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Charging cable won't insert - frozen "tab" inside receiver?

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Well this thread is slightly freaking me out! My Model 3 is set to arrive next week... and I live in the land of freeze/thaw all winter long. My Leaf generally had no issues with charging doors shenanigans... can this lock tab be removed? Has anyone asked Tesla yet? I really don't need the charging cable locked to my car - I can turn that feature on or off in my Leaf, and have only used it a handful of times in 4.5 years. Maybe a software update from Tesla can keep that tab retracted?

Nope, there's no way Tesla would disable this as it'll likely kill you if you unplug it while charging :)
 
Weird, I haven’t run into this with my X. I wonder what changes were made that necessitate a locking tab like that.

I have had ice buildup stick my charger cord to the car before, but the ice came off easily enough and the cable released without issue.

Yeah this is something in the internal locking tab mechanism that's susceptible to ice build up. Now that I've watched it working (you can hear it retract when you open the flap) it's obvious that it was moving nowhere near as far as it needed to - when it's working the tab goes fully out of sight but when I had the issue it was still sticking up. I think they'll need to redesign the mechanism.

My hope is that if it happens again a good squirt of de-icer (now in my trunk) into the locking tab hole will free it up.
 
Weird, I haven’t run into this with my X. I wonder what changes were made that necessitate a locking tab like that.

I have had ice buildup stick my charger cord to the car before, but the ice came off easily enough and the cable released without issue.

I had this problem once with my MX while doing an overnight charge outside the in-laws garage in very cold temperatures. The hair dryer trick worked. Due to reading this thread, I will now start carrying a hair dryer as well as an extension cord in the frunk.
 
A few questions and a comment:

Would a car cover help some of these cold weather issues? I imagine it would be messy, but it could help.

Why don't more Tesla owners in cold climates have garages? I've lived in Eastern Montana and South Dakota and I made sure we always had a garage. So useful.

I love Tesla, but I can't wait till the other brands really get on board with EVs. I think they'll as some competitive common sense and quality to the mix.

Now I'm off to but some silicone spray.
 
Why don't more Tesla owners in cold climates have garages? I've lived in Eastern Montana and South Dakota and I made sure we always had a garage. So useful.

Sheltering my Model 3 in the garage at home is not enough. We also experience ice/snow regularly as an inescapable winter event during commutes to/from work. And, many people have to make customer visits in their vehicles (Model 3 inclusive) during the course of a normal workday at all kinds of times, day or night. Tesla needs to address these cold weather shortcomings - they impact functionality and safety.
 
Hmmm, well now, I guess I need to add a hair dryer, inverter and extension cord to my list of trunk items like snow chains, ice scraper, de-icer spray, first aid kit, spare water, snacks, emergency blanket, tire repair kit, car cover, cleaning rags, CB radio, etc. If the list continues to grow, I guess I will need to tow a u-haul to store all this crap :rolleyes:
 
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Sheltering my Model 3 in the garage at home is not enough. We also experience ice/snow regularly as an inescapable winter event during commutes to/from work. And, many people have to make customer visits in their vehicles (Model 3 inclusive) during the course of a normal workday at all kinds of times, day or night. Tesla needs to address these cold weather shortcomings - they impact functionality and safety.

Exactly, mine is garaged, but I also have to go places. I had this issue after it sitting in an open parking lot during the day. Not unreasonable that I should expect it to still work. I think there is a bad design with the locking tab in the charge port. Clearly water can get in there and freeze, preventing it moving up and down.
 
I don't have a M3, yet thinking you might want to be careful squirting any kind of liquid around that port and hope you don't get it into the charge holes. Liquids and electricity don't mix you know :eek:

That would make sense if it wasn't for the fact that liquid being in there then freezing is exactly what caused this. Also this is not squirting liquid into the electrical connections, this is into the locking tab hole. Anyway, it was slightly obstructing the plug again this morning so it got a squirt of de-icer. All sorted.
 
]...] I'll also up the charge limit to 100% going forward.

I think either I'm misunderstanding you, or you might have misunderstood the intent of the instructions.

The way I understand it, they're recommending setting the charge limit 5-10% higher *shortly before* departure time.

The idea is that the current flowing through the charging cables might heat things up enough to thaw out the tab so you can remove the cable.

Just setting the charge limit to 100% constantly won't accomplish this - you may charge more the first time you charge, but after that, you're still just adding enough energy to replace what you used while driving. If the charging completes too long before your departure time, you'll end up having the same issue.

If you don't do a huge distance each day, another possible strategy (assuming your electric rates make this feasible), is to simply set your charging start time so it's still charging when you leave. This means timing it so your car has a slightly lower charge each day. You could use the weekend to "top up" the car.
 
Hmmm, well now, I guess I need to add a hair dryer, inverter and extension cord to my list of trunk items like snow chains, ice scraper, de-icer spray, first aid kit, spare water, snacks, emergency blanket, tire repair kit, car cover, cleaning rags, CB radio, etc. If the list continues to grow, I guess I will need to tow a u-haul to store all this crap :rolleyes:

LOL. But hey the u-haul could have a spare tire (cut out the repair kit though)!
 
Happened to me today. Had to put down the back seats and crank up the heat. Couldn't believe it...wasn't even that cold outside. What's going to happen in the heart of the winter? Man I hope tesla comes up with a fix. Love this car but this is not good!
 
Happened to me today. Had to put down the back seats and crank up the heat. Couldn't believe it...wasn't even that cold outside. What's going to happen in the heart of the winter? Man I hope tesla comes up with a fix. Love this car but this is not good!

When it's constantly cold (-10°C or lower) outside, this wouldn't happen as the air will be less humid. We're experiencing this because it's hovering around 0°C. Snow/Ice evaporating with the freeze/thaw cycle allowing moist air to condensate on the cold surfaces.
 
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Nope, there's no way Tesla would disable this as it'll likely kill you if you unplug it while charging :)

Killing you is not going to happen .....

The tab is only for locking the plug to the car. Even if you could remove the plug without unlocking or pressing the unlock button. The flow of electricity is going to be stopped before you could get anywhere near a live circuit. That’s the job of communication pins. Think GFI ... it’s built into every UMC or Wall Connector. And every other charging device.
 
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