Charger door won't open

I believe pretty much all cars have some kind of switch. Just thinking of the E-Tron and Porsche with their fancy slide down charge doors. They will have the same problem if "the switch" doesn't want to work.

They could have gone with a traditional cable, just like ice cars and the gas flap. But nowadays everything is electronic.

 

There is a TSB on that subject but pertaining to when the cause is that the door won't push in far enough to release the latch.

 

I thought there was some sort of manual release for that door under the hood. My recollection is that there is an orange knob in there somewhere that you pull on or something along those lines. Did they try this?

 

I believe the emergency knob only releases a stuck charging cable - meaning the door would off necessity already be open.

 

Kona electric should've had the charge port in the same spot as the ioniq,or move it to the side like the Bolt, Etron. The covers for the j1772,and CCS could've been better designed given the various regions the vehicle would live in.The Bolt's covers is actually good,and it's sealed. Saw a Leaf use part of an exercise band with a handle to make sure their door would open,wished I took the picture
Our early adopter stories will become the comdey for future EV generations...

 

This has been addressed a number of times. Most people who have driven the Kona in Winter snow and ice have complained about. One solution has been proposed by EVSyrup on YouTube. Here is the link:

 

Looking at the docs it's clear that the port itself is not mechanically or electrically connected to the door assembly. Not unexpectedly, it appears that they procure the port as a standard assembly and the body designers provided the opening in the bumper to access and protect it. The port is attached to the front metalwork while the door is fitted to the inside of the urethane bumper.

The door assembly including the door, door-closed sensor, lock, timer override button, LED charge level indicator lights and the illuminated multi-color ring are all CAN controlled from what's effectively the body control module (IGPM). The port actuator is also hard-wired directly to that along with a sensor which I'm assuming detects the position of the plug lock actuator.

But more relevant to the thread, the issue with the door not opening that is addressed by the TSB relates to the fact that the door must be pushed in slightly to release the rather-cheap push-to-lock/push-to-release "ball-point pen" mechanism. The TSB provides for ensuring the clearance between the door opening and the port face (with caps installed) is sufficient. Perhaps the caps were an afterthought and took up some of the designed-in clearance?

The same issue appears when the gap between the door and its frame is filled with ice. The right fix from Hyundai is to either seal the door right to the edges, or preferably not use this type of mechanism. Of course they could move the port elsewhere but that would reduce convenience for everyone worldwide every time they charge.

 

Quite agree. I had this mechanism on the fuel door of my diesel Tiguan. Eventually it stuck and took quite a bit "encouragement" to get it open.

 

I found the charging door only can open in 15s after I open the car door. This is not very clearly described in manual. The first day I owned the car I encountered this problem as well and I have to call dealer. Dealer told me use fob lock the car door then unlock then open the charging door less than 15s. Hope this is not your situation. Sometimes I don’t need this procedure and the charging door is openable. Not sure why but lock and unlock the car door indeed make the charging door openable.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs