MASTER THREAD: Winter charging issues, frozen charge ports, road trips

[glhs272]

I have heard about this issue a little bit, but tonight I saw it first hand.

First off, this is NOT my Model 3. This is my boss's Model 3, who I helped convince was a good idea to buy.

Anyway, what happened tonight is at the end of the day Steve (my boss) was leaving work but was seemingly unable to get his car unplugged. Temperatures were about 20 degrees F. Cold but was otherwise dry, no rain or snow recently. He parks his car in a garage at home during the night. He asked for help getting his car unplugged and I took a look myself but I couldn't get it to unlock either. I showed him how to reboot the computer screen, no effect. Unplugging and re-plugging in the UMC did not help. The car would not unplug and he was stranded. By this time the charge port light was stuck on red, and there were error messages on the screen about unplugging and re-plugging in the car to get it to charge. We just wanted to get it to unplug. We called Tesla roadside service but was put on hold due to high call volume. While he was on hold, I researched the issue. I found a youtube video describing the manual charge port release. So we took a look. I tried to do it, but it still wouldn't unlock. It felt like the cable was resisting any movement when trying to manually release it. So, I told him I didn't want to break it by pulling the release too hard, so he took a go at it. Yep, snap. Broken. The manual release cable is now pulled out and sitting there limp. Will no longer retract. The charge port is still stuck. So we give up and another co-worker who lives near him gives him a ride home.

Starting this thread because I see related threads about cold weather problems, but not specifically about this issue. Mods, merge this thread if there already is a thread on this.

I would like to understand what the root cause of this problem is. My fiancee currently drives our Model 3. I don't want her to get stranded like this. What is Tesla doing about this? Are they going to revise the charge port design?

I have 136K miles on my old 2013 Model S and have never seen an issue like this. Weird.

 

[Harrta]

Happened to me this morning. Any resolution yet for you?

 

[Thirsty3]

Same exact thing happened to be at the Egg Harbor, NJ Supercharger yesterday! It wasn't even that cold - about 40 F. My owners manual wouldn't load and couldn't find answers on my phone. After a 20 minute hold, Roadside Assistance walked me through the manual release process and it worked. Still very scary. Met some nice folks at the Supercharger who tried calling their service centers for me while I was on hold - and learned about how to use the manual release as well.

 

[blackeducator]

I have heard about this issue a little bit, but tonight I saw it first hand.

First off, this is NOT my Model 3. This is my boss's Model 3, who I helped convince was a good idea to buy.

Anyway, what happened tonight is at the end of the day Steve (my boss) was leaving work but was seemingly unable to get his car unplugged. Temperatures were about 20 degrees F. Cold but was otherwise dry, no rain or snow recently. He parks his car in a garage at home during the night. He asked for help getting his car unplugged and I took a look myself but I couldn't get it to unlock either. I showed him how to reboot the computer screen, no effect. Unplugging and re-plugging in the UMC did not help. The car would not unplug and he was stranded. By this time the charge port light was stuck on red, and there were error messages on the screen about unplugging and re-plugging in the car to get it to charge. We just wanted to get it to unplug. We called Tesla roadside service but was put on hold due to high call volume. While he was on hold, I researched the issue. I found a youtube video describing the manual charge port release. So we took a look. I tried to do it, but it still wouldn't unlock. It felt like the cable was resisting any movement when trying to manually release it. So, I told him I didn't want to break it by pulling the release too hard, so he took a go at it. Yep, snap. Broken. The manual release cable is now pulled out and sitting there limp. Will no longer retract. The charge port is still stuck. So we give up and another co-worker who lives near him gives him a ride home.

Starting this thread because I see related threads about cold weather problems, but not specifically about this issue. Mods, merge this thread if there already is a thread on this.

I would like to understand what the root cause of this problem is. My fiancee currently drives our Model 3. I don't want her to get stranded like this. What is Tesla doing about this? Are they going to revise the charge port design?

I have 136K miles on my old 2013 Model S and have never seen an issue like this. Weird.

Did you try to heat the interior of the car to about 80° for about 10-15 minutes? I assume he's taking the car in to the service center. This sounds like a serious design/engineering flaw that should have been caught preproduction time. I believe Tesla cut a few preproduction corners and assumed that the Model 3 would act the same as the X & S in cold weather. I don't think an OTA upgrade can help a hardware issue. Needed: recall to fix this problem with a HARDWARE upgrade.

 

[paranoidroid]

I had something similar happen but it was 65f so not frozen from ice for my specific issue. I used the manual release to unlock. People started reporting this issue with the latest firmware so I think there is a firmware bug somewhere.

 

[Harrta]

One update ago the lock on my charge port stopped working at home with the wall charger. This weekend after the latest update the lock engaged when I plugged in the UMC. I assumed this was safety so no one walked away with it. I noticed this afternoon when I got home the wall charger cord is locked in? Did they reverse this cold weather fix?

 

[SageBrush]

I posted about this back in October although since then there have been multiple reports, usually with some variation that suggests multiple points of failure. The last time I dealt with this I applied a steady pull on the manual release and was able to drop the safety pin. I heard a series of clicks before the pin dropped that I interpreted as the manual pull also releasing the safety pin lock mechanism.

