4 sourced reports, with what to check before you buy. Each one links to the page it was reported on.
2 of these reports describe a fire, explosion or shock risk.
Costly or dangerous
China SAMR recall of 2.98M Teslas including Model Y over emergency door-release handles
The Chinese regulator (SAMR) recalled 2.98M Teslas, including China-built Model Y, because the emergency manual door release is hard to find and operate, which can trap occupants in a crash or fire.
What to check. A Model Y owner in TR/EU should know the manual release locations (front lever, rear cable under the door-pocket mat on 2020-2024 cars) and confirm their specific car has the rear release fitted, since the recall fix is a label plus an OTA window-lowering update.
Fatal 2024 Anseong Model Y fire: witnesses could not open the doors
Safety risk
In a fatal October 2024 Model Y fire in Anseong, witnesses could not open the doors; Tesla's manual says the front release is a lever and the rear release is a cable under the door-pocket mat, and that not all Model Ys have the rear manual release.
What to check. This is the concrete failure behind the recall: the electronic door release can be unusable after a crash, and the manual backup is hard to find, especially for rear passengers; an owner should locate and practice both releases on their own car.
Turkey: Model Y crashed into a truck and caught fire, firefighters took ~3 hours to extinguish
Safety risk
A documented Model Y battery fire in Turkey (Aydın/Efeler) after a collision with a truck: the lithium pack entered thermal runaway, required about three hours of cooling to extinguish, and carried a re-ignition risk.
What to check. This is a crash-induced battery fire, not a spontaneous one; the practical cost for an owner is that a Model Y fire is very hard to put out (tens of thousands of gallons of water) and can reignite, so parking/charging near structures carries risk.
NHTSA investigating 2021 Model Y external door-opening failure tied to 12V battery voltage drop
NHTSA is investigating 2021 Model Y external door-opening failure: 16 complaints of the exterior handle not working due to low 12V battery voltage, some cases requiring breaking a window to enter.
What to check. This is an open investigation, not a final defect finding; an owner should keep the 12V battery healthy because a weak low-voltage battery can leave the exterior door handle inoperative.
These reports come from the pages linked under each item: owner forums, repair guides and workshops. They are not a diagnosis of any one unit, and a careful check of the one you are buying still applies.
Text from the Kriko Electric cars catalog, version 0.1.1, under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 license.
