The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that it has opened an investigation into a failure of the door handles of the Tesla Model Y, which may affect 174,000 units from the 2021 model year.
The NHTSA stated that it received reports citing the inability to open doors, particularly after drivers exited the vehicle to remove minors from the car, or after placing them in the back seat, due to a blockage in the door handles.
In a preliminary investigation, the NHTSA stated that the blockage of the door handles seems to occur when the latches receive insufficient voltage from the vehicle. The agency noted that repairs already carried out in some cases required the replacement of the vehicle’s low-voltage battery, without any prior warning being registered on the dashboard.
