Tesla Model 3 Door Probe Expands Federal Safety Scrutiny: What 179,000 Owners Need to Know Now

I’ve been covering Tesla’s door handle safety crisis since September, and with NHTSA now opening a probe into 179,071 Model 3 sedans, the pattern we’ve documented has officially become a regulatory priority. The real story here isn’t another investigation headline. It’s that if you own a 2022 Model 3, you may have no idea that your rear doors have essentially no usable emergency release, and you need to know this today.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on December 23, 2025 that it’s evaluating claims that the Model 3’s mechanical door release is “hidden, unlabeled, and not intuitive to locate during an emergency,”according to Bloomberg. This follows a defect petition filed by Kevin Clouse, a Georgia Tesla owner who says he was forced to kick his way out of his burning Model 3 after a 2023 crash.

• What: NHTSA defect petition DP25002 targeting emergency door releases
• Vehicles affected: 179,071 Model 3 sedans, 2022 model year
• Core allegation: Manual releases are hidden and inaccessible during emergencies
• Owner impact: If power is lost after a crash, most owners don’t know how to exit

“I was unaware of the location of the hidden mechanical emergency door release because it is not visibly labeled, not explained upon delivery, and not intuitive in an emergency,” Clouse wrote in his NHTSA complaint. “I was forced to climb to the back seat and break the rear passenger window with my legs to escape while the interior was burning.”

The Hidden Problem Most Model 3 Owners Don’t Know About

Here’s what no one is telling you clearly: The 2022 Model 3 under investigation is a pre-Highland model, which means it has a fundamentally different emergency door setup than newer versions. Tesla’s own owner’s manual for these vehicles explicitly states: “Only the front doors are equipped with a manual door release.”

For front doors, there’s a small lever located in front of the window switches that you pull up. It’s not obvious, but it exists. The problem is the rear doors. On pre-Highland Model 3 vehicles, the rear door emergency release is technically present but hidden behind the door panel. You’d need to remove the inner liner of the rear door pocket, then a bottom cap, then pull a cable. In a calm garage? Maybe manageable. In a burning vehicle with smoke filling the cabin? Practically impossible.

This isn’t speculation. It’s documented in Tesla’s own service manuals and has been a recurring theme in our coverage since Bloomberg first documented the deaths linked to these designs.

15 Deaths and Counting: The Bloomberg Investigation

The NHTSA probe comes days after Bloomberg published a comprehensive investigation finding at least 15 deaths in approximately 12 incidents over the past decade where Tesla occupants or rescuers couldn’t open doors after crashes. The outlet reviewed thousands of pages of police reports, fire department records, autopsy reports, and 911 call recordings to compile the count.

The incidents span multiple Tesla models and include tragic cases we’ve covered previously, including a Washington state crash that killed a woman while bystanders struggled to open the doors, and the Piedmont Cybertruck crash that killed three college students whose autopsies revealed they died from asphyxiation after surviving the initial impact.

Bloomberg separately reported that potential safety issues with Tesla’s electronic door handles were raised internally during the Model 3’s development in 2016, and that CEO Elon Musk insisted on the futuristic flush-handle design despite engineer concerns.

Two Active Investigations: Model 3 and Model Y Under Scrutiny

This Model 3 probe is now the second active NHTSA investigation into Tesla’s door systems. In September 2025, the agency opened an investigation into approximately 174,290 Model Y SUVs from the 2021 model year after receiving nine complaints about exterior door handles becoming inoperative. Four of those incidents involved parents smashing windows to rescue their trapped children.

Combined, these investigations cover over 353,000 vehicles, representing Tesla’s two best-selling models. The common thread is Tesla’s reliance on electronic door systems without adequate mechanical failsafes that ordinary people can locate and operate in emergencies.

Tesla’s Response: Redesign Coming, But When?

Tesla has not publicly responded to the Model 3 investigation. However, Tesla’s Design Chief Franz von Holzhausen told Bloomberg in September that the company is developing a new door handle mechanism that would combine electronic and manual releases into a single, more intuitive system.

“The idea of combining the electronic one and the manual one together into one button, I think, makes a lot of sense,” von Holzhausen stated. “That’s something that we’re working on.”

Notably, Tesla vehicles manufactured at its Shanghai Gigafactory as of approximately February 2025 already include clearly labeled emergency door release markings on the mechanical release, a feature not present on U.S.-made vehicles. The refreshed Model 3 Highland also includes accessible rear door manual releases at the bottom of the door pocket under a removable cover. But the 179,071 vehicles under investigation don’t have these improvements.

EVXL’s Take

We’ve been documenting Tesla’s door safety crisis for months, and this investigation validates everything we’ve reported. When we first covered the power-failure risks in September, we warned that Tesla’s flush-mounted handles could become death traps when electrical systems fail. When new NHTSA leadership took over, we predicted intensified scrutiny. When the Washington wrongful death lawsuit was filed, we called it the crystallization of everything we’d been warning about.

Here’s my prediction: This defect petition will be granted, and NHTSA will upgrade it to a full investigation. The outcome will likely be a recall requiring Tesla to add visible labels to manual release locations at minimum, potentially combined with owner notification campaigns. Whether Tesla offers a retrofit to make rear releases more accessible remains to be seen, but the regulatory pressure is now undeniable.

The bigger picture? Tesla prioritized design aesthetics over intuitive safety. That decision, made nearly a decade ago during Model 3 development, is now under scrutiny on three continents. China is considering banning fully concealed door handles by 2027. Europe is tightening post-crash rescue protocols. And in the U.S., NHTSA finally has permanent leadership willing to ask hard questions.

For Tesla, the “computer on wheels” philosophy that made the company revolutionary is now its liability in the most literal sense. Every safety-critical function depending on software and electronics that can fail at the worst possible moment isn’t innovation. It’s a design flaw that’s cost lives.

What Model 3 Owners Should Do Right Now

For current 2022 Model 3 owners:

1. Locate your front door manual release: It’s a small lever in front of the window switches. Pull it up to open the door without power.
2. Understand the rear door limitation: Your rear doors do NOT have an easily accessible emergency release. The cable exists but is hidden behind the door panel.
3. Buy a window-breaking tool: Keep one in the driver door pocket and consider one in each seat-back pocket for rear passengers. A combination seatbelt cutter and window hammer costs under $15.
4. Educate every passenger: Anyone who rides in your car should know the front door release location and understand that rear-seat escape may require breaking a window.
5. Practice: With the car parked safely, have everyone in your household locate and operate the front door manual release.

For prospective Model 3 buyers:

If you’re considering a used 2022 Model 3, this is now a known issue under federal investigation. The refreshed Model 3 Highland (2024+) has improved rear door emergency releases. Factor this into your buying decision.

Have you practiced using your Tesla’s manual door releases? Do you think this investigation will lead to a recall? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo credit: EVXL