Comment on New Rules Could Force Tesla to Redesign Its Door Handles. That’s Harder Than It Sounds
Zak@lemmy.world 2 days ago
After renting a couple cars with electronic door poppers, I find them plainly worse than mechanical door latches. They’re a solution in search of a problem, and some implementations are hazardous.
I hear they are a solution to the problem of increasing mileage/efficiency. I am no fan of Tesla, but we have to admit, there is some merit to that argument, however debatable the efficiency benefits are.
That’s not to say safety isn’t a serious issue. The biggest problem is the reliance on electronics. Now if someone can reinvent the design with a highly reliable mechanical system, with multiple redundancy.
To my knowledge, there are designs which allow you to pop out the latch without the need for electronics.
However, if I’m reading the article correctly those wouldn’t be allowed either because in their default state they don’t have “enough room for a hand to grip behind them”.
That wording alone explicitely bans flush doorhandles, and not just electronic doorhandles
The ones that work on springs are inherently dangerous because in the event of a crash it’s very possible that some very important bits of plastic will get misaligned and the handle will get jammed behind the frame. The steel construction of the latch is much less likely to be damaged in a crash
Yeah I’m sorry, I’ll take normal door handles over a 0.01% increase in efficiency
I’ve seen three designs for purely mechanical flush door handles in production use:
The push-then-pull central hinge is probably not a great choice for the application because its operation will be less obvious to a rescuer trying to get the door open quickly. It’s still better than something that requires electronics.
The Model 3 / Model Y are push to pull, it’s just not a centred hinge, it’s more to the left side.
There’s no reason they couldn’t do that but also make it mechanical if they’d wanted to.
They were hazardous when they were on Corvettes too. They should have banned them back then.
The rental cars in question were, in fact Corvettes. Corvettes are still using them.
Oof
im occasional ride in my parents leased ioniq5 and the door handles are lik teslas, very flimsy to the feel.
magic_smoke@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 days ago
I think having an electric popper on top of an mechanical door latch (actual door handles are standard mechanic, but there’s solenoid that can actuate them independently) is okay if you can find an actual usecase.
I mean sure still stupid but at least it isn’t dangerous.
artyom@piefed.social 2 days ago
The problem with having both is that the electronic one is always the primary one, and the one people will use daily. In particular Tesla hides the mechanical ones really well. So in an emergency situation, people panic and have no idea where it is or how to use it.
Electric locks actually serve a purpose though. And they’re not a danger to passengers inside. What purpose do electric door locks serve? Other than being more prone to failure and costing more money.
Jason2357@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
The purpose of the electric latch is to save the frameless window panes. It can lower the window slightly in the instant before it opens, to break the seal and avoid torsion on the glass.
Now, frameless windows are stupid and not necessary, so theres that. One dumb idea propagates another.
Zak@lemmy.world 1 day ago
This doesn’t pass a sanity check.
A mechanical handle that actuates when deflected 30 degrees can trip a microswitch at 10 degrees to slightly open the window.
artyom@piefed.social 1 day ago
You don’t need an electric latch to have frameless windows. Pretty much every car before with frameless windows did not have them.
Prove_your_argument@piefed.social 2 days ago
An oligarch’s fancy?
I’m sure in product meetings it’s been brought up that it’s a dumb thing and they could save money and make the cars safer by not having them, then the oligarch speaks up.
magic_smoke@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 days ago
Yeah that’s the design flaw. Thats literally what im saying they shouldn’t do. You can make a mechanical-first door with an internal solenoid thats capable of popping the door.
The main and only handles on the doors should be mechanical, with door popper buttons for all four doors on the driver-side arm rest (where window controls go)
This allows the driver to open doors for passengers, while also making the main way in and out NOT dependent on electronics.
Unnecessary luxury? Sure, but so are cars in a lot of the world. Its cheap to implement and not inherently a danger when done right.
Your issue isn’t electronically controlled door poppers. Its cars being made by silicone valley, y-combinator sucking, tech-bro douchebags.