Electronic door releases look sleek, but a crash or a dead battery can leave the latch without power. Regulators have noticed, with a US investigation into Tesla handles and emergency flush-handle recalls in China. Here are twelve cars with electronic doors and the spot where each one hides its manual release.
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1. Tesla Model 3: Hidden Release Under Review
NHTSA opened an investigation on Dec. 23, 2025, after complaints that the Model 3’s mechanical door release is hidden, unlabeled and hard to find. A Bloomberg probe also tied Tesla door handles to 15 crash deaths, according to the trade report on the case.
Owners of the sedan are best served by locating the manual release in a calm moment in the garage rather than during an emergency. Rear-seat passengers, who tend to know the car least, deserve the same walkthrough before a drive.
2. Tesla Cybertruck: Lawsuit Over a Trapped Owner
A July 2025 Texas lawsuit alleges the Cybertruck’s door design trapped its owner inside as the truck caught fire after an August 2024 crash. The case is an allegation in court, not a finding, but it sits beside the wider federal scrutiny of Tesla door releases.
Anyone shopping for a vehicle with unconventional door hardware can ask the seller to demonstrate the manual release on the exact truck being sold. Knowing the steps ahead of time matters most when smoke or a collision makes clear thinking harder.
3. Tesla Model X: China Recall Count
China’s 2026 emergency mechanical door-handle recall swept in 8,328 imported Model X SUVs, according to autoevolution’s tally of the recall wave that hit Tesla hardest. The count comes from the imported fleet named in the recall.
A number that large shows regulators treating door-release access as a safety matter rather than a styling detail. Owners of the SUV outside China can still read the manual for the exact location of the override and watch for any updates from the maker.
4. Tesla Model S: Sedan in the Recall
The same China recall that covered the Model X also reached 2,123 imported Model S sedans, per autoevolution’s reporting on the emergency mechanical door-handle action.
The figure covers imported cars only, so it says nothing about sedans delivered through other channels. Owners everywhere can still rehearse the override from the owner’s manual well before it is ever needed, and brief anyone who rides along. A recall headline is a useful prompt to do that homework.
5. Tesla Model Y: Lever, Cable, or Nothing
Consumer Reports found the front doors hide a manual lever behind the button, while newer rear doors use a cable behind an access panel in the door pocket. Some older Model Ys have no rear manual release at all.
That spread of designs means advice that works in the front seat may not apply in the back. Families carrying children or older passengers behind the front row should check which version the car has and explain it before setting off.
6. Rivian R1S: Panel and Release Cord
On 2025-and-newer R1S and R1T models the front release sits behind the electronic button, but the rear doors require pulling off a panel and tugging a release cord, Consumer Reports says.
The extra steps make the back seat the harder place to escape from. Anyone who regularly carries passengers in an R1S should practise removing the panel once, with the vehicle parked and powered, so the motion feels familiar later.
7. BMW iX: Below the Unlock Button
The iX’s manual door release is tucked below the unlock button, near the storage pocket, according to Consumer Reports’ guide to escaping when an electronic release fails.
That position sits lower than where a hand normally reaches, so it pays to feel for it without looking. A short search done while parked builds a habit that a stressful moment would otherwise have to improvise, and passengers can learn the spot too.
8. Lucid Air: Pull Harder to Open
In a Lucid Air, the interior handle must be pulled further to release the door by hand, and the owner’s guidance warns it may take some effort, per Consumer Reports.
The design relies on a longer pull rather than a separate hidden lever, which may make it easier to find but harder to complete under stress. Drivers can test the travel and the force while parked so the effort comes as no surprise later.
9. Chevrolet Corvette: Floor Lever at the Sill
The Corvette’s emergency release is a lever on the floor between the door and the sill, and pulling it up opens the door, WCPO reported in its guide to escaping a car with an electric latch.
A floor-level lever sits well away from the handle most people grab first, and the low seating position of a sports car makes it a longer reach. Owners should find it by touch while parked and mention it to passengers who may need it.
10. Ford Mustang Mach-E: Armrest Handle Pull
The Mach-E’s manual release is built into the inside armrest handle, which gets pulled backward to open the door, WCPO’s guide to electric-latch emergencies explains.
Because the mechanism shares a handle with the normal door control, it is easier to discover than a hidden lever. Passengers unfamiliar with the crossover may still need a quick briefing on the backward pull so they do not hesitate when it counts. Owners can also check the same handle on each door, since the rear seats may differ from the front.
11. Lexus NX: Pull Twice to Override
On a 2022 Lexus NX the override is pulling the door lever toward the occupant twice instead of once, and all four doors have it, WCPO reported in its escape guide.
A repeat pull requires no hunting for a hidden part, only the knowledge that a single tug may not be enough. Telling every passenger the double-pull rule is a small step that covers all four doors and costs nothing to practise while parked.
12. Lincoln Continental: Pocket Lever Override
The discontinued Continental’s manual override lever sits at the front of the storage pocket at the bottom of the door, according to WCPO’s reporting on electric door releases.
Because the sedan is out of production, anyone shopping for a used example should confirm the lever works and locate it on that specific car. Door pockets collect clutter over the years, which can hide the very part meant for an emergency.
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