Joining the EV gang while waiting for Scout!

[SpaceEVDriver]

Had my first uniquely EV "WTF" this morning. I am currently doing Level 1 charging at home. Plugged it in overnight last night and this morning it was not fully charged (set limit to 80%), which is what I was expecting. I had started the climate to warm the car up, and tried to stop the charging (which unlocks the plug) from the app. It would say it was stopped, but then when I went to unplug, it was still locked in place and I'd get a notification on my app that charging had started again.

Tried all the various methods of stopping charging (key fob, internal screen option, etc...) and none worked. Tried setting my charge limit to 70%, which was below the current charge level, and it didn't work. There is a physical emergency charger release, but I was hesitant to do that because I don't know if there's any downside to just "unplugging" with stopping charging, being new to this whole thing. During these attempts, my phone app started glitching out as well.

Eventually, I tried turning off the climate start. After I did that, I was able to successfully stop charging and unlock the plug. I haven't been able to figure out specifically why this was the case and why none of the Stop Charging options worked when by all accounts they should have. Seems like a bit of a flaw/confusion with Hyundai's system. But just a little anecdote about the learning curve with a vehicle that is so tech reliant!

A friend with a Kia EV6 had a similar issue the first time they tried to unplug after doing the remote start. I don’t recall exactly what their solution was. I think there’s a setting in the car, but I honestly don’t know enough about the ecosystem to say for sure without researching it.

There’s a bit of a debate out there about which is better: lock or no lock.

I have my own opinions for my own use-cases.

 

[SaraLiz]

A friend with a Kia EV6 had a similar issue the first time they tried to unplug after doing the remote start. I don’t recall exactly what their solution was. I think there’s a setting in the car, but I honestly don’t know enough about the ecosystem to say for sure without researching it.

There’s a bit of a debate out there about which is better: lock or no lock.

I have my own opinions for my own use-cases.

Yeah, in my reading, it sounds like there is a setting option to just always have it unlocked. Not sure how I feel about this. I also read somewhere that just unplugging the charger while it's actively charging, without stopping the charge, is bad? Is that legit?

 

[BeerParty]

It would say it was stopped, but then when I went to unplug, it was still locked in place and I'd get a notification on my app that charging had started again.

I have had the plug refuse to unlock when charging at home, and what I found is that if the unlock button on the fob doesn't work, try using the unlock button on the driver's door. That has successfully unlocked the charging plug each time. But, I have not tried this while climate control was on.

 

[SaraLiz]

I have had the plug refuse to unlock when charging at home, and what I found is that if the unlock button on the fob doesn't work, try using the unlock button on the driver's door. That has successfully unlocked the charging plug each time. But, I have not tried this while climate control was on.

Thanks for the tip! I do think I tried this in my cycling through all the options this morning. It's almost like it did unlock momentarily, but then locked and started charging again immediately since I'd get another notification on my app that charging had started.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Yeah, in my reading, it sounds like there is a setting option to just always have it unlocked. Not sure how I feel about this. I also read somewhere that just unplugging the charger while it's actively charging, without stopping the charge, is bad? Is that legit?

If the charger follows the standard, it’s not possible to disconnect without stopping the charge first. Usually there’s a button on the charger plug that activates that disconnect. Or the pilot/communications pin is shorter and if there’s no signal from the communications pin, the car shuts down the charge. Or there’s a button on the car next to the charge port that stops down the charge.

If you have a cheap non-UL listed charger, standards might not have been followed.
There are always ways to be stupid, but just unplugging will usually stop the charge.

The Fords don’t (or didn’t, I can’t remember if they received an “upgrade”) have a lock for L1/L2 charging. So pressing the physical “unlock” button on the charger plug will stop the charger.

 

[SaraLiz]

If the charger follows the standard, it’s not possible to disconnect without stopping the charge first. Usually there’s a button on the charger plug that activates that disconnect. Or the pilot/communications pin is shorter and if there’s no signal from the communications pin, the car shuts down the charge. Or there’s a button on the car next to the charge port that stops down the charge.

If you have a cheap non-UL listed charger, standards might not have been followed.
There are always ways to be stupid, but just unplugging will usually stop the charge.

The Fords don’t (or didn’t, I can’t remember if they received an “upgrade”) have a lock for L1/L2 charging. So pressing the physical “unlock” button on the charger plug will stop the charger.

Thanks for the additional insight. I'm using the Level 1 portable that came with the car. It does have an unlock button on the charger handle, one more thing I tried this morning that didn't work

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Thanks for the additional insight. I'm using the Level 1 portable that came with the car. It does have an unlock button on the charger handle, one more thing I tried this morning that didn't work

Yeah. The car itself has a lock that reengages for reasons only the programmers understand.

I prefer not to have the car lock the charging plug. I have zero fear of theft and prefer to be able to disengage when I want to disengage.

 

[N Wilson]

Yeah. The car itself has a lock that reengages for reasons only the programmers understand.

I prefer not to have the car lock the charging plug. I have zero fear of theft and prefer to be able to disengage when I want to disengage.

I agree.

Last year, I had a company car for a few months, a Prius plug-in hybrid. The first time I plugged it in to charge I discovered the plug was locked when I tried to unplug it. That was my first experience with a plug in car of any type, so I wasn't aware that some of them lock the charger plug, and I didn't know that you had to hit the door unlock button to unlock the plug. I thought maybe my hands were just not getting a good grip and slipping off, so I grabbed a big pair of channel locks and grabbed onto the plug with those and was pulling so hard the car was rocking back and forth. I wasn't amused at the time, but thinking back now, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to see myself. It was likely a very funny sight.

I finally gave up and went inside the house and found a Youtube video about how to unlock the charger. On that car, there was a setting buried several layers into the menu where you could set it to not lock when you plugged it in, but the default was to lock it, so if the 12V battery went dead (mine would be dead if I didn't drive the car for 3 days) it would go back to locking the plug after I jump started the car, and I would have to dig through the menu and change the setting each time.