The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into Tesla’s Model Y SUVs after receiving multiple reports that the vehicles’ door handles can become inoperable, raising potential safety risks.
The probe, announced Tuesday by NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), follows nine complaints from owners who said they were unable to open their vehicles. In several cases, parents reported being locked out after exiting the car and unable to access rear doors to retrieve their children.
According to ODI, four owners said they were forced to break a window to regain entry.
The investigation comes just days after a Bloomberg report detailed incidents where Tesla drivers and passengers became trapped inside vehicles after crashes.
In its preliminary findings, ODI noted that Tesla’s electronic door locks may fail when the system isn’t receiving enough voltage from the car’s battery. However, none of the affected owners reported seeing low-voltage battery warnings.
Tesla vehicles are equipped with manual interior door releases, but the agency says they can be difficult for children to reach and that many owners may not even know the feature exists. While it is possible to restore power to the locks using an external source, Tesla’s manuals describe it as a multistep process
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Tesla has not yet responded to NHTSA’s request for comment.
