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>manual mechanism for opening the rear doors from the inside Brother of my close friend literally burned to death in a Hyundai with no manual override for unlo

>manual mechanism for opening the rear doors from the inside Brother of my close friend literally burned to death in a Hyundai with no manual override for unlocking/opening doors. Granted he had modified the car's stereo system with custom speakers and the roadside mechanic did not do a good job with it which caused short circuit/fire. But had he been able to manually open the doors he would still be alive today. And to think Tesla is all batteries that have strong chance of starting a fire - ugh. If car body construction tech was new you could cut Tesla some slack but given all of these issues have been fixed by pretty much all manufacturers years ago - I have no sympathy for Tesla there.

emmelaich 9y ago
That's horrible. I have an enduring fear due to the lack of manual window winders. Harder to open a door in water than wind down a window. Related - a woman was stuck in her Audi Q3 in 41C (106F) heat. (Australia, 2003)
- blinkingled 9y ago
  Yeah window winders too - they should have a knob that drops the window down someplace not accidentally accessible. That should be easy enough to do without adding any significant bulk.
- toomanybeersies 9y ago
  You can buy window breaking hammers (like they have in public buses) if you're concerned about not being able to get out of your car in a crash.
  - kevingadd 9y ago
    They're extremely cheap and some of them also come with a blade for cutting seatbelts (inside a notch so you won't accidentally cut yourself with it). Definitely a life-saving tool worth keeping in your car.
    - zuppy 9y ago
      And there's even a small spring loaded version, that can be carried with the keys. Look for resqme.
  - rimliu 9y ago
    You can also take a headrest of the front seat and use its prongs to break a window.
    - function_seven 9y ago
      Not a bad idea, but are those prongs hard enough? I thought window-breaking tools have a ceramic or tungsten (?) point on them to start the glass fracture. I'm not going to test it, but I imagine myself desperately bouncing the metal prongs off the inside of a window.
      - allendoerfer 9y ago
        You have to hit the edges of the side windows, they are the weak spot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i5rycLJ3D8&feature=youtu.be&t=41 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i5rycLJ3D8&feature=youtu.be...
        function_seven 9y ago
        Thanks. I always thought that you had to hit on the actual edge of tempered glass, which is impossible on a rolled-up car window. Looks like near the edge is good enough.
    - bcraven 9y ago
      https://www.snopes.com/car-headrests-emergency-escape/ https://www.snopes.com/car-headrests-emergency-escape/ They're not designed for that, but some can be used in a pinch. Best not to rely on them!
inferiorhuman 9y ago
> And to think Tesla is all batteries that have strong chance of starting a fire - ugh. A gasoline car has plenty of flammable material as well.
- blinkingled 9y ago
  Right, but the batteries are more vulnerable to starting a fire in collisions than gasoline. I think there were cases of Tesla car batteries starting fire on impact.
  - SmellyGeekBoy 9y ago
    I hate to be "that guy" but... Do you have a citation for that, by any chance?
    - rhinoceraptor 9y ago
      AFAIK, Teslas just use huge arrays of 18650s. And it's well known that lithium cells can catch fire if they are crushed or pierced.
      - inferiorhuman 9y ago
        > AFAIK, Teslas just use huge arrays of 18650s. And it's well known that lithium cells can catch fire if they are crushed or pierced. Ah. So it's like gasoline then? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISJdZD8POi8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISJdZD8POi8
        rhinoceraptor 9y ago
        Gasoline still requires an ignition source to catch fire. Lithium cells can spontaneously ignite when they experience physical damage. I'm not saying electric cars are safer or more dangerous in the event of a crash (because I don't know the answer to that), just that batteries can and will catch fire.
    - 9y ago

emmelaich 9y ago

That's horrible. I have an enduring fear due to the lack of manual window winders. Harder to open a door in water than wind down a window. Related - a woman was stuck in her Audi Q3 in 41C (106F) heat. (Australia, 2003)

blinkingled 9y ago
Yeah window winders too - they should have a knob that drops the window down someplace not accidentally accessible. That should be easy enough to do without adding any significant bulk.
toomanybeersies 9y ago
You can buy window breaking hammers (like they have in public buses) if you're concerned about not being able to get out of your car in a crash.
- kevingadd 9y ago
  They're extremely cheap and some of them also come with a blade for cutting seatbelts (inside a notch so you won't accidentally cut yourself with it). Definitely a life-saving tool worth keeping in your car.
  - zuppy 9y ago
    And there's even a small spring loaded version, that can be carried with the keys. Look for resqme.
- rimliu 9y ago
  You can also take a headrest of the front seat and use its prongs to break a window.
  - function_seven 9y ago
    Not a bad idea, but are those prongs hard enough? I thought window-breaking tools have a ceramic or tungsten (?) point on them to start the glass fracture. I'm not going to test it, but I imagine myself desperately bouncing the metal prongs off the inside of a window.
    - allendoerfer 9y ago
      You have to hit the edges of the side windows, they are the weak spot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i5rycLJ3D8&feature=youtu.be&t=41 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i5rycLJ3D8&feature=youtu.be...
      - function_seven 9y ago
        Thanks. I always thought that you had to hit on the actual edge of tempered glass, which is impossible on a rolled-up car window. Looks like near the edge is good enough.
  - bcraven 9y ago
    https://www.snopes.com/car-headrests-emergency-escape/ https://www.snopes.com/car-headrests-emergency-escape/ They're not designed for that, but some can be used in a pinch. Best not to rely on them!

inferiorhuman 9y ago

> And to think Tesla is all batteries that have strong chance of starting a fire - ugh. A gasoline car has plenty of flammable material as well.

blinkingled 9y ago
Right, but the batteries are more vulnerable to starting a fire in collisions than gasoline. I think there were cases of Tesla car batteries starting fire on impact.
- SmellyGeekBoy 9y ago
  I hate to be "that guy" but... Do you have a citation for that, by any chance?
  - rhinoceraptor 9y ago
    AFAIK, Teslas just use huge arrays of 18650s. And it's well known that lithium cells can catch fire if they are crushed or pierced.
    - inferiorhuman 9y ago
      > AFAIK, Teslas just use huge arrays of 18650s. And it's well known that lithium cells can catch fire if they are crushed or pierced. Ah. So it's like gasoline then? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISJdZD8POi8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISJdZD8POi8
      - rhinoceraptor 9y ago
        Gasoline still requires an ignition source to catch fire. Lithium cells can spontaneously ignite when they experience physical damage. I'm not saying electric cars are safer or more dangerous in the event of a crash (because I don't know the answer to that), just that batteries can and will catch fire.
  - 9y ago