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Tesla Charger Stuck in Port? [Fixed!] | How to Unplug Tesla Charger? [4 ways!]

Steve

September 17, 2024

5 comments

As a Tesla car owner, it is almost a regular practice to charge our Tesla car. 

As we get used to it, plugging in and removing Tesla charger cable from the car becomes a simple process.

But, don’t worry, if you are facing difficulty in removing Tesla charger then I am going to cover it here for you.

Whether you use standard Tesla chargers (Superchargers or Destination chargers) or third-party chargers with charging plug for your Tesla (Like, J1772, CCS, CHAdeMO etc) I am also going to cover that. 

There are also some cases where you can face Tesla charger stuck in port with some unknown difficulty unplugging Tesla charger despite following the proper process.

Then hold on I am also going to tell you all the small things causing the issue and how to solve it.

By the end of this article, you will know how to remove the charger from Tesla charge port.

Plus, you will know different methods to unplug Tesla charger, if the usual way to remove the charger from Tesla is not working at your end.

So, let’s first see the normal process to take Tesla charger out.

How To Take out Tesla charger 

Here, we will see the process to remove Tesla charger in two cases,

1^st) If you are charging with a standard Tesla Charger

2^nd) If you are charging with a third-party or non-Tesla charger and adapter plug 

So let’s start with the first one.

How To Release Tesla Charger – Charging With Standard Tesla Charger

The only condition to remove Tesla charger is to unlock Tesla charge port. Once you unlock the charge port, you can easily remove the Tesla charger.

There are many ways you can unlock Tesla charge port. I have covered all the methods here.

So let me show you all those methods to unlock Tesla charge port.

How to Unlock Tesla Charge Port

By Pressing the Button on the Tesla charger handle

This is a very simple process to unlock Tesla charging port. It is by pressing the button on the Tesla charging cable handle. As shown in below image.

It will stop the charging and unlock the actuator within Tesla charge port. So it will unlock the charge port.

(The actuator is a locking pin mechanism to lock the charger plug in the charging port to avoid immature connection and mistaken removal of the charging cable from the car)

Once the charge port is unlocked you can remove Tesla charging cable from the charge port pulling it outward.

(Tip: The charge port door will automatically close within nearly 10 secs, once you remove Tesla charger handle out of port.)

From In-Car Display

Another is, that you can stop charging Tesla and also unlock charge port to remove Tesla charger from the touchscreen inside the car.

If the charging is going on, you will see two options on the screen, one is ‘Stop Charging’ and another is ‘Unlock Charge port’. As shown in image below.

You can hit the button ‘Stop Charging’ on the touchscreen to stop the charging process as it indicates. But it won’t unlock charge port in Tesla.

In case you need to pause the charging session, then you can use that.

(Tip: If you are outside of the car after stopping the charging session, you can also remove Tesla charger by pressing the button on Tesla charger handle, as I explained earlier here)

If you directly want to remove Tesla charger handle, then you can hit the button ‘Unlock Charge port’ on the touchscreen. 

It will Stop the charging session altogether and also unlock the Tesla charging handle, so you can unplug Tesla charger.

From the Tesla app

In a similar way as you can see charging controls on the screen inside your car, you will also see charging controls within the Tesla app.

(Note: you must be using Tesla app to use this feature)

During a charging session you will see charging control options within the Tesla app – with the same two buttons ‘Stop Charging’ and ‘Unlock Charge port’. As shown in image below.

Both buttons will function the same way as I explained above, in the case of controlling from in-car display.

So once the charge port is unlocked you can remove Tesla charger.

Using Voice Controls

You can also unlock charge port by giving a voice command. 

To do that, you need to activate voice commands. 

You can do that by long pressing the right scroll wheel button on the Tesla steering wheel OR by tapping the microphone icon on the touchscreen. As shown in the images below respectively.

Once voice command is activated, you will be prompted to give a command, there you can just speak “unlock the charge port”.

