Retractable Door Handles - Is It Practical?

[dtich]

i love the door handles. i love the door handles.

(i'm just low chanting this in the background... continue. lol.)

so does everyone who's seen/ridden in my car.

i could agree they could present with the fob a little farther away, but the truth is, every time i walk up to the car to get in, the handles are out by the time i reach for them. honestly. so, maybe it's just right. the only time i've had to push my hip pocket with the fob toward the car to get a handle is when i've been futzing around doing something in the garage or whatever and the car has locked on me.. totally makes sense actually. i got no prob. me like.

 

[Doug_G]

If I walk up from the back of the car, I can sometimes get to the door before they come out and have to wait for them. From the front they're always ready to go. It's like they operate within a certain radius of the front wheels.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

smorgasbord must be itching to say "I told you so!"

I concede that an Aston Martin-like solution would have been more than adequate yet cool. All the same, I love the current handles!

 

[Todd Burch]

Worst case, I've had to wait about 0.5 second for the handles to present. Worst case. If this is annoying, then you need to stop for a moment and enjoy the view! :biggrin:

 

[ratsbew]

Simpler door handles?

I understand the need to put the flush door handles. My question is why did they have to be so complicated? Couldn't they have simply been flush mounted mechanical buttons of the same shape and size? Think of a microwave oven door release. Most of those are flush mounted buttons in the same sense. I can imagine that this could cut at least several hundred dollars off of the price without losing anything other than a little bit of cool factor. Maybe it could be on the base model car to help lower the entry barriers???

Any thoughts?

 

[aronth5]

I understand the need to put the flush door handles. My question is why did they have to be so complicated? Couldn't they have simply been flush mounted mechanical buttons of the same shape and size? Think of a microwave oven door release. Most of those are flush mounted buttons in the same sense. I can imagine that this could cut at least several hundred dollars off of the price without losing anything other than a little bit of cool factor. Maybe it could be on the base model car to help lower the entry barriers???

Any thoughts?

There is already a thread on door handles with some interesting feedback. check it out
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/7538-Retractable-Door-Handles-Is-It-Practical

 

[roblab]

I understand the need to put the flush door handles. My question is why did they have to be so complicated? Couldn't they have simply been flush mounted mechanical buttons of the same shape and size? Think of a microwave oven door release. Most of those are flush mounted buttons in the same sense. I can imagine that this could cut at least several hundred dollars off of the price without losing anything other than a little bit of cool factor. Maybe it could be on the base model car to help lower the entry barriers???

Any thoughts?

The door handles are there because they are WAY cool. They are the first thing a person touches when they get ready to get in, and watching them pop out makes them go "OOOOooohh". Maybe not later. It's like the big screen inside. The first thing to demo is the sliding roof (I'm in CA, so no ice, not much rain). Could have done without, or just a switch. But this whole car is COOL. When you start going for the simple, cheap alternatives, you have ... a Leaf? a Prius? a Civic?

Although there are several things that could have been done more cheaply, the door handle is an important part of the interaction. It is not powered to save on aerodynamics, but specifically to make it beyond neat. I had a lady stop me at the store, staring at the car, saying over and over, "This is ART". I've never had anyone say that about my Scion. I think you are right, though, once Tesla is known as a Premium Brand that's in it for the long haul, it may come out with a smaller, cheaper version (in the plan) with manual door handles. Not Model X, but maybe Model C and the Pickup.

 

[jomo25]

Welcome to the party. It's been going on for quite some time

 

[mknox]

I was thinking about this as I RAN to my current car in freezing rain yesterday and all I had to do to get in was yank on the handle and pull the door open (I have automatic keyless entry). I would be PISSED if I had to stand there and wait for the handle to greet me in the pouring rain or, worse, if for some reason it didn't work. Personally I think they're cool, but add no appreciable value to the owner of the vehicle.

Something like this (passenger side shown) where you just reach in and press a rubberized button to release the door would have been a lot simpler:

 

[rick325]

Or a "extend door handles" feature for the iPhone app... or a way to simply do it from the fob ?

 

[Jason S]

Or a "extend door handles" feature for the iPhone app... or a way to simply do it from the fob ?

Can just double press the top of the car (the fob) and the handles extend.

 

[mknox]

Can just double press the top of the car (the fob) and the handles extend.

But why complicate getting into the car with an iPhone app or double tapping the fob? All I do with my current car is leave the fob alone in my pocket, walk up to the car and pull the door handle. Works every time. I do NOT want to be fumbling for a fob or looking for an app on the phone as I stand there in the rain. Sure, the first couple of times it looks "cool" to see them extend, but it gets old quick.

