One of the things that bugs me about this car is the cheap-o charging port. Others have complained about the cheesy plastic covers, but lately I've had some trouble getting the door to pop open. And it's not even freezing out, but it just doesn't come open sometimes, so there I am pushing on the hinge side and using a car key to try and pry the door open. Sucks.... I couldn't find a release lever under the hood, but I would hope that there would be some way to jimmy that open when it gets stuck and your tool-less? I suppose some silicon lubricant on the hinge would do the trick, but maybe I'll just wait until the 7,500 mile checkup and see what the dealership says.
There is a post about this with an easy fix in the “Kia Niro EV Owners Club” Facebook group. Search for door.
Didn't someone post a picture of the arm of the charger door getting Dremeled down? It was some plastic bump that needed sanding off. That supposedly fixed the sticky door issue.
There is a raised area where the door hinge connects to the door that is there to make the hinge fit tighter in the slot it emerges from, when the door is closed, probably to make the door centered vertically in its “frame”. There is another similar raised area on the bottom side of the hinge. I sanded down both until the door swings freely - havent applied any lubricant. Door opens fine now.
