Anyone else hate the charge port doors?

[RickKeen]

Worse than any gas filler cover on any vehicle I have ever owned.

By combining the badging on the door, they got too cute.

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[The Weatherman]

It is certainly a low quality option for a high dollar ‘electric’ vehicle. Seems most every other BEV model out there has a motorized door that matches the high tech standard of these vehicles.

 

[KevinC]

I'm indifferent about the door. I prefer to avoid motors whenever something can be done manually without too much effort. Motors inevitably die and are more expensive to replace. I guess they were trying to "hide" the charge port..... which is ironic with the front light bar screaming I'm a crazy new electric vehicle.

 

[hturnerfamily]

every vehicle I've owned has some slight annoyance with the gas port door, or the charge port door, no matter what make or model, but hardly something to 'complain' out loud about... some people just can't get out of their own way about having to complain about something, or, maybe, everything...

I find mine neither 'cheap', or less-than-functional for what it is - it is simply a door to cover the charge port outlet. It does not have to support any weight. It does not need to be 'beefy' for any great reason. It's just a door. I'm glad, too, it does not have a 'motor' to open it. Just one more thing for people to complain about... oh well.

 

[daveross1212]

My wife's BMW's (X5 PHEV) charge port door is maybe 25% less flimsy than the Lightning, and has a similar "feel" - where you are kinda unsure if you've engaged the latch or not.

However, a few months back I had a brain fart and forgot to close the port door on her car and backed out of the garage. The edge of the garage door ripped the entire charge door and frame assembly off the car - it ended up just hanging there by a few wires. I expected a thousand $ or more in repair bills - but sure enough the assembly just snapped back in like it never happened.

So maybe just maybe there is a silver lining here - the flimsy-ness is "by design" - such that it fails without damaging other components?

 

[deserthi]

I fixed my charge port doos by giving them some love. What do you guys think?

 

[Traconesu]

Love my Lightning and wife's Mach E, but I think the charge port doors feel cheap.
I think I have closed it (not every time) and get the message that it is not closed...so out i get and close it.
Had a Tesla but I do like these vehicles better, Elon had the charge port door figured out properly.
Ok, all the whining I will do lol

Getting my charge port door to close or open is a real pain. Sometimes, no matter how hard I push on the door it won't open. I have to hit it with the side of my fist. Same thing with closing it, but not quite as bad.
I've tried pressing in several areas on the door but doesn't seem to make any difference.

 

[Traconesu]

I have both sides of this issue. I am 7 months in, opening is usually ok, not 100%, but closing I have to make sure I push in 1 specific location at a very specific angle...Definitely room for improvement

Same here. I'm always worried about breaking the latch.

 

[deltacap]

I'm not crazy about the little flip-down door that covers the DC charging pins. It feels flimsy and I don't think it will last long. And since I charge at home with the FCSP, I always have to flip it down.

 

[Pioneer74]

I'm not crazy about the little flip-down door that covers the DC charging pins. It feels flimsy and I don't think it will last long. And since I charge at home with the FCSP, I always have to flip it down.

I've charged my truck almost every day since I picked it up in October 2022. No problems with the flip down door.

 

[Traconesu]

I'm not crazy about the little flip-down door that covers the DC charging pins. It feels flimsy and I don't think it will last long. And since I charge at home with the FCSP, I always have to flip it down.

Same here, almost feel like that little door shouldn't be there. Also main charge door is hard to open and close. I've tried to open and close other lightning charge doors at my dealer and they work fine. I guess I got a lemon charge port door.

 

[ctuan13]

Same here, almost feel like that little door shouldn't be there. Also main charge door is hard to open and close. I've tried to open and close other lightning charge doors at my dealer and they work fine. I guess I got a lemon charge port door.

Yeah I really think you did get a lemon, because mine has worked great for almost two years now. I mean I suppose sometimes it feels just a bit cheap, but I've never had an issue.

If you're having issues with yours, besides asking your dealer to take a look at it, which might be a futile effort if they just claim nothings wrong with it, try pulling back the bellows on the plastic stud on the door itself and brushing on a bit of silicone paste. It'll help keep moisture at bay and is an excellent long-term plastic-safe lubricant for the mechanism. You'll probably find the door mechanism functions better!

Silicone paste: https://amzn.to/3Ujnu4f

 

[DesertEV]

I just think they should make a lockable one with the OEM color.

 

[davehu]

after 7 months and 5000 miles on my 23 Lariat I've had ZERO problems with the charge port door. closes and opens correctly 100% of the time.

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