If you're not home with easy access to a hair dryer, I guess you could blow on it... for a longgggg time.
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Model X Charge port Door Frozen Shut!
- Thread starter DrivingTheFuture
- Start date
I voted for the second option, although it was worded a bit more strongly than my feelings really were. It’s an interesting issue (and not one I’d seen before, living in florida), but I’m not sure that it really needed to be turned into a 3 minute video.
I’m also not sure that driving at ‘normal speeds’ down a snow covered road as you video the road and the speedometer is the safest thing to be doing, both for you and for anyone else on the road with you.
I’m also not sure that driving at ‘normal speeds’ down a snow covered road as you video the road and the speedometer is the safest thing to be doing, both for you and for anyone else on the road with you.
ToddS
Member
Nice video. Did you try manually (meaning pushing on the door) after the first hairdryer application?
Reason I ask is that I would think that the sensor (which I understand to be up on the frame of the trunk somewhere above the port) looks like it was covered with snow and might have blocked the signal. I know here in Florida with nothing blocking it sometimes doesn’t “see” the charger if I hold it near that port. Anyway, probably not worth repeating to find out, but that’s the way my mind works.
Cheers!
Reason I ask is that I would think that the sensor (which I understand to be up on the frame of the trunk somewhere above the port) looks like it was covered with snow and might have blocked the signal. I know here in Florida with nothing blocking it sometimes doesn’t “see” the charger if I hold it near that port. Anyway, probably not worth repeating to find out, but that’s the way my mind works.
Cheers!
I agree in most cases that I should not be filming while driving... however this was on a country road without any other drivers in sight... just putting myself at risk here. And although it looks like I was looking at the speedometer based on my camera staying trained on it, I was actually looking at road most of the time so the video turned out better than I expected.
I did try manually as well after second dryer session. I was actually surprised that that small amount of ice was keeping it closed. It must be a very weak motor that opens that cover... now that I think of it I wonder if it is just on a spring with a release mechanism...
There is a way to manually release the door from within the trunk. Open the trunk and look for a "vent like" plastic on the left side (almost at the same height as the port outside) and pull to remove it. It's pretty distinct, you can't miss it. If you place your hand in the gap now and a little bit to the right, you will feel a tension wire. Pulling that will open the port and kick in the circuit in closed state so the port will get activated and you can start charging.
Thank you... I think I had heard of this before, but it was long ago and I'd since forgotten about it!!
When we go to the snow in the X, I put hot water on the doors or if I lived in the snow I would give it a nice warm bath.
K-MTG
Sunshade Captain of TMC
sub
Active Member
Ice vehicle gas door frozen shut!
Ridiculous, these forums are just about unreadable with this garbage.
Ridiculous, these forums are just about unreadable with this garbage.
That isn't a manual door release, that is an override to release a charging cable that is "stuck" in the socket.
I believe it triggers the port to open as well, I've seen a technician do it like that after he replaced my charging port, but I might be wrong.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
I've had good luck just pouring hot water on frozen door handles and such (never had a problem with the charge port). Hot water melts the ice quickly and there is less chance of melting plastic or damaging paint from too much heat.
I'd be
I'd be nervous pouring that directly onto my charge port (it's designed to be rained on, not submersed in water)
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Pour the water on the outside. Not worse than a rain storm. It will run around the edges and thaw it out
This may not be readily apparent to anyone in warmer climates, but the three winters in a Tesla I tell you the charge port door is a much bigger problem than any gas door I've seen. On my old Model S it froze shut almost every week in wintertime. The hair dryer was out a lot... The Model X with second-gen port has been better.
First, the nature of the Tesla Model S/X charge port makes it a bit more difficult winter-time than the usual ICE gas flap. The gasoline doors are usually much more robust and designed to be pushed and pulled more than a small plastic flap integrated into the taillight. The Tesla charge port is actually a bit fragile...
IMO the second-generation auto-opening one is much better than the older one - at least this you can try to push to open on the front (not just a magnetic release where the metal froze shut) and it seems to force itself through more ice than the old design. On the flipside, the old design had the "push from the rear" trick (which worked once Tesla added the car key remote control unlock port, before that it was hard to time the magnet unlock to coincide with you pushing it from the rear to open on the front...) that the new one I think may not have...
Second, winter-time you need to open the flap much more often than a gasoline door, which you need maybe every week or few on an ICE. Winter-time batteries may deplete at twice the normal rate and you really need that daily fill-up on a BEV. The charge port not opening is no picnic when you need it all the time...
On the Model X it is falcon wing that has been freezing shut. I even had to try the manual releases, but they are not very helpful in that either... Hairdryer time!
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