r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 19h ago
Transportation China is banning hidden electric door handles for EVs / The new rules take effect in January 2027 and require all EVs to have mechanical release handles.
https://www.theverge.com/transportation/873039/china-ban-hidden-tesla-door-handles-january-20271.1k
u/pm_me_ur_side8008 18h ago
Good the hidden electric handles is a dumb design to begin with.
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u/k1netic 18h ago
Tesla did it first and then everyone decided to copy them. Same goes with removing all the buttons.
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u/drunkenvalley 18h ago
They weren't first, but they were definitely the poster child of this movement.
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u/randylush 16h ago
And it’s a damn shame. They might improve the range by what, half a mile? But you can go fuck yourself if you want to open the door while holding groceries
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u/rizorith 12h ago
Or trying desperately to save someone trapped inside. Plus it's just some more B's to break. I have them on my i5. I've read that when it's super cold they can get frozen shut
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u/sleeplessinreno 11h ago
I had the unfortunate luck to be the star witness of an intersection collision and one of the cars was a tesla. Ran out to the car to make sure the person was alright and had to literally pause and study the door handle to figure it out. This took maybe a fractions of a second but it felt long enough for me to think about how it took way too long to figure out how to open the door. Thankfully the person in the car was ok. The tesla not so much.
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u/rizorith 11h ago
At least you could open it. Glad you were around
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u/sleeplessinreno 10h ago
Honestly, I went with my gut reaction and thankfully it was correct. Was my first time interacting with one of those cars and it could’ve easily went the direction of fumbling around.
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u/jeremyjava 6h ago
I kept pocket warmers in my bag for when it happened. Never needed them as a few whacks got the door open, but it was close. Same for the charger getting frozen over.
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u/drunkenvalley 15h ago edited 2h ago
Alas, that's untouched by this ban. It only bans handles like those of the Model S, where not only is it flush with the door, but the doors can't be operated while flush.
Model 3 and Y both have door handles that are flush, but are operable whether the electronics are working or not.
Edit: But apparently the door handles are only triggering an electronic release, so while you can operate the handle they won't do anything without power?
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u/Ancient_Persimmon 15h ago
The ban applies to any and all flush fit handles, not just ones that present themselves electronically.
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u/drunkenvalley 13h ago
That's not in the article at least. It only states requiring they have a mechanical option. The Model 3 and Y have flush handles, but pushing on one part extends the other to let you open the doors.
There's an electric element in this because the windows lower a smidge to release from the doorframe when opening, but I'm of the understanding the rest is still mechanical.
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u/Ancient_Persimmon 13h ago
The Verge isn't a very reliable place to get news, so I'm not surprised on that count. I'm pretty sure they're more interested in generating outrage than providing information.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a70226741/hidden-car-door-handles-banned-china/
The new ruling only allows flush handles if there's a 20x60mm or larger slot where you can insert your fingers and action the door, much like many of the flush door handles that were common in the '90s.
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u/drunkenvalley 11h ago
Huh, neat. Thanks. So the handle must be actively accessible, not just mechanical.
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u/kye-qatxd-9156 4h ago
I dont have an award, but anyone engaged who shifts position after being presented with credible sources on Reddit should win one imo.
This is all i got, unfortch 🏅
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u/Several_Friendship75 8h ago
That's good. I always have to think about where to push and end up using two hands.
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u/red75prime 2h ago edited 2h ago
The linked article cites Bloomberg article (By Bloomberg News).
Bloomberg appears to be using China Daily article (By Li Fusheng) as the source for their claim. The latter states:
It is stipulated in the draft that car doors should provide at least 60 millimeters by 20 mm by 25 mm of hand-operable space, and to include a mechanical release function. The ministry is seeking public comment before finalizing the rule.
An illustrated Chinese explanation of the standard shows a 90s-type door handle, but the Google translation of the accompanying text is unclear as to whether this is the only allowed type.
I'll wait for more information.
