Unlock Charge Port - Idea

[piffmunday]

I wish there was a setting you could turn on that unlocked your charge port on completion of charging, it annoys me that with a car that is so automated that every time I walk up to it I have to either get my phone out and open the app or lean inside to press unlock charge port when charging is complete then go back round and remove the cable.

Maybe it could be set to do it when you unlock the car. I would think it would be an idea to have this as a setting you could turn on/off with personal preference.

Am I just lazy?

 

[trigger2007]

I’m with you, I use Tessie and have a Siri shortcut for it. You can buy charge leads / remote fobs that may be able to unlock it as well?

 

[MrBadger]

It’s actually stop charge/unlock charge connector that’s needed as unlock charge port is actually implemented by tapping the charge port when car is unlocked.

This is the reason why many buy the Tesla wall connector as it has ‘the button’. Various work arounds people have posted over the years.

Several companies sell unlock charge port fobs but they do only that and do not stop charge/unlock charge connector which is the feature they are really after.

IIRC they modified behaviour of DC rapid charging (non Tesla as supercharger has ‘the button’) but I’ve never used a non Tesla rapid since that was implemented.

All the while Tesla sell a TWC with ‘the button’ they are unlikely to change the functionality for domestic charging.

 

[djtaylor]

I put an NFC tag under the flap with a Home Assistant automation to send unlock command.

 

[dombera]

I just use S3XY knob with commander. Commander allows me to hold rear left door handle for 4 seconds to unlock the port.

 

[Doudeau]

Maybe I’ve misunderstood but I thought the fact it remains locked is for security reasons to stop people walking away with your cable.

 

[EVMeister]

Maybe I’ve misunderstood but I thought the fact it remains locked is for security reasons to stop people walking away with your cable.

I assume they're talking about tethered chargers. For untethered chargers you can just disconnect the charging point end and the car will unlock its end.

 

[piffmunday]

I assume they're talking about tethered chargers. For untethered chargers you can just disconnect the charging point end and the car will unlock its end.

Yes, tethered chargers. My thought being that it could only do it when you are close to the car. I would rather that function than the automatic boot.

 

[WllXM]

But they usually lock at both ends during a charge.
Siri shortcut on the phone works for me.

It’s not only to stop people walking away with your cable, but also for tethered ones, to stop ICE drivers with a grudge from unplugging a row of cars at random.

 

[piffmunday]

I just use S3XY knob with commander. Commander allows me to hold rear left door handle for 4 seconds to unlock the port.

I would like to get s3xy buttons but it is my companies car so not sure of the ramifications on insurance etc.

 

[piffmunday]

But they usually lock at both ends during a charge.
Siri shortcut on the phone works for me.

It’s not only to stop people walking away with your cable, but also for tethered ones, to stop ICE drivers with a grudge from unplugging a row of cars at random.

I just posted above, why not use your phone location to unlock, I would much rather this than the automatic boot.

 

[piffmunday]

I’m with you, I use Tessie and have a Siri shortcut for it. You can buy charge leads / remote fobs that may be able to unlock it as well?

I have Tessie on android. I will have a go at setting up a shortcut.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

It’s trivial to set up an Apple short cut routine that stops charging and then unlocks the charge port without paying for any third party software. You can probably do it on android too. Once you've the shortcut you can either just ask Siri to do it, add it to an Apple Watch and do it via that or set up some automation to do it for you like running at 6am every morning.

 

[Lumos]

It’s trivial to set up an Apple short cut routine that stops charging and then unlocks the charge port without paying for any third party software. You can probably do it on android too. Once you've the shortcut you can either just ask Siri to do it, add it to an Apple Watch and do it via that or set up some automation to do it for you like running at 6am every morning.

I programmed the action button on the side of my iPhone to run an Apple shortcut. Mine is to open the boot but it could do anything one wanted. I also have Apple Watch for Tesla as a complication on my Apple Watch.

 

[thewishy]

But they usually lock at both ends during a charge.

It’s not only to stop people walking away with your cable, but also for tethered ones, to stop ICE drivers with a grudge from unplugging a row of cars at random.

When charging, both ends will be locked. So some ICE driver unplugging isn't an issue.
The question here is about being able to unlock once the charge is complete. And actually I've had situations where this might be super helpful - eg two cars sharing one charger at a B&B. I could just unplug the other car in the morning and get mine on the charger. (They were late risers)

I *think* the problem is that there is no way for a car to tell if the charger is tethered (Moving the cable after charge is desirable) or untethered (Your cable gets nicked)

 

[WllXM]

When charging, both ends will be locked. So some ICE driver unplugging isn't an issue.
The question here is about being able to unlock once the charge is complete. And actually I've had situations where this might be super helpful - eg two cars sharing one charger at a B&B. I could just unplug the other car in the morning and get mine on the charger. (They were late risers)

I *think* the problem is that there is no way for a car to tell if the charger is tethered (Moving the cable after charge is desirable) or untethered (Your cable gets nicked)

Yes it's the issue but on the other hand, there aren't many scenarios, even if you're sharing a charger, where you would have enough room / cable length so you could unplug the 'full' car and plug yours instead.
Plus there would be some etiquette issues with some drivers I'm sure.
So I guess locking the cable in place no matter what seems the safest solution.

I guess some tethered stalls could actually implement a button to unlock the port from the car end by breaking the circuit for a couple seconds (it's the way the Tesla button does it on SCs). But if nobody implemented it it's because I guess there are more cons than pros for that argument.

At least for my use case, I have a Siri shortcut that both unlocks the cable and pops the frunk, so I can store my cable in place if untethered, or for simple disconnects, I use either the touchscreen or the app in under 5seconds...

 

[garycat]

It’s trivial to set up an Apple short cut routine that stops charging and then unlocks the charge port without paying for any third party software. You can probably do it on android too. Once you've the shortcut you can either just ask Siri to do it, add it to an Apple Watch and do it via that or set up some automation to do it for you like running at 6am every morning.

Which shortcut unlocks the cable as I only have "Open/Close charge port" which is different to releasing the cable.

 

[WllXM]

Which shortcut unlocks the cable as I only have "Open/Close charge port" which is different to releasing the cable.

View attachment 1049764

Open charge port will unlock the cable as well, although I agree it's poorly documented.

 

[thewishy]

Yes it's the issue but on the other hand, there aren't many scenarios, even if you're sharing a charger, where you would have enough room / cable length so you could unplug the 'full' car and plug yours instead.
Plus there would be some etiquette issues with some drivers I'm sure.
So I guess locking the cable in place no matter what seems the safest solution.

I guess some tethered stalls could actually implement a button to unlock the port from the car end by breaking the circuit for a couple seconds (it's the way the Tesla button does it on SCs). But if nobody implemented it it's because I guess there are more cons than pros for that argument.

At least for my use case, I have a Siri shortcut that both unlocks the cable and pops the frunk, so I can store my cable in place if untethered, or for simple disconnects, I use either the touchscreen or the app in under 5seconds...

I think etiquette wise, if you're leaving a charging cable locked when you're finished charging, you're the problem. The Tesla destination chargers will generally cover a couple of bays, but you're probably right that there won't be a huge number of scenarios.

 

[zoomer0056]

Is this just in the UK? I've not experienced that and simply push the button on the handle to be able to pull it out.