Charge port door won’t shut

[James_van]

All, I just got an id3 through work.

The charge port door won’t close. I’ve read about problems getting them open, but I can’t find anything on troubles closing the door.

Thanks for any help.

[davidwalton]

When you open the charge flap, a plastic, cylindrical spring-loaded 'pin' spins out of the car. It has a small edge on the end, which rotates into/out of a matching receptacle on the inside of the flap itself when you close/open the flap. If that is broken, or the receptacle is broken (or not aligning), the flap won't stay closed.

Does the pin have the edge which rotates into the flap when closing? It's difficult to see it working, as the flap is almost closed when this mechanism starts to work.
The spinning pin is located just below the charge port light.

[James_van]

When you open the charge flap, a plastic, cylindrical spring-loaded 'pin' spins out of the car. It has a small edge on the end, which rotates into/out of a matching receptacle on the inside of the flap itself when you close/open the flap. If that is broken, or the receptacle is broken (or not aligning), the flap won't stay closed.

Does the pin have the edge which rotates into the flap when closing? It's difficult to see it working, as the flap is almost closed when this mechanism starts to work.
The spinning pin is located just below the charge port light.

Yes it has the pin with the rotating portion and it appears to not be aligning with the receptacle piece on the flap.

I tried turning the pin and pushing it in to see if it would align but no luck

[davidwalton]

That may be a dealer fix. If the cylindrical pin spins when you push it into the car and it has an edge (or lip) on one third/quarter of the diameter of the cylinder, at the outer-most top of the cylinder, and the receptacle on the flap visually looks OK - then it could be the flap that has an alignment problem. When you close it and hold it in place where it should be when closed properly, does it have equal gaps around the edges?

Also, if you push the pin by itself fully into the car (allowing it to rotate as it goes in and leaving the flap fully open), can you get it to click and remain in place in the car? If you can, can you then push it in again and does it then release and come out? If it does, the pin is OK and the problem will be with the flap receptacle. If the pin won't stay in, it'll be a mechanical issue with the pin locking mechanism in the car-side of things.

[Scratch]

Not wishing to hi-jack the thread but it did cross my mind that VW ( and perhaps other manufacturers) should redesign this charging flap. I wonder how many have been snapped off yet, either by people inadvertently colliding when walking past the car, or by vandals?

[James_van]

UPDATE:

Thanks for the help David.

Hopefully this information will help someone else in the future. It appears that the locking pin was somehow stuck between the open and the locked position, which was causing the alignment issue and causing the cover not to shut. I was able to "reset" the pin by holding it down as far as possible and hitting the lock and unlock buttons on the keyfob. The pin magically engaged and starting working as it should.

[davidwalton]

Good to hear it's working!

Thanks for the feedback, that could be very useful to other users who experience the issue.

Enjoy the car

[TheJimster]

I have also had an issue with a charging port door which wouldn't shut. Tried various approaches as outlined here, but nothing would work. The little rotating pin was moving around ok, but it just wouldn't latch. The dealers have inspected today and are going to fit a replacement solenoid.

Out of interest I had a look at the petrol flap on our A3. The latching mechanism with the rotating pin is exactly the same as on the ID3. Two things struck me about this. First, it's a pretty tried and tested mechanism, which is good. But on the other hand, the use cycles on my charging port (i.e open and closed at least five times a week) are dramatically higher than was the case with my petrol flap when I did similar mileage in the A3 (filled up fortnightly) which did get me wondering if the mechanism is a bit under-engineered.

The really stupid bit though is the way that the charge port door on the ID3 just springs open if the latch fails. The petrol flap on the A3 springs shut as well as open, so even a failed latch wouldn't leave the flap sticking out. So much better. I took to gaffer taping the door shut on the ID3, partly out of concern for rain pouring straight into the electrical connections, and partly due to worrying that it would get broken off by a passing pedestrian while parked (when I'm parked at work there's a lot of foot traffic right next to the car). As well as it just looking ridiculous.

[DumfriesDik]

Out of interest, I spray mine with some graphite lock lubricant. It helps me, if not the 'pin'!!

[Midgex]

...First, it's a pretty tried and tested mechanism, which is good. But on the other hand, the use cycles on my charging port (i.e open and closed at least five times a week) are dramatically higher than was the case with my petrol flap when I did similar mileage in the A3 (filled up fortnightly) which did get me wondering if the mechanism is a bit under-engineered.

The really stupid bit though is the way that the charge port door on the ID3 just springs open if the latch fails.....

I suspect there are people who fill up, and other people who put a bit of fuel in, their Audi something more like daily, so the use cycles are not of different orders of magnitude. (And plenty of EV users who don't need to charge every weekday)

[quier]

Hi, I had the same problem. First flap didn't close, after a while it worked again. Worse problem was when I was on the road with 10% ledt and it didn't open. After "breaking in to my own car" it was possible to charge but charge door cover was damaged in proces.
That's why I strongly suggest to change actuator as soon you get first symptom of not working propperly. Part no. 8v0862159. Very easy job to do by yourself aprox. 20min and some easy to find tools needed.

[TheJimster]

Hi, I had the same problem. First flap didn't close, after a while it worked again. Worse problem was when I was on the road with 10% ledt and it didn't open. After "breaking in to my own car" it was possible to charge but charge door cover was damaged in proces.
That's why I strongly suggest to change actuator as soon you get first symptom of not working propperly. Part no. 8v0862159. Very easy job to do by yourself aprox. 20min and some easy to find tools needed.

The dealers got mine sorted, the solenoid has been replaced and everything is working normally again. But it's good to hear that a DIY out-of-warranty replacement can be carried out without too much trouble. What was the cost for the part?

I eventually worked out with mine that if the charge port door got stuck shut, I could carefully lever it open with my fingernails. I had to do this one day when my gaffer tape came off, and a helpful motorist behind me jumped out whilst queueing at a junction and closed the flap!