Opinion: the one tech feature I really don't want on my next car
Michael joined Which? in 2017 and is the senior researcher on the Cars team. He’s passionate about improving safety and fairness for all road users — from drivers to pedestrians.
China’s road safety authorities have so far been braver than any of their European counterparts, cracking down on one of the scourges of modern cars: electric door opening systems.
This may sound over the top, but let me explain...
Car safety features: our expert guide explains how tech is used to protect you and your passengers
Handle with care
On a standard car door, the handles physically unlatch it. However, electric opening systems use buttons or sensors – requiring electricity – to unlatch the door from either the inside, outside or both.
In the event of power failure, this can lead to doors becoming seemingly impossible to open, which is a potential nightmare for anybody trapped inside or a first responder attempting to gain access.
Yes, there’s usually a manual release, but in my experience they can be extremely hard to find in everyday use, let alone in a safety-critical situation.
Style over safety?
For me, it’s an obvious case of style over safety.
In February, China announced a ban for this tech on new cars, following a stream of grisly accident reports in which failed door handles made rescues more difficult.
The ban encompasses a lot of door designs that are becoming increasingly common, including handles that sit flush with the bodywork when not being used (like those used by Tesla, but also many other brands), along with the requirement that the mechanical door release must be physically accessible to rescue workers wearing heavy duty gloves. Interior mechanical handles must also be clearly labelled and visible on all doors.
In the US, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Tesla over the role of its car door handles in contributing to fatalities in a similar way.
Euro NCAP doesn’t yet have a best practice protocol for these systems beyond general checks as to whether doors open in a crash test scenario.
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Check your exit
I've heard from several owners of cars with electronic doors who, when their 12V battery has gone flat, felt they had become trapped in their cars because they didn't know there was a manual door release inside the cabin.
Personally, I simply wouldn’t buy a car with an electric door opening system. However, my job means I do occasionally drive one. And when I do, I always make sure I know where the manual front and rear door releases are – for the sake of myself and my fellow passengers.
I implore everyone else to do the same.
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