- NHTSA investigating 174,000 Model Ys over rear door handle malfunction reports.
- Nine cases involve parents unable to open rear doors to reach their children.
- Fault may stem from low-voltage battery failure with no prior warning to drivers.
Parents of young children reported alarming situations involving the 2021 Tesla Model Y, with four of them telling the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) they had to break their own windows to reach kids stuck inside.
More: Tesla Admits A Flaw In Some Of Its New Cars Could Pose A Safety Risk
These accounts are part of nine reports alleging the EV’s rear doors failed to operate properly. Now, the agency is weighing whether these vehicles could be subject to a recall over door handles that could present an unreasonable safety risk.
On Tuesday, the NHTSA announced it has opened a preliminary investigation into roughly 174,000 examples of the 2021 Model Y. The complaints about the handles specifically center around the rear door handles. While there are manual releases within the vehicle, small kids are rarely equipped to use them.
When Doors Refuse to Open
According to the government agency, parents said they exited the car, and before they could open the rear doors, the vehicle lost power, and subsequently, the doors wouldn’t work. “Entrapment in a vehicle is particularly concerning in emergency situations, such as when children are entrapped in a hot vehicle,” says the NHTSA report.
Notably, the incidents under review do not contain any indication that the cars in question provided low-voltage warnings.
“Based on ODI’s preliminary review, this condition appears to occur when the electronic door locks
receive insufficient voltage from the vehicle,” says the preliminary investigation report. “Available repair invoices report replacement of the vehicle’s low voltage battery after the incident. However, no VOQs reported seeing a low voltage battery warning prior to the exterior door handles becoming inoperative.”
The probe is the first step before a potential recall, and it adds to a growing list of safety probes of this kind in recent years. Tesla itself has faced several complaints about everything from safety concerns with physical design to questions around Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Other automakers are also under fire both in the U.S. and abroad.
Not Just a Tesla Problem
Ford has had its own trouble with electronic door systems. The Mustang Mach-E was at the center of a lawsuit before the NHTSA stepped in, leading to both a recall and a stop-sale order. In that case, the Blue Oval’s solution involves a software update that issues clearer alerts when the low-voltage battery runs down. Perhaps that’ll be what Tesla does too. We’ll just have to wait and see.
