Video - Tesla Model 3 Cold Weather Charging Issue

[McFlurri]

Does that pin act directly on the connector or does it pass through some plastic plate/locator. I wonder if the locator is at a to high tolerance making the pin jam or not allowing the full travel rather than the pin itself making full travel or retraction. Most linear pins usually have a good amount of force behind them, only when you induce a non linear force like a sheer movement that could be a simple location or vanity cover misaligning or with the cold, closing the engineered tolerance of the path of the pin. It wouldn't surprise me if a simple reaming of the pathway or a new plastic charge housing from a slightly different material totally cures the problem.

They replaced the pin and chargeport door.

Aparently there is a revision of the part because this is so common in earlier Model 3s.

Im going to give it a bit of time and then update everyone to see if this fixes the problem.

 

[Ludatik]

They replaced the pin and chargeport door.

Aparently there is a revision of the part because this is so common in earlier Model 3s.

Im going to give it a bit of time and then update everyone to see if this fixes the problem.

When was your car made?

 

[McFlurri]

When was your car made?

My car's "birthdate" was May 3rd.

 

[fgaucher]

I want to share a video I made with the rest of my Canadian Model 3 owners. Have you also experienced this issue????

Hi, I am in Montréal region. I am experiencing exactly the same problem. Had to use the hair dryer twice last Thursday. I was on a 200 km trip to Sherbrooke with my wife's bmw. During my trip I received a notification that the charging was finished on my car. And on the android app I saw a message that the cable was not locked in place. I played with my charge limit to force the car to begin the charge process and now the cable was ok and the charging was at full speed. Upon arrival at home the cable was locked in place flashing green. So, remotly, without nobody unplugging the cable and replugging it the status passed from not locked to locked !!!!!

I had send emails to Tesla. The mobile service will come next Tuesday to see this. Thank you for this video. It will help Tesla to understand what is going on.

 

[fgaucher]

Hi, I am in Montréal region. I am experiencing exactly the same problem. Had to use the hair dryer twice last Thursday. I was on a 200 km trip to Sherbrooke with my wife's bmw. During my trip I received a notification that the charging was finished on my car. And on the android app I saw a message that the cable was not locked in place. I played with my charge limit to force the car to begin the charge process and now the cable was ok and the charging was at full speed. Upon arrival at home the cable was locked in place flashing green. So, remotly, without nobody unplugging the cable and replugging it the status passed from not locked to locked !!!!!

I had send emails to Tesla. The mobile service will come next Tuesday to see this. Thank you for this video. It will help Tesla to understand what is going on.

Tesla mobile service came yesterday and he replaced the lock pin in which water can infiltrate and freeze when its cold. He told me that he replaced a lot of them on recent VIN model 3. He also told me that Tesla is working on a permanent fix for this problem but not yet available.

As a suggestion if somebody from Tesla is reading this, my brother in law has an Electric Smart and the lock pin is on top instead of being Under the cable connector. Being on top, the water cannot accumulate in the mecanism.

 

[Lon12]

Tesla mobile service came yesterday and he replaced the lock pin in which water can infiltrate and freeze when its cold. He told me that he replaced a lot of them on recent VIN model 3. He also told me that Tesla is working on a permanent fix for this problem but not yet available.

As a suggestion if somebody from Tesla is reading this, my brother in law has an Electric Smart and the lock pin is on top instead of being Under the cable connector. Being on top, the water cannot accumulate in the mecanism.

That is exactly what I was thinking when saw the locking pin at the bottom of the port.

 

[AaronYOW]

I had what seems like a similar issue the other day. I was charging at a public charger with a J1772 adapter. It was around -8C, was charging for about 5 hours. When I went to leave, the adapter was stuck locked in (couldn't get it to release via app or car controls). I removed the J1772 connector but adapter remained stuck, with Tesla logo indicator as red.

Ended up just using the emergency release at home, but vehicle was still unable to charge. Vehicle was parked in heated garage overnight, and next morning everything was back to normal.

I had a chat with Tesla mobile service. Interestingly, the tech actually said it's a known issue with the locking pin and positioning sensor. And that a firmware fix is being worked on. Doesn't seem like the same issue that is related to cold, so I'm skeptical as this only happened when I decided to charge outdoors in the cold. I'll have to keep an eye on it. Not sure if anyone else has heard about this "firmware" issue.

 

[dmd2005]

Has been starting to get cooler and near freezing now, so I picked up a portable Milwaukee M18 fuel heat gun and packed it in my trunk with a couple of 5AH batteries in case I run into a frozen door/window or charge port. Works great for applying clear vinyl and carbon fiber decal covers too. No need for cords and I already have a bunch of Milwaukee M18 fuel batteries.

 

[McFlurri]

****UPDATE

So I sent my car in to service on December 13th into Oakville (which was honestly the worst customer service experience I have received from any company.. but that's besides the point)... and they replaced the locking pin with a second generation part.

Due to quite the warm spell here it hasn't really been at/ below freezing until tonight.

Well.. just had to take the hair dryer to my car for a 4th time.

I understand that Tesla is releasing software 2018.50. But I really don't know how they are going to warm up the chargerport locking pin without a heater...

 

[McFlurri]

Good news everyone! The Update to the issue is here. Hot off the press!

 

[Liquidmetal101]

Just finished charging at Ikea and my adaptor is stuck in my charge port. I tried using the release cord but it wouldn't budge. Our mobile rep will be heading over tomorrow morning to fix the issue. Pretty frustrating. Looks like ill be investing in cordless heat gun.

 

[Lon12]

Just finished charging at Ikea and my adaptor is stuck in my charge port. I tried using the release cord but it wouldn't budge. Our mobile rep will be heading over tomorrow morning to fix the issue. Pretty frustrating. Looks like ill be investing in cordless heat gun.

Yes. A hair drier is fine if you have a long enough extension cord and somewhere to plug in. Otherwise I think it would be safer to have the cordless. I purchased a 12v defroster this week to test but at 150 watts I really don't think its hot enough to be useful.

 

[Tony_YYZ]

Just finished charging at Ikea and my adaptor is stuck in my charge port. I tried using the release cord but it wouldn't budge. Our mobile rep will be heading over tomorrow morning to fix the issue. Pretty frustrating. Looks like ill be investing in cordless heat gun.

Don't waste your money. A revised locking pin assembly is in the works. Open a case with a service centre for the issue and ask them when you can expect the revised part.

 

[Liquidmetal101]

The mobile tech (Patrick) came by this morning and changed the charging port. The old port was completely iced up. Excellent service out here in Ottawa.