Soft close door incident.

[AMGeed]

Stand by for a law suit.

Mercedes-Benz Under Fire After a Soft-Close Door Chopped Off Owner's Finger

A Mercedes-Benz owner has sued the carmaker after he lost a finger, crushed by the car's soft-close door system. The chances to win the trial are slim to none

www.autoevolution.com

 

[st13phil]

I must admit that I’ve always been a bit puzzled as to how some features are acceptable on cars that would be outlawed on machinery. Crush and pinch hazards are reasons for machinery guarding to be ruled ineffective, yet they’re present on cars and everyone thinks the feature that creates the hazard is great.

As you say, stand by for a law suit.

 

[whitenemesis]

I wager there are far, far more fingers lost when a person slams the car door shut without checking, as noted in previous law suit attempts.
These soft close doors hardly break any speed records when closing and it's only the last couple of millimetres that are drawn shut. One would have to be very distracted not to notice and the door would have been pushing on the finger before the close feature cuts in.
From my own experience when trying to pull shut an S class taxi door with soft-close, much to the driver's amusement, the door just refused to close...

 

[Will]

I think it’s worth remembering that MB have had soft close doors for ages now (decades!) so if this was a genuine concern I think we’d have heard more horrors stories by now

 

[John]

Only recently I wondered if anyone had any issues like this previously and now I have my answer!

Although it's not something I've ever concerned myself about because your hands should be nowhere near the edges when closing it and my hands certainly aren't anywhere near the edges.

 

[Will]

What about electrically operated tailgates? I would have thought they could potentially cause more injuries (bumped heads!) than soft close doors and we see those fitted to many more vehicles these days

 

[John]

What about electrically operated tailgates? I would have thought they could potentially cause more injuries (bumped heads!) than soft close doors and we see those fitted to many more vehicles these days

They don't move quick but they seem to move with enough force to give you a nasty bruise on your head if you got in the way.

I know they do stop if they detect anything in the way (well mine does anyway) but I don't know how fail-safe the system used is.

I stand well clear and make sure everyone else is before attempting to shut my boot automatically anyway although sometimes sht happens of course.

 

[Mactech]

It had to be in the States, didn't it?
The place you have to have labels on microwaves to avoid people warming their pets in them.
The same place as you have a 'right' to a gun.
And yet, they still get to ride motorcycles

Crazy world we live in!

 

[Bellow]

How else do you hold a door from moving in either direction on a windy day when in close proximity to say, a wall or another car without having fingers on the outside and a thumb on the inside of the door's edge when exiting the vehicle? It sure as hell isn't with what passes for a door 'handle' these days.

 

[Williamwoo]

What about electrically operated tailgates? I would have thought they could potentially cause more injuries (bumped heads!) than soft close doors and we see those fitted to many more vehicles these days

My S124 occasionally gives me a bumped head, not because of electrical assistance, but because the struts are not what they once were. However, it passed another MOT yesterday, so I don't care very much!

 

[John]

How else do you hold a door from moving in either direction on a windy day when in close proximity to say, a wall or another car without having fingers on the outside and a thumb on the inside of the door's edge when exiting the vehicle? It sure as hell isn't with what passes for a door 'handle' these days.

You have to do that when exiting... but this thread is about closing the door?

 

[Bellow]

You have to do that when exiting... but this thread is about closing the door?

You don't close the door after you've exited? Does the wind stop blowing and objects such as cars and walls disappear when your feet hit the ground?

 

[John]

You don't close the door after you've exited? Does the wind stop blowing and objects such as cars and walls disappear when your feet hit the ground?

Once I've exited, I certainly don't close it by holding onto the outer frame until it has closed...

If I have exited the vehicle, the door gets a modest push shut and I've let go long before it shuts.

Should it fail, the soft-close does it for you.

Not sure I understand what holding onto the door to stop it from moving whilst the wind is blowing ; has got to do with anything though?