Charge Port Latch Not Engaged - Be Advised Low temps cause reduced Charge Rate 16/40A

[emptyspaces]

2018 Model 3 LR Dual Motor: So I am among the folks with the "Charge Port Latch Not Engaged" bug/issue- I've been ignoring it since November, as it hasn't effected anything, however last night we had our first sub 20˚F night, and thankfully I didn't have to leave for work at 7AM (and as scheduled in the car) because it had only charged from 20 up to 45% by 7AM.. It was giving a CP_a054 previously and now also CP_a079 "Charge Rate Reduced - Charge Port May Be Frozen".

From Tesla: The charge port latch is unable to secure the charge cable in the charge port inlet, and cold ambient temperature is detected. If the latch is not engaged, AC charging (for example, charging with a Mobile Connector or Wall Connector) will be limited to 16A and DC Fast Charging / Supercharging will be unavailable.

So it seems that despite not actually being frozen, the low temps plus the charge port not engaged issue are combining to cause slow charging..

Anyone had this issue? Is a replacement charge port fixing it? I submitted a service ticket and they're asking me to try it with my mobile charger instead of my J1772>Tesla adapter, but tonight it's only going down to 27˚F.. I'll have to wait till Tuesday or Wednesday morning to see if I wake up and have to figure out how to get to work..

 

[Sophias_dad]

Wow... I hope that's not a 'thing' now. The "charge port not engaged " is intentional so it doesn't freeze engaged. I'm gonna say its a serious bug if that's really keeping charging at 16A, since many people won't be able to fully charge overnight anymore.

 

[jjrandorin]

Wow... I hope that's not a 'thing' now. The "charge port not engaged " is intentional so it doesn't freeze engaged. I'm gonna say its a serious bug if that's really keeping charging at 16A, since many people won't be able to fully charge overnight anymore.

I am getting the "charge port unlatched" message here too. It down into the 30s outside my garage, but the garage is high 40s / low 50s. I thought I had not pushed the wall connector port into the car properly, until I started reading about it here on TMC.

On my own car, and my tesla wall connectors, even when the message was there, I checked it by triggering charging. When I triggered charging via the app, the "unlatched" message went away, and the charging speed ramped up to the expected 48amp charging speed.

I only did one test, because I was satisfied with the result. It doesnt go much below 30 -32 degrees here where I live in the middle of the night, and since my cars are in the garage they never get quite that cold.

 

[emptyspaces]

Hopefully that’s not the case, I have a lot more information now so next time it happens I can diagnose it more realistically.. unfortunately since it checks the lock, then unlocks until charging starts, I think it bases its charge start time on the max amperage it gets on plug in.. so if it can’t or won’t lock later, you’re SOL when you wake up because it decides the max is 16A and you can’t wait 9hrs for it to finish

 

[SilverUnicorn]

This is a known problem per SC Mount Kisco. I had an appt this past Friday to fix this for my M3 after mobile service swapped the charger ECU. They cancelled my appt when I arrived. They told me they had 4 in the shop for this same issue and they escalated this up the chain. It’s a software issue.

 

[emptyspaces]

This is a known problem per SC Mount Kisco. I had an appt this past Friday to fix this for my M3 after mobile service swapped the charger ECU. They cancelled my appt when I arrived. They told me they had 4 in the shop for this same issue and they escalated this up the chain. It’s a software issue.

I was suspicious of this but also surprised that message has been with me since November and I've done 2 updates since then- so either hard to solve, or not a priority.

I will note that since the day I had the problem, and since contacting service/remote diagnostics, I have not gotten the message since, despite it being in the low 30's and snowy yesterday, upper 20s last night, and previously I had it anytime the temp was below about 50˚F, so nearly constantly lately. I sorta wonder if there was a remote patch or something reset remotely.

Tonight it will be in the teens, so same conditions as the reduced charge rate night, I'll report back tomorrow with how I make out.

