Photo: Rachel Modestino via Twitter
Tesla Model 3 and many other electric vehicles have recessed door handles to help with aerodynamics. As efficient as they might be, they are prone to freezing in bad weather, leaving owners locked out of their cars. This Model 3 owner has found new ways of unlocking the doors, which might benefit other owners too.
Christmas time was special for many people this year, not least because bad weather took many by surprise, unaware that snow and blizzard might actually be a thing in winter. We’ve already told the story of a radio host who discovered that his Tesla Model S would not charge in the cold. We have our doubts that his side of the story is representative of what happened, but we can’t deny that any car model has its quirks, some more than others.
Just to give you an example, Rivian owners have discovered that the LED headlights are so efficient that there is no residual heat to melt the snow and ice. And because the headlight design favors snow accumulation, driving in the snow is a long ordeal of stopping and cleaning the headlights. These things sound crazy, but they happen because no company can test its products exactly how thousands of people use them in real life.
The door handles on most electric vehicles probably fall into the same category. They are made to flush with the car body to improve efficiency and pop out when the owner approaches the car. Sounds like genius, but anybody living in a region with snow and freezing temperatures knows it can become a problem. There are many reports of owners who couldn’t open the doors because the door handles were frozen and wouldn’t pop out.
This is exactly what happened to Canadian meteorologist Rachel Modestino, whose video about stuck door handles on her Model 3 became viral. The footage was shared on December 23, when temperatures in Ontario dropped below 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius). As you can imagine, she was toasted by the beloved Tesla community on Twitter, but she also got helpful replies in the end. Rachel wanted her thread to be beneficial to other Tesla owners with similar problems, and we guess it becoming viral would help.
The replies to her video ranged from “be less gentle” with the door handles to try and defrost the car for longer, but also offered some creative workarounds. It’s strange that not all Tesla owners know that Tesla recently introduced a new feature in the Tesla App. You can add an “Unlock Door” shortcut in the app, which will do exactly what it says. Other users told her that she could set the doors to open automatically when she approached the car. While this feature is not available on the Model 3 yet, it can be retrofitted.
While you can open the door remotely, the charge port is another issue. In this case, your mileage may vary depending on the amount of ice on the charge flap. Of course, the cleverer solution to these problems would be for Tesla to offer heated door handles and charge door. Hopefully, Elon Musk will read the thread and make the right decision.
Just to give you an example, Rivian owners have discovered that the LED headlights are so efficient that there is no residual heat to melt the snow and ice. And because the headlight design favors snow accumulation, driving in the snow is a long ordeal of stopping and cleaning the headlights. These things sound crazy, but they happen because no company can test its products exactly how thousands of people use them in real life.
The door handles on most electric vehicles probably fall into the same category. They are made to flush with the car body to improve efficiency and pop out when the owner approaches the car. Sounds like genius, but anybody living in a region with snow and freezing temperatures knows it can become a problem. There are many reports of owners who couldn’t open the doors because the door handles were frozen and wouldn’t pop out.
This is exactly what happened to Canadian meteorologist Rachel Modestino, whose video about stuck door handles on her Model 3 became viral. The footage was shared on December 23, when temperatures in Ontario dropped below 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius). As you can imagine, she was toasted by the beloved Tesla community on Twitter, but she also got helpful replies in the end. Rachel wanted her thread to be beneficial to other Tesla owners with similar problems, and we guess it becoming viral would help.
The replies to her video ranged from “be less gentle” with the door handles to try and defrost the car for longer, but also offered some creative workarounds. It’s strange that not all Tesla owners know that Tesla recently introduced a new feature in the Tesla App. You can add an “Unlock Door” shortcut in the app, which will do exactly what it says. Other users told her that she could set the doors to open automatically when she approached the car. While this feature is not available on the Model 3 yet, it can be retrofitted.
While you can open the door remotely, the charge port is another issue. In this case, your mileage may vary depending on the amount of ice on the charge flap. Of course, the cleverer solution to these problems would be for Tesla to offer heated door handles and charge door. Hopefully, Elon Musk will read the thread and make the right decision.
@elonmusk bet ya didn’t think of ice in the Tesla design ???? #ONStorm pic.twitter.com/4nPhle9eh4
— Rachel Modestino TWN (@ThatMetGirl) December 23, 2022
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