Tesla Model X door locks problems

Filed Jun 14, 2026 · Body · AZ

The falcon doors on the model X, when it is a hot day, and the sun is hitting the door, these doors will not open under any circumstance, resulting in a major safety issue. should there be an accident, a fire or other issue where someone needs to exit the vehicle, they are simply not able to do so under any circumstance! This is a known problem with these vehicles, if the sun hits these doors or it’s a hot day. There are hundreds, if not thousands of posts about these doors, not opening when the sun is hitting the door for a prolonged period of time or the door gets hot. There needs to be a recall for this issue. From my research, seems that there’s some sort of sensor adhesive that comes loose or something similar to that. And either case this is a major safety issue, as it does not allow the passenger to exit the vehicle under any circumstance. Even holding the override button on the screen does not open the door. My kids have been stuck in this car on a repeated basis due to this issue of the door, not opening due to this failed sensor. Tesla is aware of this issue, and has never issued a recall, even though they know it affects all of the model X models

Filed May 10, 2026 · Body · AZ

The falcon doors will not open under any circumstance if the car is sitting in the sun. This is a known issue by Tesla with thousands of online complaints by owners. It seems the glue that holds the sensor comes loose in the heat. This is a major safety issue by the federal safety agency’s own standards. Not being able to exit the vehicle is directly listed as a reason for a recall by the federal safety agency. You need to force Tesla to issue a recall for this known issue by Tesla

Filed Mar 3, 2026 · Body · FL

Approximately one to two months ago, the driver-side front door latch on my 2017 Tesla Model X malfunctioned and prevented me from exiting the vehicle through the driver door. I first attempted to open the door using the manual interior door handle (manual mechanical release), but the door did not unlatch. I then attempted to open the door using the electronic door release, but it also failed to open the door. When attempting the electronic release, the door actuator clicked multiple times but the door did not open. Even while pushing outward on the door while activating the release, the latch would not disengage. Because the driver door would not open using either the manual or electronic release mechanisms, I exited the vehicle through the passenger side door. Later, after applying significant pressure to the driver door and repeatedly attempting to open it, the door eventually opened. Tesla service has indicated that earlier front door latch assemblies require a retrofit and that both front doors must be retrofitted. I was given an estimated cost of approximately $1,500 or more for the latch retrofit plus an estimated diagnostic fee of approximately $200 or more. I am concerned this represents a safety defect involving failure of both the electronic and manual door release mechanisms, which prevented normal occupant egress through the driver door.

Filed Dec 14, 2025 · Body · WA

Vehicle: 2023 Tesla Model X Component: Power-operated doors / door latching (auto-close / “cinch” close) Incident type: Finger pinch injury during powered door closing Summary of incident: While using my 2023 Tesla Model X, a powered door closing sequence resulted in a finger pinch injury. The door appeared to close normally and then performed an additional “cinch”/pull-in motion to fully latch. During this final motion, my thumb was caught in a very narrow gap and was pinched. There was no adequate pinch detection/anti-pinch reversal before contact and compression occurred. The gap was extremely small, leaving little time to react. Injury: Thumb crush injury with immediate blood under the nail (subungual hematoma), swelling, and altered sensation/numbness. I obtained medical evaluation and an X-ray, which showed no fracture. A splint was prescribed to protect the thumb. Safety concern: This is a significant pinch hazard because the powered closing/cinching can occur quickly and unexpectedly, and the door does not reliably detect or reverse when a finger is in the closing path. This presents a risk of more severe injury (fracture, nail-bed injury, nerve damage), especially for children. When it happened / conditions: Normal use, low speed/parked. (Add date/time/location if you want.) The incident occurred during the final powered latch/close step (“close then push/pull for full close”). What I want investigated / remedy requested: Request the federal safety agency to investigate the Model X powered door closing/cinching behavior and pinch detection effectiveness, including whether there are known blind spots or missing/insufficient anti-pinch protections. Recommend Tesla provide a software update or hardware change to improve pinch detection/reversal and/or limit cinch force/speed, and provide clearer warnings/settings to prevent unexpected powered closure.

Filed Aug 26, 2025 · Electrical, Locks · CA

While driving our screen shut down, autopilot and GPS stopped working and the doors would not open. My kids were stuck on multiple occasions and had to climb through the front seats. Tesla has already confirmed that the Driver Assistance System ECU (Turbo A and Turbo B processors) is a known issue. Over 1600 cases reported. This defect disables safety-critical driver-assist functions without warning, which meets the federal definition of a safety defect under 49 U.S.C. § 30102. Provide a free remedy to owners — including replacement at no cost — as required by 49 U.S.C. § 30120. Telsa denied coverage because we are out of warranty. I asked whether the known issue has been reported and why it is not being covered as a known safety defect. Because the problem involves loss of a safety system, it should not be treated as routine maintenance or wear and tear. It is a known safety defect and therefore must be reported and remedied at Tesla’s expense. Tesla refuse to address my concern and would only let me talk to store manager. They told me I had to email business resolutions to get more information. I have not heard back. I was forced to spend $2k to get my car fixed

Filed May 6, 2025 · Locks · CA

My 2016 Tesla Model X has a persistent and dangerous issue with the electronic parking brake. The brake frequently fails to disengage properly, and the car becomes jerky when attempting to move. When the vehicle is parked, a warning appears stating: “Parking brake not engaged. Vehicle may roll,” even when the brake is set. This poses a significant safety risk, especially on inclines. Additionally, the driver-side door latch mechanism has failed again. Tesla previously repaired this exact issue and charged me, but the failure has returned. The door sometimes fails to latch securely or does not open and close properly, creating a safety hazard. These issues have made me concerned about the safety of driving or parking the vehicle. I believe these components should be investigated as potential manufacturing or design defects.

