When the EV battery dies or car goes up in flames, can you still get out?

Electric vehicles (EVs) continue to transformed the road — and our world.

The automobile has become a computer on wheels. 

Doors can unlock from a phone, handles can disappear into the bodywork, windows can be controlled electronically and software can be updated remotely.

But one old-fashioned requirement remains: when something goes catastrophically wrong, people must be able to get out — and rescuers must be able to get in.

That assumption is facing new scrutiny.

Recent recalls and a growing trail of crash reports are putting a deceptively simple EV feature under the microscope: the door handle.

In August 2026, China ordered the recall of about 4.3 million vehicles from Tesla and eight other automakers over concerns that electronic or concealed door handles could be difficult to operate after a crash or electrical failure.

Tesla alone accounts for about 2.98 million vehicles. Xiaomi, Leapmotor, Xpeng and Geely are among the other manufacturers affected.

The recalls do not mean electric cars are inherently unsafe. Nor do they establish that electronic door handles caused every death or injury reported in crashes.

And mandatory safety updates can be done with over-the-air (OTA).

The issue today is narrower — and potentially more unsettling: What happens when a car designed around electricity suddenly has none?

The battery isn't just for driving

Modern EVs typically have a high-voltage traction battery and a separate low-voltage electrical system (typically a 12/48-volt system). The smaller battery, which poses no danger of electrocution unlike the high-voltage pack, powers many of the car’s conventional electrical functions.

That matters — because electronically-actuated doors can depend on electrical power.

Manufacturers generally provide emergency releases – which can be activate mechanically. 

But regulators, safety advocates and firefighters have raised concerns about whether those releases are sufficiently visible, intuitive and accessible — particularly to rescuers standing outside a damaged vehicle.

Some Tesla emergency releases are hidden in door pockets or beneath panels, while other manufacturers use more obvious mechanical systems, Reuters reported.

In a normal situation, that distinction is trivial.

In a burning vehicle, seconds matter.

Forbes points to "hidden" or "unlabelled" overrides, explaining that Tesla vehicles primarily rely on electronic buttons to actuate the doors under normal conditions. In the event of a power failure, the manual backup mechanisms "vary drastically by seat placement and model, and they are frequently hidden from immediate sight".

The fixes vary because the underlying systems vary.

Tesla's China recall will combine software updates with warning labels identifying emergency mechanical releases. Its update is also designed to automatically lower windows after certain collisions, creating another route out.

Ford's Mach-E remedy involves software updates to control modules so the electronic latching system behaves correctly under low-voltage conditions.

Other manufacturers are improving labels and instructions around mechanical releases.

And some automakers already use systems in which the interior handle remains mechanically operable even when the vehicle has lost electrical power. 

The important distinction is that not every EV with an electronic-looking exterior handle has the same emergency architecture.

Mercedes-Benz, for example, publishes specific instructions for emergency unlocking of its retractable handles.

The firefighter problem

The most overlooked part of the debate may be the person standing outside.

A passenger trapped inside a car at least knows where the interior controls normally are. A firefighter arriving at a burning, wrecked vehicle may have seconds to determine:

• Where is the emergency release?

• Does it work without power?

• Is it mechanical or electronic?

• Can it be reached from outside?

• Is the door jammed?

• Can the window be broken?

• Is the glass laminated?

• Is the high-voltage battery damaged?

That last question creates a separate EV hazard.

The US NHTSA warns first responders to assume a damaged high-voltage battery remains “energised”. 

Battery damage can also produce toxic or flammable gases and delayed fire. So rescuers face two simultaneous problems: getting into the vehicle and determining whether doing so exposes them to electrical or thermal hazards.

Are electric vehicles are more dangerous than vehicles with internal combustion engines?

The fire safety risk of lithium-ion batteries continues to drive conversations among safety professionals. More research is needed to better understand the fire safety risks posed by EVs.

Compared to ICE vehicle fires — which on average occur every 2 to 3 minutes in the United States — there are fewer electric vehicle fires. When EV fires do occur, though, they can pose unique challenges, as per the US National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

The controversy is ultimately not about whether electric cars are safe.

It is about whether the industry's pursuit of cleaner aerodynamics, minimalist design and software-defined controls has sometimes created unnecessary complexity around a function that should remain brutally simple.

A door is not a smartphone feature: It is an escape hatch.

China's decision to regulate concealed handles and US investigation into Tesla and the recalls involving millions of vehicles suggest regulators are reaching the same conclusion: emergency operation cannot depend on owners remembering an obscure procedure after a crash.

The most important EV safety feature may therefore be one that manufacturers have spent years trying to hide: A handle you can see, a release you can understand, and a door that still opens when the computer goes dark.

A timeline of the warnings:

2019 onward — complaints accumulate

A growing number of consumer complaints involving Tesla doors emerged over several years. A later investigation by Bloomberg, summarized by the Guardian, identified more than 140 US complaints involving Tesla locking-door-handle problems since 2018 and at least 15 deaths in crashes in which occupants were allegedly trapped. Those figures are allegations and investigative findings, not a determination that the door design caused each death.

January 2023 — Model 3 crash in Washington

A fatal Tesla Model 3 crash in Tacoma, Washington, later became the subject of a lawsuit alleging that battery-powered door handles failed after the vehicle caught fire, while bystanders struggled to locate the manual release. The allegations remain contested.

2023 — firefighter rescue highlights the problem

An off-duty firefighter attempting to rescue someone from a burning Tesla Model Y reportedly struggled to open the vehicle from outside. The passenger was trapped in the car and suffered serious burns and smoke-inhalation injuries. The episode later became part of the broader scrutiny of Tesla's emergency door design.

November 2024 — Cybertruck crashes intensify scrutiny

A fatal Cybertruck crash in Piedmont, California, became a major flashpoint. A witness attempting to rescue occupants reportedly could not open the electrically operated doors. Three passengers died from fire-related injuries. Families subsequently sued Tesla, alleging that the vehicle's doors and other design features hindered rescue. Tesla has disputed responsibility.

2025 — Ford recalls 197,432 Mustang Mach-Es

This was not a Tesla-style concealed-handle recall, but it demonstrated that electronic door systems can create a different type of entrapment risk.

Ford recalled 197,432 2021–2025 Mustang Mach-E vehicles because electronic door latches could remain locked after the driver or front passenger exited during a low-battery condition, potentially trapping rear passengers who could not operate the interior release. Ford's remedy was a software update.

September 2025 — US regulators investigate Tesla

NHTSA opened an investigation into Tesla Model Y door-handle concerns after complaints that the emergency mechanical release was difficult to locate or understand. The investigation subsequently expanded the regulatory spotlight on emergency egress.

October 2025 — Xiaomi SU7 crash in China

A Xiaomi SU7 caught fire after a crash in Chengdu. Videos showed bystanders struggling to open the doors. Subsequent reporting on China's investigation said the doors could not be opened from outside after the impact severed power and communications to the door system.

2026 — regulators move from concern to regulation

China moved to prohibit concealed door handles on new vehicles from 2027. The country then launched its enormous recall covering about 4.3 million vehicles, forcing manufacturers to improve emergency access through software changes, warning labels or other measures.