Tesla introduces charge port heater function that will make charging easier

Tesla has introduced a charge port heater function that will make owners happier during winter. 

Sometimes during extreme spells of cold weather, the charging cable can freeze and get stuck inside the vehicle. 

As well as being in massive pain, it can also hit you in the pocket if you happen to get yourself stuck at a Supercharger and you’re racking up idle fees. 

Not ideal.

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A frozen charger port on your Tesla is a huge pain

For Tesla owners, the switch from filling their cars with gas to being able to charge them with electricity seems to be a huge plus point. 

But one of the main disadvantages of opting for an EV over a gas-powered vehicle is the time it takes to charge – as one Cybertruck owner highlighted when he revealed how long it took to fully charge his truck at a Tesla Supercharger.

While waiting around for your EV to ‘fill up’ is no one’s idea of fun, things can become even more frustrating if the charger port happens to be frozen.

So much so, that in 2020, Tesla introduced a heated charge port on its vehicles. 

The update was a hit with customers, but the way it could be used needed a little improvement. 

The heated charge port could only be activated when using other features, such as the Rear Defrost function, but this function also activated the heated mirrors. 

Similarly, the heated charge port could be turned by using the Defrost Car, but this also heats up the cabin, which may not be what you want. 

This new feature will tackle the problem head-on

Now, Tesla has tackled the issue head-on by introducing a stand-alone heated charge port feature that was spotted by Not A Tesla App. 

In new release notes, the carmaker has described how to access and use the feature and, you’ll be pleased to know, that it’s very simple. 

“Heat your charge port in case your charge cable is frozen stuck. Go to Controls > Service > Charge Port Heater.”

And – ta-dah – no more frozen cables or ports. 

For now, this feature is only showing up in the release notes for a select few models. 

Not A Tesla App confirmed, it was available on 2024 Model X and some 2023 Model Ys using the Tesla software update 2024.44.3.1.

You can check if your Tesla has the feature by going to Controls > Service or looking under the “Minor Updates” section of your release notes.