Cold snap - Can't get charge port door open

[joelster]

OK. We had a big cold snap last Friday. Things went from wet in the morning to 16℉ by 5pm. And now I can't get my charge port door open. I also can't get the truck bed or tonneau open but that's less urgent.

I just spent a bunch of time warming it up with a small heat gun but that didn't work. I think maybe the whole shaft is frozen.

Anybody have any tips / tricks here?

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[Tr4ckD4ys]

Hot/Semi-hot water? Windshield de-icer? Drive to an enclosed garage space/spot that’s climate controlled and wait for it to defrost?

 

[R.I.P.]

Huge fan of my truck.

Huge fan of where the charge port is (ARE YOU LISTENING TESLA?!)

Hugely annoyed at the really dumb Rube Goldberg port cover.

 

[usulio]

OK. We had a big cold snap last Friday. Things went from wet in the morning to 16℉ by 5pm. And now I can't get my charge port door open. I also can't get the truck bed or tonneau open but that's less urgent.

I just spent a bunch of time warming it up with a small heat gun but that didn't work. I think maybe the whole shaft is frozen.

Anybody have any tips / tricks here?

Use the phone app to heat the car and hope that thaws it from the inside?

 

[rkalbiar]

Figure it out?

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

Are you using the capacitive button on the charge port itself? Or have you also tried using the infotainment to open it? There's a known issue with the capacitive button when cold as it doesn't recognize your touch.

 

[W1SE]

OK. We had a big cold snap last Friday. Things went from wet in the morning to 16℉ by 5pm. And now I can't get my charge port door open. I also can't get the truck bed or tonneau open but that's less urgent.

I just spent a bunch of time warming it up with a small heat gun but that didn't work. I think maybe the whole shaft is frozen.

Anybody have any tips / tricks here?

I took a picture of my fix. I had the same issue.

I left it for 30 minutes

edit: also, know that once it came open it didn’t refreeze. I can now open close after going on a drive.

 

[Riviot]

Are you using the capacitive button on the charge port itself? Or have you also tried using the infotainment to open it? There's a known issue with the capacitive button when cold as it doesn't recognize your touch.

Cold, wet, road salt, dirt... All of these things negatively impact the touch (capacitive) sensor. Did you try opening from the inside?

 

[runningdenver]

I was in the CO mountains yesterday morning, sub 0, and about 10 inches of fresh snow. My charge port wouldn't open from the outside, but did from the screen on the dash. That seems more reliable when it's cold / icy. It's a shame there's not a manual method to get in. Hopefully you figured it out.

 

[R1Tom]

Just bought a 20v Dewalt battery powered heat gun. Might come in handy....but will use with care...

 

[Budman]

Mine was unresponsive to both the inside and outside buttons. I used bicycle tire wrenches to force it open several times. The wrenches are plastic and did not harm the paint. I keep them in the vehicle for just this reason. I silicon spray lubricated the actuator shaft and it is now working fine but Rivian is replacing the part this week under warranty.

 

[landshark]

Had the same problem a few weeks ago with it freezing shut. Tried many suggestions from the help desk and the one that finally worked was giving it a good hip check but likely the others I tried first loosened it up as well.
Now I carefully wipe the door dry whenever I have snow, ice, of water on it. It is a pain as I live in the mountains and park outside.

 

[joelster]

I got it open.

The exterior button was button working as I could hear the motor actuating. I tried gently nudging it but really didn't want to force it. I thought about pouring warm water over it but did not want to indroduce any more moisture into the situation. I tried heating the cab. No good. I tried holding a hot water bottle against the panel but that didn't work either.

I decided to drive down to my shop where I could set up a radiant heater to warm up the whole corner of the truck, like @W1SE did.. It's about a 15 minute drive and when I got there I immediately tried the port and it opened! It seems that the warmth from the drive motors and the cooling system under the frunk were enough to warm it up. Once I got it open, I used a heat gun to melt the frost, wiped every thing down and spayed a little WD-40 on the port door shaft (Y'all remember what the 'WD' stands for, right?). I was also able to use the heat gun to get the tailgate open. It was ice along the entire rear seal. The mechanisms seemed to be working fine.

The issue was definitely the shaft. You can see the ice on it here:

It's unfortunate that moisture could get into the mechanism that far.

Hugely annoyed at the really dumb Rube Goldberg port cover.

Totally agree. It is way more complicated than it needs to be.

 

[joelster]

Just bought a 20v Dewalt battery powered heat gun. Might come in handy....but will use with care...

Yeah... Gotta be real carful. I don't have a battery powered on but I did throw the one I have into the gear tunnel along with an extension cord. Just in case.

 

[Robin]

Huge fan of my truck.

Huge fan of where the charge port is (ARE YOU LISTENING TESLA?!)

Hugely annoyed at the really dumb Rube Goldberg port cover.

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