I feel like we are currently in an automotive technology era where the lure of what we can do is completely blinding us to what we should do. Yes, just like that Jeff Goldblum/Jurassic Park meme. We can see this happening in a lot of places, like the mad rush to shove every control onto a touch screen, for example, or the thing I want to talk about today, the current industry-spanning absurdity of electronic, motorized, complex door handles. This one is far more important because it directly affects one’s ability to enter or exit a car, which I think is a pretty big deal when it comes to cars. I also think it’s a big deal to this Ford Mach-E owner who claims to have had his nine-month-old baby trapped in the car thanks to overly complex door handles.
Just to assuage any worries, eventually, a window was smashed and the baby was removed from the car and is just fine. But the point is, of course, it is absolutely absurd that this is even able to happen at all in a modern car, especially because of something as stupid as a door handle.
Here’s the Threads, uh, thread(?) that got me thinking about this again:
First, I’m cold where I am, so the idea of 80° heat right now is weirdly appealing. But, more importantly, a baby trapped in a car in that heat would very likely disagree. To go over the facts, someone says on Threads says they parked a Mach-E with 25% battery left next to a charger, got out to plug it in, then discovered they couldn’t get back into their car, where their baby was trapped. AAA comes and was unable to open the car.
The car’s 12V battery seems to be the culprit here, which isn’t too surprising, as the old-school 12V batteries are often the issue with many EV issues like this. The fact the doors had no way of being opened mechanically is a huge problem here.
This is, frankly, appalling. And fundamentally stupid, because car door handles should be very much a solved problem. It’s not just Ford who is guilty here; most major automakers have been experimenting with more complex motorized, electronic door handles, especially on their flagship electric cars, and problems with them have been disturbingly common.
It’s not even just the cars’ owners that are the victims here; in some cases it’s bad enough that the companies themselves have been getting blowback. Volkswagen is a perfect example of this, since they recently had to do a full stop-sale and recall of almost 100,000 ID.4 cars because their advanced electronic door handles aren’t water resistant enough, and moisture could get in and cause shorts on the internal circuit board that could cause malfunctions that make the doors open at unwanted times.
Now, the very fact that door handles even have a circuit board at all should have been the first warning that the world was heading out of balance. What exactly are the benefits of the ID.4’s complex door handle? Well, here, you can watch this little video showing the three ways to open an ID.4 door and have your question answered!
After watching that, I think your question should be well answered, and that answer is fuck-all. That’s what the benefits are to the complex electronic door handle of the VW ID.4: fuck-all. Nothing. You can, what, open it with a little button instead of pulling up on the handle? Which, as you see, you can also do, because the stupid electronic button needs a whole secondary backup system to open the door.
Who is impressed by pushing the little button instead of just lifting the handle? Who thinks this is cool? Who is impressed by this, and if they are, why are they allowed to drive at all? Because that’s a person who will cross four lanes of traffic because they thought they saw something shiny.
VW has solved door handles, years ago. Decades ago. I have a 2010 VW Tiguan I’ve complained about here because it’s such a steaming pile, but you know what hasn’t given me an ounce of trouble in all the years I’ve had that pile of shit? The door handles. They work every single time I touch them. They have remote locking and unlocking, they can be locked/unlocked with a key if needed, they work if the car has a dead battery, they may even have a little light in there? I don’t remember exactly, because I never fucking have to think about them, because they just work.
If the ID.4 had the identical door handles as my 2010 Tiguan, you know how that would have affected the car? VW wouldn’t have had to recall 100,000 of them, that’s how. And everyone who owned one would get in and out of them just fine and never think about it. Like hashem intended.
Do you remember a while back when my neighbor’s Tesla Model Y had a similar 12V power problem and its door handles refused to work as well? Using the emergency door release resulted in this:
The stupid car cracked its own window. Because it had inane power door handles that introduce a lot of complex electronics and motors and bullshit, all to accomplish the same damn thing my 1973 Beetle accomplishes with its crude, mechanical door handles. Opening the damn door.
