Tesla customers create a rear door back-up exit fix

Rear door back-up exit fix

Tesla‘s own customers, concerned about the safety of their back seat passengers in the event of a power loss, have created their own rear door back-up exit fix.

My sister-in-law sent the two pictures that follow, which is a clever variation on solutions found on various Tesla forums for her Model Y.

And she put it so, so well in a text: “Should not have to explain a DOOR.”

She followed that with an LOL, but being able to get out of a car in an emergency is no laughing matter (she knows this…).

The first image shows the small “door” that opens to reveal the cable pull has been opened and a “Pull To Eject” tag has been attached to the cable. The second pulls back for a view of the door pocket.

The tag is the perfect color. And we even love the use of the word “Eject”!

Tesla is hardly alone with issues like this. In the past month, we’ve posted on the completely obtuse Rivian rear door back-up (below right), which also involves a cable. We could not find an easy way to remove trim panel hiding it, and neither could the vehicle’s owner.

At least the Tesla version is marked properly and provides obvious and easy access. Assuming the icon, which can be in the first image, is understood!

We took the Rivian issue to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and we will likely do the same here. And we’d encourage any Model 3 or Y drivers to do the same. Something about squeaky wheels, although NHTSA is supposedly looking into this Tesla issue.

We now cover 14 manufacturers who use electronic locks and latches and their back-up opening procedures. And we’ll repeat, we started on this after a man and his dog died in the Texas heat in a Corvette 10 years ago when his car lost power. The back-up door release is a floor mounted lever you might think would open the trunk (right).

Which goes to show that this is not a problem exclusive to electric vehicles by any means.

Perhaps the issue here is twofold. First, auto manufacturer management could and should be following their customer’s forums. But, in order to avoid falling into these at all, perhaps better would be to do outside-of-the-box testing.

It truly feels like concepts such as these are tested by people already very, very familiar with the industry’s iconography and are very likely brand loyalists. “Oh yes, that electronic latch is a clever idea and the mechanical back-up works great…”

Which, of course, assumes any real-world testing is done at all. Because, you know, “Should not have to explain a DOOR!”

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