A Tesla Cybertruck Owner Says Dog Mode Has a Safety Issue – Elaborates, “Dogs Can Easily Open the Door from the Inside”

Ray is a Cybertruck owner from California and says he is happy that Tesla offers a dedicated “Dog Mode” in its vehicles; however, he says he has found a safety issue that needs to be addressed promptly.

For those who are not familiar, “Dog Mode” is a feature available in all Tesla vehicles that allows owners to leave their pets inside their cars safely.

When in Dog Mode, the Tesla vehicle does not shut down and maintains a comfortable temperature range for the cabin occupants.

In addition, for any other passerbys who might be worried that an animal is left in the vehicle, Dog Mode shows the inside temperature and also displays “My Driver Will Be Back. Don’t Worry!” in bold cases.

The Tesla vehicle also displays the current internal cabin temperature in large fonts.

This stops people from mistakenly breaking the vehicle’s window, thinking the animal is in danger.

Ray mentions that this is all well and good; however, the Cybertruck owner has observed that animals can easily open the vehicle from the inside while it is in Dog Mode.

Ray points out that when the dogs climb onto the armrest of the Cybertruck, they can accidentally press the button that opens the doors. This can cause the door to unlatch and allow the animals to escape.

Ray adds that recently, his wife left their two dogs inside the Cybertruck but was shocked to find upon her return that the dogs had opened the door.

The Cybertruck owner says if the door is open, there is a real possibility that people could steal his desirable French bulldogs.

Ray now recommends a modification to Dog Mode that he believes will enhance dog security.

The Cybertruck owner shared his recommendation on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum.

He writes…

“Dog Mode to keep the truck interior for my two dogs is a great feature, but when one of them steps up onto the armrest, the door unlocks, and if they are pushing on the door when doing this, the truck actually opens up!

This freaked out my wife as someone could then take our dogs, which are often dogknapped (yep, a truck owner with French Bulldogs!).

I know that the doors can be opened by pushing down on the door release and also by pulling up on another door release.

Wouldn’t it be possible to have the software (when in Dog Mode only) not release the door by the push-down button?

It could still be opened by pulling up on the door handle, so the safety/emergency exit is still possible.

Hopefully, Tesla can consider having a software push to address this safety/security issue with Dog Mode.

I’d rather NOT screw up the interior by installing some kind of cover panel that would do this at all times.”

As Ray suggests, Tesla can easily implement this upgrade to “Dog Mode” with an over-the-air software update; however, one main issue here is that the push-to-open button and pull-to-open door handle operate using completely different mechanisms to unlatch the Cybertruck doors.

The push-to-open button serves as the main way to exit the vehicle, and it is Tesla’s recommended method for opening the doors.

The push-to-open button, when used to open the doors, also automatically lowers the Cybertruck’s windows. This ensures that the Cybertruck windows clear the truck’s stainless steel panels when the door is opened.

Because the Cybertruck has frameless windows, which offer poor noise isolation, Tesla decided to wedge the windows fit snugly between the vehicle’s stainless steel panels when fully raised. This design aims to enhance noise isolation from external sounds. However, because the windows are wedged in place, they must be lowered slightly before the door can open to prevent contact with the vehicle frame.

However, on the other hand, the pull-to-open handle serves as the emergency manual release, and Tesla prefers that this handle only be used in actual emergencies.

Since the pull-to-open handle is a manual release, it does not lower the Cybertruck’s windows, which could damage the windows by hitting the body panels.

Going back to Ray’s recommendation, assuming that only animals would be left in the vehicle with Dog Mode activated, his recommendation could be a good idea.

However, please let me know what you think in the comments. Share your ideas by clicking the RED “Add new comment” button below. Also, make sure to visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

For more information, check out: Tesla Responds to Cybertruck Owners Who Lost 50% of Their Vehicle’s Value in 1 Year – The EV Maker Says, “One More Post Like This and You Will be Getting $0 When I Do an Irish Exit”

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.