U.S. safety regulators open probe into Tesla Model Y door handles after reports of children trapped
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launches preliminary investigation focused on 2021 Model Ys after nine reports of exterior electronic handles failing, with some parents breaking windows to reach children
U.S. auto safety regulators opened a preliminary investigation into Tesla door-handle operability on Tuesday after reports that electronic exterior door handles became inoperative on 2021 Model Y vehicles, leaving parents unable to reach children in rear seats.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the probe was opened after it received nine reports alleging exterior handles stopped working, possibly because of low battery voltage. The agency said four of those incidents required parents to break windows to gain access to children in the back seats. Tesla has installed manual interior door releases in the vehicles, but NHTSA noted that a child may not be able to reach or know how to operate the releases.
The agency said the investigation covers about 174,300 midsize SUVs and is focused on operability of the electronic door locks from the outside of the vehicle — the only circumstance in which there is no manual exterior opening method. NHTSA said its preliminary evaluation will examine the scope and severity of the condition, including the risks associated with the reported failures, and will assess Tesla’s method of supplying power to the door locks and the reliability of the relevant power supplies.
According to the agency, the incidents appear to occur when the electronic door locks receive insufficient voltage from the vehicle. Available repair invoices indicate that batteries were replaced after such incidents, yet none of those who reported door-handle failures saw a low-voltage battery warning before the exterior handles became inoperative.
NHTSA said its current investigation is limited to exterior-handle operability, but it will continue to monitor reports of people being unable to exit from inside the vehicles, a condition the agency describes as "entrapment," and take further action if needed.
The probe comes amid a history of reported problems with Tesla doors and power-assisted entry systems. Regulators and safety advocates have documented incidents in recent years in which doors failed to open after crashes or during vehicle fires. In April, a college basketball recruit, Alijah Arenas, said he had difficulty escaping a Tesla Cybertruck after it caught fire when he crashed into a tree; he said the doors would not open and that he stayed alive by dousing himself with a water bottle as smoke filled the vehicle. Arenas was later induced into a temporary coma after the accident.
Tesla’s Model Y is the company’s most widely sold vehicle, and the automaker has faced multiple investigations and recalls in recent years related to software and hardware systems as electric vehicles have grown more complex. The NHTSA’s preliminary evaluation will determine whether the condition poses an unreasonable risk to safety and whether a recall or other remedy is warranted.
The agency did not announce a timeline for completing the preliminary probe. NHTSA officials said they will continue to collect and review information related to the incidents and may expand the scope of the investigation based on what the evidence shows.