This will unlock the charge port and then you can remove Tesla charger from the car charge port.

So these were the methods you can use if you are charging your Tesla with a Tesla-branded charger.

Now let’s look at ways to remove charging cable from Tesla if you are charging Tesla with non-Tesla chargers.

How To Release Tesla Charger – Charging With non-Tesla Charger

Now we will see how to remove charger from Tesla if you are charging with a third-party charger and an adapter like J1772, CCS, CHAdeMo, etc.

Charging with a non-Tesla charger will require you to use an additional adapter with a charging plug to charge your Tesla.

Whether you charge with a non-Tesla or third-party home charger or a public charger you can follow the below process.

To remove the charging cable of the non-Tesla chargers from Tesla you need to take care of a couple of things because here you also have an adapter attached with a charging handle.

I am explaining the details below.

By Pressing the Button on Charger Handle

Here, the process to remove charger from Tesla is very similar to using a standard Tesla charger.

But here you also need to remove Tesla charger adapter (J1772, CCS…) and the charging handle.

Follow the below steps to unplug the charger and adapter from Tesla, (Also refer to the image below)

1. Hold the Charging handle with one hand
2. Hold the Tesla charger adapter with the other hand (J1772, CCS or CHAdeMO adapter respectively in your case)
3. Then press and hold the button on the charging handle
4. Then pull the handle outwards with Both of your hands (Pulling the adapter with the charging handle)
5. This will remove charger handle and adapter both from the Tesla

Once the charger cable is removed, now you press and hold the button on the charging handle again to separate the adapter from the main charger plug.

But, what if the adapter couldn’t get out with the charging handle?

How to Remove Tesla Charger Adapter – If it got locked inside the charge port

In case, pulling the charging handle out gets separated from the adapter, letting the adapter remain in the charging port, then the adapter will get locked within the charging port.

Now you have to follow the usual process to unlock Tesla charge port, either using in-display touchscreen control or from the Tesla app or through voice control, as explained earlier here.

Once the charge port is unlocked, you can take the adapter out of the port.

Now by following the above process, you should have removed Tesla charger out of the car.

Still, if you are not able to unplug Tesla charger through the usual ways, and you see charger is stuck inside the charge port then now I am going to show you a few steps to solve this issue.

Tesla Charger Won’t Release – Tesla Charger Stuck in Port

Now if you see Tesla charger stuck in charge port, and won’t get out then follow the below steps to release Tesla charger from the port.

Try and confirm the below things one by one.

Ensure you are pressing the button on the charging handle FULLY

Look again and verify that you are pressing the button on the charging handle FULLY to remove Tesla charger.

The charging port actuator won’t unlock if you don’t press the button properly.

You can try again to press the button properly and see whether you can unplug Tesla charger.

Caution

If you see the charging handle button is half pressed and you can’t press it properly then don’t do anything to the button.

Strictly don’t use any sharp objects over the button or forcibly fix the button.

In both of the above cases, if you can’t unplug Tesla charger then follow the below process.

(Note: Use the methods explained below only when the usual method to release Tesla charger does not work. Continued use of these ways may cause damage to the charging equipment.)

Pull the Latch Strap in Rear Trunk

If Tesla charging handle is not getting out then you can manually unlock the latch, it will unlock the charging handle inside charge port.

To pull the latch strap, follow the below steps,

• Stop the charging session if charging is active
• Open rear trunk
• Then pull the charge port’s release cable or strap downwards to unlatch the charging cable.
• This will unlock the charge port and you can easily remove Tesla charger.

(Important Note: Don’t pull the latch simultaneously attempting to remove Tesla charger from the charge port. Once latch strap is pulled then pull the charger handle out of the port)

Now you can easily remove Tesla charger.

(You can open the rear trunk of your Tesla either from the touchscreen inside the car or from the Key fob or from the Tesla app.)

You can also watch the video below showing the process of pulling the latch strap in the rear trunk.

