China Tightens Restrictions On Electric Door Handles, Forcing Tesla To Recall 3 Million Vehicles

China's market regulator has ordered a massive recall covering 4.3 million vehicles from nine automakers over safety concerns with electric door handles, and 3 million of those cars are Teslas. The handles in question retract into the car body and are opened electronically rather than with a mechanical latch. The problem: they run on a car's 12-volt battery, the same one that powers interior lights and starts the car. If that battery fails or its connection is cut, which can happen in a crash, occupants may not be able to get a door open. Tesla has an added wrinkle where its windows must lower slightly before doors can open, and that also depends on the 12-volt system working. China banned fully retractable handles on new cars starting next year, following public anger over incidents where people struggled to escape or rescue others from burning cars.

For affected Tesla owners in China, the fix includes new interior warning labels and a software update that automatically lowers the windows in a crash, though that still would not help if the 12-volt system itself goes out. A separate recall covers 2.74 million Teslas in China for the driver-monitoring system, after some drivers found ways to fool the camera that checks whether they're paying attention.

This recall applies to cars sold in China, not necessarily elsewhere. If you own a Tesla or another EV with power-operated door handles, it's worth knowing where the manual door release is located, particularly for back-seat doors, in case the electrical system ever loses power.