Charger door won't open

  • Thread starter Thread starter KonaTom
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KonaTom said:
HaHa. I wonder if I could disconnect the power to it myself. Don't see a lot of reason why it needs the extra protection of an electrical lock.
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Probably so nobody can open it and smear peanut butter all over your chargeport while you're shopping for groceries ... [emoji12][emoji1787]
 
KiwiME said:
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.

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do you have the TSB for the charger door? Mine is already not flush so it gets jammed,and I don't want the poorly designed flap to entirely fall off as I try to break the ice off:D Apparently, there's a campaign for the included L1 charger: 00D36.
 
Here it is for the port door.

I don't have a copy of the one for the portable EVSE because it won't apply to my non-Hyundai unit. It's just a stretch-over rubber or plastic cover sort of like what you find on a DVM or other hand tools.
Several owners have reported that the dealer needs to install it themselves (rather than just provide it to you) which leads me to believe that it's a regulatory compliance issue, such as failing the drop test.
 

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GeorgeS said:
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:
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It appears to work.EVSyrup didn't drive through freezing rain,plus snow.Why Hyundai can't provide another "campaign" with a gasket fit solution is beyond me.Bolt has a gasket.My concern,if you glue something in,can it be blamed as a "modification" for a laundry list of issues given the TSB for the charge port door already?
 
Hyundai may have issued a TSB for the benefit of it's dealers and technicians but they never notified customers. How could they blame you for correcting a fault they caused but never disclosed?
 
My Kona is fixed now. It took over an hour at the dealers shop. The part came in only three days after they ordered it, so I suspect it is something simply like the pad mentioned earlier. Haven't tested it much yet.
 
Esprit1st said:
Probably so nobody can open it and smear peanut butter all over your chargeport while you're shopping for groceries ... [emoji12][emoji1787]
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Well, I had the charge port open while I was getting the car washed the other day, that was a strange one as the doors were locked, so that shouldn't have been possible or so I thought.
 
cmwade77 said:
Well, I had the charge port open while I was getting the car washed the other day, that was a strange one as the doors were locked, so that shouldn't have been possible or so I thought.
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Glad you didn't fry your connection to your Li-iono_O
No driver's dash alert? Mine gives me one if I forget to close the charger door.
 
ehatch said:
Glad you didn't fry your connection to your Li-iono_O
No driver's dash alert? Mine gives me one if I forget to close the charger door.
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It was closed when I entered the car wash, but the car wash pushed it open. But honestly, considering I have seen videos of fire hoses being turned on open charge ports, I doubt you would fry it even if completely open and the dust protectors were off.
 
No, of course not. There's a contactor that connects the port to the battery when charging starts.
 
Based on comments over at SpeakEV and my own experiments, if you have a problem opening the charge port (unrelated to it being packed with ice) push in the hinge-side corners before trying and you might find it opens a whole lot easier.
 
I dug up this old thread because YouTuber "The Offroading Mechanic" who appears to work for Hyundai did a short video on why he thinks it sticks. You'll have to open YouTube to view.

 
KiwiME said:
I'll see how this goes at keeping water and dust out. 5mm thick closed cell foam.

View attachment 13504
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Looks way better than what I have been using on the lid, and more functional, had to reroute the weather stripping as it wasn't doing the job. Hard to tell by the picture if the foam is round or dimensional also does the door close without undo pressure on the plunger latch and it rotates without resistance?
 
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The polystyrene closed-cell foam is exactly 5m thick and may have been used to hold ICs or such. I just used some sharpened 13.5mm OD tubing to "die-cut" the hole and scissor-cut the outside to a concentric circle. 1/2" copper water pipe might be about right.

It crushes when the door is closed, you can see that the receptacle on the door fits partly into the recess.

It's just an experiment, will see how well it holds up.
 
My charge-door would not open and I found this thread and others useful to let me open the door. What worked for me was the trick of: lock doors with fob, unlock doors with fob, then apply a sharp rap on the charge door within 15-sec after doors-unlock. The door then will pop up.
The Hyun. TSB 20-BD-002H is supposed to fix the problem. It adds 2 vinyl pads to bottom of housing but requires removal of front bumper to get access.
 
Just had the same problem with my 2018 Ioniq plugin hybrid rang Hyundia and they admitted there was no manual way of opening the door they did suggest holding the lock button on the fob for more than 10 secs and then the unlock button for more than 10 seconds, open the drivers door and quickly try to open the charge door. Worked like a charm I love engineers that know their stuff!!!
 
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