- Mustang Mach-E owners are suing Ford due to the absence of manual door handles.
- They say that without them, getting in when the battery dies is a major hassle.
- A court win could force Ford to rethink the Mach-E’s door design for the future.
When the Ford Mustang Mach-E was released, it brought a new twist to the Mustang legacy by adding a pair of doors, but in doing so, it also ditched the conventional door handles. Now, that design choice has become the focal point of a legal battle between a handful of owners and Ford. According to the drivers of the Mach-E, what Ford marketed as a feature is actually more of a flaw.
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For those of you who haven’t encountered the Mach-E in person (or haven’t been fortunate enough to get locked out of one), here’s the deal: The electric crossover doesn’t feature the usual door handles or even a traditional keyhole. Instead, it relies on electric latches that open only when the key fob is nearby and, critically, when the battery has enough charge to pop the doors.
A Dead Mach-E Isn’t Just a Problem; It’s a Headache
Now, if your electric Ford’s battery is dead, you’re in trouble. The only way to get into a dead Mustang Mach-E is by accessing the battery and charging it enough so that the doors function again.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argue that while the Mach-E is “designed to open electrically at the touch of a button,” unlike most cars with electronic door handles, it “does not have a fail-safe physical key that can be used should the battery fail; there’s no hidden physical slot to insert one.” As a result, they claim, this “feature” is actually a defect in need of correction.
To be fair to the plaintiffs, the stories surrounding this issue do make the design seem more like an afterthought than a well-planned feature. In just the last two months, we’ve reported on at least two separate instances of owners getting locked out unexpectedly. In one case, a child was effectively trapped in the car with no fast way to open the door.
“It’s Not as Simple as Just Charging the Car”
The plaintiffs are also pointing out that in the event of a battery failure, accessing the front luggage compartment (where the battery is conveniently located) isn’t as straightforward as just popping the hood and plugging in a charger.
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“To access the front luggage compartment (where the battery is located) in the case of battery failure, drivers are required to follow a series of complicated and time-consuming steps that an average driver, without superior knowledge of vehicles and the proper equipment, may not be able to successfully complete,” says the lawsuit.
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Right now, the class action is only for owners in California and covers every model year of the Mustang Mach-E. So, could this lawsuit end up pushing Ford (and maybe the industry) to rethink its electric door handle design? We’ll have to wait and see.
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