Filed Jul 28, 2024 · Body · CA

The rear doors on the Model X are powered "Falcon Wing" doors. The motorize up in order to enter/exit the vehicle. The doors have ultrasonic sensors that allow the doors to sense if there is an obstacle in the way of the door's path of travel. When the vehicle is in a sunny hot location, the sensors on the doors either overheat, or the heat of the sun warps the door panel just enough that the sensors are fooled into thinking that there is an obstacle in the way of the door, so the door will not open when the rear seat passenger attempts to exit. Under these conditions, pushing the button to open the rear doors causes them to open a few inches, and then the door beeps, and the door won't open any further. In order to get the door to open further, the occupant must hold the "door open" button for a few seconds, the door will beep, and assuming you've held the button continuously, the door will then slowly open. The process from first attempting to open the door, and actually getting it open so you can escape the rear seat, IF DONE PROPERLY, will take 20-30 seconds. That is an awful long time in an emergency situation. While I am glad that Tesla was able to fix my car, it seems insane that this issue isn't a life-safety recall. It is even more insane that I had to pay to be able to safely exit my vehicle. If a "regular door-ed" car had a latch mechanism, that when hot, would warp in such a way that pulling the inside latch would not reliably open the door, would that be recalled?

Filed Sep 25, 2023 · Body · CA

Falcon doors failure to open on numerous occasions since Dec. 2020. This is a very frequent issue and I've had it into Tesla 6 to 7 times, they say can't replicate issue, same this past week and 30 min after I got it back same issue. Heat and Sun cause the doors to not open and it's getting worse. Aug 28, 2023 at 10:39 am and on thru Aug 30, 2023 on road trip to and from Phoenix, AZ in Indio CA I stopped for my kids to use the bathroom and neither door would open, override doesn't work and just shows "obstruction" even when there is nothing there, because my kids couldn't get out they were extremely stressed and almost wet themselves, every rest stop same thing, in Phoenix something, on the return trip samething every rest stop and this time one of my kids was sick, thinking he needed to throw up and again the falcon doors wouldn't open. If I was able to find some shade I could get them to work however they would only open far enough so my kids ages 20 and 14 at the time could crawl in and out of them like a snake. This is totally unacceptable, What If My Passengers Needed To Get Out In An Emergency, they couldn't. This past week I had it into Tesla and once again they are not fixed and the same issue again and again, I went so far as to tell Tesla to replace the sensors at my expense to see if that would fix the issue, they refused telling me they don't want to replace parts unless they are sure the parts are defective, Tesla once again just told me to bring it back if it happens again, 30 min after I picked it up the door issue returned but Everytime I take it in they always say they cannot replicate the issue. This is a major safety issue and I would like the help of the federal safety agency to assist me in this very serious issue, once again I'm very sure it's the sun and heat that are affecting the sensors, Tesla doesn't seem to really care

Filed Nov 27, 2022 · Body, Electrical · CA

The rear back doors will not open. The car's computer says an obstacle is detected however there is no obstacle in the way of the doors. (I have a video to prove my claim) the safety of my passengers in the rear seat are at risk as they can not exit the car through the rear door. I have had the vehicle inspected by the dealer (Tesla) however they said they can not recreate what has happened. The warning light "obstacle detected" appeared however there was no obstacle in the way. After rebooting the car's computer it still happened. I was able to drive the vehicle to another location and try the back doors and then they finally opened. I feel the back doors should open any time and any place when the car is in park.

Filed Oct 23, 2022 · Body · CA

Vehicle's "Falcon Wing" doors would malfunction when exposed to direct sunlight where door panels would become hot. Doors would not open remotely due to the sensor believing an object was blocking the door, the message on screen would read "Obstacle detected" when no object was present. Occupants would manually have to hold down the open button on screen or the physical button in order to open the door. Which would open very slowly or stop oppening halfway due to a phantom object being detected. This would pose a risk for rear occupants unable to exit the vehicle in a timely manner in case of an emergency. The vehicle was taken into service 8 different times to address the issue. Service center claims they could not recreate the problem but found the tripod mounts for the infrared door sensor to be misaligned. Each time a temporary fix was performed and the problem would reappear not long after. Contact sent a certified mail letter to the manufacturer demanding a resolution or compensation for the issue. No response was ever received from the manufacturer. A 9th visit to the Tesla service center for the same issue netted a result where new tripod mounts that hold the infrared door sensor were installed. Since this repair, the Falcon wing doors operate normally most of the time but will still occasionally malfunction if the doors are exposed to direct sunlight for extended periods of time.