Today I parked my car in direct sunlight for about two hours (11am-1pm) and the sun was directly on the driver side door handles during that time. The temperature was 77 degrees. (Don't hate me for living in a fabulous climate!) When I returned to the car after two hours, the driver side handle was scorchingly HOT!! Like so hot, I could barely stand to touch it hard enough to make the handle pop out. Even the rear side of the handle was extremely hot when I pulled on it. I guess it's the price we pay for those beautiful chrome handles. (Well, that and fingerprints!)
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And that's why it is really nice living in Humboldt ( + I picked a couple of lbs of chanterelles today + some king bolletes,can't wait for the morels...yummy )
HAHA Doug ! fwp's too many fresh mushrooms
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
When I lived in Death Valley (yes, people live there - I swear), it was standard operating proc to grab a wet towel when going outside to 1) open my car, and then 2) use it to cool off the steering wheel enough that I could touch it.
Kind of hoping I'm past that now.
Kind of hoping I'm past that now.
Johan
Ex got M3 in the divorce, waiting for EU Model Y!
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
mknox
Well-Known Member
It seems incredible that the sun could make a chrome handle this hot. My black car has black metal door handles, and even baking in the sun all day, they have never been too hot to actually get in the car without burning myself. Sure, they're hot, but nothing like you describe. All you have to do on Model S is give it a little push and it slides out. With my car, you have to grab on to the (conventional) handle which is fully exposed to the sun and pull.
Given that these things are electric and motorized, you don't suppose there was/is some sort of electrical overheating situation going on, do you?
kevincwelch
Active Member
I'm going to err on the side of believing this report here. In the midwest during the summer time, it gets pretty hot (95-100 on some days), and I've made the mistake more than once of not covering the steering wheel and touching the metal on the car. Chrome has low emissivity, so while it may take a long time to heat up, once it heats up it isn't going to emit energy very well. From my recollection in stores, pressing on the handles requires 1-2 seconds before the handles extend. That's more than enough time to burn your fingers. So, I'm slightly concerned about this. Fortunately, I park in a garage during most times.
NigelM
Recovering Member
mknox
Well-Known Member
I wasn't trying to discredit the report, but rather was wondering if it could be an electrical overheating situation.
It gets pretty hot in Southern Ontario in the summer too, and I have certainly had my share of "too hot to touch" steering wheels and vinyl seats etc. over the years. Thinking back, the last car I had with chrome door handles was a 1980 Chrysler, and again, I never experienced anything like this even when the car baked in the hot sun all day.
Sometimes I find that material appearance can be misleading in terms of heat retention.
There was an ATM I used to use which has a shiny brushed aluminum panel where you can set a deposit envelope down to sign it.
Even though it seemed almost mirror reflective it would get unpleasantly hot whenever the sun would shine on it.
I guess some materials can be visible light reflective but still absorb IR.
Perhaps the interior of the door is heating up because of the paint absorbing the sun's radiation and because the handle is retracted into the door's interior it heats up by convection/conduction. As was pointed out earlier, with low emissivity it wouldn't cool by radiation very well at all so it winds up at the temperature of the door's interior.
A conventional door handle is hanging out in the ambient air temperature, so it's not going to get unusually hot.
A conventional door handle is hanging out in the ambient air temperature, so it's not going to get unusually hot.
NigelM
Recovering Member
kevincwelch
Active Member
Thanks. I have another test drive Saturday, and I'll give this another look. Maybe I've been tapping it incorrectly in the stores.
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As I understood the OP, it was the outward facing chrome piece that was hot, but I understand that aluminum is low as well in terms of emissivity. I suppose the two together could be causing the high temperatures of the recessed door handle.
I guess time will tell.
mknox
Well-Known Member
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