Electric cars have been all the rage ever since reports stated that they are a better alternative to combustion engines. It is true that electric cars don’t produce the dangerous emissions that combustion engines do.
Does this mean that electric cars are the better alternative? Many may disagree, especially a few electric car owners who have recently had issues with their vehicles.
One problem with electric cars is that the doors cannot open once the battery dies. This fact has left a few electric car owners trapped in their own vehicle.
On June 19, a family in Scottsdale, Ariz. almost faced a tragedy that no family member wants to face. GrandmotherReneeSanchez said her 20-month-old granddaughter was trapped inside the vehicle when her car died with the toddler inside.
She said the incident happened when she was getting ready to bring her granddaughter to the zoo. She placed the child in her carseat and shut the door, and that’s when tragedy almost struck.
“I closed the door, went around the car, get in the front seat, and my car was dead,” she said in an interview. “I could not get in. My phone key wouldn’t open it. My card key wouldn’t open it.”
Sanchez then called 911 to assist in getting her granddaughter out of the sweltering heat that was building up inside the car. Once firefighters arrived on scene, Sanchez told them to do whatever it took to save her granddaughter.
“When they got here, the first thing they said was, ‘Uggh, it’s a Tesla. We can’t get in these cars,’” she said. “And I said, ‘I don’t care if you have to cut my car in half. Just get her out.’” Once her granddaughter was safe from the heat, Sanchez’s blood began to boil at the car company. Even though Teslas are supposed to alert the driver with three warnings to let them know the 12-volt battery that controls the vehicle’s electronics is about to die, it died without warning. The Tesla service department confirmed that Sanchez didn’t even receive one warning, much less the three she was supposed to receive.
“When that battery goes, you’re dead in the water,” Sanchez said.
A Phoenix woman had the same issue when she was trapped in her car when her battery died. She said she had the Tesla Model Y for approximately three years without any issues. She said that typically, it is a “fun car to drive.”
However, that all changed last month when she was trapped in her car. She said her car was completely chargedwhensheunplugged it and climbed in.
“It was fully charged,” the woman said. “I unplugged the car, went to get in my car, shut the door and everything just shut down. I couldn’t open the windows. I couldn’t unlock the doors. I was trapped.”
She said she couldn’t get her glove box open to read the user manual, then called a friend to help. After being in the car as it progressively got hotter, she finally received a text from the Tesla service department who told her there was a secret latch that would open the door, even with a dead battery.
Thesecretlatchhelpedthe lady in Phoenix, but was no use to Sanchez the grandma. The driver must be inside to activate the latch.
Reports show that more Tesla drivers have been locked in their vehicles once the battery dies. To be proactive, be sure to read the user manual to learn where the secret latch is before driving the vehicle.