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Nearly 3M Teslas recalled in China over hidden door handles

bbc.com

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Re: Nearly 3M Teslas recalled in China over hidden door handles

#3
I hope there's more "no, your 'luxury' feature is just unsafe."

Being unable to turn on the windshield wipers (not engage for a swipe, turn on) without fully taking eyes off the road to interact with the giant touch screen, that's going to get people killed. The #1 thing that convinced me Teslas are absolutely unfit to operate safely for many common actions was driving one at all.

Re: Nearly 3M Teslas recalled in China over hidden door handles

#4
From a more accessible article:

> BEIJING, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Tesla and eight other automakers said on Friday they will recall a total of about 4.3 million vehicles in China over concerns that doors may be difficult to open in an emergency, marking the country's largest automotive recall.

> Tesla's remedy includes warning labels and an update delivered remotely that automatically lowers vehicle windows after a collision.

Yes this is a recall and yes Tesla will be changing the design in the future but this is an industry-wide regulatory change and the automakers are being given considerable latitude to patch existing inventory while updating future designs. I am supportive of this change and it is also not a huge problem for Tesla (it's an over-the-air update) or even isolated to them.

Re: Nearly 3M Teslas recalled in China over hidden door handles

#5

I hope there's more "no, your 'luxury' feature is just unsafe." Being unable to turn on the windshield wipers (not engage for a swipe, turn on) without fully taking eyes off the road to interact with the giant touch screen, that's going to get people killed. The #1 thing that convinced me Teslas are absolutely unfit to operate safely for many common actions was driving one at all.

The iPad controls are the main reason I never leased a Tesla, and also why I avoid being stuck behind one.

Re: Nearly 3M Teslas recalled in China over hidden door handles

#6

I hope there's more "no, your 'luxury' feature is just unsafe." Being unable to turn on the windshield wipers (not engage for a swipe, turn on) without fully taking eyes off the road to interact with the giant touch screen, that's going to get people killed. The #1 thing that convinced me Teslas are absolutely unfit to operate safely for many common actions was driving one at all.

To turn on the wipers you tap the button and scroll the wheel to select a speed. No touch screen required.

Re: Nearly 3M Teslas recalled in China over hidden door handles

#7
Hidden door handles, button open doors when inside the car, only touch screen buttons, rear red turn signal lights.

Reverse these trends. They all suck and unsafe.

Ok the rear red turn signal lights were already a trend in the US before Tesla. But please reverse this too. It's very difficult to see blinking red lights on the freeway when it's sunny. For you people out there who buy cars with red blinking signal lights, I hate you.

Re: Nearly 3M Teslas recalled in China over hidden door handles

#8
Good move. There's an interesting old article on the door handles here:

> https://medium.com/@arunchidambaram/is-teslas-door-handle-an...

In aerodynamic terms, door handles are nbd compared to side mirrors. Mirrors account for 6% of a car's aerodynamic drag. Door handles: roughly 0.2%. Basically they make no difference -- their effect is a rounding error -- and they were implemented for form-over-function style points.

Re: Nearly 3M Teslas recalled in China over hidden door handles

#9

From a more accessible article: > BEIJING, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Tesla and eight other automakers said on Friday they will recall a total of about 4.3 million vehicles in China over concerns that doors may be difficult to open in an emergency, marking the country's largest automotive recall. > Tesla's remedy includes warning labels and an update delivered remotely that automatically lowers vehicle windows after a collis…

> that automatically lowers vehicle windows after a collision

I wonder how long until people figure out that tapping the bumper of a parked tesla opens all the windows, letting people either steal the infotainment screen, or the whole car...

Re: Nearly 3M Teslas recalled in China over hidden door handles

#10

Good move. There's an interesting old article on the door handles here: > https://medium.com/@arunchidambaram/is-teslas-door-handle-an... In aerodynamic terms, door handles are nbd compared to side mirrors. Mirrors account for 6% of a car's aerodynamic drag. Door handles: roughly 0.2%. Basically they make no difference -- their effect is a rounding error -- and they were implemented for form-over-function style point…

What i hear is that electric door handle is more of a manufacturing cost-saving measure than an aerodynamic saving.
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