Woman says she was ‘trapped’ in her Tesla after the battery died

PHOENIX (KPHO/Gray News) - A woman has a warning for her fellow Tesla drivers after she said she was trapped inside of her car.

The woman said she has owned her Model Y for about three years without serious complaints.

“It’s a fun car to drive,” she said.

The woman said that changed last month when she tried to go for a drive.

“It was fully charged,” she 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.”

The woman said she was stuck inside of her car and when she tried to check the owner’s manual to figure out what was going on, she said the glove box would not open.

“I called a friend of mine in the neighborhood and said, you know, ‘Can you please come over right away? I’m trapped in the car.’ He came over. He couldn’t figure it out. He says there’s no way to open the car from the outside,” she said.

The woman requested emergency roadside assistance through the Tesla app. She said they eventually texted her and told her that there was a secret latch to open the door and she was finally able to get out.

“It’s scary,” she said. “It’s very unnerving to say the least.”

She is not the only person who has said they have been trapped inside of their Teslas.

There are numerous reports from other Tesla drivers who have been trapped in their cars when the battery dies and all the electronics shut down.

Like most electric vehicles, Tesla vehicles have a main battery that powers the car and a smaller battery that powers the onboard electronics, including the door release and the power windows.

When that battery dies, the doors and windows will not work.

“There is no warning when it’s low or about to go out so it just shuts down,” she said.

The woman said she had no idea there was a manual door release. She said she talked with several Tesla owners over the past few weeks and said they did not know about it either.

The woman wants Tesla to do more to educate drivers about the important safety features and make some changes.

“It seems that the default for when you lose power should be windows and doors open, not lock. It should be the reverse logic. That I don’t understand,” she said.

KPHO reached out to Tesla but did not receive a response.

If you own a Tesla, make sure to check your owner’s manual to find where the manual door release is in your car.

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