usually at least have a mechanical way to open the door from the outside should the battery fail, although it’s not necessarily intuitive.
Some are more intuitive to use should the battery fail while inside. Eg you just pull the interior handle harder.
E90alex
Active Member
Sure, but it’s pretty hard to accidentally lock yourself out with smart keys these days.
I don’t really get how these situations happened either. Locked OUT of the car after it’s been sitting and asleep, sure.
But being locked IN the car after having recently opened the door to get in is weird. The 12V had enough power to open the door initially which should have woken up the car and closed the HV contactors, thereby switching to the DC-DC converter to power all accessories from the HV battery. Unless it very coincidentally literally just had enough power to trip the door latch but not enough to flip the contactors and power the DC-DC converter.
I don’t really get how these situations happened either. Locked OUT of the car after it’s been sitting and asleep, sure.
But being locked IN the car after having recently opened the door to get in is weird. The 12V had enough power to open the door initially which should have woken up the car and closed the HV contactors, thereby switching to the DC-DC converter to power all accessories from the HV battery. Unless it very coincidentally literally just had enough power to trip the door latch but not enough to flip the contactors and power the DC-DC converter.
Benito1283
2021 MYLR 19"
It makes more sense that it would fail right after using energy - probably the last little bit it had (waking car up, booting up touchscreen, etc) than failing after using barely any energy after sleeping.
When the 12V fails you have no power to the door locks. Smart key no good.
The 12v battery self protect circuit can open cutting the charging off. Then it needs a jump to just to get doors open and hopefully reconnect the battery to the awakened car for a recharge, or at least be able to drive to an auto parts store for a new one.
My Prius had that too. And a specific place to put the fob against the dash to start the car. The salesman demoed it when picked up the car and at 10 p.m. in an emptying church parking lot in -30*C temps, I was glad he had! In my case, it wasn't the 12V that went, it was just the battery on the fob so I could start the car and head home.
I have Sentry enabled at just about every place I go to, so the car is always awake until I get home. Most likely, if my 12v dies, I will be stranded at home.
The concerning part of both reports is that they claim there was no warning from the car the 12V was failing (and in the case with the toddler, tesla confirmed no warning was issued.) So it isn't a case of the "little lady" not paying attention to warnings in the car, or "putting a piece of tape over the warning light."
It is a case of the car doing something dangerous, without warning.
The recommendation is that the batteries are only supposed to last 3 - 4 years and Model Y sales took off 4 years ago so we can expect a lot of reports of this happening in the near future as 'regular folk' (as opposed to fanboys) discover the car they bought to take the from point A to B and save money on gas is prone to failing, in a life threatening manner, without warning. Not a good look. At the very least, I hope tesla replaces that window for free since it was their failure that put the child in danger.
/jk I know tesla won't do such a thing. On the other hand, I hope she (and anyone else in this situation) sues them for all the cost of damage and expenses due to the loss of use of the car while it is being repaired.
It is a case of the car doing something dangerous, without warning.
The recommendation is that the batteries are only supposed to last 3 - 4 years and Model Y sales took off 4 years ago so we can expect a lot of reports of this happening in the near future as 'regular folk' (as opposed to fanboys) discover the car they bought to take the from point A to B and save money on gas is prone to failing, in a life threatening manner, without warning. Not a good look. At the very least, I hope tesla replaces that window for free since it was their failure that put the child in danger.
/jk I know tesla won't do such a thing. On the other hand, I hope she (and anyone else in this situation) sues them for all the cost of damage and expenses due to the loss of use of the car while it is being repaired.
I used to have a 2018 Model 3 and if I remember correctly the window always lowered when using the manual release. It was a December 2018 so I wonder if the update happened earlier in the year because I do remember something about the owners manual saying using the emergency release could damage the window and I couldn't figure out why because my windows lowered when using it.