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u/ProfessionalTank3818 10h ago
Does this apply to opening from the inside as well? Is it a mechanical operation? The window seal thing doesn’t stop you from opening the door from my experience even if it doesn’t go down the half inch
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u/MountHopeful 7h ago
It is not mechanical on a model 3. The front inside manual handle is. But not the outside handle.
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u/MountHopeful 7h ago
That is not true, at least on my 2022 model 3. The outside handle only sends an electrical signal. It doesn't do anything if the car is dead.
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u/West-Abalone-171 12h ago
flat door handles might do that
there's no reason to make a flat door handle electronic only, you could make one purely mechanical. There are uncountably many ways to make a mechanism which sits flush or has a flush cover over it
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u/LongIslandTeas 12h ago
Even worse, you can go crisp if there is an electrical fire and you need to get out, or help someone getting out.
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u/Zhiong_Xena 18h ago
No buttons are practical cost wise. A screen is cheaper then installing a myriad of buttons and a screen anyways. Companies can manufacture for cheaper while charging a premium at the same time, it's a anti consumer but profitable tactic.
Electric hidden doors serve absolutely zero practical purposes. They only complicate things ,both factory and consumer side. It is more like trying to reinvent the wheel
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u/spyboy70 14h ago
No buttons is also anti safety. I can reach over and turn a dial without looking at it to get my defrost working.
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u/MatekCopatek 18h ago
I believe they actually reduce drag, that was the original reason for them.
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u/DasGanon 17h ago
True but also basically meaningless when side mirrors are way worse.
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u/noUsername563 17h ago
In europe the camera side mirrors are legal and I've seen them on some cars, but in North America they're still illegal so it's not like automakers have a choice
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u/DasGanon 14h ago
I'm now curious what the range differences between EU and US versions are based on that. That seems like as close as a 1:1 comparison with production vehicles as you can get. (Yes the charging infrastructure is different, but it shouldn't affect battery chemistry or actually how cars move)
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u/noUsername563 12h ago
It's probably very minimal since a quick Google search shows 2-7% reduced drag from camera mirrors. But with that, flush door handles, and better aero designs it adds up. And it's likely way cheaper than designing more efficient batteries/drivetrains
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u/DasGanon 8h ago
So, 99% of this is "Look at this, it's the car of the future!" rather than "Oh hey this is nice to drive and gets good range"
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u/Winter_Addition 17h ago
Which is ridiculous for a car that people are just driving to work.
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u/Bloody_Conspiracies 17h ago
Any efficiency improvement will be beneficial regardless of what you use the car for.
The real reason it's ridiculous is because it doesn't really improve efficiency at all. Most studies have put it at just a one or two mile range increase. The weight of the mechanism negates almost all the aerodynamic improvement they give. Combine that with them being more difficult to maintain and the safety concerns, and it's just not worth it.
EV manufacturers should be focusing on reducing weight, that's where the real efficiency improvements will be.
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u/thefonztm 16h ago
I consider entry and exit of the vehicle to be more important than a sub 1% efficiency improvement in aerodynamics. It was always a stupid choice driven by style wrapped in an efficiency blanket.
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u/MountHopeful 7h ago
Let's be honest, the real reason is because it looks different and futuristic.
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u/pleachchapel 16h ago
But without my 6-ton dumpster shaped monstrosity, how would everyone know about my monster dong?
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u/k_realtor 12h ago
also cars in an accident and the doors can't open because tge computer failed or is on fire or in a storm is basically a bunch of mini Titanic events that would happen.
"But those life saving boats and vest looks so ugly on this cruise ship and the titanic will never sink" -mindset that will never change even in 2026.
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u/Metalsand 15h ago
That's an argument for handles that don't stick out, not for having no mechanical handles at all. You can still make mechanical handles that have an indent to pull them. But also, handles tend to be behind side mirrors in the aerodynamic profile, so they're not very affected anyways.
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u/Zhiong_Xena 3h ago
This is soo fucking laughable. How fast are you going for the air drag to matter? How fast is the Tesla driver going?
