Why Hidden Car Door Handles Can Be Problematic

As technology in vehicles continues to trend toward science fiction, car doors have started to be integrated into the vehicles themselves for sleeker designs. Modern vehicles like the Tesla Model S feature door handles that are seamlessly placed into the vehicle's doors to give the vehicle a smooth exterior aesthetic. Instead of having actual handles drivers and passengers pull, the handles are set flush in the door. While the design may be pleasing to the eye, it also creates a number of issues for the driver and the vehicle.

Many vehicles that feature these hidden door handles also have motorized car doors. Instead of requiring drivers to physically pull a handle to open the door, the hidden door handles can be pushed or pressed, then the motorized doors will open. The most common place to see this technology is on vehicles with automatic liftgates.

However, there are some major issues that can arise due to hidden door handles and motorized doors. In some instances, drivers of vehicles that featured hidden door handles who crashed their vehicles were unable to escape from the vehicle. In other situations, the motorized doors mated with the hidden door handles refused to open once the vehicle's battery died. This is not just an issue with one brand either, as owners of vehicles from Tesla, Volkswagen, Rivian, and Cadillac have all reported issues.

Unfortunately, there have been a number of tragic incidents that have occurred due to hidden door handles being unusable in certain emergency situations. In 2018, a man from Cleveland, Ohio was unable to escape his 2006 Cadillac XLR after the battery died. That version of the XLR used push-buttons to lock and unlock the doors, which required battery power to use. After being stuck for 14 hours, a neighbor eventually found the man and was able to get him out of the vehicle and get medical help.

Another headline-making tragedy occurred with Dr. Omar Awan and his Tesla Model S in 2019. Dr. Awan lost control of his Model S and crashed into a palm tree, where the vehicle ignited. As bystanders ran over to help Dr. Awan out of the burning vehicle, the Tesla's hidden door handles did not present themselves, giving the witnesses no way to open the door. Dr. Awan passed away due to the smoke and fire inside the vehicle.

Volkswagen issued a recall on every ID.4 EV they sold between September 2024 and January 2025 due to their hidden door handles. The brand found that if the electronic handles got wet, something that happens quite often when it rains, the doors could suddenly open.

Manufacturers have placed emergency manual controls in their vehicles, but when drivers or passengers are in a panic, it's easy to forget about them.

While hidden car door handles offer impressive styling and sci-fi feelings, there are plenty of issues with the new technology. Because of that, brands have looked at other potential technologies that they can use. Many exotic vehicles, such as the McLaren Artura, feature small, hidden bumps on their doors that act like door handles.

Other vehicles, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E (pictured above) or the Chevrolet Corvette, have hidden their door handles by integrating them into the vehicle itself. For the Mach-E, drivers and passengers have to press a button on the vehicle's B-pillar before opening a handle underneath the pillar. The Corvette hides its door handle beneath the bodywork on the edge of the door.

The last door handle technology discussed here is one that's been around since the early '90s. Fiat introduced a flush door handle that could be pressed in on one side, this would then pop out a lever that the driver or passenger would pull to open the door. There have been a number of brands to use this technology, including Tesla, Aston Martin, and Hyundai.