Help! Charging door won't open!

I've encountered the 'charging-door-wont-open' problem on a couple of occasions. The local Hyundai dealer appeared to be aware of the issue and replaced the actuator under warranty. The replacement actuator appears to have a little more travel than the original.

 

The Kona has a release under the hood, it's in the manual.

 

Not for the door.

 

I have had this problem four times now. We had the dealer "fix" it about a month ago and it happened again a few days ago.

I just took a credit card and slid it around and it opened. I did this three minutes ago and it worked easily.

But I'm pissed. I have calls in to the dealer (who gave me the instructions for releasing the actual charger and not the door; how could they not know this???) I tested it a bunch of times and it seems to be opening now.

I don't live in a cold climate; there was no dirt under the door. I cannot believe Hyundai doesn't do a recall on this. Really frustrating.

P.S. the "credit card" I used was a Trader Joes card; it has more give than a VISA, MC etc.

 

I'm not sure "work" is the correct four letter word to use here.

 

On my way to the dealer now to pick up my Kona. I've had a loaner from the dealer for about TWO WEEKS while they "fix" the charging door. This is the second time I've taken in my car for this. And I'm hoping they've got it right now.

I feel as if they're acting surprised by the problem. HOWEVER, I just found a Technical Service Bulletin for the 2019 Kona Electric with the EXACT same problem! It's TSB #: 20-BD-002H and it's dated January 2020. The file is called MC-10172139-0001.pdf and you can find it easily in a Google search. I cannot believe there has been ample time to correct this problem and they have not. And it's a substantial problem!! I mean you can't charge the car...how are you supposed to drive. Ugh.

Here is the description of the TSB: Description: This bulletin describes the procedure to repair certain Kona Electric (OS EV) vehicles which may experience difficulty with opening the charging door.

 

Had this stuck door problem numerous times over the last 18 months of ownership. Never happens when at the dealer! None of the standard fixes have worked for me, only perseverance and thousands of lock/unlock operations.
However, this week I think I solved it.
Door hinge and lock plunger are perfectly clean. I don't believe that was ever the problem.

SOLUTION:
There's a tiny rubber bung in the end of the lock plunger.
Remove it.
Problem solved.

I think the issue, on my 2022 UK model, has been that the rubber bung, while pressed against the outer door, exerted a tiny bit of pressure on the plunger. This was enough to interfere with the lock actuator mechanism. Removing the bung relieved the pressure and the door opens every time now.

I tested this solution by locking/unlocking the plunger while pressing gently with a finger. Pressure = won't unlock; no pressure = unlock. This conclusion is also supported by the experience of those who have had their actuator replaced with a slightly more powerful or less worn unit.

Hope this helps someone.

 

It’s an intriguing theory. You can see the item in question clearly in my photo from an earlier post, right in the centre.
I tried prying it out but it was resisting and I didn’t want to damage it. It certainly does rub (and rotate) against the cover and I can only assume it’s intended to keep it from rattling.
It’s small in diameter but I could see in principle how it could hinder rotation of the bolt if there was debris present.
...
I did a quick test with some similar plastic but the spring torque present while opening was always strong enough to overcome the rubber stiction. But I'm not having any issues either. A tiny dab of grease might be useful.

Anyway, thanks for bringing that up. It's always good to have that as a suggestion as the question comes up now and again on Ioniq/Kona and Niro forums.

 

I think the real problem is engineering/design. And... A lot of these doors work the same way with a rotating plunger that hooks into the latch. I'm still struggling with locking this at all, sorry it stills seems really stupid. Nobody can siphon my electricity, and if they want to tear off the door, that mickey-mouse latch is not going to stop anyone with a pry bar. This stuff is all ABS with other plastics that tend to warp/shift and such slightly over time, attached to a bumper cover made of soft plastic. I'd put a bet many of the problems are related to minor distortions of the materials creating pressure preventing the latch/lock from operating optimally. The service bulletin simply pads the assembly mount.