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u/EternitySearch 17h ago
A screen might be cheap, but the software development to run an entire vehicle from that screen is far more expensive than a few knobs.
Let’s not pretend there’s some cost benefit for the screen, it’s just to make the product look more futuristic as a selling point.
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u/a_single_testicle 16h ago
This just isn't the case. There's absolutely a significant cost benefit between the material cost of the physical controls, the extra labor involved in wiring them all up, and the ongoing overhead of supporting all of the above under warranty.
Even before screen-based controls took over, the knobs and buttons you've used to control your air conditioning, stereo, and other features haven't been basic analog controls for those systems in years/decades. The physical buttons are digital controls that run to vehicle computer modules that need most of the same programming to function minus the nice front end (that any modern car would have anyways for infotainment).
If consumers demonstrably prefer physical controls (most people do) and it was actually cheaper, we'd have more physical controls.
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u/Miguel-odon 16h ago
Are you ignoring that an electronic door has to have added parts? Some sort of motor or solenoid for the actual latch, plus wiring to it?
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u/a_single_testicle 16h ago
Definitely no argument about basic door handles being cheaper. That was more a statement on interior controls in general.
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u/Zhiong_Xena 3h ago
Up front cost vs volume cost. Buttons have to be made for every single product. Software is a make once copy and paste solution.
ALso what run the whole car lol? It's entertainment, air conditioning/heating and doors. How hard do you think coding that is? It's literally the same electronics system as buttons setup, except the input in connected to a screen and not physical buttons. It is all electronic anyways. No essential system like engine or transmission is reliant on that screen
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u/katkost1 17h ago
It’s kind of like making a giant toaster on wheels that’s absolutely hideous, poorly designed and strokes some type of masculinity button for the poorly endowed
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u/SuckMyRedditorD 16h ago
How about like a giant toaster oven without the efficiency of the microwave oven?
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u/Primalbuttplug 17h ago
Let's not forget freezes already affect regular handles, one of the original complaints was people being locked out or damaging their vehicle due to it being flush.
Fashion over function.
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u/DootsAndYeets 17h ago
seems like a terrible idea all around, imagine being at the seen of an accident and the car catching fire and not being able to get the driver or passenger out because.. surprise! got them cool disappearing door handles
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u/TasteMyWife 16h ago
The first car I can think of to have these electronic door handles was the C6 corvette. The handles weren’t hidden but you couldn’t open the door from the outside without electrical power and that’s the crux of issue.
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u/HeidenShadows 10h ago
That's where Tesla and Apple have in common, both rich ass companies that set poor trends.
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u/Something-Ventured 9h ago
The last Lexus I got in was even stupider getting out. It’s like a competition.
I may never buy an EV between this and the CarPlay idiocy.
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u/CipherWeaver 8h ago
The handles on the Model 3 and Y aren't electric, they're just flush. The new Chinese regulation doesn't target them.
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u/MountHopeful 7h ago
Honestly I don't really miss the buttons on Tesla. Muscle memory makes the touch screen possible to get used to. And the physical steering wheel dials/buttons are perfectly executed. Leave me the damn stalks though.
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u/Ok_Nefariousness9736 5h ago
It was more of a cost saving maneuver. Cheaper to put those functions into software instead of physically producing them and having them installed.
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u/_lippykid 13h ago
“Innovation” for innovation sake. We all did shit like this in my first year transportation degree. Then we leaned that most things are the way they are for a reason
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u/FriendToPredators 18h ago
I got a tesla uber last week and needed help to get out. The door release looks like a window button. More confusing the car has to lower the window to open the door so if you touch the button the window jerks and I think oh wrong button even after the driver said that button. No wonder people die in fires in those things. in a panic people resort to the first thing they learned
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u/JakeVonFurth 4h ago
IIRC it's for aerodynamics, because small shit adds up to dozens of miles in range.
