Tesla Model 3 Door Mechanism Investigated for Being Difficult to Open in Emergency Situations

JAKARTA - The United States vehicle safety authority, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has officially opened an investigation into alleged defects in the Tesla Model 3 emergency door release mechanism. This investigation targets nearly 180 thousand units.

NHTSA is focusing on the allegation that the manual release lever is too difficult to find in an emergency. The move comes after a number of media reports on fatal accidents, as reported by Electrek, Thursday, December 25, 2025.

It is said that both passengers and rescuers reportedly had difficulty opening the vehicle door to evacuate the victims after the accident.

In an official document released by the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), it was stated that the evaluation was triggered by a petition that assessed the hidden, unlabeled, and not easily found door opening mechanism in an emergency.

The main issue highlighted in the investigation is summarized as emergency exit controls that are not easily accessible and not clearly identified.

The investigation is recorded with the code Petition Defective DP25002 and specifically includes the 2022 production year Tesla Model 3.

ODI estimates that the number of vehicles affected reached 179,071 units. As a characteristic of Tesla's design, the Model 3 relies on an electronic door handle that requires electricity to operate.

In certain situations, such as a severe accident that causes a total power outage, passengers or rescue workers must rely on a mechanical door opening mechanism. However, the petition submitted assesses that the manual operating mechanism is not clear enough.

Currently, the investigation is still at the stage of requesting a defect, where NHTSA will evaluate the initial findings before deciding whether the request will be granted or rejected. Up to this stage, the summary of the report only associates one injury incident with the petition.

However, separate investigative reports from Bloomberg and The Washington Post revealed a number of other fatal accidents, in which the design of the door handles and the door opening mechanism of Tesla were suspected of affecting the process of evacuating victims.