Tesla has been placed under investigation by the US automotive regulator amid fears that issues with door handles could leave drivers trapped inside their vehicles.
The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into more than 174,000 Tesla Model Y cars from the 2021 model year.
The regulator warned that the electronic door handles could become inoperative due to low battery voltage in the vehicle.
It reported that the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received nine Vehicle Owners Questionnaires (VOQs) reporting issues with the inability to open doors.
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The most commonly reported scenarios involved parents exiting the vehicle after driving while having difficulties "removing a child from the back seat or placing a child in the back seat before starting a drive cycle".
Complaints stated that the parents were unable to reopen the door to regain access to the vehicle.
Four of the nine complaints reported that the parents resorted to breaking a window to regain entry into the vehicle.
It warned that children may not be able to access the manual door release inside the cabin, even if the occupants of the vehicle knew where it was positioned.
The investigation involves around 140,000 Tesla Model Y electric vehicles
|GETTY
The report warns: "As a result, in these instances, an occupant who remains inside a vehicle in this condition may be unable to be rapidly retrieved by persons outside of the vehicle.
"Entrapment in a vehicle is particularly concerning in emergency situations, such as when children are entrapped in a hot vehicle.
"For awareness, NHTSA has a Child Heatstroke Campaign that highlights the dangers to children entrapped in hot vehicles."
The ODI said it was opening a preliminary evaluation to assess the scope and severity of the issue, adding that it would take further action "as needed".
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A suggested repair would involve applying 12 volts DC from a separate power source to two different points accessible from the vehicle's exterior.
Reacting to the investigation, Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla's chief designer, said the company was looking to combine the electronic and manual door-release mechanisms.
Speaking to Bloomberg's Hot Pursuit! podcast, the designer said that combining the two functions "makes a lot of sense".
He also confirmed that it was something Tesla was working on, noting that it would make the handles more intuitive for occupants in a "panic situation".
Tesla's chief designer said the automaker would be redesigning the door handles
| TESLAThe NHTSA reported that it had received more than 140 consumer complaints relating to door issues on various Tesla models since 2018.
Tesla was forced to recall more than 120,000 Model S and Model X vehicles in the United States over fears the doors could unlock and open during a crash.
The most recent Tesla recall registered with the NHTSA impacted just six of its 2026 Model Y vehicles.
Documents stated that a loose ground wire may prevent the horn from sounding and alerting other drivers, potentially increasing the risk of a crash.