 

[glhs272]

Did you try to heat the interior of the car to about 80° for about 10-15 minutes? I assume he's taking the car in to the service center. This sounds like a serious design/engineering flaw that should have been caught preproduction time. I believe Tesla cut a few preproduction corners and assumed that the Model 3 would act the same as the X & S in cold weather. I don't think an OTA upgrade can help a hardware issue. Needed: recall to fix this problem with a HARDWARE upgrade.

We did not try pre-heating the car. We were both in a hurry and not really thinking.

Update: On Monday I went back to work. It was a sunny day and at or above freezing. Went to try to unplug the car and it unplugged just fine. He still won't drive the car however. He lost has lost his confidence in the vehicle at the moment and does not want to depend on it until Tesla has had a look at it. His next frustration is getting Tesla to take a look at. They won't call him back to schedule a service ranger appointment as of today now 4 days into the ordeal.

 

[justaute]

Understandable regarding his lost of confidence in the vehicle. It's not as though this is Tesla's 1st winter. Not acceptable...especially the lack of response.

We did not try pre-heating the car. We were both in a hurry and not really thinking.

Update: On Monday I went back to work. It was a sunny day and at or above freezing. Went to try to unplug the car and it unplugged just fine. He still won't drive the car however. He lost has lost his confidence in the vehicle at the moment and does not want to depend on it until Tesla has had a look at it. His next frustration is getting Tesla to take a look at. They won't call him back to schedule a service ranger appointment as of today now 4 days into the ordeal.

 

[jsrawa]

This is this third time this winter already that my mobile connector was frozen and wouldn’t unlock with the manual release even. Today I preheated the car on HI like Tesla recommends and I did so for over 30 minutes and I could only get it to release by pouring warm water over the connector! I never had this problem all last winter and it has made me late for work multiple times now. The car is parked in the same exact spot. Why is this happening this year and not last? Anyone else?! Could it be my mobile connector?

 

[ybbor]

That's really odd. Do you happen to have 2019.36.2.1 yet? I wonder if scheduled departure will help you by completing the daily charge right before you're anticipated departure.

 

[ecarfan]

Sounds like something is wrong but I can’t say what specifically, sorry.

I could only get it to release by pouring warm water over the connector!

I wish the general public could understand just how safe Teslas are in this regard. Ask the average person if it would be okay to pour a bucket of water on an EV charging cable right where it is connected to the car and they would probably say “No, you’ll electrocute yourself!”.

 

[640k]

Sounds like something is wrong but I can’t say what specifically, sorry.I wish the general public could understand just how safe Teslas are in this regard. Ask the average person if it would be okay to pour a bucket of water on an EV charging cable right where it is connected to the car and they would probably say “No, you’ll electrocute yourself!”.

TBH you'd have to be grounded and in or near contact with one of the metal leads. there's enough insulation and protective capacitors in there that a little water isn't going to cause a major issue. remember, these are cars, you need to be able to use the connector in the rain.

that said, if you pulled the manual release mid-charge and it created an arc, i'm not sure i'd want to be in the rain when that happens.

 

[jsrawa]

That's really odd. Do you happen to have 2019.36.2.1 yet? I wonder if scheduled departure will help you by completing the daily charge right before you're anticipated departure.

I do not, I have gotten every other update really fast but I wonder if the fact mine is Mid Range is holding it up this time.

I also don’t think this would help because it was charging up until my departure today.

 

[cronosx]

that said, if you pulled the manual release mid-charge and it created an arc, i'm not sure i'd want to be in the rain when that happens.

it should be used only when the charge is stopped and you are unable to disconnect due to mechanical problem, so there is no chance of an arc

 

[richyrich]

Schedule an appointment. There's at least two updates to the charge port hardware - one complete redesign of the locking pin mechanism because the original froze a lot and another minor change to the pins. Whether you have these depends on a whole bunch of things. SC or ranger will be able to check in minutes.

 

[KenC]

This is this third time this winter already that my mobile connector was frozen and wouldn’t unlock with the manual release even. Today I preheated the car on HI like Tesla recommends and I did so for over 30 minutes and I could only get it to release by pouring warm water over the connector! I never had this problem all last winter and it has made me late for work multiple times now. The car is parked in the same exact spot. Why is this happening this year and not last? Anyone else?! Could it be my mobile connector?

Sounds like it may be your mobile charger. Is there any way to test with another charger?

 

[StellarRat]

This is this third time this winter already that my mobile connector was frozen and wouldn’t unlock with the manual release even. Today I preheated the car on HI like Tesla recommends and I did so for over 30 minutes and I could only get it to release by pouring warm water over the connector! I never had this problem all last winter and it has made me late for work multiple times now. The car is parked in the same exact spot. Why is this happening this year and not last? Anyone else?! Could it be my mobile connector?

Hair dryer instead of water?

 

[Craigmbarnard]

I’m at a 10 Supercharging station in Chicago. It’s snowing and cold and 3 of the power chords are not charging. Several lying on the ground!?! I’ll have to wait while others charge up before I can attempt another spot. Ugg.

 

[NuttyM3]

There's a Winter Driving Tips page at Tesla Support. Winter Driving Tips

Charging

• In cold weather, charging rates may be reduced until the battery has warmed to the optimal temperature.
• Model 3 – When you set mobile preconditioning to HI, the climate system will help thaw your charge port in freezing conditions.