{"id":3491230,"date":"2026-07-23T20:06:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/23\/teslas-door-knobs-could-prompt-fresh-safety-regulations-in-the-us\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T20:06:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:06:21","slug":"teslas-door-knobs-could-prompt-fresh-safety-regulations-in-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/23\/teslas-door-knobs-could-prompt-fresh-safety-regulations-in-the-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla\u2019s door knobs could prompt fresh safety regulations in the US"},"content":{"rendered":"
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U.S. authorities are set to explore the creation of new rules for car manufacturers to guarantee that drivers and passengers can exit their vehicles safely. This newly proposed rule-making process, detailed in a regulatory submission and initially reported by Bloomberg, is a response to several incidents, including fatal ones, where individuals became trapped inside cars featuring flush, electronically controlled door handles similar to those on Tesla models.<\/p>\n

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced this in reply to a petition urging the agency to initiate a safety defect inquiry regarding the emergency mechanical door release of 2022 Tesla Model 3 vehicles. The petition asserted that the door release mechanism does not meet federal motor vehicle standards.<\/p>\n

NHTSA dismissed the actions sought by the petitioners, indicating that the matter would be better resolved through rule-making instead of a defect investigation.<\/p>\n

Should the agency implement new regulations, all manufacturers will be required to adhere to them. Nonetheless, it is crucial to understand that the act of \u201ccommencing\u201d rule-making does not guarantee the formulation of new rules, according to NHTSA.<\/p>\n

\u201cNHTSA received a petition for rulemaking to mandate an emergency door egress system to mitigate the risk of occupants being trapped in vehicles during electrical outages, and the agency approved that petition,\u201d the agency elaborated in an emailed statement. \u201cApproval of a rulemaking petition does not signify a decision by NHTSA to issue a new safety standard, but initiates the process of collecting input for an informed decision. NHTSA will compile further information and data, and seek public feedback, to ascertain if new safety standard rule-making is warranted under the Vehicle Safety Act’s guidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n

This action follows less than a year after NHTSA began investigating Tesla\u2019s door handles due to nine reports from owners who were unable to access their cars, occasionally with children still inside. The investigation developed after Bloomberg conducted its own inquiry into multiple incidents where Tesla drivers and passengers found themselves trapped in their vehicles post-collision.<\/p>\n

Although Tesla vehicles include manual door releases, these are solely accessible from within the car. An initial assessment by NHTSA indicated that the handles might fail if the electronic locks don’t receive adequate voltage from the vehicle\u2019s battery system.<\/p>\n

Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen stated last year that the company is redesigning its door handles. Rivian announced last year that it would be modifying the interior door handle design on its R2 SUV to position the manual release in a more prominent location, nearer to the electrically powered door handles.<\/p>\n

This article has been updated to incorporate a statement from NHTSA.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When purchasing through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/div>\n
\n

U.S. authorities are set to explore the creation of new rules for car manufacturers to guarantee that drivers and passengers can exit their vehicles safely. This newly proposed rule-making process, detailed in a regulatory submission and initially reported by Bloomberg, is a response to several incidents, including fatal ones, where individuals became trapped inside cars featuring flush, electronically controlled door handles similar to those on Tesla models.<\/p>\n

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced this in reply to a petition urging the agency to initiate a safety defect inquiry regarding the emergency mechanical door release of 2022 Tesla Model 3 vehicles. The petition asserted that the door release mechanism does not meet federal motor vehicle standards.<\/p>\n

NHTSA dismissed the actions sought by the petitioners, indicating that the matter would be better resolved through rule-making instead of a defect investigation.<\/p>\n

Should the agency implement new regulations, all manufacturers will be required to adhere to them. Nonetheless, it is crucial to understand that the act of \u201ccommencing\u201d rule-making does not guarantee the formulation of new rules, according to NHTSA.<\/p>\n

\u201cNHTSA received a petition for rulemaking to mandate an emergency door egress system to mitigate the risk of occupants being trapped in vehicles during electrical outages, and the agency approved that petition,\u201d the agency elaborated in an emailed statement. \u201cApproval of a rulemaking petition does not signify a decision by NHTSA to issue a new safety standard, but initiates the process of collecting input for an informed decision. NHTSA will compile further information and data, and seek public feedback, to ascertain if new safety standard rule-making is warranted under the Vehicle Safety Act’s guidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n

This action follows less than a year after NHTSA began investigating Tesla\u2019s door handles due to nine reports from owners who were unable to access their cars, occasionally with children still inside. The investigation developed after Bloomberg conducted its own inquiry into multiple incidents where Tesla drivers and passengers found themselves trapped in their vehicles post-collision.<\/p>\n

Although Tesla vehicles include manual door releases, these are solely accessible from within the car. An initial assessment by NHTSA indicated that the handles might fail if the electronic locks don’t receive adequate voltage from the vehicle\u2019s battery system.<\/p>\n

Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen stated last year that the company is redesigning its door handles. Rivian announced last year that it would be modifying the interior door handle design on its R2 SUV to position the manual release in a more prominent location, nearer to the electrically powered door handles.<\/p>\n

This article has been updated to incorporate a statement from NHTSA.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When purchasing through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3491231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3491230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491230"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3491230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3491231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3491230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3491230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3491230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}