We are in a time of crisis. The idea that modern cars need door handles that “present” themselves, like a baboon in heat, is one of the most insipid developments in automotive culture. I was looking for a little video that showed an example of the Tesla Model S’s door handles presenting themselves, but all I found were videos complaining about the handles not working, like this one:
Look at what an ass-pain that is. And for what? The door handle pops out when you approach it? Who gives a shit? If this sort of thing is important to you, maybe it’s time to sit down and really re-evaluate who you are and what you have become. This is a staggering amount of complexity for zero actual benefits [Ed note: I did attempt to explain to Jason that there’s reduced drag from flush door handles, which is an aerodynamic improvement. He was not impressed and suggested people just design regular door handles that are more aero friendly – MH]. It actually uses power, costs more money to build, and when it breaks it’s far more expensive to repair, it has the potential to trap people and pets and babies in cars, and for what? You feel like a big shot because your car curtseys when you approach it? That’s fucking sad.
Lexus had these, too, and again, I’ve never been able to figure out why they exist:
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They’re sure not easier to use. Look at this, Ford has a whole page about how to use their stupid Mach-E door handles–there’s a video, too:
This is a design failure, full stop. If you have to explain how to use an essential, basic control that people have been using for decades, you have failed as a designer. Did Ford ever need informational bulletins about how to use the door handles on their cars at any other time in history? No, they didn’t because door handles didn’t use to be so deeply, embarrassingly stupid.
Nobody was asking for this. There was no outcry for door handles that were more complex in every way and had the potential to lock our kids in cars, helplessly. Nobody was dreaming of needing a fucking jumpstart to open a car door. Nobody had visions of cars in junkyards with unopenable doors or emergency door releases that break windows or having to wait for some little motor to reveal the damn door handle.
Nobody wants this, nobody cares. People just want simple door handles that work, regardless of whether or not the car has power or is running or anything. Remote locking and unlocking is fine, but that’s it.
Do you hear me, carmakers? I’m giving you fair warning: no more of this bullshit. Knock it off. Give us good, normal, unpowered door handles again or so help me, I’ll form some kind of lobbying group and we’ll put these trapped babies’ pictures on the internet and some CEOs will go to fucking jail, I mean it.
Enough already. You’ve had your fun, now knock it off.
My Neighbor’s Tesla Model Y Shattered Its Window Because Of A Bafflingly Bad Design
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What A Tesla Model 3 Has In Common With A 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix And A 1947 Cisitalia 202
Jason is right.
Power handles and touch screen controls can fuck the hell off.
I’m no Luddite–I make technology for a living, and find some modern amenities terrific, like multiple cameras, blind spot monitors, that sort of thing. But these add cost, weight, and complexity (which means more failure modes) with zero benefit.
We need the auto regulators to stop being so fkn useless and start mandating shit like physical keys to unlock a vehicle (in addition to fobs and whatever else you want), physical controls for essential functions, and a complexity ceiling for important operations.
This is dangerous frippery and it sucks.
My F-150 Lighting still has real protruding door handles, with a key hole in the lock.
I have this vision in my head that that the junior engineers, at Ford worked on the Mach-E, and the crusty old guys were working on the F-150 Lightning.
New guy on the Mach-E team says, “Hey marketing…I know Tesla does it, but I’m not sure that’s such a great idea. What about when the battery dies?”. Middle Management says “Shut up kid. Marketing calls the shots.”
Crusty old engineer on the F-150 Lightning, who is about to retire says, “Electric, flush mounted door handles, on a truck? That’s the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. You go tell Bill, in marketing, to fuck right off. Tell him I put a spare tire under the bed, too! It’s done, and I ‘aint changing it. I already gave him his stupid touch screen HVAC controls on the Lariat and Platinum, trims….I’m to old for this shit”
I’m in-house legal and I absolutely love crotchety old engineers. They are really holding down the fort.
After reading about how seriously car manufacturers take Consumer Reports (I think it was) maybe that’s the avenue to change here. If CR can be lobbied to consider overly complex door handles as hazards and take points off that may get some real attention.
I think the lack of a spare tire and jack in many modern cars fits the bill as complex and costly, if you actually need it. I’d even consider it stupid. Maybe Chevrolet needed to save .01 mpg, per car, to meet federal CAFE standards, but I sure as fuck don’t, when there is a flat. (looking at you, wife’s 2013 Malibu). I can’t even meet her and change it on the side of the road…. Go home, get my truck, get a jack and then leave the damn car on my jack, on the side of the road, drive to tire shop, hope they are open, and willing to squeeze me in, when I roll in there with a mounted flat, and a stupid kicked puppy look on my face….”I know you close in five minutes, but PLEASE fix a flat for me, or if you feel that I’m a total duche, at least sell me a new tire, and mount it”, so I can get the car home. Drive back to the car, hope it is still there, and put the damn wheel back on.
