We need a recall on Charge Port Door latch freezing issues

[NeuralFlow]

My charge port door is a PITA to open and close even on normal days. Push. Nothing. Again. Nothing. Start pushing around the edges. Nothing. Stare at it like a disappointed parent at soccer practice. Try again. Opens. Come on Ref! Red card!

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[jimfigler]

mine works fine

 

[Maquis]

My charge port door is a PITA to open and close even on normal days. Push. Nothing. Again. Nothing. Start pushing around the edges. Nothing. Stare at it like a disappointed parent at soccer practice. Try again. Opens. Come on Ref! Red card!

You need to press directly over the latch plunger. Once you get used to it, you should get to a >90% success rate. It took me about 6 weeks.

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

https://accessories.ford.com/products/f-150-2023-charge-port-weather-kit-for-bev-lightning-only

Here's what the Ford part looks like:

 

[Akbrian]

Spray some lock deicer or isopropyl in the pin hole occasionally. They put a boot on the pin but invariably some moisture will get in the hole. Been below freezing here since October and I have never had mine get stuck. I am more angry about the parking sensors not working for 3 days after every car wash in the winter.

 

[Halbach]

mine works fine

Ditto, never froze once even during the 2 freezing rain events we had. I agree with others that sometimes I have to push it twice to get it to close, but it has never been a problem to open for me.

 

[Pjlightning]

Another Update here:

I Drove to a dealer with 3 miles to spare….

Diagnosis:

Door needs replacement.

@ 8,500 miles.

Not Good.

Is it a ticking time bomb design? Only a matter of time until it fails, and then hopefully you’re not stranded with no way to charge up the truck ? Until then you can feel safe and sound and unaffected…..until it happens.

Maybe I just got a fluke bad door, but it seems that I’m far from alone on this site in having issues with this charge port door.

Seems Way too complex for such a basic but critical function.

Does make we wonder why Ford wouldn’t go With a Simple Tesla style hinge close that would never fail like this locking plunger mechanism doohickey.

so the part is on order, maybe a week, and until then I’m back up and running with a fully chargeable truck,
albeit with a charge port door popped open until a new one can be installed.

Sort of feels like the truck is driving around with it’s fly down
(and it’s caught the attention of more than one driver passing by pointing it out )

Lightning 1.0

 

[sotek2345]

I am thinking you may just have a bum door from the factory. I have had no issues with mine, or with our Mach-e (same design and this is it's second winter) and both are parked outside in upstate NY winters.

 

[F150ROD]

Another Update here:

I Drove to a dealer with 3 miles to spare….

Diagnosis:

Door needs replacement.

@ 8,500 miles.

Not Good.

Is it a ticking time bomb design? Only a matter of time until it fails, and then hopefully you’re not stranded with no way to charge up the truck ? Until then you can feel safe and sound and unaffected…..until it happens.

Maybe I just got a fluke bad door, but it seems that I’m far from alone on this site in having issues with this charge port door.

Seems Way too complex for such a basic but critical function.

Does make we wonder why Ford wouldn’t go With a Simple Tesla style hinge close that would never fail like this locking plunger mechanism doohickey.

so the part is on order, maybe a week, and until then I’m back up and running with a fully chargeable truck,
albeit with a charge port door popped open until a new one can be installed.

Sort of feels like the truck is driving around with it’s fly down
(and it’s caught the attention of more than one driver passing by pointing it out )

Lightning 1.0

If they went the Tesla route then you would be complaining about the same thing

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/frozen-charger-door.288941/

 

[jimfigler]

Doors, windows, wipers and old school key locks freeze if conditions are right. You can try to engineer to avoid but Its mother nature, she will win if she wants. If it was heated then everyone would complain that its wasting mileage. I have had no issue with my door. My Kona EV had the charge port on the front. The thing would be covered in brown slushy salty slop and/or ice in the winter.

 

[Pjlightning]

If they went the Tesla route then you would be complaining about the same thing

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/frozen-charger-door.288941/

thanks for the link.

interesting read, especially the part where they discuss the solutions Tesla has offered up:

1.The charge port is now heated, just turn on vehicle defrost or max windshield defrost (press twice for windshield defogger/defroster icon to change from blue to red.) The vehicle displayed within the Tesla app will indicate when the charge port heater is active.

2. A simple credit card trick will pop open their charge port door!


I do love the simplicity of solution # 2. Their door design is so simple, a hinge with a spring, that even if it does freeze, something as common as a credit card can open it up. That’s a pretty small tool kit to need .

the locking plunger doohickey could not be nudged open with a credit card for sure.
It “locks” shut, so it’s not a matter of nudging it free of ice with a CC.

In my predicament, over a hundred miles from home on a stormy Sunday night, I was tempted to take a screwdriver or crowbar to it, but figured that would move it out of a warranty repair, into a “me damaging my truck” and paying to fix it.

Gotta love the heated solution of #1 also.

More involved there, but it shows that the critical function of charging an EV made the list of improvements eventually, right up there with seeing out the front windshield .

Hopefully Ford is thinking about doing something similar.
And maybe also simplifying the door to give us a better shot at opening it ourselves when Mother Nature strikes.

 

[FordLightningMan]

I had something similarly bad happen to me. I was charging the truck outside in the driveway, I got to full charge so I unplugged the truck and closed the charge door. There was freezing rain and snow overnight, I come out to see my charge door half open and ice completely covering the charge port.

Either (a) the charge port latch isn't the easiest to thing to maneuver, did I not close it properly even though it appeared closed when I walked away? I've never experienced it opening on its own any other time. Or (b) did the water and snow freezing and expanding under the charge door provide enough force to pop the charge door open partially?

I tried to clear out the charge port the best I could, but I was unable to get my charger to latch. There were two warmer days coming up and I was at 90%, so I crossed my fingers it would thaw before I needed to plug again. Two days later I plugged in and charging worked, but there is a zero percent chance I would've been charging before the thaw that thankfully came naturally.

I had been doing work in my garage and didn't feel like clearing a spot for the truck to park inside. I learned a valuable lesson, I'll never keep this thing parked outdoors overnight again during a bad winter storm, the charge port simply isn't designed for the conditions.

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