My 10-year-old Volkswagen Tiguan has just had an electrical gremlin that’s cost me more in diagnostics than the car’s probably worth, and it’s tipped me into full window-shopping mode for a replacement. Ideally something electric. Ideally something like a Tesla Model Y.
I’ll say it, politics of the CEO aside, the Model Y is probably my ideal vehicle. It’s grown into one of the most capable, dependable family SUVs on sale, it always does well in the reliability rankings, and the interior tech still feels like a step above of most rivals. I like the way it looks. I like the way it drives. Basically, I like almost everything about it.
Almost…
But there is one thing that’s stopping me buying one (well, two actually, if you include Elon Musk) – the door handles.
That might sound like a strange hill to die on when you’re more focused on weighing up range, ISO-fix points and reliability. But Tesla‘s flush, electronic door handles have gone from a neat design flourish to a genuine safety concern, and the evidence is starting to pile up.
Tesla was the first manufacturer to popularise flush-fitting handles, and they’re a big part of why its cars look so clean and futuristic. Rather than a handle you can just grab, you have to wait for a handle to electrically pop out, and the interior release is a button rather than a lever. It’s futuristic, sure, but it’s also, according to a growing body of reporting, a serious liability when something goes wrong.
Trapped inside
A Bloomberg investigation identified at least 15 fatal incidents linked to the electronic latches failing after a power loss following a collision. In several of those cases, occupants were reportedly unable to escape as their cars caught fire, because the manual backup release either wasn’t obvious or wasn’t found in time.
One petition to US regulators described a Model 3 driver who survived a head-on crash only to have the doors fail entirely, forcing an escape through a rear window while the car burned.
When shopping for a family SUV, one that’ll mainly be driven by my wife with our son in the back, that’s the image I can’t quite shake.
On plenty of Tesla models, the manual override isn’t a big red lever by the door. It’s a small mechanical pull tucked away in a door pocket and under a panel. It would be difficult locate and operate correctly, in the dark, in a panic, possibly with smoke filling the cabin. That’s an unreasonable ask of anyone, let alone a parent trying to get kids out of the back seats.
And that’s assuming the occupants are conscious. There are no handles or manual overrides on the exterior of the car, so a bystander trying to help wouldn’t be able to get in either.
To be fair to Tesla, the flaw here isn’t malicious (obviously), it’s a design trade-off that’s aged badly. Flush handles were about aerodynamics and aesthetics, not safety corner-cutting.
Regulators are catching up
The regulators are finally catching up, though. America’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has stopped short of opening a formal investigation into Tesla specifically, but it’s said it will begin drawing up new rules requiring a “robust and obvious” emergency exit system in every car sold in the US.
China has gone further and faster, becoming the first country to ban hidden door handles outright, with rules taking effect from January 2027 that will require visible manual handles on both the inside and outside of every door.
European regulators have flagged the same concerns as a priority.
And, Tesla itself has acknowledged the problem, with chief designer Franz von Holzhausen telling Bloomberg the company plans to make the switches easier to operate in a “panic situation.”
It’s not just Tesla
It’s important to clear up – Tesla isn’t the only offender either. What started as a Tesla styling signature has become an industry trend. Even more traditional manufacturers have got in on it, Land Rover and Mercedes among them.
I get the appeal. Flush handles do look great, especially on something like an Aston Martin DB12 (although, Aston Martin figured out a watch to do this mechanically rather than electronically).
But the impact they have on aerodynamics is surprisingly minimal, especially on a big, blocky SUV.
Look, I’m not asking for a return to chunky 1990s door pulls (although I do love Mercedes G-Wagon handles), but there’s a difference between a handle that retracts for efficiency and a dangerous release mechanism.
So here’s my ask, to Tesla and to everyone who’s copied its homework: let’s bring back proper door handles (and dashboard buttons, while we’re at it).
Until then, my Tiguan replacement search continues…
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