Driver (left) side Charging Port Issue

[toontoon]

Has anyone faced issues with the Driver Side port where it doesn't open in cold weather? My left side port just doesn't open at all in winters and the dealership hasn't been able to fix it. Thankfully the right side port does open but now since the software update my in-house level II charger is giving errors. The batter is draining quicker than usual because of the winter season and so I actually have to go to the dealership just to charge my car.

Will be dropping it off at the dealership again for them to review these 3 issues and will post an update here too.

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[Cogs79]

I just got my car back a couple of hours ago because BOTH my manual charge ports were not opening. My left charge port stopped opening a few weeks ago after a random "Right charge port impaired" error popped up. Yup you read that correctly, my RIGHT charge port gave an error, but the left one was subsequently locked. Then a few weeks later the right side could not open. The dealer did not find any error or fault codes at all. The charge ports just started opening, so they suspect that the doors were frozen. My service advisor said the doors may have just unlocked themselves after a couple of full on/off cycles. I told him this is concerning. This is my second winter and it never happened before though. I got the new 28.13 firmware update so hopefully, if it is a software issue, it got resolved. We did have a day of +9 Celsius so I don't think the left door was frozen...it really felt like it was locked.

 

[toontoon]

Yeah service center folks don't seem to be super educated on this. I've been to the dealership 3 times already and it works there given the room temperature but they don't work outside when it's 20F or lower. It could be metal expansion/contraction issue but unsure what the resolution will be.
Hopefully, yours is resolved for real. Going to a dealership for small yet annoying issues like this is frustrating.

 

[Cogs79]

Yeah service center folks don't seem to be super educated on this. I've been to the dealership 3 times already and it works there given the room temperature but they don't work outside when it's 20F or lower. It could be metal expansion/contraction issue but unsure what the resolution will be.
Hopefully, yours is resolved for real. Going to a dealership for small yet annoying issues like this is frustrating.

So I just got home from work, and the left charge port door is not opening. We are currently at -11 Celsius with light snow. The right door struggled to open so I suspect these manual doors are sensitive to water/ice/snow. My indoor garage is a huge mess so it's not possible for me to store it there to see if it really is weather related. I'll see if I can park it in someone else's garage. I can back up my car on my driveway to use the right charge port but it's annoying to do, but at least I can charge it for now...until that door stops opening again.

 

[BruceS2]

I had my passenger side did not open with my hand after rain. But it worked from inside using the screen function. Fine the next day. These physical sensors are touchy and I have trouble with the front trunk hand opening and opening the rear trunk with a "kick' under the car. I use the remote button for the trunks 100% of the time now. Give me a button to push any day.

 

[MVO]

So I just got home from work, and the left charge port door is not opening. We are currently at -11 Celsius with light snow. The right door struggled to open so I suspect these manual doors are sensitive to water/ice/snow. My indoor garage is a huge mess so it's not possible for me to store it there to see if it really is weather related. I'll see if I can park it in someone else's garage. I can back up my car on my driveway to use the right charge port but it's annoying to do, but at least I can charge it for now...until that door stops opening again.

You could try a few minutes using a hair dryer to warm up the charge door, assuming that will fit in the garage. This should give you confirmation of a thermal issue.

 

[Cogs79]

You could try a few minutes using a hair dryer to warm up the charge door, assuming that will fit in the garage. This should give you confirmation of a thermal issue.

Hi, thanks for the suggestion. I just tried it for over 15 minutes but no luck. There is no visible ice anywhere around the door. Pressing and moving the door around feels just like the right charge port (which opens). It is entirely made of cheap plastic on the inside, so it is still likely water did freeze something further in. But I still won't rule out crappy software keeping it locked, or a mechanical problem.

We are getting a couple of days of "warmer" weather (+2 to +5 C) so let's see if that helps.

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