Model 3 Emergency Mechanical Door Release Demo
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN cites it in threads about Teslas trapping occupants to show how the manual release is located and used.
What it is
A short demo shows how to use the Tesla Model 3's mechanical emergency door release on the front doors as a backup to the electronic release. It notes an on-screen warning that frequent use could damage the door seals.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2021 to 2024.
What Hacker News said
Recommends gnicholas · 2024-03 · on “A Mistake in a Tesla and a Panicked Final Call: The Death of Angela Chao”
Yeah, I just talked with a Rivian engineer (who owns a Tesla) and he said that all these vehicles have mechanical pulls, but the problem is that they are hidden and people don't know where they are. It's kind of odd the article didn't mention this fact and enlighten the readers as to how to avoid the same fate! Here's how to do it in a Model 3. [1] Apparently it differs by vehicle. 1: [this video]
Cites kingsuper20 · 2021-04 · on ““Teslas are bad cars. Here are a few reasons why.””
It seems to me that they have an emergency opener. It's not the kind of thing a car manufacturer would forget about. [this video] People are funny about the love/hate Tesla continuum. My take is that they are like owning any smaller volume semi-exotic car. People who think they are crazy unreliable should talk to the ex-owners of V12 BMWs. 'lectric cars appear to be the future, but the average person could stand to wait for another generation or two of batteries and buy something like an EV Corolla.
Cites blueflow · 2023-08 · on “Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power”
Video of the handles in action: [this video] Both functions are not evident (to me) by looking at the handles. Maybe the Tesla's UI is just bad.
Critical FirmwareBurner · 2023-08 · on “Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power”
>uses the manual release handle instead of the right button, and I get a warning message on the screen and the risk of breaking the window glass. Is there a technical limitation on why the manual release can't also mechanically slide down the window slightly when pulled to not damage the glass? Also, why did Tesla need to use two obscure looking buttons with no labels on them to open the door[1], when many cars use the same obvious leaver for both cases: pull on it lightly to engage the electronic un-lock, pull on it again with more force to engage the mechanical un-lock. So simple, so elegant. [1] [this video]