The alternative is to call a tow truck, drop the car off, somewhere, get a ride home, and accept that you are fucked, and get another ride to go pick it up, hopefully the next day. Pretty stupid for a problem that was solved, at the turn of the last century….
I don’t mean this to sound sexist, it’s just my personal experience. You can certainly flip the script. It’s just as big an ass pain, if she had to come get me, but she’d probably say, “Just call a fuckin’ tow truck, you idiot. You aren’t getting on the road tonight, anyway, without a spare.” She is practical, but, I am still trying to prove a point that I am capable of changing a tire. (maybe some deep seated shit from when I was a kid, that I don’t want my Dad to think that I am that helpless).
Maybe the lack of a spare isn’t as likely to lead to a baby’s imminent death, as “new and improved” electric door handles, but it still pisses me off.
Are you happy, now that you’ve triggered me, Torch? Although I have to admit….I do feel better, now, after getting that off my chest. Thanks, man!
My old GMC van had two broken door handles, out of the total five on the car. Like, the plastic literally disintegrated and there was no more handle to grab. But it was ok, because, like any normal person, I simply tore off the interior door cards and manually opened the latches when I allowed people into the car. And the car drove just fine like that for years.
Yikes. This mentality sweeping engineering and manufacturing companies based in the US is why I won’t fly in a Boeing plane for a very long time.
This is well-placed rage. I’m with you.
Welp, that baboon picture went straight into a text to my friends. I’m sure they were grateful, despite the things they said to me in their replies.
Thank you, Jason. This was a righteous hit of rage right when I needed it. You are completely right.
I heard there was some technical advantage in moving the opening mechanism off the door (excluding the emergency release). Is there any merit to this?
Agreed. For future new car reviews can we have the reviewers state clearly whether the car has electric door handles or not?
Straight up I won’t buy a car with electric door handles unless it’s like the upcoming Jeep Recon where the doors are easily removed. If I did buy a vehicle like the Recon I’m popping off the doors and never putting them on again.
This is utter bullshit.
Time to call Jackie Chiles.
While the Honda CRZ certainly had its flaws (notably, after prolonged use, the plain-level-pulls-a-rod physical door handles can break and keep you from entering the car) it kept its tiny 12V battery charged using its hybrid battery. Why isn’t that more common in these massive EVs? The Honda was 0.7kwh IIRC
RIGHT. The idea a 12v battery going dead on a car with another giant fucking battery is straight shit ass engineering.
This car definitely has a system to charge the 12v battery. Either that component failed before the battery, or the system was managing the battery in a way that caused premature failure. Maybe they tried to save $1 by not going with a large enough capacity.
EVs do use the HV battery to charge the 12v battery, but only when the HV battery is on, just like in hybrids.
Yeah, I think that’s a safety thing. Like, I’ve done some minor wiring stuff with my Prius v (two subwoofers, dashcams, etc.) and I don’t have to disconnect anything because I’m risking a 12v shock, at worst.
Plus the hybrid battery has a separate huge fuse to remove if you’re really working directly with it.
Yup.
Possibly the only bit of my car that has not been fixed in 90 years? The door handles. Alright, in 1978 I might have refreshed the rear left striker plate, unfortunate gown incident. lest said etc.
Having owned a few dozen cars over the years, I think it’s safe to say that door handles becoming stupid and then getting fixed is usually followed by another wave of them getting stupid and then getting fixed again.
I once owned a ’87 Audi 100 Quattro with door handles that wouldn’t survive in freezing temperatures because the overly complex design contained one brittle cast metal part. After changing the driver side handle twice,the 3rd time I luckily bought a cheaper replica door handle in which the normally cast part was pressed steel instead.( it won’t break, it’ll just deform slowly over time instead)
When looking for replacements at the local breaker yards I noticed that there were literally (not figuratively, or approximately) no VW or Audi drivers side door handles left on any of the dozens of 80’s VAG cars there. And very few of the other door handles either.
(yes, unique handles for each door , and VW and Audi handles aren’t even identical, but if I recall correctly you can modify VW handles to fit Audis swapping just one or two parts)
My Polestar has what seems to be old fashioned manual pull handles (even on the inside, yay) but like most modern’ish cars the ouside ones disconnect if the car is locked.
But, it has a keyhole hidden behind the handle,and a physical key inside the fob. So unless you only use the ‘digital’ key on you phone, or the waterproof ‘activity key’ that comes with the car, you still have a way in before breaking a window or bending the window frame.
Those VAG door handles were total garbage in freezing weather. They would also stick open so you couldn’t close the doors! My buddy’s 944 was the worst.