 

[jerry33]

All I do with my current car is leave the fob alone in my pocket, walk up to the car and pull the door handle. Works every time.

I thought the latest software did just that.

 

[brianman]

But why complicate getting into the car with an iPhone app or double tapping the fob? All I do with my current car is leave the fob alone in my pocket, walk up to the car and pull the door handle. Works every time. I do NOT want to be fumbling for a fob or looking for an app on the phone as I stand there in the rain. Sure, the first couple of times it looks "cool" to see them extend, but it gets old quick.

I'm a little confused. Hopefully you can clarify.

Why is "reach and pull" so much better than "reach, tap, pause 3 sec, pull"? (I never get out my key fob to open the doors.)

 

[dsm363]

But why complicate getting into the car with an iPhone app or double tapping the fob? All I do with my current car is leave the fob alone in my pocket, walk up to the car and pull the door handle. Works every time. I do NOT want to be fumbling for a fob or looking for an app on the phone as I stand there in the rain. Sure, the first couple of times it looks "cool" to see them extend, but it gets old quick.

That's what happens now. You walk up and the handles extend with almost no delay. I can actually feel to top of the key fob while still in my pocket so can open the trunk or doors without taking them out too.

 

[mknox]

I'm a little confused. Hopefully you can clarify.

Why is "reach and pull" so much better than "reach, tap, pause 3 sec, pull"? (I never get out my key fob to open the doors.)

Ummm.. because you've just added 2 extra steps to opening the door (tap, wait).

- - - Updated - - -

That's what happens now. You walk up and the handles extend with almost no delay. I can actually feel to top of the key fob while still in my pocket so can open the trunk or doors without taking them out too.

I guess what I'm saying is that it seems like an unneeded complication. We've seen stories here about handles that aren't working and doors popping open by themselves. Sure, Tesla is being great about it and fixing problems, but they seem like problems that could have been avoided with a simpler design. I worry that after 4, 5, 6 years of use in all weather conditions, the sensors and motors and gears and springs that make these handles work could cause problems that cost money to fix. There are extra steps required to get into the car (either tapping the handle, using the key fob or the extra automatic step of having the handles present themselves), and extra steps involved in extending the handles for a passenger being picked up at the curb. as I say, there is a certain "cool" factor, but I personally don't think the extra complications are worth it.

Edit: It's come up again in this thread.

 

[brianman]

Ummm.. because you've just added 2 extra steps to opening the door (tap, wait

That was kind of my point. Those 2 steps are that big of a deal to you? They aren't to me.

 

[dsm363]

I guess what I'm saying is that it seems like an unneeded complication. We've seen stories here about handles that aren't working and doors popping open by themselves. Sure, Tesla is being great about it and fixing problems, but they seem like problems that could have been avoided with a simpler design. I worry that after 4, 5, 6 years of use in all weather conditions, the sensors and motors and gears and springs that make these handles work could cause problems that cost money to fix. There are extra steps required to get into the car (either tapping the handle, using the key fob or the extra automatic step of having the handles present themselves), and extra steps involved in extending the handles for a passenger being picked up at the curb. as I say, there is a certain "cool" factor, but I personally don't think the extra complications are worth it.

Edit: It's come up again in this thread.

You're probably right but I think most of the problems have been software issues with the handles so far, not mechanical but I see the link you added about the pressure sensor. There likely is a more reliable way to do this but if the extending handles 'wow' enough people (people think they are very cool when they see the car) and they attract attention resulting in a reservation they maybe it is worth it in the short term at least. Long term likely something more robust might be needed.

 

[Todd Burch]

I've never had to wait more than a fraction of a second for door handles open. They do *not* take 3 seconds--that's a long time. About a second if you press on the handle and wait.

How many times have I had to press on the handle and wait? About 3. In two weeks of ownership. So I've lost 3 seconds of my life over 2 weeks waiting for the door handles. The wait is a non-issue...it's really not a big deal. It's even less frequent now that I know how the car generally operates. In my opinion, the cool factor far outweighs this miniscule infrequent wait.

Now, as far as long-term reliability, the jury's still out on that. But the actual day-to-day operation is not an issue, as almost always the handles are out by the time you get to the door. At this point in the game, they've worked perfectly for me and they're just part of the Model S cool factor.

 

[aronth5]

....

Now, as far as long-term reliability, the jury's still out on that. But the actual day-to-day operation is not an issue, as almost always the handles are out by the time you get to the door. At this point in the game, they've worked perfectly for me and they're just part of the Model S cool factor.

Ummmm. "almost always" isn't the same as always. Cool factor is good now but I'm with Mknox. In the future the "almost always" may be "mostly always" for some owners. The cool factor will have worn off by then.