 

[emptyspaces]

Well, it was 12˚F when I woke up this morning, I even brought my car through the carwash on the way home at 8:30P last night so it would have the greatest opportunity to ice up or have an issue- and- nothing, no warning about the charge port being cold, frozen, or the latch not engaging.. So I'm going to give it one more night (in the teens again) and cancel my service appointment. Not sure what changed but it seems to be gone for the first time in over a month...

 

[GalacticHero]

Just jumping in to say "me too" on my 2018 M3 LR. Temp was about 25 F. App warns that it's not latched, when programmed for delayed charging. If I start charging manually it immediately latches. Pulling out and reinserting the charger does not correct the issue. Anyway, since the earlier poster says SC claims it's a software bug, and since charging is working fine, I'm not going to worry about it further at the moment.

 

[father_of_6]

Me too. I experienced this today for the first time, and the car's been sitting for two days outside during this nasty blizzard.

Before I read this thread, I assumed something was frozen, so I went outside with a cup of boiled water and held the end of the charger in it.

No amount of stopping and starting, unplugging and plugging seems to resolve it. Fortunately I don't have anywhere far to drive so I can survive with the 16A charge limit. I'm on old software too (2022.20.8).

Can anyone tell me more specifically what can be done to resolve this? Not sure what "start charging manually" means.

 

[GalacticHero]

Me too. I experienced this today for the first time, and the car's been sitting for two days outside during this nasty blizzard.

Before I read this thread, I assumed something was frozen, so I went outside with a cup of boiled water and held the end of the charger in it.

No amount of stopping and starting, unplugging and plugging seems to resolve it. Fortunately I don't have anywhere far to drive so I can survive with the 16A charge limit. I'm on old software too (2022.20.8).

Can anyone tell me more specifically what can be done to resolve this? Not sure what "start charging manually" means.

"Start charging manually" means to use either the app or the Charging screen in the car to start charging immediately rather than waiting for scheduled charging.

 

[father_of_6]

"Start charging manually" means to use either the app or the Charging screen in the car to start charging immediately rather than waiting for scheduled charging.

Thanks. In my case, this had nothing to do with scheduled charging (I don't use it). Nothing I tried solved it, but today after a drive I plugged in without issue.

 

[okolehao]

Linking to another thread on this :

Charge Port Latch not Engaged

Has anyone seen the above message in the app since the weather has gotten colder? I’m not sure if there an actual problem with the charge latch, or if this is the anticipated behaviour the car dies in colder weather to prevent the charging cable from getting stuck. The app makes it seem like...

www.teslaownersonline.com

This seems to be a software issue on older M3 2018/2019 Teslas... I'm still waiting for a fix, as this only shows up in cold weather and goes away when it warms up.

 

[UncleCreepy]

This seems to be a software issue on older M3 2018/2019 Teslas...

I don't think so. I had the same issue once on my 2020 M3. Charging was limited to 16 Amps during that session and ever since then it charged at up to 48 Amps, as expected.

Not sure what happened with other cars, but my guess is that in my case there was some ice build-up that prevented the locking pin from engaging.

This happened at a free public charger where people show their gratitude for the free charge by just throwing the handle into the snow rather than plugging it into its receptacle when they're done. So there is a good chance that the handle was slightly warm, snow got into it, melted and then the water froze, rendering the locking mechanism unusable.

This is of course just a theory but I think it makes sense.

 

[GalacticHero]

I'm pretty sure there are two separate problems. One is some issue where there is an actually problem with latching and the charge rate. The other is an erroneous indication of that happening. The latter is my problem. The app shows a problem with latching, but if I start the charging it immediately latches and starts charging at full power.

 

[okolehao]

@UncleCreepy You are correct. You have a different issue from the thread I posted. You can probably do what I did when I first ran into my issue. I put a dab of dielectric grease on Q-tip and lightly spread a little on my locking pin. Then inserted and removed the charging cable a few times.

