Ciaopec
Active Member
Earlier than that I believe:
Tesla adds titanium underbody shield and aluminum deflector plates to Model S (free retrofit!)
Tesla adds titanium underbody shield and aluminum deflector plates to Model S (free retrofit!)
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Rescuers can't open doors of burning Model S
- Thread starter voyager
- Start date
kkillebrew
Banned
Yes Yes you guys are right, the free upgrade and initial titanium body was in 2014, sorry everybody. But look at the pic I posted... it is an even newer battery shield and the aluminum brace or deflector is now gone... that is what I have been referring to... should be standard in all MS ravens.
As do BMW's door locks, and, I presume, MBZ's.
Likewise, I cannot see why Teslas would not post-airbag deployment, combined with door handle extension (and perhaps even partial door opening on the Model X)?
Tesla's door handles DO extend with airbag deployment... they could also break the door glass... The rear trunk glass... the roof glass... the front window... The real issue here is Teslas are so safe that people now survive the impact that would have otherwise killed them only to SOMETIMES die in a post crash fire (VERY VERY rare). Thermal runaway isn't instantaneous. This person was still in the car when the FD arrived (presumably 3-5 minutes from impact). As sad as it is, his driving caused his death, not Tesla's doors. Any other car might have just blown up on impact.
Tam
Well-Known Member
As @NoMoGas stated above and also from post #74 from @Joshker who quoted from First Responders Manual for Model S:
"NOTE: When an airbag inflates, Model S is designed to unlock all doors, the trunk, and extends all door handles."
"NOTE: If the door handles do not function, open the door manually by reaching inside the window and using the interior door handle."
For Model X front doors, it says if the door still has 12V powered, you can try to push the exterior handles. If there's no 12V, reach in and pull the interior handle.
I am not sure it is lawful to automatically open the car doors partially after an airbag deployment because the design is to keep occupants from being ejected such as in a roll-over, hanging off the cliff...
I believe there are a number of cars currently made that have flush mount powered door handles.
Excellent info.
The question then returns to this case. What occurred in this accident such that the door handles did not deploy, if that was, indeed, the case?
I hope there's no severe impact failure mode in which this system fails to operate as that would really increase Tesla's liability.
mtndrew1
Active Member
Land Rover Velar, Jaguar I-Pace, and Chevrolet Corvette come to mind as cars that have flush and/or electronically actuated exterior door handles.
This situation is not unique to Tesla. When cars are severely damaged from violent accidents it’s common to lose the 12V system (auto unlock, auto extend, etc) and even mechanical exterior door handles are useless if the car is locked from inside.
Flap-type handles are particularly difficult when trying to pull a jammed door with heavy force (can’t get any leverage).
This situation is literally no different than a Camry crashing, losing 12V with the doors locked, and a fire erupting. Exact same outcome and exact same solution; break glass and open from inside.
Tam
Well-Known Member
We were not there so it's hard to know exactly what happened. But this much that we know:
1) Every picture of an airbag-activated Model S at an accident scene that I've seen so far have been extending door handles as designed.
There was a picture of an airbag-activated Model S with flushed handles but that's not at the scene of the incidence (such as at a salvage yard.)
2) If the door handles didn't extend out as designed, as many have said on this thread above, the door and door handle housing could be damaged/deformed due to a highspeed collision that could prevent the door/door handle to function as designed.
By now, drivers should know that the government crash test is not done at anywhere near the speed that an average driver would realize: 40 MPH maximum.
As long as the car structure can protect the occupants at that sub-highway speed, the car is properly designed!
Manufacturers don't boast that their car structure can withstand a crash at a speed higher than NHTSA's standard!
That means if drivers drive faster than 40 MPH, there's no guarantee that the occupants are protected as shown in NHTSA's test!
3) The lawsuit claims that First Rescuers couldn't open the door because the handles were flushed is too naive: First Rescuers don't rely on an open door because there are still too many cars that are automatically locked even after an airbag deployment (VW is among a few that changes that to Tesla's protocol). Whether the doors can be opened or not, First Rescuers would routinely break all windows not to just get occupants out but to get water in as well.
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