US auto safety regulators are looking into Tesla over door handle issues on some 2021 Model Y cars.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the electronic door handles can stop working if the car’s battery voltage is low, making it hard or even impossible to get back into the vehicle.
So far, the agency has received nine reports of people who couldn’t open their Model Y doors. A common situation involves parents trying to put a child in the back seat or take one out, only to find the doors won’t open. In four cases, people even had to break a window to get inside. While the cars do have manual door releases inside, the NHTSA warns that a child might not be able to reach them, which could delay getting someone out quickly.
The problem seems to happen when the door locks don’t get enough power from the battery. In some cases, people had to replace the battery after the issue occurred, and none of the reports mentioned getting a low battery warning before the doors failed.
The NHTSA’s investigation will look at how widespread the issue is, how risky it could be, and how Tesla powers the electronic door locks. Right now, the focus is on doors that cannot be opened from the outside, since inside doors do have a backup release. The agency says it will keep tracking reports about doors getting stuck from the inside and act if needed.
