NHTSA Investigating Whether Tesla Doors are Defective

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on September 15, 2025, that the agency’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a preliminary evaluation into alleged reports that exterior electronic door handles on certain 2021 Model Y vehicles may become inoperative during low-voltage battery conditions, potentially preventing the doors from being opened from the outside.

The ODI announced its investigation due to complaints that parents who left the vehicle had difficulty opening the door to remove a child from the back seat or place a child in the back seat before starting a driving cycle. The ODI stated that in multiple cases, the driver had to break a window to reenter the vehicle.

Why Tesla’s Model Y electric doors are unsafe

While the doors on this 2021 Model Y vehicle have manual releases inside the door, children may not be able to use these manual releases, causing the child to be entrapped inside the vehicle. The entrapment can be dangerous if there are emergencies, such as when the vehicle is too hot.  There have also been reports and lawsuits alleging that loss of power left Tesla doors/handles difficult to open, potentially impeding escape or rescue in crashes and fires. The Center for Auto Safety reports that the ODI preliminary evaluation is looking at 174,290 2021 Model Y vehicles.

The ODI investigation comes days after a Bloomberg News investigation discovered “a series of incidents in which people were injured or died after they were unable to open doors when a Tesla lost power, particularly after crashes.”

The ODI’s preliminary review found that the inability to open the doors seems to happen when the electronic door locks don’t have enough voltage from the vehicle. Generally, the repair of this defect involves replacing the vehicle’s low-voltage battery. Unfortunately, the ODI’s review found that Tesla owners reported not receiving a low-voltage battery warning before the door handle became inoperable. Tesla’s owner’s manual does provide, in the “Jump Starting” and “Opening the Hood with No Power” sections, a complex process for “restoring power to the electronic door locks to enable their operation from outside of the vehicle.”

This process requires “applying 12 volts DC from a separate power source to two different points accessible from the vehicle’s exterior.” The ODI reports that owners may not readily be able to find or use this process, for example, when the manual is inside the vehicle while the owner is outside and can’t open the door to access it.

The NHTSA investigation

The NHTSA, through its ODI department, is conducting a preliminary evaluation to determine how severe this electronic door defect is and what the risks of the defective door are. The ODI evaluation will also assess Tesla’s methods for supplying power to the door locks and the reliability of the applicable power supplies.

Horrific examples of the harm of Tesla’s defective doors

Bloomberg points out other dangers of these defective doors. For example, it may not be possible to open the doors after a crash to help anyone inside the vehicle who is suffering from injuries. In one horrific example in the Bloomberg article, a woman was pinned by airbags in the passenger seat. Flames were entering the car. The electrical system was dead. The doors wouldn’t open. When rescuers arrived with hydraulic cutters, the woman had suffered extensive lung damage and third-degree burns on her face.

Consumer Affairs wrote of a federal lawsuit that was filed when rescuers were unable to open the doors of a Tesla Model 3 that lost power, struck a utility pole, and burst into flames. The lawsuit claims that even though Good Samaritans tried to help, “Tesla’s ‘unique and defective door handle design’ made the doors inoperable.”

Recommendations if you have a Tesla

Consumer Affairs recommends that Tesla owners, drivers, and riders:

• Locate the manual door release in their model before beginning any trip.
• Practice using the manual release so you can use it quickly in an emergency.
• Teach family members and passengers about the manual release.
• Consider keeping an emergency escape tool in the vehicle to break a window if occupants are unable to exit during an emergency.
• Document any malfunctions and report these malfunctions to the NHTSA at gov.

Filing a product liability lawsuit due to defective products

Our experienced product liability lawyers file claims against manufacturers (and distributors and retailers) when defective products, such as car parts, cause personal injuries or death.

In New Jersey, claims for personal injury or wrongful death caused by an allegedly defective product are generally brought under the New Jersey Products Liability Act. The Act typically provides the governing cause of action for product-related injury claims and subsumes common-law theories such as negligence and implied warranty claims. Claims based on breach of express warranty are excluded from the Act and are generally addressed separately.

Under the Act, product liability claims typically focus on whether a product was defective and whether that defect was a proximate cause of the injuries or death. Plaintiffs generally do not need to prove traditional negligence. Evidence that a manufacturer failed to properly design, test, manufacture, or warn about a product’s risks may be used to establish a defect. We work with qualified product-safety experts and rely on official government investigations and recalls to help support these claims.

At Ferrara & Gable, we have the experience and working relationships with professionals, such as car part safety professionals, to file and pursue product liability claims. We represent both injury victims and the families of loved ones who die due to defective products. Please contact us to schedule a free consultation. We can meet clients at our office in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. We handle product liability claims on a contingency fee basis.