That darn plug door!

[SignMD]

NO thanks! It will break. Keep it simple. Or it will get even a tiny bit of ice on it and suddenly won't release. Happened with the gen 1 Volt all the time that had an electric springed release.

Must be the Volt design and build quality, I've had 2 e-tron's going in 3 total years of ownership and not one issue. And I live in snowy and cold Cleveland.

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[sockmeister]

Ok, I can see that point, not that aren’t 100 other sensors that will brick the car.

So now I need to throw anyone that doesn't note the existing warning under the bus but I’m a polite guy. Or maybe Ford can add a audible signal for those in a hurry and miss the current alert.

My point is there is a free fix to what has not been an isolated occurrence.

Maybe the solution is a requirement (on screen) to confirm acknowledgement of the open door before driving, instead of simply preventing you from driving at all.

 

[ripperAZ]

Backing into the garage is a key element of knowing how to manage your space it’s easier to unload everything in a car when the doors open towards the entry door in your house. It’s also easier to pull out when you got a blood alcohol level of .025 or something……

To answer your question no I have never forgot to close my Charge door and then whacked it on my home. And the chance of me doing in the future is pretty much nil. Like scoring in a soccer game


This thread is beginning to indicate that soon we are going to see a four or five part Instruction label on Charmin toilet tissue

Jes sayin

 

[Astro19]

Problem with the warning is i am looking backwards or at the camera video not above the steering wheel.

Basically I just need to be more careful, not really the fault of the design.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

I think there’s been sufficient tarring and feathering of the OP at this point guys. The original question was if his experience was unique (it isn’t, there were earlier threads along the same vein). Perhaps we can shift to a focus on whether the current alert is sufficient to garner attention and correction before shifting into reverse or what habit patterns can be used trigger closing the door when we are otherwise distracted?

 

[Larry Paul]

I took my car through a car wash yesterday and the car wash opened my charge port door during the wash process. I blew it out with compressed air...but has anyone else had the charge port door open in a car wash?

 

[J5hort]

I took my car through a car wash yesterday and the car wash opened my charge port door during the wash process. I blew it out with compressed air...but has anyone else had the charge port door open in a car wash?

I never run any of my cars thru an automatic carwash. Learned many things about them when I worked at one in high school. Recycled water, improperly maintained brushes and harsh chemicals are the norm. I pressure wash at home or self service bays for all my cars (6) ranging from 6 months to 27 years old.

So I guess my answer is No.

 

[Larry Paul]

While I hear you. I am only using one with well maintained terry cloth strips...and we need to use recycled water here in California (well filtered and pumped back through RO so it is better than my tap water). I think it may be prohibited to wash cars at home soon due to the lack of water, not to mention my tap water leaves terrible hard water deposits.

 

[Maquis]

I took my car through a car wash yesterday and the car wash opened my charge port door during the wash process. I blew it out with compressed air...but has anyone else had the charge port door open in a car wash?

Yes - I have used the same touchless automatic car wash for my vehicles for years. Only once out of dozens of times did my charge door pop open from the water pressure. I thought maybe it wasn’t totally latched, but I don't see how that’s possible.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

I took my car through a car wash yesterday and the car wash opened my charge port door during the wash process. I blew it out with compressed air...but has anyone else had the charge port door open in a car wash?

There have been a few reports of such things in the forum. I no longer recall just where, but a forum search of car wash and charger door might reveal a post or threw.

 

[J5hort]

I think there’s been sufficient tarring and feathering of the OP at this point guys. The original question was if his experience was unique (it isn’t, there were earlier threads along the same vein). Perhaps we can shift to a focus on whether the current alert is sufficient to garner attention and correction before shifting into reverse or what habit patterns can be used trigger closing the door when we are otherwise distracted?

Or we can understand what the root cause of the problem might be and realize that if the routine act of closing the port door is not being done many times (I could see forgetting once), may be a result of a sleep inertia condition. The OP "in the morning" comment should be the first clue. Have you ever forgotten to close in the afternoon, night or other times of the day? For those who do not buy this it can be quite serious and was discovered during WWII when pilots would sleep in their planes to be ready at a moments notice...and quite a few "trained" pilots would make many mistakes.

I agree with not roasting the OP and I am the "other" that has experienced this, just not with the charge door of a MME. I feel that unless a complete disable of the vehicle would be the only real fix for those experiencing this issue.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Or we can understand what the root cause of the problem might be and realize that if the routine act of closing the port door is not being done many times (I could see forgetting once), may be a result of a sleep inertia condition. The OP "in the morning" comment should be the first clue. Have you ever forgotten to close in the afternoon, night or other times of the day? For those who do not buy this it can be quite serious and was discovered during WWII when pilots would sleep in their planes to be ready at a moments notice...and quite a few "trained" pilots would make many mistakes.

I agree with not roasting the OP and I am the "other" that has experienced this, just not with the charge door of a MME. I feel that unless a complete disable of the vehicle would be the only real fix for those experiencing this issue.

Yeah, I made an earlier post about establishing a habit pattern regarding that door. I realized early on that unless I closed the door while unplugging, I wasn’t going to close the door, sleep deprived or not. Now I unplug, close the door then hang up the charge cord*. Does that work 100% of the time? Nope, but close to it. I also make a point of looking at that area from the drivers seat before I start backing out. In addition, due to the nature of the slot the MME is in, I’m more concerned about backing straight out so I use the 360 camera. That should show the door ajar. Given all that, my MME’s charger door will not impact the garage door side at the opening, extended mirrors could though. Just my technique, yours will vary.

* Pilots are extremely task oriented. It’s what makes us good at our jobs and also how we make very costly mistakes. Task oriented is how you can forget to close the door. Task: unplug the car. (Dealing with the now irrelevant cord is part of that).

 

[jlauro]

I just tested it, and I can start reversing before it shows the alert so it's reasonable to not see it before looking at other things such as the rear camera or head turned backwards. That said, there is a short audio notes when it pops up, but easy to miss with all the other startup and reverse noises. It really should speak that alert.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

I did it again. Like the third time. In the mornings I struggle to get the mind working and have forgotten to shut the plug door to the charger.

Then I wake up as my garage smashes my charge door. First two times no damage miraculously. The third... The gloss protector flew off. I slid it back on but a piece is broken.

Anybody else done this?

Yup. Twice. Fortunately little to no damage, and the exterior cover did pop off, but nothing broke and I was able to slip it back on. Killed me both times I did it. So mad at myself.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

Yeah, I made an earlier post about establishing a habit pattern regarding that door. I realized early on that unless I closed the door while unplugging, I wasn’t going to close the door, sleep deprived or not. Now I unplug, close the door then hang up the charge cord*. Does that work 100% of the time? Nope, but close to it. I also make a point of looking at that area from the drivers seat before I start backing out. In addition, due to the nature of the slot the MME is in, I’m more concerned about backing straight out so I use the 360 camera. That should show the door ajar. Given all that, my MME’s charger door will not impact the garage door side at the opening, extended mirrors could though. Just my technique, yours will vary.

* Pilots are extremely task oriented. It’s what makes us good at our jobs and also how we make very costly mistakes. Task oriented is how you can forget to close the door. Task: unplug the car. (Dealing with the now irrelevant cord is part of that).

EVERYTHING Bill just said here, I do too. Same reasons, same new patterns I’ve established. +1, my good dude.

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