You’d think the Germans would have tested their designs in cold weather.
On the editors note…..you can do flush AND mechanical. I forget who it is, but I know there has been at least one model that you press the front of the handle to pop out the rear portion to act as a lever. Normally electronic pop out but can be triggered manually to open sans power. Dammit, where’s Doug Demuro when I need him?
Are you talking about the Model 3 handles?
The Subaru XT had flush mechanical door handles. It’s really not hard in the slightest.
Build it and they will… it’s just dumb
JT, no one is stopping you from putting “trapped baby” pics on the internet right now.
For the few hundred people reading this: if you are out buying a new car and see electronic door handles, just walk away and tell the salesperson why. Salespeople want to sell, and if there is something preventing that, they might do something. They just need enough people to convince them.
Lastly, THIS is why I visit this site. Less so for the weirdness wired in to the contributors. Far less so that for the reviews of “Just Fine” vehicles. Not for shitbox showdowns — yawn.
My ancient E39 (and most BMWs of the era) have this security thing called “double locking” which essentially detaches the door handles physically from the locking mechanism, which would net the same result as this Ford Mach-E, that is, if you lose the 12v battery you can’t get things or people in and out of the car.
The BIG difference is that cars back then still had door and trunk lock cylinders so you could still use your key to unlock a door… provided the locks weren’t seized due to lack of use.
Thank you for this, Jason, and thank you for using “fuck-all”, “inane” and “baboon” all in one screed, perfect.
When we bought our minivan (in the first decade of this century), my wife got a key with remote locking/unlocking but I deliberately asked for the plain metal mechanical key. Not because I’m a cheapskate, but because I don’t want to walk around with an awkward lump of plastic and metal in my pocket, I don’t want a key that, if I drop it in a car park (a very likely occurrence) and someone dishonest finds it, they can walk around clicking it until our van responds, and I want a key that works every time.
My Prius v fob is the best of both worlds since it has a little latch holding in an old-fashioned key, just for the door. And if the fob battery is dead, you can use the fob to press the start button and it can still recognize and authenticate it that way.
And, that’s why I keep my keys in my cargo pockets–haven’t lost anything that way.
Yes, my wife’s key has the physical key, and our occasional use ND MX-5 keys, too. I just prefer the slim compactness of a metal key.
You have no idea of the creative ways I can lose stuff.
I had the opposite problem on a 2018 F150, the doors wouldn’t latch when it below freezing.
Ik a guy who had a basically brand new LR Defender Crew Cab Pickup, and the rear door didn’t want to latch.
It really is a horrible trend, I like my humble Bolt EVs regular mechanical handles, it also has the keyless unlock button on all 4 doors(instead of just 2 in later years), and an honest to goodness mechanical lock at the driver’s side door just in case ofs. Sad that a sub $30k EV from 6 years ago is more common sense built than the $50k+ ones coming out today.
Edit: also 45 minutes is a long time for a child to be in a non-conditioned vehicle in 80 degree heat, I got insurance to cover glass no cost, would’ve been done in 15 and back into the walmart to get hefty bag to drive home with.
Rented a Mach-E over the holidays, and it was mostly a nice car. The doors confused the daylights out of my 80+ year old parents though, and even I didn’t like having to push a button to open them.
To be fair, my mom is in her 60s and invariably rolls the window down a little every time she tries to open the door in my Chevy, and it’s been around longer than she’s been driving
Why, of why is anyone buying this crap?
people buy whatever is in front of them assuming it’s not dumb. those days are long, long gone.
If I waited for a vehicle that met every criteria I was looking for, I’d never have another vehicle.
For example, chances are high that if I get another conversion van someday, it’ll still unfortunately have red rear turn signals even though I desperately want amber. (Although there are some forums that might have solutions…but I’m getting off-topic.)
Of course, since vans are typically more spartan, I probably don’t have to worry about door handle woes, but, I think my point stands.
Especially with EVs, where, just like early hybrid vehicles, the interiors and dashboards have to be visually different to say “this is the future!”
They have to do what sells, or what they think sells. And sometimes it’s just incidental enough to not matter.
(I have no solutions, of course. I’m just trying to illustrate it’s a multifaceted problem.)
Yup. And there are multiple mechanical aero door handle designs going back many decades, as well. The Talbot Lago teardrop coupe even had them prewar and I would not doubt that there is something predating that. I don’t know how the morons who come up with this shit feed themselves.