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Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

businessinsider.com

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Re: Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

#51

Post by t_tsonev »

sklargh wrote: post #23
helsinkiandrew wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The ID.4 is a comparable car that does: the emergency door opening engages if you yank the lever hard twice. No need to hunt for some switch in the interior of the car. That's a great design - gentle pull on the lever and the electronics opens the latch/door, pull harder and (your) mechanical effort opens the door.

This probably the only intuitive human factors design element of my ID.4. I mean that literally.

While we're on the subject of Tesla, add the control stalks. Supposedly the Model 3 refresh will be dropping these.

Re: Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

#52

Post by ourmandave »

Assuming you get out with the manual handle and the glass doesn't break, can you close the door or will that break the glass too?

Thinking you're stranded on the roadside and can get a ride, but not a tow until the next day.

Do you have to just leave the door open?

Re: Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

#53

Post by phkahler »

jdiff wrote: post #10
IshKebab wrote: post #4

Why don't the door handles just open the door?

The windows have no frame. They slide up into the body of the car. If the door opens, the car needs to roll the window down a bit, then open the door. Without power, none of that happens. And if you use the emergency switch, the window showers you in shattered glass. Quite an elegant system.

Other cars manage to eliminate the window frame and can open and close without needing to lower the window.

Re: Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

#54

Post by lawn »

phkahler wrote: post #48
lawn wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sample size: Very few Type of evidence: Anecdotal Statistical relevance: Tiny

Type of evidence: first hand account. That's better. The singular of data is not anecdote. People make this "mistake" in order to dismiss or minimize someone's experience.

You're right.

Of course, you labeling it as a "mistake" is also made in order to dismiss or minimize my comment, when it was in fact an honest mistake.

Re: Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

#55

Post by expertentipp »

Turskarama wrote: post #44
expertentipp wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think Tesla invented frameless car windows. I'm certain there are at least 50 years old car models with purely mechanical frameless car windows, but I'm too lazy to open wikipedia.

Nobody claimed they invented frameless windows, but I am going to claim (without doing due diligence) that they invented the frameless window that must be automatically wound down before the door can be opened.

I will furtherly speculate that they own at least dozen of patents for this technology.

Re: Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

#56

Post by Nafnlaus »

jdiff wrote: post #10
IshKebab wrote: post #4

Why don't the door handles just open the door?

The windows have no frame. They slide up into the body of the car. If the door opens, the car needs to roll the window down a bit, then open the door. Without power, none of that happens. And if you use the emergency switch, the window showers you in shattered glass. Quite an elegant system.

"And if you use the emergency switch, the window showers you in shattered glass"

I'll take "Things That Have Never Happened" for $800

Most people with no experience with the car reach for the handle rather than the button, as it's more intuitive. The window does NOT shatter when they do this. The window is up against a rubber seal. Rubber has give - it just drags along the rubber. Which you'd ideally rather not do, but it's hardly the end of the world.

(In case anyone is wondering why it's like this - the cars have frameless windows. The same applies to all cars with frameless windows - Teslas aren't the only ones. Generally higher-end cars.)

Re: Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

#57

Post by Nafnlaus »

kwstas wrote: post #15
jdiff wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The windows have no frame. They slide up into the body of the car. If the door opens, the car needs to roll the window down a bit, then open the door. Without power, none of that happens. And if you use the emergency switch, the window showers you in shattered glass. Quite an elegant system.

Truly an inspired design if that is the case. Also the fact that the rear doors either do not have an emergency release or you have to lift the carpet to get to it is a marvel. Donald Norman very early in his book "The Design of Everyday Things" discusses door design in modern buildings focusing on the lack and/or ambiguity of signifiers. These vehicles solve the problem just by removing the ability to open them.

"Truly an inspired design if that is the case" - it's not the case.

"Rear doors either do not have an emergency release" - you mean like every coupé ever built? Since when were you protesting coupés? Rear doors not only do not have to have manual releases, but don't even have to exist.

"lack and/or ambiguity of signifiers" - the front manual release handle is not only not ambiguous, but is far more prominent than the electric release button, so most people with no experience with the car pull it instead of the button.

It's also, in all this, noting that modern cars have crash sequences. A crash is detected either (ideally) immediately before, or during its occurrence. A wide range of events are triggered, such as brakes, airbags, etc... and among the things triggered is *unlatching all the doors for easy egress* (the specific details depends on the door design - you want the door easy to open but not to pop out during the crash itself). Now, things can go wrong - the prime characteristic of a crash is that it mangles your car, and this can jam doors shut or cause other problems. This is why the Jaws of Life exists. But prepping the doors for egress is something that cars at least try to do during a crash.

Re: Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

#58

Post by richbell »

addandsubtract wrote: post #35
richbell wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Claim: every single passenger in your Tesla has found the manual release without issue, so it must not be an issue. Reality: some people are not able to find the manual release handle, which is a safety issue.

Reality: getting safety instructions on every flight on how to put on a life vest and pull a big red lever to open a door.

People do not necessarily act rationally in emergency situations. That is why it's important to design things in a way that's obvious and avoids unexpected obstacles (e.g., the door doesn't open anymore and you need to use a secondary handle).

For example, sliding doors usually have clearly marked text on them saying "in event of power loss, push to open".

Re: Tesla owners say they've been trapped inside their EVs after they lost power

#60

Post by richbell »

Nafnlaus wrote: post #56
jdiff wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The windows have no frame. They slide up into the body of the car. If the door opens, the car needs to roll the window down a bit, then open the door. Without power, none of that happens. And if you use the emergency switch, the window showers you in shattered glass. Quite an elegant system.

"And if you use the emergency switch, the window showers you in shattered glass" I'll take "Things That Have Never Happened" for $800 Most people with no experience with the car reach for the handle rather than the button, as it's more intuitive. The window does NOT shatter when they do this. The window is up against a rubber seal. Rubber has give - it just drags along the rubber. Which you'd ideally rather not do, b…

> I'll take "Things That Have Never Happened" for $800

It's explicitly mentioned in TFA as something that happened.

) Exton followed the instructions for the manual release to open the door, but he said this "somehow broke the driver's window."

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