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This made me think: how the hell will I get my kid out of the back of my Model 3 in case of a fire? The front doors have manual release latches (and adults who

This made me think: how the hell will I get my kid out of the back of my Model 3 in case of a fire? The front doors have manual release latches (and adults who know how to use them). The back doors won’t open from the outside in case of power loss. Smashing the window in from the outside seems like a good way to get glass over anyone back there. After a quick search of the manual it seems this is not really a scenario Tesla has considered well. I would probably end up pulling my kid out through the front or via the trunk, but surely there must be a better way.

colechristensen 4y ago
The non mechanical door handles seem ridiculous to me as someone who grew up in a place where regularly you’d wake up to a car covered in a quarter inch of ice.
- olivermarks 4y ago
  I'm like a broken record saying ALL BEV's should have mechanical door locks because of the huge fire risks
- Hamuko 4y ago
  They use electric door openers because of the frameless windows. So when you open the door, it slides the window down by a couple of centimeters in order to clear the window seal cleanly. As to why this requires a fully electric door opening mechanism, I don't really know. AFAIK, BMWs had mechanical door mechanisms in their frameless doors 20 years ago that did the exact same window sliding.
  - aaomidi 4y ago
    It doesn't require one. In case of power failure it'll just damage the glass. Preferred to fuck my glass up than let someone burn in the back. This was just awful design and tesla and the NHTSA is responsibile for this fuck up and lives lost in events on fire.
jackvalentine 4y ago
Honestly in the case of a fire breaking the glass seems like the best move. The glass will break in to tiny granules that while maybe scary to have shower down on to you are unlikely to cause significant harm. My car has one of these in the centre console in case it’s needed: https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-a17011200ux0296-Emergency-Break-Hammer/dp/B072HQDZ43 https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-a17011200ux0296-Emergency-Brea...
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
helsinkiandrew 4y ago
> how the hell will I get my kid out of the back of my Model 3 in case of a fire? Either get them out now and get another car, or get some of those emergency glass car window hammers - in the back and in the front that you can take out and use immediately the car becomes unresponsive. Lacerations from window glass is far better than the other alternative.
mgdlbp 4y ago
Automobile side windows are typically tempered glass, which as sibling noted shatters all at once into little chunks. BUT, increasingly they're laminated (like windshields) to avoid passenger ejection, which apparently (I didn't research thoroughly) also makes them much harder to break when escaping: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28422725/car-windows-glass-aaa-unbreakable/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28422725/car-windows-glas... And it looks like Tesla is included (edit: only the front side windows are laminated, so your scenario isn't affected): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tnEDH1HfD0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tnEDH1HfD0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempered_glass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempered_glass)
porphyra 4y ago
Weird that the Model 3 doesn't have a manual release to open the rear doors. The Model S has a cable release (albeit pretty hidden) [1] > To open a rear door in the unlikely situation when Model S has no power, fold back the edge of the carpet below the rear seats to expose the mechanical release cable. Pull the mechanical release cable toward the center of the vehicle. https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/models/en_us/GUID-7A32EC01-A17E-42CC-A15B-2E0A39FD07AB.html https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/models/en_us/GUID-7A32EC0...

colechristensen 4y ago

The non mechanical door handles seem ridiculous to me as someone who grew up in a place where regularly you’d wake up to a car covered in a quarter inch of ice.

olivermarks 4y ago
I'm like a broken record saying ALL BEV's should have mechanical door locks because of the huge fire risks
Hamuko 4y ago
They use electric door openers because of the frameless windows. So when you open the door, it slides the window down by a couple of centimeters in order to clear the window seal cleanly. As to why this requires a fully electric door opening mechanism, I don't really know. AFAIK, BMWs had mechanical door mechanisms in their frameless doors 20 years ago that did the exact same window sliding.
- aaomidi 4y ago
  It doesn't require one. In case of power failure it'll just damage the glass. Preferred to fuck my glass up than let someone burn in the back. This was just awful design and tesla and the NHTSA is responsibile for this fuck up and lives lost in events on fire.

jackvalentine 4y ago

Honestly in the case of a fire breaking the glass seems like the best move. The glass will break in to tiny granules that while maybe scary to have shower down on to you are unlikely to cause significant harm. My car has one of these in the centre console in case it’s needed: https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-a17011200ux0296-Emergency-Break-Hammer/dp/B072HQDZ43 https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-a17011200ux0296-Emergency-Brea...

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

helsinkiandrew 4y ago

> how the hell will I get my kid out of the back of my Model 3 in case of a fire? Either get them out now and get another car, or get some of those emergency glass car window hammers - in the back and in the front that you can take out and use immediately the car becomes unresponsive. Lacerations from window glass is far better than the other alternative.

mgdlbp 4y ago

Automobile side windows are typically tempered glass, which as sibling noted shatters all at once into little chunks. BUT, increasingly they're laminated (like windshields) to avoid passenger ejection, which apparently (I didn't research thoroughly) also makes them much harder to break when escaping: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28422725/car-windows-glass-aaa-unbreakable/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28422725/car-windows-glas... And it looks like Tesla is included (edit: only the front side windows are laminated, so your scenario isn't affected): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tnEDH1HfD0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tnEDH1HfD0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempered_glass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempered_glass)

porphyra 4y ago

Weird that the Model 3 doesn't have a manual release to open the rear doors. The Model S has a cable release (albeit pretty hidden) [1] > To open a rear door in the unlikely situation when Model S has no power, fold back the edge of the carpet below the rear seats to expose the mechanical release cable. Pull the mechanical release cable toward the center of the vehicle. https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/models/en_us/GUID-7A32EC01-A17E-42CC-A15B-2E0A39FD07AB.html https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/models/en_us/GUID-7A32EC0...