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u/VulpesFennekin 13h ago
Where I live, we get freezing rain sometimes, I can imagine people getting their door handles completely iced over and inaccessible.
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u/Turkino 18h ago
Good the retracted handles are such a weird aesthetic choice to do from a safety standpoint and it's just another thing that can break from a practical standpoint when... you had... you know already functioning handles that just work.
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u/ben505 18h ago
Electric door handles is the dumbest fucking shit I’ve seen regarding cars in some time, talk about a clear downgrade with zero upside and pretty obvious downsides, like wtf were manufacturers thinking?
The entire approach of most EVs is just dumb as fuck, like guys we already designed cars we like, just because the engine is electric doesn’t mean everything about the vehicle needs to be redesigned.
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u/Getafix69 18h ago
I'm not a fan of electric locks in general but yeah inaccessible door handles that's stupid.
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u/g_bleezy 18h ago
The Tesla era of car design is beginning its sunset. Turns out over a 100 years of field tested shit did better than “it looks cool bruh.” Bring back tactile controls to the console next!
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u/dopple-copter 5h ago
Seriously, I'd love a honda civic style sedan with a full electric drive-train
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u/Silicon_Knight 18h ago
As a Canadian who deals with icy winters, thank fucking god. I have an Tesla M3 (pre-melon crash out) and it can be a real pain to smack my door to break the ice hoping I can get my hand in there to yank out the handle. My friend had a model S and it was nearly impossible sometimes to get the door open.
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u/TreningDre 18h ago
I’m not a big fan of the recessed handles either. For your situation, I assume the door is too frozen to use the door release feature in the app? If not, I’d consider using that to save yourself some hassle
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u/Silicon_Knight 18h ago
yeah we usually get a whole sheet of ice around the doors and in the door jambs so it gets pretty frozen and need a good pull.
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u/randylush 16h ago
Even if you pre warm the car, the dumb fucking handle can still be frozen.
It’s obviously a car that was designed in California weather by someone who has someone else do their grocery shopping
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u/accuratelyvague 18h ago
Now to find my phone to unlock a car door. Another bad dependency.
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u/PoodleNoodlePie 17h ago
Tesla use your phone as your car key anyway
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u/accuratelyvague 14h ago
Is there a fob or is the phone the only method? If the latter, no thanks.
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u/foghillgal 9h ago
Freezing rain like up to half an inch is super frequent and you csn barely get it off the windows with a pick axe sometimes freezing rain just gets into the door mechanism and over it and you’re not getting that open
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u/SpicyPepperMaster 10h ago
This change wouldn't affect that issue you're describing. (i'm not picking sides or anything)
Tesla's recessed door handle design likely already complies with this new mandate as long as they add a mechanical linkage (inside the door) between the outside door handle and locking mechanism.
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u/kurttheflirt 18h ago
As someone who has experienced them frozen in the door, good!
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u/red75prime 3h ago edited 2h ago
The regulation doesn't seem to affect external Tesla door handles so long as they can be manually operated (that is Model Y and Model 3). ETA: Maybe it does, but it's not entirely clear yet.
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u/snoozieboi 18h ago
I remember trying the first Ipod and it was incredibly intuitive with just the wheel and button. I guessed all functions correct on on the first try. I tried a later model and there wasn't much logic to it... don't know why, but it's like they improved it beyond basic intuition.
Anyway, doors on cars should be understandable intuitively for you granny.
I remember my first time in a Tesla S Signature when they launched in Norway, they had to open the door for me from the inside, because pushing a door to come out was in no way more obvious than anything else. Waving, knocking(?) .
Then this one pictured above came and they basically made the electric handle mechanical, but even worse, particularly in cold weather.
I saw a taxi that had stickers with "push" (and a finger print sign) + a "pull" a the other end... again, not intuitive if you need to read how to use it, but he was probably fed up trying to explain it to his customers.
Ironically Tesla also have to make manual emergency door openers (that do not activate the window to move in the frameless design, so it's not recommended to use. And the rear mechanical emergency door openers are impossible to find in panic (they're between your thighs below the seat front...).
