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Todd Burch
14-Year Member
Last edited by a moderator:
I have to admit that I was mesmerized simply watching the door handle extend and retract.
It really is a nifty feature, even if impractical. (So who cares? Its sooo cool.)
That said, er, written, I hope that the door handle extender motor can overcome 1/2 inch (1 cm or so) of ice coating the whole car. I will probably never see so much as a snowflake at Newport Beach, but if I should drive a Model S up to Big Bear, it could happen.
Ardie
It really is a nifty feature, even if impractical. (So who cares? Its sooo cool.)
That said, er, written, I hope that the door handle extender motor can overcome 1/2 inch (1 cm or so) of ice coating the whole car. I will probably never see so much as a snowflake at Newport Beach, but if I should drive a Model S up to Big Bear, it could happen.
Ardie
Todd Burch
14-Year Member
Based on things that have been heard:
1) The handle is expected to extend upon the approach of the keyfob...probably only if the door's been recently unlocked.
2) They are designing it to handle a fairly thick sheet of ice...either with a strong motor, a heater, or both. (likely a heating element).
3) One has to assume there is a "manual" way to open it in the event of a loss of power or an accident.
It's possible the handle ends up like a design in which you push in one side and the other side swings out (like an Aston-Martin), but that also extends automatically.
1) The handle is expected to extend upon the approach of the keyfob...probably only if the door's been recently unlocked.
2) They are designing it to handle a fairly thick sheet of ice...either with a strong motor, a heater, or both. (likely a heating element).
3) One has to assume there is a "manual" way to open it in the event of a loss of power or an accident.
It's possible the handle ends up like a design in which you push in one side and the other side swings out (like an Aston-Martin), but that also extends automatically.
If you have 1/2 inch thick ice from freezing rain on your car, you're not going to be able to open the door anyway, even if the door handle works! I've been trapped outside my car by much less ice than that.
mnx
2018 M3P
Excellent point Doug! I wish somebody would point that out to the dimwits on the official Tesla forums... I might have to stop reading them. There are a couple people who comment on every single thread and then there are the random people who bring up the same complaints about the model S over and over.
This was Geneva in 2005 (pics are from the internet, but my wife's cousin was living there and sent us similar photos at the time...):
I think the pictures from Geneva clearly shows that if you've got 1 inch of solid ice on the car, it seems unsafe to use it anyway as the road will probably be so bad you don't want to risk crashing your nice Model S anyways. Heating or strong motor will make sure a thin layer of ice can be dealt with.
Cobos
Cobos
Here's what I was told today: The drivers door will have a proximity detector which will make the handle present itself when you approach with the key. The other doors would have a touch sensor so that the handles would present themselves. This is all dependent upon finalizing a heating element inside the doors for the colder climates. Some of the Beta's have been fitted with Aston Martin handles for ease of development.
