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Scalding Hot Door Handles!

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Personally I love the feel of a solid metal door handle. Of course, since I can hold a beaker of boiling water for several seconds, the thermal downsides are of negligible concern to me. Plastics just wouldn't be a good substitute esthetically. Carbon fiber with a surface slab of metal veneer might feel and look OK though.
I always assumed the handles were chromed plastic - you're saying they're solid metal?
 
I also have Xpel on the handles and I've never noticed the handles to be uncomfortably hot.

That may also be due to having a white car, or because San Diego is not as extreme as places like Phoenix.

Does anyone with a dark colored car in a hot climate have Xpel wrapped door handles for comparison?

I'm getting the car wrapped on Tuesday and live in LA. Went on a trip to Palm Springs and nearly singed my hand on the door handles. (Was 109 outside).

I'll take the car out in the sun tomorrow before noon and test temps, then test again after the wrap.
 
Door handle test - Before Xpel

So here is the test without Xpel, not sure running the AC for 30 mins cooled the handles at all.
Honestly, the handles were hot enough I wouldn't want my kids touching them.
Getting the car wrapped this week, will test again once I have it back.


  • 11:15 - car in garage / out of the sun
    • Handle 79.0
    • Garage temp: 81.1
    • Car inside temp 79.0
  • 11:20 - moved car in sun to start test
    • handle 81.5
    • Outside temp 81.0
    • Car Inside temp 79.5
  • 12:20 - in sun for an hour
    • Handle 140.1
    • Outside Temp 83
    • Car inside Temp 104.7
    • Car surface 143.5

  • 12:50 - w/ AC on for 30 mins
    • Handle 139.7
    • Outside Temp 85
    • Car inside Temp 76
    • Car surface 144.7
 
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I also have Xpel on the handles and I've never noticed the handles to be uncomfortably hot.

That may also be due to having a white car, or because San Diego is not as extreme as places like Phoenix.

Does anyone with a dark colored car in a hot climate have Xpel wrapped door handles for comparison?


MC Red is not exactly dark but I have Xpel on the flat exterior of the handles and have not every noted the handles being significantly hot other than today. Just for the 1 second it took to open the door. My daughter noted it too but not a big deal. While we get some hot temps here (up to 108 this week), our summers have not been nearly as hot the past 4-5 years as they were 10 years ago.
 
First world problems here ... just apply a carbon decal to the door handle and problem solved!

I usually pre-cool the car about 30-45 minutes before getting in the car. Obviously the handles get insanely hot here in Vegas, the pre-cool session last 30 minutes IIRC, so I usually have to cool more than once if I'm pre-cooling for 45 minutes. I've been toying with installing a small strip of felt in the inside of the handle where the hand would most likely touch it.

Pffft. Drive with mittens.

Here in California, we're famously laid back and always wear our shirts untucked. So it's pretty easy to grab the handle with the bottom of my shirt, if it's a very hot day and the handle has been in the direct sun for a while.
 
Thank you for doing this! Very interesting.

Door handle test - Before Xpel

So here is the test without Xpel, not sure running the AC for 30 mins cooled the handles at all.
Honestly, the handles were hot enough I wouldn't want my kids touching them.
Getting the car wrapped this week, will test again once I have it back.


  • 11:15 - car in garage / out of the sun
    • Handle 79.0
    • Garage temp: 81.1
    • Car inside temp 79.0
  • 11:20 - moved car in sun to start test
    • handle 81.5
    • Outside temp 81.0
    • Car Inside temp 79.5
  • 12:20 - in sun for an hour
    • Handle 140.1
    • Outside Temp 83
    • Car inside Temp 104.7
    • Car surface 143.5

  • 12:50 - w/ AC on for 30 mins
    • Handle 139.7
    • Outside Temp 85
    • Car inside Temp 76
    • Car surface 144.7
 
Door handle test - Before Xpel

So here is the test without Xpel, not sure running the AC for 30 mins cooled the handles at all.
Honestly, the handles were hot enough I wouldn't want my kids touching them.
Getting the car wrapped this week, will test again once I have it back.


  • 11:15 - car in garage / out of the sun
    • Handle 79.0
    • Garage temp: 81.1
    • Car inside temp 79.0
  • 11:20 - moved car in sun to start test
    • handle 81.5
    • Outside temp 81.0
    • Car Inside temp 79.5
  • 12:20 - in sun for an hour
    • Handle 140.1
    • Outside Temp 83
    • Car inside Temp 104.7
    • Car surface 143.5

  • 12:50 - w/ AC on for 30 mins
    • Handle 139.7
    • Outside Temp 85
    • Car inside Temp 76
    • Car surface 144.7

ive also noticed that running the AC prior to getting in does nothing to cool the handles down
 
What I have been doing in the meantime is making sure the air conditioner is on a while before entering the car. Use the app to turn it on while your still in the store or whatever. It seems like the excess pressure inside the car vents through the door handles and will do a pretty good job of cooling them down before you get there.

Funny enough, I'd never noticed that the AC went through until today when my son mentioned that wind was blowing through the handle when he went to open his door. Cool feature.
 
In Australia?

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true. Worlds most poisonous spider, jellyfish, snake, and a platypus with a poisonous spine on one of its legs. My only contact has been with one of said spiders, and I am an arachnophobe. Didn't bite me but came far too close for comfort! Platypus are really shy, I have only seen them in a zoo.
 
true. Worlds most poisonous spider, jellyfish, snake, and a platypus with a poisonous spine on one of its legs. My only contact has been with one of said spiders, and I am an arachnophobe. Didn't bite me but came far too close for comfort! Platypus are really shy, I have only seen them in a zoo.
I would prefer having scaldingly hot door handles in Australia, that way when those giant spiders literally walk up to the car and try to pull on the door handle they get burned.
 
Is this issue only related to Tesla door handles? I had a previous car with a metal/chrome handle but don't remember ever having problems with it but that was 18+ years ago. It seems back in the day, almost all cars had metal/chrome handles.
 
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Are people complaining about the surface (flush with door when handles retracted) or the inside grip of the handle? I get that its solid metal, but I wouldn't expect a/c "venting" to affect the surface, but the inside grip. As such, were fieldalias' measurements taken on the surface or the inside grip?