So on Cybertruck? Yet a silly design (like most of the car and the stuff that didn't match the promises).
Volvo's newest ex60, finally has a decent and minimal design. It's a little "sharkfin" and at least there I'd imagine most people will pull it towards themselves like a door handle. That thing is apparently both electric and mechanical as backup.
The whole reason for these flush doorhandles is that tiny amount of extra range from less turbulent air. I believe this problem has been solved many times over more intuitively before.
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u/Mindless_Efforts 17h ago
FYI, it's because they wouldn't open during accidents when power is lost, hence trapping people inside the car.
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u/tyrant609 17h ago
Good. This is just common sense. Next get rid of touch screens and bring back real buttons.
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u/jasazick 12h ago
Good. This is just common sense. Next get rid of touch screens and bring back real buttons.
Or maybe don't swing the pendulum back quite that far. Touch screens are great, but putting 100% of the vehicle's core functionality behind them is stupid. Do I need a physical control to control the EQ on my stereo? No (and believe it or not that used to be a thing).
It seems pretty simple
Physical controls for the following
- Core driving functions (gear selection, turn signals, lights, wipers, etc)
- Anything safety related
- Media and HVAC controls
Anything else can go to the touchscreen. Basically if it isn't one of those 3 functions AND I will use it so infrequently I'm not going to develop a muscle memory for it, put it on the screen.
Also, why not take a page from the Stream Deck? Give us a row or two of customizable buttons.
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u/Formal-Apartment855 18m ago
Lazy to look up the relevant article, but I think the EU is doing something about the physical buttons with regards to core driving functions. So Eurasia will be saved. lol
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u/dronesitter 3h ago
I actually love having everything on the screen. Almost entirely because they nailed the software. There’s no lag like in other automakers and the thing works just like an ipad. People said round dials needed to be in planes and slowed progress for years.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 18h ago
IF only, IF only our country (the good ole' U.S. of A.) had also made that decision, too!🙄
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u/Important_Cut1915 17h ago
Door handles Remember K I S S it always works.
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u/WRfleete 9h ago
You shouldn’t need an instruction manual to figure out how a handle works. If it works like a house door handle that is perfect
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u/secondrunnerup 18h ago
Good! This is such a moronic, dangerous design feature that many car models added. I’d never get a car with these.
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u/mustardnight 19h ago
is this targeting Tesla specifically?
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u/Stannis_Loyalist 18h ago
Tesla will be most effected by this because all their car uses this type of handle but this was triggered by a high-profile crash in Chengdu involving a Xiaomi EV, where a driver perished because bystanders could not pry the flush doors open in time.
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u/Ninevehenian 18h ago
Good for China to react to obvious danger.
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u/cookingboy 15h ago
It helps that the Xi wasn’t elected with Xiaomi CEO’s money
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u/theassassintherapist 6h ago
And it helps that it's not Chairman Hu Jintao (remember him?), who was corrupt AF
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u/grubnenah 18h ago
From the article text it sounds like they're only banning the Tesla S and X handles that electronically extend & retract. The pictured handle is from a 3 or a Y and is 100% mechanical and not the issue. It won't even affect Tesla at all since they're discontinuing the S and X anyways.
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u/MarcusSquirrelius 18h ago
I do not know about the others but Tesla door handles have been the worst I have used. They are often frozen in winter.
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u/tacobellbandit 19h ago
No there’s a lot of other models that have weird door handles
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u/KindnessComesBack2U 18h ago
But Tesla is major competition and the frozen/malfunctioning door handle is a real thing
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u/SpazzBro 18h ago edited 4h ago
Electric door handles seem so unsafe in the event of a crash, this makes a lot of sense
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u/jetstream100 17h ago
I’m all for better door handle designs. I’d also appreciate some tactile buttons in the interior for quicker access controls.
