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voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
It would come down to what the likelihood is of a fire compromising the electrical systems of a car, how long that takes, and what state the occupants are likely to be in when it happens.
Nothing in life is perfect, and no automaker can be expected to make their cars completely death proof and still bring them to the market at a cost consumers will pay.
It is disappointing though that Tesla chose this route, and I definitely don't believe that they did it because the mechanical releases were superfluous ... they almost definitely did it because the inclusion of those mechanical releases would have added some additional cost to the vehicle, perhaps $100 per unit built.
WhiskySTL
Member
I completely agree that no car can be death-proof. But this seems like a basic safety functionality that wouldn't be difficult to include yet is absent.
It also doesn't help my mindset that I just read this article this morning...
Tesla owner asks for $1 million after Model X caught on fire in crash and Falcon Wing doors wouldn’t open
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
WhiskySTL
Member
I know, but it illustrates what could happen in the 3, which does not.
Also, the owner didn't know about the manual release, because it's hidden under the speaker cover... I also would never have known about the hidden manual release if I didn't frequent this forum.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
But even if Tesla did have a manual release, it'll be hidden like in the S/X anyways. I guess the best strategy is to teach your kids to exit through the front.
Just think of it as the child safety locks always being on. Actually how many people even realize that they have this option on their car? Worst of the worst case you can always use the manual release in the trunk.
AlanSqB
Dog Chauffeur
I have to say this puts a damper on the whole thing for me. As I’m a safety nerd, I’m going to have to do a pilot-style emergency egress briefing every time I have passengers in the back telling them how to open the doors and where the glass breakers are located in case of emergency. Not really the introduction I want my passengers to have to the world of EVs.
I know it’s a luxury car feature and not just a Tesla thing, but for those unaccustomed to EVs and lux vechicles, it’s just another “weirdmobile” thing.
I know it’s a luxury car feature and not just a Tesla thing, but for those unaccustomed to EVs and lux vechicles, it’s just another “weirdmobile” thing.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
It is not like that at all because a child safety lock can be opened by opening the outside door handle, which mechanically releases the door in most vehicles.
In the Tesla with young children that can't exit the car on their own you would have to break a window to get them out or you'd have to crawl back into the car and extricate them that way.
AlanSqB
Dog Chauffeur
Also, if it was really a matter of cost, dropping the electronics all together and going with plain old mechanical ones would still have been cheaper. What is the benefit of electronic latches on a door that is not actuated? They don’t self present and they don’t soft close so what’s the point?
It's all part of the Tesla network/ big brother conspiracy.. When you summon a Tesla network car and jump in the car runs facial recognition and if you have outstanding warrants or are a malcontent it disables the doors and drives you directly to the police station/gulag.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
The point is that the Model 3 was designed to be part of a self autonomous fleet and in cases where your Model 3 is doing duty as a Taxi you need complete reliable control over what can be locked or unlocked... even the glovebox needs this control.
This level of control would not be possible using antiquated mechanical systems.
Most of us aren't planning on buying a fleet of autonomous taxis. We want cars for ourselves and our families.
And the few taxis I use don't lock their passengers in, why does an autonomous taxi need to lock the passengers in the back.. and not the front? Whats special about the back seat passenger that he/she needs to be locked in and the front seat doesn't? Sorry, but your logic fails in this case.
As for the glovebox, they could have still fitted a push button to open it and just had the computer ignore if it is in valet or tesla network configurations, its just cost cutting or some designer putting aesthetics above usability.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
I agree that most of us won't use the M3 as a Taxi, but it was clearly designed that way since Musk himself has commented "do you need a *fill in the blank* in a taxi?" when asked about some of M3s odd control omissions. It might be Gen-1 of the taxi project and it might take Gen-2 or Gen-3 to come to fruition but they are clearly designing towards that. What do you think that camera in the rear view mirror is for?
With electronically controlled doors the passengers would not be able to open any doors, front or rear in the event they tried to exit the vehicle while moving at speed. They wouldn't necessarily be "locked in" but the car would likely try to prevent them from exiting the vehicle in an unsafe manner while under AP operation.
Realize that your response and quote of mine was my response to someone's comment of "if it was cost cutting why did they go electronic at all and not just use cheap mechanical releases".
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure if this assumption is correct. The car needs power locks anyways (it's standard equipment in most cars and especially for premium cars). A hybrid electronic lock/latch may not necessarily be more expensive than a electronic lock + mechanical latch, once you consider that all the electrical wiring has be run anyways just for power locks.
AlanSqB
Dog Chauffeur
Then they should get the autonomous functions working properly first, then do an interior redesign when they have level 4+ autonomy functional. Otherwise they are putting the cart before the horse.
I'm hoping it is for monitoring the driver to make sure they are actually paying attention to the road while using AP at current levels of functionality, also for manual driving to detect microsleep events etc would be good.
Why do people keep interfering with Darwinism at work. (Actually serious, some people are just too dumb to be allowed to breed, its not like stupid people are an endangered species)
Yes, and the response below the one i quoted is probably more correct, its probably a cost cutting measure, electrical locks/latches only could well be cheaper in the overall picture once you factor in automated installation. The fronts probably got manual releases because its a legal requirement in some market, or somebody did some safety analysis and decided the no manual release was just a bit too likely to lead to a law suit.
But you can still open it from the outside. Which you can't on the Tesla if the electronics fail or an accident tweaks the door enough.
Exactly. I'm looking at the one I'm worried about bouncing on my bed right now.
Yup. Doesn't seem to make sense to me from a cost and complexity standpoint. If they self presented, then sure. Would make sense then, especially if we're into this use your car as a taxi idea. But they don't.
AlanSqB
Dog Chauffeur
So, my safety nerd rules will be:
- Nobody under the age of 12 in the car.
- Everyone gets a door/egress briefing the first time they ride with me.
- Breakers will be mounted clips placed low on the B-pillars.
- I will actively seek out a way to add an emergency pull handle if it’s possible. Cable to a ring in the door pocket or something. I’m pretty good at this type of thing as I used to do security system installs with lock actuators and such.
- If all else fails, I’ll just pretend it’s a 2-seater and just use the back for storage.
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