Why Automakers Rarely Build “Suicide Doors” Anymore

They’re uncommon today mainly because modern safety rules, crashworthiness demands, and cost-complexity trade-offs make rear-hinged passenger doors harder to engineer and sell at scale. While not extinct—luxury brands like Rolls‑Royce and a handful of pickups still use them—most mainstream makers avoid the design due to structural, regulatory, and usability hurdles that front-hinged doors address more easily.

What We Mean by “Suicide Doors,” and How We Got Here

“Suicide doors” are rear-hinged side doors that open from the front edge, the opposite of conventional front-hinged doors. They were common on early- to mid-20th century cars because they made cabin access easy, especially for chauffeured passengers. The ominous nickname emerged as traffic speeds rose: if such a door popped open in motion, wind could catch it, potentially pulling an occupant out or causing loss of control. By the late 1960s and 1970s, tightening crash standards and better occupant-retention science pushed most manufacturers toward front-hinged designs.

The Main Reasons They’re Rare Today

Several converging factors explain why automakers largely moved away from rear-hinged doors. The points below highlight the safety, engineering, and market considerations that dominate modern vehicle programs.

• Safety regulations and crash tests: Standards such as FMVSS 206 (door locks and retention) and side-impact performance (e.g., FMVSS 214, IIHS/Euro NCAP protocols) make it harder for rear-hinged doors to meet door-retention and side-crash criteria without added structure, interlocks, and robust latching.
• Occupant ejection risk: If a rear-hinged door opens while moving, airflow tends to force it wider, increasing the risk of occupant ejection—an issue regulators and automakers aggressively design against.
• Structural rigidity and the B-pillar problem: Many coach-door layouts either remove or interrupt the B-pillar. That pillar is a backbone for side-impact protection and torsional stiffness. Replacing it with door-integrated reinforcements and multi-point latches adds weight, cost, and complexity.
• Complex latch and hinge engineering: Rear-hinged doors typically require stronger, often dual-latch systems, door sequencing (so rears can’t open independently), and sometimes power-closing hardware. All of that adds parts, calibration work, and warranty risk.
• Child safety and everyday usability: Interlocked rear doors that can open only after the front doors reduce accidental opening, but also reduce convenience. Consumers generally prefer simple, independent rear doors.
• Noise, sealing, and durability: Meeting modern expectations for wind noise, water sealing, and long-term durability can be tougher with large rear-hinged apertures, especially if the B-pillar is minimized.
• Brand and liability concerns: The nickname carries negative connotations. Combined with potential legal exposure in rare failure cases, many brands avoid the design.
• Better alternatives: Crossovers and minivans deliver wide openings with conventional or sliding doors, achieving easy ingress/egress and child-seat access without the engineering penalties of coach doors.

Taken together, these pressures make rear-hinged layouts a tough business case for mass-market vehicles, even though modern engineering can overcome many of the technical challenges.

Where They Still Appear—and How Makers Mitigate Risks

Rear-hinged doors haven’t vanished entirely. They survive in niches where the visual drama, cabin access, or packaging advantages justify the cost of added engineering and safety systems.

• Ultra-luxury flagships: Rolls‑Royce (Phantom, Ghost, Cullinan, and the Spectre EV) uses “coach doors” with heavy-duty latches, power-closing, structural reinforcements, and airbag coverage. The brand treats them as a signature for stately rear-seat entry.
• Limited/legacy passenger cars: Lincoln offered the Continental Coach Door Edition (2019–2020). Past examples include the Mazda RX‑8, BMW i3, Mini Clubman (one “Clubdoor”), Honda Element, and Toyota FJ Cruiser—models that used interlocks and reinforced sills to meet safety targets.
• Extended-cab pickups: Some trucks still use small rear-hinged access doors (e.g., Ford F‑150 SuperCab, Nissan Frontier King Cab). Typically, the rear doors can’t open unless the front doors are open, preserving side-structure integrity and reducing unintended opening risk.
• Concepts and design studies: Automakers and startups occasionally showcase rear-hinged doors on prototypes to signal lounge-like cabins or autonomous futures, where wide openings aid shared-mobility ingress.

In these cases, manufacturers layer in strict interlocks, multi-point latches, robust sills, and comprehensive airbag coverage to satisfy regulators and crash labs while delivering the visual and access benefits buyers expect.

Could They Make a Comeback?

Technically, yes: modern materials, multi-point latching, and clever door sequencing can deliver safe rear-hinged designs. Practically, the economics are unfavorable for mainstream cars. The added cost and complexity are hard to justify when conventional or sliding doors already meet customer needs. A genuine resurgence would likely require a shift in use cases—such as autonomous shuttles optimized around wide, unobstructed openings—or a brand deciding the design’s theater is core to its identity, as Rolls‑Royce has.

Summary

Automakers rarely make “suicide doors” today because meeting stringent safety and crash standards with rear-hinged layouts demands expensive engineering, added weight, and usability compromises. While not gone—luxury flagships and some pickups still use them with extensive safeguards—the mainstream market favors simpler, front-hinged or sliding doors that achieve similar practicality at lower cost and risk.

Why are suicide doors bad?

Disadvantages. When front doors are directly adjacent to rear suicide doors, exiting and entering the vehicle can be awkward if people try to use the front and back doors at the same time. There are also a number of safety hazards: Aerodynamic factors forcing rear-hinged doors open at speed in older cars.

Are suicide doors banned?

No, suicide doors are not illegal; while they fell out of favor due to safety concerns in the past, modern vehicles with suicide doors often incorporate advanced safety features and are found on luxury and limited-edition models, making them a legal and stylish design choice. 
Why they are not illegal

• Modern Safety Features: Opens in new tabUnlike early models, contemporary suicide doors are engineered with automatic locking mechanisms that keep them shut when the car is in motion. 
• Seatbelt Usage: Opens in new tabPassengers are required to wear seatbelts, providing a crucial layer of protection against ejection. 
• Focus on Luxury and Design: Opens in new tabAutomakers use them on high-end vehicles to maximize the space for rear passengers, creating an elegant, iconic, and exclusive look. 

Why they were historically problematic

• Lack of Safety Regulations: Opens in new tabIn the early days of motoring, there were fewer safety regulations, and door latches and seatbelts were not as reliable. 
• Aerodynamic Forces: Opens in new tabThe air pressure on a moving vehicle could easily catch a rear-hinged door and pull it open or even rip it off its hinges, a hazard not present with front-hinged doors that are forced shut by the wind. 
• Risk of Ejection: Opens in new tabIf a door opened while the vehicle was moving, the force of the air could eject passengers from the car, which led to the “suicide door” nickname. 

Do they still make suicide doors?

Vehicle doors that are hinged on the rear side, or rear-hinged doors, are commonly known as suicide doors. The name appeared in the 60s due to them being unsafe for passengers. Today they are not that common but are still put in some vehicles by manufacturers.

Why did suicide doors go away?

‘Suicide’ doors largely disappeared due to previously mentioned structural integrity issues resulting from having no B-Pillar which an increasing focus on safety and crash testing in the latter part of the last century would have driven.