NHTSA opens probe into 174,000 Tesla Model Y over inoperative door handles

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday it has opened a preliminary evaluation into about 174,000 Tesla Model Y vehicles from the 2021 model year after receiving reports that electronic exterior door handles can become inoperative.

NHTSA said the agency has received nine reports in which parents were unable to open exterior doors to regain access to their vehicles, including incidents in which parents had exited the car to remove a child or to place a child in a rear seat before starting a trip. In four of those reports, parents resorted to breaking a window to regain entry.

The agency noted that Tesla vehicles are equipped with manual interior door releases, but said children may not be able to access or operate those releases even if a driver is aware of them. NHTSA said its initial review indicates the condition appears to occur when the electronic door locks receive insufficient voltage from the vehicle.

Documents cited by the agency indicate that repair invoices after incidents have included replacement of the vehicle’s low-voltage battery. NHTSA said, however, that no owners reported seeing low-voltage battery warnings before exterior door handles failed.

A preliminary evaluation is the first step in the federal safety agency’s process and could lead to a recall if investigators determine the defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety. NHTSA will further examine the scope, frequency and potential consequences of the reported failures as part of its evaluation.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, according to a company inquiry noted by NHTSA. The automaker has faced scrutiny in recent years over software and hardware issues affecting vehicle safety systems, prompting regulatory reviews and recalls in some cases.

The probe covers 2021 Model Y vehicles equipped with electronic exterior door handles. The Model Y is one of Tesla’s most widely sold models, and the number of vehicles under review underscores the potential reach of the issue if investigators find a systemic defect.

NHTSA typically requests additional information from manufacturers during preliminary evaluations, including test data, service records and analysis of reported incidents, before deciding whether to advance to an engineering analysis or open a formal recall investigation. The agency did not provide a timeline for the evaluation or indicate when results might be released.

Owners of affected vehicles may follow updates from NHTSA and Tesla as the agency progresses with its inquiry. For now, the agency’s public notice emphasizes that interior manual releases exist but acknowledges they may not be operable by small children, which is central to the safety concern cited in the reports.