The Tesla Model 3 was named “vehicle of the year” by the Detroit News in December. Edmunds ranked it the best-selling luxury vehicle in America in the fourth quarter. Clearly, it’s winning people over.
But the electric car isn’t without flaws, especially when a polar vortex comes along. This winter, Model 3 owners have taken to social media to gripe about the vehicle’s door handles getting stuck in icy conditions. Normally, you push one side of the handle, and the other side pops out. But when they’re partially covered in ice, they can become stuck.
Some owners have recommended hitting a frozen handle with a bare hand to fix the problem, using a circular motion. Others suggest preconditioning the handles with silicone.
More blunt advice comes from a Canadian user: “Give it smack and stop complaining.”
Users can also heat the car interior from the app, but some have reported difficulties even then.
Model 3 owners have encountered various other problems in cold weather, including decreased range. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted last week that “many cold weather improvements” were on the way.
How those will apply to frozen door handles remains to be seen.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the Model 3 door handles pop out as you approach the door. That is true of the Model S handles.