The U.S. auto safety regulator said Wednesday it has opened an investigation into defects in Tesla Model 3 compact sedans over concerns that emergency door release controls may not be easily accessible or clearly identifiable in an emergency.
The Defects Investigation Office said the investigation covers approximately 179,071 vehicles from the 2022 model year.
The investigation was opened Dec. 23 after the agency received a defect petition alleging that the vehicles’ mechanical door opening system is hidden, unlabeled and unintuitive to locate during emergencies.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company’s vehicles rely primarily on electronic door latches, which are opened by buttons rather than traditional mechanical handles.
While Tesla includes a manual door release mechanism for use in emergencies or power outages, experts have long argued that mechanical door release mechanisms are not consistently visible, labeled or intuitive, particularly for rear-seat passengers.
Last month, Tesla was sued over a horrific crash in Wisconsin that killed all five occupants of a Model S, who were allegedly trapped inside due to a design defect that prevented them from opening the luxury sedan’s doors.
The automaker was also sued by the families of two college students who died in a Cybertruck crash in November last year in a San Francisco suburb after they were allegedly trapped in the burning vehicle due to the design of its door handle.
Opening a defect petition does not mean a recall will be issued, but it marks the first step in a regulatory review process that could lead to additional actions if safety-related defects are confirmed.
Automotive regulator NHTSA said in September it had opened a preliminary evaluation of about 174,290 Model Y cars due to reports that electronic door handles had become inoperative.
With information from Reuters.
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