2014 Tesla Model S: doors won't lock, open or latch

Filed Mar 3, 2026 · Body · IL

Rear Door handles are inoperable again after repairs made by dealer. The fault is due to design fault with the wiring harness on the door handles. Manufacturer refuses to make repairs under warranty

Filed Feb 24, 2026 · Body, Electrical · CA

The rear door handle has failed and now the door pops open when parked.

Filed Jan 19, 2025 · Body · CA

Drivers door handle failed to operate, occupant was locked out of vehicle, safety of operator was compromised as elderly operator has to climb over passenger and center console to enter drivers area. Problem is ongoing as door handle will not operate at all. Vehicle has not been inspected yet. No symptoms, door handle failed and cannot be opened from the outside at all.

Filed Apr 23, 2024 · Body, Locks · 110,000 miles · IL

The contact owns a 2014 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in park(P), a person approached the driver’s side rear door, and the door unintendedly opened slightly. The contact stated that prior to entering the vehicle, the driver’s side rear door opened slightly, and while reversing, the door opened completely. The contact closed the door; however, the failure recurred. There were no alerts during the failure; however, afterwards the contact's door was opened, and the App showed a message that the door was opened. The contact stated that all the doors were not opening from inside or outside the vehicle unless the vehicle was in park. The contact stated that the driver's side door was not opening whether in park or drive. The contact added Velcro to the door handle that was used to pull the door handle open. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

Filed Apr 8, 2024 · Locks · IL

My drivers door will randomly open while driving and or while making turns, yes it is available for inspection if need be. This is put my safety at risk because its very dangerous for a door to open while driving at any speed, and if it happens to a back door items in my back seat could fall out causing a very serious accident. When the problem first started I paid to have a new door handle put in but it did not fix the problem, even after the repair the door would sometimes not close stay closed properly and the tech said he wasn't sure because he never seen a door not close every time, after looking online many people have had the same issues, I again reported this to Tesla and they set up an appointment with me to fix the door handle. I have been dealing with this issue for 6 months now. I would say the vehicle was inspected by my mobile tech, but he advised he never seen anything the issue with the door not closing or staying closed every time, said he would ask around and get back to me, I was told by another rep I had to pay for a new latch, but they couldn't confirm if this is the issue. There are only warning messages when the door opens while driving, also the door will open even if it shows its locked.

Filed Aug 7, 2022 · Body · MO

During my ownership of the car I have experienced very severe issues with the door handles. in total I have replaced 5 door handles in just my ownership. Meaning that I have replaced the same door handle more than once. One particular instance I had an issue while I was on a job where both the door handles on the driver side failed at one time. One was a mechanical malfunction and the other was a software related problem. I ended having to climb across the car for 3 weeks before they could get me into my appointment. Tesla has the ability to fix the problem. They have stated several times to me that it is just an outdated door handle with poor parts that they used on the first generation. if you have a child locked in the car it could be a serious issue.

Filed Jul 21, 2022 · Body · AZ

The door handles on my car get excessively hot in warmer weather. My 7 year old daughter burnt her hand attempting to open the door. I’m unsure of what material they are made out of, however it is impossible to open without using something to put over them first. I will be getting a temperature on them today. I’ve never had this be an issue with any other vehicle previously.

Filed May 24, 2022 · Body · AZ

Driver's door handle does not function. When car is unlocked, the door handle pops out BUT the door will not open. I had this same issue two years ago with the front passenger door handle and see that this is a recall item on my model (S) for vehicles starting in year 2016. Don't know why the 2014 sedan is not included in this recall, as it should be. It is a safety concern.

Filed Oct 17, 2021 · Body, Engine · MO

Recently my drive unit has begin to fail. This is the second drive unit in the vehicle, approaching the 3rd. Then there is The issues with the doorhandles. The doorhandles when the sensor breaks or motor breaks can cause safety concerns related to doorhandles freely opening or inability to open. When the doorhandles motor defects the door handle cannot extend preventing access to any door in the car. When the door handles sensor fails, the doors will freely extend out words assuming someone is grabbing onto the handle. Recently my dog escaped the vehicle due to just me unlocking the car upon entry. I have had 2 door handle replacements and I am sensing a fault in another one. This is a common issue on the generation 1 Tesla model s door handles.

Filed Sep 29, 2021 · Locks · 70,101 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2014 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked a charging station was charging. When the contact came back to the vehicle the contact tried to open the exterior front door latch to open the door and it would not open. The contact had to go to the passenger side to open the interior latch on the door to open. They left the vehicle again and came back the front driver's side door swung open but was caught with the safety latch. the contact had to enter the vehicle from the passenger side to enter and closed the driver's door properly. When the vehicle stop charging The contact was driving and all of a sudden the front driver's side door just open on its own while the contact was driving the contact had to close the door from the internal latch to shut the door again, however, the failure persisted again. The contact took the vehicle local dealer to have the vehicle inspected but could not diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,101.

Filed Jul 9, 2021 · Body · TX

The front passenger door handle has not extended for more than 90 days. The right rear door handle was replaced on 3/22/21 and has also failed. Tesla apparently has a giant parts shortage and has thus been unable to replace this door handle for months. All four door handles have already been replaced at least once due to failures, some at least twice. This appears to be a chronic nationwide manufacturing defect. The result is that first responders and passengers are unable to open doors with broken handles. Although a short-term failure of a single door handle may not be a significant problem, that problem multiplied by hundreds of thousands of non-functioning Tesla door handles will almost certainly lead to serious injuries.

Filed Jan 16, 2021 · Electrical · TX

My touchscreen went out (all black) a year ago. The replacement was a refurbished one. It took two weeks. When I asked if it was improved, I was told it's the same but has a new two-year warrantee. Now a year later, it is starting to "act up" like the first. Add to that, the last three road trips with it each had something break on it or needed attention. Air conditioning compressor 800 miles from home in august 2019. Driver's door handle extending gear. And 12v battery, only to learn weeks later that it was "fixed" with a software upgrade. What good is an extended warrantee, if you breakdown on a trip? The car is unreliable. I'm going to get rid of it. Just add my complaint to the list of unhappy owners.