A Fatal Toronto Fire Exposed Tesla's Door Hazard. China Is Now Recalling 3 Million Cars

Nearly three million Tesla vehicles are being recalled in China over electronic door handles that can fail in a crash and trap occupants inside — the safety flaw that a Toronto Star investigation connected to a fatal Toronto fire, and which is now the subject of an open Transport Canada investigation.

China's State Administration for Market Regulation said the push-button door releases "could hinder occupants from quickly opening the doors to escape and impede rescue efforts by those outside the vehicle, posing a safety hazard." Tesla is one of eight manufacturers affected; the recalls cover nearly four million vehicles in total, all featuring electronic door handles of the type popularized by Tesla.

The Toronto fire at the centre of the story

Four people died in a Tesla fire in Toronto in October 2024. The Star's investigation found rescuers at the scene could not open the doors from outside and had to smash a window to save one passenger; the fire became too intense to reach the other occupants.

The technical issue: electronic door handles rely on an electric current to unlatch the doors, and may not operate if the circuit is interrupted or severed in a collision. Tesla's front doors have accessible manual releases — if you know where to look — but the rear doors are harder to open when the car loses power. Bloomberg has identified at least 15 deaths in the U.S. over the past decade in which occupants or rescuers could not open the doors of a Tesla that had caught fire.

The fix — and the skepticism

The Chinese recall covers 2.98 million Teslas, including the Model 3, Model Y, Model X and Model S. Tesla's remedy is twofold: a software update that automatically rolls down the windows after a collision, and physical labels marking the emergency manual door releases.

Not everyone is convinced. Randy Schmitz, a retired Calgary Fire Department captain who trains first responders on EV fires, told the Star the window fix may not work if the 12-volt battery is destroyed — the same power loss that defeats the door latches could defeat the windows. George Iny of the Automobile Protection Association was more positive, calling it "a simpler answer than we had thought" if it avoids a redesign.

Where Canada stands

Transport Canada opened a special investigation into electronic door handle failure and entrapment in March 2025; this year its scope was expanded beyond Tesla and EVs to all door handle failures
No matching Canadian recall of Tesla vehicles has been issued; Transport Canada did not respond to the Star's questions before deadline
U.S. regulators have begun a process that could lead to a new federal rule on unsafe door handles, and NHTSA is probing Tesla Model Y vehicles over door-related entrapment complaints
Precedent exists: Transport Canada has already recalled certain Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles for similar electronic door handle failures — a Canadian investigation later cited by American regulators

China banned electronic-only door handles on new cars last year; this recall addresses cars already on the road there. Iny's view of the cross-border effect: when one large market forces a fix, it makes it much harder for industry to argue it's impossible elsewhere.

What Tesla drivers in Canada can do now

Learn where the manual door release is on your specific model — front and rear — and make sure your passengers know too. The recall software update that lowers windows automatically after a crash has not been announced for Canada. Watch for Transport Canada recall notices, and in an emergency remember that first responders are trained to break a window when doors won't open.

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