From the article:
The man is blaming the automaker even though the manual door opener was under his left hand the whole time.
A man in Arizona says that he was recently trapped in his Tesla after getting in, closing the door, and then realizing that his battery was dead. What he didn’t know is that the manual release for the door was under his left hand the whole time. Now, he’s blaming the automaker and raising awareness.
Rick Meggison, 73, says that Tesla needs to address what he calls a “safety concern” involving how to exit the car when the battery dies. The main door latch actuator on all Tesla models is electronic so if the 12-volt battery dies it won’t work. To ensure safe exit of the vehicle Tesla includes a manual release. Meggison didn’t know about that and ended up trapped in his car for 20 minutes on a hot day.
“I couldn’t open the doors. I couldn’t lower the windows. The computer was dead, so I couldn’t open the glove box. I couldn’t open anything,” he told ABC7. Of course, he could’ve opened the door in about two seconds had he known that the manual release was just ahead of his window switches. His situation has many wondering who’s to blame in situations like this.
Exactly why you should read the manual first.
Have you read your car’s manual cover to cover?
I hope you’re not responsible for designing products, because intuitive product design is important. Requiring a manual to understand a potentially life-saving feature of your vehicle, because the manufacturer chose form over function… listen to yourself.
Here’s another great solution: don’t let your car battery die (/s)
Yes, I have 2 cars, I’ve read both manuals.
I’m not saying I agree with with the bad for handles, but manuals for a big death machine should be read anyway, and if he did he’d know how to open a door.
I know this is 8 months old, but are you seriously arguing people should read a car’s manual to know how to open the door?
Any door that requires the user to read a manual is a terrible design.
You misunderstand. I’m saying every car owner should read the manual for their car. Buy a new car, read the manual, it contains a lot of useful information whether you drive a crappy Tesla or not.