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Comment by stetrain | Hacker News Reader

I've had a Tesla for several years and am generally pretty happy with it.

I don't think the fancy electronic door handles are an improvement, and am unhappy to see that other brands are following suit.

If there are electronic processes that you want to trigger as the door opens, I think the better solution would be a two-stage handle that initially sends an electrical signal and then engages the mechanical latch if you continue pulling.

From just a convenience perspective having to explain both the interior and exterior doorhandles to anyone riding in your car is a pain, but in the case of an accident, being submerged in water, driver incapacitation, or any other reason you need to exit the car, there should be zero ambiguity of how to do so even if the car has lost power.

Obvious, intuitive, failsafe handles on the inside and outside of car doors should be industry standard.

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> I think the better solution would be a two-stage handle that initially sends an electrical signal and then engages the mechanical latch if you continue pulling.

This is how Mercedes handles work, for what it's worth. A motor pushes them out or retracts them, but they're held in only with a spring, so you can always physically force them out, at which point pulling on them directly pulls on the release lever.

If I were designing these newer style aerodynamic handles, I think it would be done such that the handles default to the open graspable state. Retract them when the car is in motion for aerodynamics (is it really that much of a benefit?) such that when the circuit is de-energized in a crash, the handles return to the default open graspable state.

At least the Tesla handles I’m familiar with are entirely electrical: if you grasp it and pull but the door and whatever ECU operates it is not energized, then nothing happens. There is nothing resembling a mechanical door lock.

My 1994 BMW was like this, you would start to pull the handle and the window would come down a little to release the seal. Then you would pull the rest of the way to pop the latch. You couldn't pull too fast or you would risk damaging the weather seal. It kind of sucked.

My E46 had frameless windows and it was similar, as you pulled the handle it would lower the window slightly, and after closing, it would scooch up a bit.

> It kind of sucked.

Literally or proverbially? Either way it's a great way to weather the problem the fun way.

It was definitely WET fun.

Same with the Minis my mom's been driving for like, 20 years.

I was in a tesla for the first time ever about a month ago, for an uber ride. When I tried to exit that is the first thing that went through my mind -- how the hell could I figure out how to open the door in an emergency situation.

There are some dead people who wondered the same thing during the emergency that killed them.

Including Mitch McConnell's sister-in-law

>I think the better solution would be a two-stage handle that initially sends an electrical signal and then engages the mechanical latch if you continue pulling.

I'm pretty sure my 2009 Prius has this feature; it will unlock the doors when I lightly touch the inside of the handle, and then pulling it will engage the door mechanism.

The original Tesla Model S had exactly this. The window-partial-retract happened as you pulled the handle. It was plenty fast, and I doubt it was even that critical to the longevity of the door — getting the window in the right position when closing always seemed more important to me.

I've got a fancy new car with fancy door handles. Overall, eh. But at least mine are intuitive on the inside ish; you can push yje handle to open (when the car thinks it's safe), or you can pull twice. You have to be told you can push to open, but pull twice happens pretty easily. I don't yet know how the fail safe open works on the outside, grab and pull (pressing the button with the grab) seems to work intuitively enough for people though.

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