Tesla Started It, But This Increasingly Common Car Feature Is Infuriating Owners – SlashGear

Complaints about Tesla’s door handles aren’t just about the confusing design. There are also malfunctions due to unanticipated design flaws, like failing to work in cold weather. What’s becoming increasingly clear is that these issues aren’t just constrained to modern door handles, either. It seems that, as decades of car design is being replaced by more and more technologically-advanced features, other problems are arising.

According to Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, “The automotive industry is facing a wide range of quality problems, a phenomenon not seen in the 37-year history of the IQS … today’s new vehicles are more complex — offering new and exciting technology — but not always satisfying owners.” Because the technology introduced in modern cars is either new or has never before been integrated into vehicles, more problems arise as the tech is applied more on the road. Additionally, vehicles are now being plagued by issues they never had in previous decades, like software bugs.

The latest U.S. Initial Quality Study conducted by J.D. Power shows that the largest increase in reported problems have been in the features, controls, and displays category, with infotainment systems having the second-most problems. Other issues drivers have had are with audio systems, car horns, and subpar cupholders. Door handles are also near the top of the list of complaints. Notably, seven of the 10 most-problematic models with this specific issue are electric vehicles, which implies that more than just Tesla’s engine is influencing other EV manufacturers. Electric motors may be the future of automobiles, but many drivers would prefer that door handle design remain firmly in the 20th century.