Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

My charge port has dementia

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Or something like that.

I've had my MS for about 4 weeks. I usually charge it whenever it's parked in my garage. Over the past week, it's started doing something really weird. When I push the button on the charge connector, the port door flips open like normal. However, the locking pin inside the port is engaged, which means that I can't plug the connector in. A few seconds later, the pin retracts. I plug the connector in and the car starts to charge. However, the light around the connector never turns pulsing-green (or any other color); it just stays dark.

It seems like some piece of software is in a snit. I've done all the rebooting that I know how to do--rebooted both screens and manually pushed the "turn off all power" button on the menus. These haven't changed this new behavior.

Any ideas?
 
Or something like that.

I've had my MS for about 4 weeks. I usually charge it whenever it's parked in my garage. Over the past week, it's started doing something really weird. When I push the button on the charge connector, the port door flips open like normal. However, the locking pin inside the port is engaged, which means that I can't plug the connector in. A few seconds later, the pin retracts. I plug the connector in and the car starts to charge. However, the light around the connector never turns pulsing-green (or any other color); it just stays dark.

It seems like some piece of software is in a snit. I've done all the rebooting that I know how to do--rebooted both screens and manually pushed the "turn off all power" button on the menus. These haven't changed this new behavior.

Any ideas?

Does it do the same thing if you open the charge port from the touch screen? That might reset something.
 
Good idea, but I went and tried it, and it doesn't change the behavior. Still, that suggests that the problem is in the car and not in the charging cable. Thanks.

I called Tesla, and they said that what they'd do remotely was no different from the reboots that I've done, so the local service center will probably have to figure it out.
 
This started happening to my car shortly after v7. It charges normally, just odd that there are no lights. When removing the plug in the morning, lights show as usual. However, today it started lighting up as always when plugging in (UMC). The two factors here are v7 and it became cool and rainy. I never rebooted because now rebooting is now such a pain. Sometimes twenty minutes passes before the screen comes back up, it used to be only one or two minutes. The very long reboot started towards the end of the v6 releases. (Note you can speed the reboot by getting out of the car, waiting for it to lock, and then get back in.)
 
Oh don't get me started on the charge port. Sometimes it opens right away, sometimes it takes 30 seconds, sometimes I have to press the button 200 times, sometimes it opens but won't let me plug in, sometimes I close it and it pops right open again... Sometimes it doesn't open at all from the UMC and only pressing the key helps ...

sigh...
 
Make sure the car is unlocked, ive noticed I need to pull on a door handle to unlock or hit the fob sometimes before it will accept the charger. Ive also noticed when I pressed the button to often to open the charge port and the cable didnt latch properly I need to go into the charging screen and cancel charging and start over. Has worked for me so far.
 
This started happening to my car shortly after v7. It charges normally, just odd that there are no lights. When removing the plug in the morning, lights show as usual. However, today it started lighting up as always when plugging in (UMC). The two factors here are v7 and it became cool and rainy. I never rebooted because now rebooting is now such a pain. Sometimes twenty minutes passes before the screen comes back up, it used to be only one or two minutes. The very long reboot started towards the end of the v6 releases. (Note you can speed the reboot by getting out of the car, waiting for it to lock, and then get back in.)

I'm on 2.5.85 and rebooting only takes 40 s or so. Is it really that much worse on 7?

Make sure the car is unlocked, ive noticed I need to pull on a door handle to unlock or hit the fob sometimes before it will accept the charger. Ive also noticed when I pressed the button to often to open the charge port and the cable didnt latch properly I need to go into the charging screen and cancel charging and start over. Has worked for me so far.

^This. I find that I don't even need the key as long as I push on the drivers door handle and then connect the UMC.
 
The first issue I've ever had with my car was charge port not opening last week after getting home in the wee hours with only a few critical hours to range charge so I can chaperone a 3rd grade field trip 240miles away. After getting over the panic, I searched my trusty TMC and went through each algorithm until this, from mod Doug G in 2013, worked like a charm and saved the day.
image.png
 
Last edited:
Went by the service center today. They messed around with my charge port for a while, and told me the weirdest thing. I'm paraphrasing, but this is definitely the gist of it:

"We think that the problem is that the firmware for the charge port is messed up. However, the only way to fix it is to replace the charge port. The firmware for the charge port could be re-written if it were actually being *upgraded*. However, the upgrade process doesn't have any way to forcibly re-write firmware of the same version that's currently installed."

So... they have to replace the hardware in order to polish some electrons. Seems pretty inefficient, but I'm swapping the car for a loaner on Thursday and will let them do their thing.
 
I know this may sound odd. But it actually does make sense. Whether it's actually the problem is another matter.

Firmware is updated on a module by module process (this is why it takes so long). Apparently they check to see what the module level is and if it meets the current levels, it doesn't update it. If they put one in at a lower level, the car will determine it does not meet the current firmware requirements and attempt to update it.
 
Yeah, I understand (now) how that system works, but it seems peculiar to have designed it without a mechanism for forcing re-writes, for exactly this reason.

That would be ideal. Perhaps it cannot be forced OTA, but the Service Center should be permitted to connect and issue a force directly. That said, I wouldn't be surprised that some of the cases were people used to get some one-off weird release numbers could be specific bug fixes or simply a numbering change to force the update that way. That said, maybe there is a way to force it to update and your SvC just doesn't know how or have the right equipment for it? YMMV on service fixes across the network. Thankfully, they are fixing it!
 
Well, they fixed it today. Sort of a weird explanation: they said water had got inside the door mechanism and confused the system about whether the door was open or closed.

Not sure I understand how this produced the symptoms, but I'm definitely willing to believe it's complicated. Anyhow, fixed now.
 
Excellent news. My charge port had to be replaced, but after they put the new one in it has worked flawlessly (except now that I've said that it probably will go nuts on me). My car is fairly new too, made in May of this year. My old one made in August of 2013 never had any issues with the charge port. I don't understand why Tesla hasn't concentrated on this - of all things not to fail on an electric car, the charge port should be top priority IMHO.
 
Well, they fixed it today. Sort of a weird explanation: they said water had got inside the door mechanism and confused the system about whether the door was open or closed.

Not sure I understand how this produced the symptoms, but I'm definitely willing to believe it's complicated. Anyhow, fixed now.

I had a similar issue yesterday. My charge port wouldn't open, but I managed to pry it open with a plastic card (I was far from home at the time). After opening, I noticed that the mechanism was wet. I dried it, and then the problem seemed to be solved.

Do I need a new charge port?