Guides · Passenger and rear doors
Open a passenger or rear Tesla door, not just the driver’s
Let a passenger in by unlatching exactly their door. How per-door shortcuts work for the front passenger and rear doors, and how to set them up safely.
Last verified 23 September 2026 · Handlefree 0.11
Short answer
Handlefree has a separate action for every door: Unlatch Front Passenger Door, Unlatch Rear Driver-Side Door and Unlatch Rear Passenger-Side Door, alongside the driver door. Each runs from the app, a Shortcut, Siri, the Action Button or a Control Center control, after you have tested that door once in the app.
Why a per-door control helps
Guests, children and older passengers often search for a flush door handle. Unlatching exactly their door, before they reach it, avoids the demonstration. It also means you do not have to walk around the car with full hands.
What Tesla’s app offers
Tesla added an Unlatch control to its app in October 2022, described at launch as releasing the driver door. Owners still ask on forums why their door shortcut only opens the driver’s side. Tesla’s features change with app updates, so check the current Tesla app for your car.
Set up passenger doors in Handlefree
- Open the Controls tab and choose your steering side, so the diagram shows each door in the right place.
- With the door area clear, tap the door on the diagram and confirm the named request, for example “Front passenger door”.
- Check the door yourself and confirm that it released. Only then is its Shortcut enabled.
- Add the action from Handlefree’s Shortcuts tab, assign it to the Action Button, or add its Control Center control.
- Optional: make it your favorite so it sits right under your own door on the Vehicle screen.
Names, not left and right
Handlefree names doors by role: front passenger, rear driver-side and rear passenger-side. It never guesses left or right, so a shortcut keeps targeting the same door whether your car is left- or right-hand drive. Each shortcut always sends to one fixed door; there is no combined “all doors” command.
Questions
Can Siri open the passenger door?
Yes. Say “Unlatch Front Passenger Door with Handlefree”. The rear doors work the same way with their own names.
Does unlatching open the door wide?
No. Unlatching releases the latch so the door can be pulled open. On most Teslas the passenger still opens the door the rest of the way.
Which cars has this been tested on?
All four doors were confirmed on the developer’s Model Y. Other models and software versions must be tested on your own car before you rely on a shortcut.
Sources
- Electrek: Tesla app adds door unlatch (Oct 2022)
- Tesla Motors Club: “Shortcut only opens driver’s door”
Tesla features change with software updates; check the linked source for your car. Handlefree is independent and not affiliated with Tesla, Inc. Use vehicle controls only beside your parked car with the area clear.