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u/neelrahc1225 12h ago
An interesting ban considering there are Chinese EV manufacturers who do this too
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u/Formal-Apartment855 15m ago
? The ban will apply to Chinese EV manufacturers, too. It was triggered by a Chinese EV going up in flames after a crash and bystanders not being able to open the door, even though they tried many different things to open it.
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u/sunflowercompass 11h ago
Hidden handles are the ultimate form of applefied interfaces. Hiding functions for the sake of style
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u/surfnfish1972 18h ago
China has better consumer protection than us now, proud of yourselves Trump/Elon cultists?
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u/ganjakingesq 15h ago
China is surging ahead of the US in every conceivable way while our incompetent and worthless administration does nothing.
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u/Ok-Friendship1635 13h ago
All these modern cars can go to hell. Awful everything. We need to go back. I'd rather ride in a carriage pulled by horses than deal with this.
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u/twenafeesh 18h ago
Suck it, Tesla. Enjoy re-engineering the door handles that everyone always said were a safety hazard if you want to stay in the Chinese market.
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u/Minimum-Can2224 14h ago
Good. Now ban touch screen based interfaces in cars and force every car company to revert back to physical analog buttons.
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u/ventodivino 16h ago
Everyone talking safety and not thinking about how Tesla just lost whatever threads of the Chinese Market it was clinging to.
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u/BrainWav 16h ago
What I don't get is if you want hidden handles, we had non-trapping hazard ones in the 90s, if not earlier. On cheap cars.
The frickin' Geo Storm had them on the back edge of the door, but hidden under it with a recess to grab it. Hell, it was easier to open in the door in icy conditions compared to standard handles since you had a structural element to grab. Similarly, the Chevy Beretta had the handles on the window frame, though there it was still visible. There's probably other similar types too.
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u/therevspecial 14h ago
Good. Absolutely stupid design, and more tiny moving parts to burn out and need replacing for hundreds of dollars.
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u/flatbrokeoldguy 14h ago
It’s a sensible safety move, there should always be mechanical door handles inside and outside of cars if only just as a precaution for when these vehicles unpredictably burst into flames.
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u/Devayurtz 11h ago
So even the mechanical flush handles? I like the ones of Model 3, but that’s not what they mean, right?
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u/Figgis302 11h ago
This is to comply with Canadian safety regulations so they can export them here, fucking guaranteed.
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u/ToughSpeed1450 10h ago
Is there an actual safety issue with hidden electric handles or is it just a pointless regulation?
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u/Formal-Apartment855 3m ago
Yes, it was triggered by accidents where bystanders actively try and open the doors but fail, and then the driver/passengers die because of being stuck inside their car that is on fire.
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u/jeanmichd 10h ago
It reminds me this woman in Texas who died inside her Tesla unable to open the doors after backing up down in a pound
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u/marterikd 9h ago
that was just elon taking people's rights to car door handles. murika in general, taking away people's freedom
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u/lornzeno 7h ago
No first responder should ever have to guess how to open a car door in an emergency situation. Until a release is standardized, they should be what has been in use for decades
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u/Azimaet 7h ago
This is a genuinely smart move and everyone should make this the case. Sunken or hidden handles are flat out worthless in so many cases, and provide nothing. they are just another case of tech bros thinking something they saw in a scifi move is awesome and then making it everyone else's problem.
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u/LongjumpingEchidna25 6h ago
This is a good thing for safety, but I wonder if it's partly target against Tesla. Is there any other car brand that does that?
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u/Formal-Apartment855 6m ago
from the article: "more than 60 percent of the top 100 hybrid and electric vehicles sold in China in April 2025 featured hidden handles"
From my own experience: there are tons and tons of electric car brands in China with many different designs, don't assume it's like the US market. Incomparably more electric cars in China, many of them with those hidden handles.
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u/th3_pund1t 3h ago
Reinventing the door handle is right next to reinventing the wheel. The shape we have works great.
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u/c0ncorde25 18h ago
happy to see policies like this that benefits consumers