Charge Port Door Backwards

[ReelSweet]

Having just taken a road trip yesterday where I was fortunate enough to use the luxurious fast charging system we have in America and I was thinking that perhaps the charge door should open from the other direction. I recognize the entire charge port door opening system from ford is "unique" and could use an overhaul, but when pulling into a charging spot nose first the cord and handle from the charger needs to go around the charge port door casing it to rub on the car and in one case not be able to make a solid connection....why not have the charge door opening flipped?

I thought about backing in like those turtles do but cords on some of the chargers aren't exactly long.

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[RickMachE]

Having just taken a road trip yesterday where I was fortunate enough to use the luxurious fast charging system we have in America and I was thinking that perhaps the charge door should open from the other direction. I recognize the entire charge port door opening system from ford is "unique" and could use an overhaul, but when pulling into a charging spot nose first the cord and handle from the charger needs to go around the charge port door casing it to rub on the car and in one case not be able to make a solid connection....why not have the charge door opening flipped?

I thought about backing in like those turtles do but cords on some of the chargers aren't exactly long.

Because if it opens while driving, it would rip it off. Now, if it opens while driving it's fine.

Turn on the camera when pulling in to charge to get as close as you need to. Sometimes, you need to pull in differently, either backwards or into an adjacent space.

 

[MellowJohnny]

Lots of other posts about this, but yeah, it’s not ideal.

In my case I was charging at home, parked nose-first, cable going “north” towards the house, and some kids playing next door tripped on the cable, almost ripping the door off when the cable went taught.

I wouldn’t mind seeing it open upwards on a curved hinge (hugging the body) - that way the door would be out out of the way for just about any scenario.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Like Rick said, it's so it gets blown closed rather than ripped off if it becomes open while driving.

Having the door open upwards or downwards would be a better solution.

 

[Womps]

I really like the size and location of the Tesla charge door. It blends in with the vehicle and you wouldn’t even know it’s there. The supercharger cable is no larger than my home level 2 charger witch makes it much easier to handle. It can be opened by pushing it, by the key fob, on the interior screen and by a button on the charger handle.

 

[RedOctobrrr]

Like Rick said, it's so it gets blown closed rather than ripped off if it becomes open while driving.

Having the door open upwards or downwards would be a better solution.

Hoods open towards the wind. I don't see why you wouldn't do the same with the charge port door.

Suicide doors also open into the wind, but yet here we are, production cars have been made with them.

I don't buy the wind ripping it off thing. This could have easily been solved.

 

[dbsb3233]

Having just taken a road trip yesterday where I was fortunate enough to use the luxurious fast charging system we have in America and I was thinking that perhaps the charge door should open from the other direction. I recognize the entire charge port door opening system from ford is "unique" and could use an overhaul, but when pulling into a charging spot nose first the cord and handle from the charger needs to go around the charge port door casing it to rub on the car and in one case not be able to make a solid connection....why not have the charge door opening flipped?

I thought about backing in like those turtles do but cords on some of the chargers aren't exactly long.

The charger handle and stiff cord hang out as long or longer that the door. I'm not really seeing the problem. How is the door causing the cord to rub against the car and make a bad connection??

 

[Tmac]

Having just taken a road trip yesterday where I was fortunate enough to use the luxurious fast charging system we have in America and I was thinking that perhaps the charge door should open from the other direction. I recognize the entire charge port door opening system from ford is "unique" and could use an overhaul, but when pulling into a charging spot nose first the cord and handle from the charger needs to go around the charge port door casing it to rub on the car and in one case not be able to make a solid connection....why not have the charge door opening flipped?

I thought about backing in like those turtles do but cords on some of the chargers aren't exactly long.

I agree and the port should be on the right side of the car to ease on street L2 charging.

 

[Hammered]

Could be worse -- have you seen a right hand drive MME? Any guess where the frunk and charge port are? They took the US version and moved the steering wheel assembly and voila, you have the UK / right hand drive version.

As for street charging -- that's just not a thing yet. Far more benefit from the driver side charging, because you get out and charge. Now if the vehicle used a more elegant charging system, ala tesla's, twin ports would be much less impactful.

Based on ford's patents, they're either trolling or seriously considering dual charge ports. That will increases costs however. Heavy gauge copper wiring is one of the biggest costs per mass of the vehicle. Without a redesign of the HVBJB, much more wiring and of course, another pair of HVDC contactors (the parts that fail).

 

[ChuckA]

All my ICE cars hinge and open this direction.

The simple answer is the MME charge door was designed to be just like the non-EV. Don’t overthink this design element. If Ford thought it would open while driving they would have put a more robust latch on it.

 

[ReelSweet]

The charger handle and stiff cord hang out as long or longer that the door. I'm not really seeing the problem. How is the door causing the cord to rub against the car and make a bad connection??

Not in my case last night. I was at the EvGO station last night and parked nose into the charger and when I pull the hose and plug in the nozzle it needs to go around the charge port door (hence rubbing on it). This charger cord had a suspension devise to help lift up the cord (similar to some gas pumps) that felt like it had a tension pull back to the charger which caused the nozzle to bend back to the charger also and not have a solid connection. May have been the design of this charger...first time at EvGo for me....only been to EA charger once or twice without this issue.

 

[ReelSweet]

All my ICE cars hinge and open this direction.

The simple answer is the MME charge door was designed to be just like the non-EV. Don’t overthink this design element. If Ford thought it would open while driving they would have put a more robust latch on it.

The difference is that in a non-EV you pull up along side the fuel pump.

 

[ARK]

I really like the size and location of the Tesla charge door. It blends in with the vehicle and you wouldn’t even know it’s there. The supercharger cable is no larger than my home level 2 charger witch makes it much easier to handle. It can be opened by pushing it, by the key fob, on the interior screen and by a button on the charger handle.

Problem is back of the car is a pain for a lot of driveways and some garages.

 

[Hammered]

Problem is back of the car is a pain for a lot of driveways and some garages.

Um, what? Where are these 'must pull in forward only' parking spots? The tail light is a much better spot than next to the driver's door.

 

[dbsb3233]

Um, what? Where are these 'must pull in forward only' parking spots? The tail light is a much better spot than next to the driver's door.

I think he's talking (mostly) at people's homes. Most people pull forward into their driveways and garages. It can be a long reach to the back of the vehicle for a typical home wall charger, especially if mounted on the front wall of the garage. Even longer if parking in the driveway.

Some people like to back in, but that's a relatively small% (other than Tesla owners).

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