As we head into another winter I got reminded of a flaw in my 2022 that isn’t fixed in the 2024 - any moisture around the squishy charge port button which then freezes stops the button from working - you can feel it won’t even press in. I guess water can get right into it.

This is a bit of a bummer when the road salt here means I usually get weekly car washes (touches of course). I suspect this is why the car has the setting to (not) lock the cable into the port after charging finishes. If it is locked in, you can’t press the button to eject so your car is stranded. Ah memories of last winter! These are the signs that a vehicle was never tested in proper winter.

Long shot but has anyone had this issue and found a permanent fix? It’s like the button needs to be properly and fully sealed. I’m sure defrosting it will help but I don’t feel like cracking out a heat gun in the dark at 6am every day for five months just to drive my $100k Audi!

 

In Europe, Audi sells a cover that works well for keeping water/snow from entering the plug. I'm not sure if they have something similar for J1772. I've used this successfully through a couple of winters. The most demanding conditions is rain/wet snow in the afternoon, that freezes overnight - but this cover handles that well.

 

Interesting but not the issue for me. We get a lot of snow and sometimes freezing rain. The whole port can get snowed or iced up to the extent that it won’t close properly. And my main gripe per the thread is the open/closed button which allows water in that then freezes and stops the button working - major flaw.

 

This is the culprit - this button and the mechanism behind it is not in any way waterproof, nor does it drain, so when water gets in and freezes, the button, which has lots of travel, does not move enough to click actuator somewhere in there because there's a bunch of ice behind it, meaning the connector is locked into the car.

I know it's a slightly niche issue but has anyone solved this design fault? I'm amazed it was never dealt with by Audi across the revisions. I'm not going the dealer route again - their solution to this issue on my 2022 was "leave it in the warm dealership for a couple of days" so the ice melts - not practical if you need to, I dunno, drive your car anytime in winter. I'm considering finding an appropriately-sized black rubber band and slipping it around the button, assuming the water gets in from the front.

Stupid, annoying design oopsie on an otherwise very nice vehicle.

 

I have to admit this causes me worry as I park outside through Chicago winters. While milder than they used to be, they still have snow and ice.

I’m going to look around for a battery-operated device that will throw some heat. Maybe a lock deicer will work?

 

It sucks. The washes are definitely a big part of the problem but hard to avoid if you have road salt. The whole mechanism is just not waterproof at all.

As for the deicer, not sure it will help - the ice doesn’t just get around or behind the button in an accessible place, it feels like it gets INTO the button - where it was once squishy rubber it feels hard - no movement. Tough to explain but had it multiple times now.

Rubber bands received from Amazon today - going to stick a bunch of those around it tomorrow to try to create a bit of a rubber seal - not optimistic but it’s hopefully better than nothing.

 

Hmmm, I wonder if a 3D printed square made of TPU with a grab tab might work to keep water out. Something that clips between the top of the button and the button to keep water out.

 

Would TPU be flexible? I think the problem is that water gets EVERYWHERE given time, so anything rigid that isn't sealed, it will eventually get past. That's why the button should be 100% sealed and waterproof, seems like it's not at all. It's my biggest gripe with this car in winter, every year the same - I either leave it covered in road salt and don't wash it for months, or I risk the frozen charge door button. I can try to wash it when temperatures are predicted on the warmer end but it's tough to time and usually they drop at night so I'd have to be early, but should I really have to rearrange my life around a stupid button?

I have the rubber bands but didn't install yet - will report back :-).

 

Managed to find a (potato quality) picture of the back of the button. My bet is water gets in one or more parts of this thing. There is some kind of rubber gasket - seems the most likely culprit seeing as the "click" goes AWOL when it ices up, so I don't think it's an electrical issue. So strange they put rubber there but didn't make it actually sealed?

 

Yes, TPU is flexible. It's the same material that a lot of the "skin" type of cell phone covers are made of, the ones you flex to fit over your phone.

It won't be in the very near future, but I might try to mock up something to see if I can get a decent generic fit. Work has been a nightmare for over a month now, so it might be awhile before I get around to looking at being able to make up something. But I'll report back eventually when I can. It's basic square shape, so I don't thin it would be too difficult to do.

I live in a wintry area and have been through one winter with my e-tron so far, parked outside and on the charge plug in the snow. I'm lucky enough though that I have the ability to choose to work at home if I feel the commute is dangerous, so I don't know if I've had this problem since I didn't leave my house for a few days after the snow from last winter. I'd like to make something up though to keep the snow/water/ice out of the charge port area.

I bought a magnetic plastic bib for ten bucks off of Amazon, then realized our fenders are aluminum and that wasn't going to work. I kinda wonder though, could I glue magnets to the back of the fender to hold the magnetic cover? It's very simple, it sticks to the fender then wraps around the cord, so it would keep the area totally covered if I could use it.