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From the same news station, figures. You think they have it out for Tesla, hmmmm. And the woman freaked out even though her car was inside the garage out of the heat. She could have supplied power to the wires behind the tow hook cover, to open the frunk. Then jumped the 12v battery to open the doors. Problem solved. And had she called Tesla they would have gotten someone there to do it for her. But it's surprising she said the emergency responders said they can't get into Tesla's. Either they are incompetent or not trained about Tesla's. And again, this can happen to any vehicle with electric door latches, so for this new station to focus entirely on Tesla is biased and irresponsible reporting. I would bet this happens for frequently with ICE cars than Tesla's, just like with car fires.
I wonder what these women would have done if they got a flat tire in their Tesla and they didn't have cell service, because they don't come with spares. Not like they knew how to change a spare tire, even if it did come with a spare. What if they crashed into a lake, they wouldn't be able to get the doors or windows open to get out. I'm sure they have no idea about keeping a window break tool in the car. People need to learn their vehicles and if it's not clear they need to ask manufactures about what to do in certain emergency situations.
When I was a teenager and started driving, I was taught to have certain things in my trunk for an emergency and had to know how to use them. And it's the same today, it's not rocket science, it's just being smart and know about your vehicle and what you can do in an emergency besides calling 911.
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joe.smith
Member
The woman mentioned that Tesla should provide drivers a warning when the 12V battery is going bad. A couple of points about that:
1. I don't recall any of my previous ICE vehicles giving me such a warning. A driver would typically know that the 12V battery is going bad because of SYMPTOMS: slow cranking, dim headlights, 'phantom' warning lights, et cetera.
2. I thought Teslas DID give a warning when the 12V battery voltage is low.
3. Why would a Tesla owner expect a 12V battery to last the life of the car (i.e. not ever needing to be replaced) when one wouldn't have the same expectation of an ICE 12V battery? I mean, the physics isn't any different. Here in Florida, you typically get a good 2-3 years out of a battery (lead-acid). I believe Tesla recently switched to lithium-ion chemistry for their 12V batteries and you can always replace your lead-acid for a lithium-ion one if it didn't come with your particular vehicle (at your cost). However, lithium-ion doesn't last forever, either. Knowing that the cause of Tesla owners getting locked-out of their cars is usually due to their 12V batteries going bad, I proactively replace mine as part of my scheduled maintenance routine. I mean, they're not that expensive and it's well-worth the peace-of-mind knowing I won't be randomly locked-out at the most inconvenient time.
Joe
1. I don't recall any of my previous ICE vehicles giving me such a warning. A driver would typically know that the 12V battery is going bad because of SYMPTOMS: slow cranking, dim headlights, 'phantom' warning lights, et cetera.
2. I thought Teslas DID give a warning when the 12V battery voltage is low.
3. Why would a Tesla owner expect a 12V battery to last the life of the car (i.e. not ever needing to be replaced) when one wouldn't have the same expectation of an ICE 12V battery? I mean, the physics isn't any different. Here in Florida, you typically get a good 2-3 years out of a battery (lead-acid). I believe Tesla recently switched to lithium-ion chemistry for their 12V batteries and you can always replace your lead-acid for a lithium-ion one if it didn't come with your particular vehicle (at your cost). However, lithium-ion doesn't last forever, either. Knowing that the cause of Tesla owners getting locked-out of their cars is usually due to their 12V batteries going bad, I proactively replace mine as part of my scheduled maintenance routine. I mean, they're not that expensive and it's well-worth the peace-of-mind knowing I won't be randomly locked-out at the most inconvenient time.
Joe
I was proactively warned in my model S. Happened at 1.5 years old but has been fine 6 years since.
Better yet (and probably cheaper) would be to have only the mechanical door release handle that actuates the electric door release (that lowers the frameless window a bit) with a light pull and the mechanical door release with a stronger pull, for all of the doors. Then it would be obvious to use normally, and the most obvious try in a dead battery situation would open the door.
joe.smith
Member
Did you replace it yourself or did you have Tesla Service Center replace it? I ask because I'm wondering if Tesla replaced your battery with a lithium-ion one. If not, you're getting a good long stretch out of a lead-acid.
Joe
