I want to share a video I made with the rest of my Canadian Model 3 owners. Have you also experienced this issue????
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Video - Tesla Model 3 Cold Weather Charging Issue
- Thread starter McFlurri
- Start date
Interesting, I wonder if the problem is solely with the mechanism itself due to the cold temperature, or if maybe ice has somehow formed and causing it not to lock. The hair dryer solves either problem.
Unless there is a heated built into the door there, no software update is likely to fix that. And a built in heater would not even necessarily work automatically, since you could open the door to charge at any time, and the car wouldn't keep it on 24/7 since it would use too much power.
An app setting to turn the heater (if there were one) on would work, and that would sure be better than you having to use the hair dryer. And like you said, good thing you weren't parked outside of a hotel with no readily available outlet.
I foresee a cold weather package update from Tesla coming soon. It rarely gets that chilly here in L.A.
Glad to hear you are happy with the Model 3 in any case. No nagging issues with mine so far. Good luck with finding a workable resolution.
RT
Tony_YYZ
Tezler Guru
I had a similar issue before the "winter update" with the lock pin being frozen. I put a hair dryer in the trunk of my car aimed at the charge port from the inside and left it there for about 30 min (trunk closed except for a crack to allow for the extension cord). This solved my problem. Now I have a hair dryer/extension cord ready to go in case the lock pin gets frozen again, although I haven't come across the problem since the winter update. My suspicion is that some water got into the charge port and froze, leading to the issue. I've since been super careful about charging when exposed to rain or snow. I also make sure to give the charge port a quick wipe after charging to soak up any moisture in the area.
I wonder if having the car do a brief spate of high power charging would help keep this from happening with the 3’s same as it does for the X and S’s. 15-30 minutes of 240 @ 32 keeps my X from getting frozen up. I know the mechanism is different on the 3’s, but maybe that might work.
It is plugged in to a 240v 32a charger already.
I have even tried a 48a destination charger thats near by and got the same result.
Its strange because this doesnt happen every time..
The timing would be important though. It's not just that the car is plugged in. For there to be a heating benefit it needs to have a sustained period (20-30 minutes?) of high-ish amperage current running through it and then be unplugged without being allowed to sit and cool off. The colder it is out, likely the longer you'll need to be charging to warm up the hardware enough to help.
So far I've been lucky, only had the occasional charge cable locked with the car unwilling to release but loaded a hair dryer and extension cord into the car a few weeks ago. Watching the video with the wife and she says I need to get an inverter. (Okay she said "battery plug thingie" but I know what she meant 
). Anyway I cant go out and check right now but I imagine a hair dryer draws way too much current for those? Also how crazy is it we're thinking about where we'd plug in our hair dryers in an emergency while travelling?
). Anyway I cant go out and check right now but I imagine a hair dryer draws way too much current for those? Also how crazy is it we're thinking about where we'd plug in our hair dryers in an emergency while travelling?
Lon12
Member
Yes. A hair dryer will blow your 12 volt fuse. Assuming you have an inverter that is powerful enough. Need a 240 volt hair dryer with a J1772 adaptor..... just kidding.
The whole point is that for the $75K car you should not do that. I've never had to buy a Silicon spray or use a hair dryer for My 07 Mazda Cx7. I have owned the car for 11 years now and never had any issue under rain/heavy snow/freezing rain. Didn't need to do any of this non sense before for the car costing half of my current M3 back then.
1Step2NoGas
Member
There appear to be 12v hair dryers and car warmers available on Amazon (and other places I'm sure). I didn't want to put in links here because there are dozens of options with varying degrees of appeal (as well as consumer ratings). I searched for:
12v hair dryer car
portable car heater
I also experienced this issue for the first time last night. (though car is only 7 days old) It was a little misty when I left work last night at 5p and when I got home I plugged in and charging started at 7p with no issues. When I checked around 9p, still charging. When I got up in the morning, charging had stopped probably shortly after 9 and I was left with less than a comfortable margin for my commute. (was just using 120v till I'm wired up in about a week) I removed/reinserted a few times with no luck.
Used a hair dryer for 30 seconds and tried again and it worked so went to a SC and that also worked.
Must be pretty sensitive. Had I used the hair dryer prior to charging at home (in an insulated/attached garage), I have a feeling it would have been ok. We had a spare dryer so I'll just keep it in the garage and try to remember to be proactive...or when in doubt.
It doesn't really annoy me but if it wasn't this convenient in my setup, I'd be a little pissed. Even with temps below freezing where the weather probably can't cause this, salted/slushy roads in heavy traffic perhaps could from all the mist produced.
Used a hair dryer for 30 seconds and tried again and it worked so went to a SC and that also worked.
Must be pretty sensitive. Had I used the hair dryer prior to charging at home (in an insulated/attached garage), I have a feeling it would have been ok. We had a spare dryer so I'll just keep it in the garage and try to remember to be proactive...or when in doubt.
It doesn't really annoy me but if it wasn't this convenient in my setup, I'd be a little pissed. Even with temps below freezing where the weather probably can't cause this, salted/slushy roads in heavy traffic perhaps could from all the mist produced.
I've been having the inverse problem. The pin won't go down when I try to remove the charge cable. Even the emergency latch inside the trunk won't release it. Anything that can be done to help with this ?
Tesla recommended running the heating in the car for 30mins with the rear seats down...
Tesla recommended running the heating in the car for 30mins with the rear seats down...
Same problem, same solutions. Hair dryer or folding the back seat to allow the heat from the inside to eventually unfreeze the mechanism.
Even people who only charge in (unheated) garages have this problem. If it's due to moisture, just the humidity in the air is enough to cause the lock to freeze.
Lon12
Member
You can have those concerns if you spend all your time reading about the problems the cars have on the internet. I had a charge port pin locking issue with my S. Was replaced under warranty. Point is all cars can have problems. I haven't had any issues with my 3 yet. Love the car. But I'm in the Tesla fan group and will always have one in the garage.I'm scheduled for a test drive of a Model 3 this afternoon at the Montreal store. I'm a big TSLA fan but these winter stories make me uncertain to continue with the ordering process until Tesla comes up with a solution
I wouldn't delay ordering your car because of it. I'm sad any day I can't drive mine.
Just because im having this issue.. doesnt mean i regret for even a moment in purchasing this car.
I love my Model 3. It just.. can be frustrating some times.
I love my Model 3. It just.. can be frustrating some times.
The car is in for service right now in Oakville.
Long story about that.. but.. we will see if the replacement fixes it.
Long story about that.. but.. we will see if the replacement fixes it.
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.
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