NHTSA Begins Rulemaking for New Vehicle Door Egress Standards

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Thursday, July 23, 2026, that it will begin a rulemaking process to establish federal requirements for robust and obvious door egress systems in all new motor vehicles in the United States. The action follows a petition from a Silicon Valley engineer regarding a "critical, life-threatening safety gap" created by electronic or hidden door latches common in electric vehicles. Reports indicate at least 15 deaths in a dozen incidents where occupants or rescuers could not open the doors of Tesla Inc. vehicles after crashes and power losses, resulting in fatal fires.

While pursuing these broad new standards, the agency denied a separate petition for a specific defect investigation into the emergency mechanical door releases of approximately 180,000 model-year 2022 Tesla Model 3 vehicles. The agency stated that the petition lacked evidence of a likely safety-related defect and noted that current federal rules do not address the labeling or location of such releases. The NHTSA determined the issue would be more appropriately addressed through the overarching rulemaking process, which could take several years to complete with compliance dates potentially not arriving until 2030.

In related legislative action, U.S. Representative Robin Kelly has introduced a bill requiring manual door releases in new cars. Separately, the agency is investigating potential defects in Tesla Model Y vehicles specifically regarding children being trapped.