Does the ice freeze your charge port cover?

During the recent Colorado Bomb Cyclone blizzard thing, I left my car in the driveway and stayed indoors to work from home. After two days, it was time to go to work, so I charged my car. My hood was covered in snow and it took a while to find the charge cover. Once I found it, the cover would not release due to ice. I finally freed it by running a credit card through the slot around the perimeter of the cover. after washing the car, I noticed that I scratched the charge port cover while removing the snow and abraded the paint around the edge of the cover when freeing it from the ice. I may consider buying a replacement cover or having the scratches buffed out when I take the car in next month for service. This is a 2019 blue SL.

Is there a better way to keep the charge port door freed during winter? Surely I am not the first person who has had to deal with this.

Thanks,
Marty

Some folks have used a silicone spray or food-grade silicone paste to lubricate the door seals and hinges but I don't think that would have done much during the recent storm. If you can't put the car in the garage, a fabric cover or just something placed over the charge door would probably keep the snow and ice off it. Or warm (not hot) water could be used to gently melt the accumulated snow and ice off after the storm has passed.

I've lived in CO for 35 years and that is the worst snow/ice storm I have ever seen here for covering up things with ice. There are no magic bullets when you get an inch of slush frozen to your car.

I don't have a '19 with the new larger cover but I have had both my charge hood and orange j1772 cover freeze shut. The j1772 cover was relatively easy to open but the charge hood was a bit trickier, I think I used a wood shim and pried it open while pushing the door open button.
Not sure about the '19's and their larger cover but I know you can purchase a nylon cover for the older Leafs with the smaller hood, I believe it's a guy in Canada that sells them, they might even be available on Amazon.
It doesn't take a "bomb cyclone" to freeze the door shut, just melting snow and ice will do it too. Seems to be kind of a poor design for the northern climates, I haven't tried the silicone spray trick but it might be the ticket.

I always use warm water to thaw ice on our cars. There is a general fear of breaking the glass that way, but as long as the water is only WARM (not hot) it doesn't happen even in frigid temps. Just remember to use barely tepid water when it's really cold. I suppose that at -20F or more there may be a risk, but how often do we get freezing rain AND temps that low?

LeftieBiker said:

I always use warm water to thaw ice on our cars. There is a general fear of breaking the glass that way, but as long as the water is only WARM (not hot) it doesn't happen even in frigid temps. Just remember to use barely tepid water when it's really cold. I suppose that at -20F or more there may be a risk, but how often do we get freezing rain AND temps that low?

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I like the warm water idea. At the same time, it has happened to me at least three times this season that I needed to charge on the way home from work on cold days, and the charge door has frozen shut at a fast charger from snow/rain/ice/whatever that has accumulated during the drive. In that scenario, there really isn't a graceful way to get a bucket of warm water.

True enough. Thermos of really hot water and a 3/4 full gallon jug of water?

martyscholes said:

LeftieBiker said:

I always use warm water to thaw ice on our cars. There is a general fear of breaking the glass that way, but as long as the water is only WARM (not hot) it doesn't happen even in frigid temps. Just remember to use barely tepid water when it's really cold. I suppose that at -20F or more there may be a risk, but how often do we get freezing rain AND temps that low?

Click to expand...

I like the warm water idea. At the same time, it has happened to me at least three times this season that I needed to charge on the way home from work on cold days, and the charge door has frozen shut at a fast charger from snow/rain/ice/whatever that has accumulated during the drive. In that scenario, there really isn't a graceful way to get a bucket of warm water.

Click to expand...

De-icing liquid. Also when I lived in the snow belt I had success thawing frozen car locks with my "one million candlepower" 12V spotlight. It put out a considerable amount of heat along with the light.

Had the same stuck door problem until I sprayed the seal and hinges with silicone spray. Hasn't stuck since. I am however stuck on band aids, 'cause band aids' stuck on me.

BuffaloBillsfan said:

Had the same stuck door problem until I sprayed the seal and hinges with silicone spray. Hasn't stuck since. I am however stuck on band aids, 'cause band aids' stuck on me.

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I ordered some silicone spray and will try that. Thanks for the tip.

Guess what... the charge port door froze on my brand new 20-mile '19 LEAF last night. It was raining & snowing yesterday when taking delivery, then temps dropped to @ 20F overnight while parked in the driveway. I can see exactly what is happening. Moisture is traveling down the backside (underside) of the charge port door while closed and collecting as an ice ridge along the upward door seal. So, time to find the silicone spray lube.