US safety regulators have denied a request to open a defect investigation into the emergency mechanical door releases on the 2022 Tesla Model 3.
The petition was submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by driver Kevin Clouse following a head-on crash. According to the filing, the vehicle lost all electrical power and caught fire, leaving the primary electric door handles inoperable.
Clouse stated he was unable to find the manual door release, which forced him to climb into the back seat and exit through a rear window. He argued that the design violates federal motor vehicle safety standards because the emergency controls are not clearly labeled or easy to find.
In its technical analysis, the agency acknowledged that concealed or hard-to-find door releases create a entrapment risk during power loss emergencies. However, regulators noted that out of nearly 180,000 Model 3 vehicles from that model year, the petitioner’s complaint was the only one in the database alleging this specific issue.
The agency also clarified that current Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 206 focuses on latch integrity to prevent occupants from being ejected during a crash, but it contains no rules requiring specific location or labeling for manual door releases.
Rather than opening a formal defect investigation against Tesla, the agency determined the issue is best handled by updating regulations for all automakers. NHTSA granted a separate rulemaking petition late last year that will consider creating a new safety standard to mandate clear and accessible door egress controls across all motor vehicles.
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