First step on getting out of a Model 3 with no 12V power if you are in the rear seat, ie, if you are in an accident and the car is on fire and the door latches aren't working.

[ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org]

First step on getting out of a Model 3 with no 12V power if you are in the rear seat, ie, if you are in an accident and the car is on fire and the door latches aren't working.

Per Tesla:

"...Remove the bolt that attaches the access panel to the underside of the armrest...."

2017–2023 Model 3 Service Manual | Tesla

Correction code 11358005 0.05 NOTE: Unless otherwise explicitly stated in the procedure, the above correction code and FRT reflect all of the work required to perform this procedure, including the linked procedures. Do not stack correction codes unless explicitly told to do so. NOTE: See Flat Rate Times to learn more about FRTs and how they are created. NOTE: See Personal Protection to make sure wearing proper PPE when performing the below procedure. NOTE: See Ergonomic Precautions for safe and healthy working practices.

Tesla (service.tesla.com)

#tesla

[ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org]

Peers at the bolt they mention here on emergency escape from a Tesla Model 3

"Oh yeah, certainly, everyone carries a security/star bolt/Torx with them while in a Model 3 Uber/Lyft! in case of need of emergency egress!" (need to poke around here to see what size that is...)

[ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org]

Oooh, hey... Looks like you need a pick to try to fish the lever out of that hole. Do this while bleeding from your head and inhaling burning plastic, QUICK!

Wait, it's "hidden inside a small hole"

[user47@vmst.io]

@ai6yr *cough* DESIGN FLAW.

I have a super cool set of bits to care for pretty much everything (I bet you do too) but I sure don’t carry it around. Furthermore, they don’t even specify what it is so folks could in theory be prepared?

[ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org]

@User47 I think, glass breaker from the inside might be the best approach, you can get small glass breakers that are keychain clippable. Then kick the window out if you are able to get your legs free.

[iris@neuromatch.social]

@ai6yr @User47 Glass in car windows is much easier to break at the edges, btw. Don't try smashing the center of a pane. Apply leverage at an edge with whatever's available.

EDIT to add more info:

- Something very sharp, like broken ceramic will work best against tempered glass. Tempering results in high internal stresses, and doing any damage at all is hard, but once you make a crack you'll probably shatter the whole window.

- One of my sources contradicts me on the point of greatest weakness, and says it's the center. My intuition is that the center may fracture more easily with a sharp tool, but edges will be easier to apply strain to with blunt tools. But now that it's been called into question, I'm hesitant to make any claims for certain.

- If you don't have a better tool at hand, the metal parts of the headrest are probably your best bet. One source suggests cramming them down the window channel and pulling the headrest toward you when they're as far in as you can get them.

- Laminated glass is apparently not breakable by most tools. You can find out which type of glass you have in your car, if you own one.

- If you're preparing a kit with a glass breaker tool, also consider a seatbelt cutter tool (within reach from the driver's seat!).

[tony@toot.hoyle.me.uk]

@ai6yr That looks like it's for service. The real way is probably to still too complex for an emergency but nowhere near as bad as you're implying.

(The front manual release is so obvious people often use it without realizing).

Access Denied

(www.tesla.com)

[ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org]

Anyway, if there's some *better* emergency egress instructions for a Model 3, was looking this up for someone who was Ubering in a Tesla wondering about that. (someone mentioned "this is for service only" and I am unable to Google-fu any Model 3 instructions which do not involve removing a bolt) #tesla

[fiend_unpleasant@mastodon.social]

@ai6yr if you survive the crash you will be able to sue them for trying (and failing) to kill you.

[mattblaze@federate.social]

@iris @ai6yr @User47 the windshield is almost always laminated glass and not possible to break through from inside a car without some serious tools (like a big axe). Focus attention on side windows, which are usually tempered, as you note, and will break into beads once you fracture it.

[mattblaze@federate.social]

@iris @ai6yr @User47 If the fire department needs to get in via the windshield, they’ll generally just smash a small hole through it and pull out the whole thing as a unit.

[mattblaze@federate.social]

@iris @ai6yr @User47 for tempered side windows (which break into a zillion beads), putting sticky contact paper over the window before you break it can reduce the mess of sharp pieces, but that’s not a luxury you’ll have from inside a burning car.

[stephaniemoore@mastodon.online]

@ai6yr In one of my classes, we do lots of failure analyses from real cases. Tesla is the rare one where we can use old cases or new because they’ve been so terrible about addressing known, well-documented design flaws - just ignoring recommendations from NTSB, eg. It amazes me that they people purchase them and even more that they’re allowed to be on the road.

[samloonie@mstdn.ca]

@mattblaze @iris @ai6yr @User47

Tesla says some of the Model 3's have laminated glass in the side windows.

Access Denied

(www.tesla.com)

[samloonie@mstdn.ca]

Apparently the firefighters are expected to pull this up and read it while they are at a crash scene.