@GalacticHero I think you and I have the same problem. Other than the error message everything else in the charging cycle works fine. In fact, even if you start the heater in the car, and it begins to draw power, it latches and the error goes away.

 

[okolehao]

@GalacticHero - I replicated the same problem on a Tesla Model 3 2020 loaner which my SC loaned me. So I think this is a software issue and not a hardware issue. I have 2 separate chargers and only in cold weather did the problem present itself.

 

[Abueloeddie]

This error ( Charge port not engaged) has happened to me twice on a Brand New vehicle ( bought on 17th Feb ‘23) and I’ve read with interest the happenings in the much lower temps. in the USA than we get in the north east of England . The first charge session showed an amber “T” light, but all was well otherwise,and as this first charging session was only a test, I carried on regardless! Tonight, to take advantage of the lower tariff “ Economy 7” rates, I started the Charge Session at midnight with the outside temps showing a 6˚C ambient temp., not helped by a moderate North wind . ( car and charger on driveway). The Amber ‘T’ light showed up again but despite some hefty shoving of the connector , it stayed on amber. But the charging was only at 3.5KWh and trying for a ‘booster’ charge was a waste of time. At one time the readout on the screen showed 15 hours and 35 mins to get to 100%, so I lowered that to 80% which reduced the time to 8 hours 5mins ( we’re both retired but we’re usually up and around at the crack of 11am! ) The Tesla replaces a Hyundai IONIQ5 which produced no such problem, so I’m looking for a definitive answer for this American designed but, by its’ VIN was assembled in China.

 

[father_of_6]

This error ( Charge port not engaged) has happened to me twice on a Brand New vehicle ( bought on 17th Feb ‘23) and I’ve read with interest the happenings in the much lower temps. in the USA than we get in the north east of England . The first charge session showed an amber “T” light, but all was well otherwise,and as this first charging session was only a test, I carried on regardless! Tonight, to take advantage of the lower tariff “ Economy 7” rates, I started the Charge Session at midnight with the outside temps showing a 6˚C ambient temp., not helped by a moderate North wind . ( car and charger on driveway). The Amber ‘T’ light showed up again but despite some hefty shoving of the connector , it stayed on amber. But the charging was only at 3.5KWh and trying for a ‘booster’ charge was a waste of time. At one time the readout on the screen showed 15 hours and 35 mins to get to 100%, so I lowered that to 80% which reduced the time to 8 hours 5mins ( we’re both retired but we’re usually up and around at the crack of 11am! ) The Tesla replaces a Hyundai IONIQ5 which produced no such problem, so I’m looking for a definitive answer for this American designed but, by its’ VIN was assembled in China.

This is a software issue... it'll be fixed in time with a software update.

 

[mcap72]

I have the answer. My charge port wasn’t latching at -10° C took a hair dryer to it for 30 seconds and it worked!!

 

[Cintoman]

Adding a data point here. I have a 2018 Model 3 LR AWD and because my battery was dangerously low (2%), I decided to charge it at home tonight with my Tesla Wall Connector, versus where I normally charge for free (ChargePoint station a few miles away). Plugged it in fine, but after the blinking blue light, it went to blinking red. Then I got the "charge port not latched....reduced charging" error message. Sure enough, I am able to remove the charger from the car, so the pin in the charge port is not locking the charger connector. I'm also getting about 11mile per hour of charge, when normally I'll get around 36+ miles per hour of charge. Temps here in RI are around 19 F ( -7 C). Tried MAX defrosting the car, but with such low battery state, I couldn't do it for more than a few mins. Hoping it's just temperature-related and the pin isn't broken on mine. Although, unlike others, I am NOT getting a full charge but rather a reduced charge. So the car is saying it'll take 24+ hours to fully charge.

Tomorrow is going to be below freezing all day, but the day after will be warming up to the mid-40's F. I'll see what happens then. But for now, I need to keep it plugged in to get some charge back into the battery.

-- Cintoman