By this, you should be able to remove Tesla charger.

But if this method doesn’t work then try pulling the manual release lever.

Pull the Manual Release Lever

By also pulling the manual release lever, you can unlock the charging handle inside charge port and remove the charger.

To pull the manual release lever, follow the below steps,

• Stop charging session
• Open the rear Trunk as explained above
• Open the flap located on the left side of the trunk side trim
• Now just press and hold the charge port’s manual release lever toward the front of the vehicle as shown in image below.

This will unlock Tesla charge port and you can easily remove Tesla charger.

Then you can close the flap on the left side of the trunk side trim.

These were the two ways work for almost 100% of the cases. And you should be able to remove Tesla charger from the port.

But in case still you see that neither of the ways worked for you then there could be some unknown glitch in the Tesla charging system causing the issue.

At this stage, you can try to soft reboot your Tesla to remove any glitches.

This will remove any glitches in the Tesla system and not just within the charging system.

Soft Reboot your Tesla

Soft rebooting your Tesla can solve or remove any glitch in the charging system causing Tesla charging to stuck in the port and can unlock Tesla charge port.

Once the Tesla charge port is unlocked, you can remove Charging cable from the Tesla charge port.

Here are the steps to soft reboot Tesla.

How to soft reboot Tesla

• Park your car
• Go into your Tesla
• Press and hold both scroll wheels

• Keep the button pressed until the screen goes out
• Then release the button
• Wait for the Tesla logo to come on screen

It can take 30 sec to around 1 min to complete the soft reboot.

Once the reboot is complete, check whether you can unplug Tesla charger from charge port.

You can follow the usual process to unlock Tesla charge port and remove Tesla charger now as explained earlier here.

Now if any of the ways I explained didn’t work for you then there are more chances that something is at fault inside the charge port or charging cable handle.

Although now there are very rare chances that just by yourself you can unplug Tesla charger, but still some other workarounds are there for you to try and see. I am explaining now those.

Check if that works.

Tesla Charger Stuck in Port – Other Workarounds & Troubleshooting Steps

Now if you see Tesla charger stuck in charge port, the workarounds I am explaining here may work or may not work depending on what the actual issue is.

Remember, these are just try-and-test methods if that works and not the definite ways.

Try it and see.

You can follow the below steps irrespective of whether you are using a standard Tesla charger or a non-Tesla charger.

Restart Charging session

Yes, just stop charging Tesla by stopping the charging session as explained earlier, and restart it.

This may work sometimes and fix some inherent glitches in the charging system and unlock the charge port.

Now check whether you can unplug the charging handle from the charging port through the usual ways as explained above.

If that doesn’t work then, check with another workaround as explained below.

Remote Start Tesla

If the Tesla charge port won’t unlock after restarting the charging session, then you can try to start the Tesla remotely.

Follow the steps below,

• You stay out of the car
• Lock the Tesla from your Tesla app or Key fob
• Start the car from your phone or Key fob
• This can also result in the unlocking of the charging port.

Now check whether you can unplug Tesla charging cable.

If you now can remove charger from the port then it’s good luck for you. But if you are not able to then definitely something serious is there inside the charge port or charging handle.

Now there is only one option left for you if you are unable to remove Tesla charger for the car at this stage.

Contact Tesla Service Centre

After trying all the ways if you are not able to remove Tesla charger or you face the issue frequently then I recommend you to contact your nearest Tesla service centre.

You could be using a faulty charging cable or charge port caught some fault, so let the certified professionals handle it.

You can contact Tesla customer support from this link: https://www.Tesla.com/contact

I hope now you have a thorough idea about how to remove Tesla charger from the car if it gets stuck.

Now, if you have solved the issue or haven’t faced it yet then you should take some precautions to avoid this issue in the future.

Here I am giving some precautions for you to take care of.

Precautions to avoid facing Tesla charger getting stuck in port

Avoid using Faulty Charging Cable and Charging Unit

You should avoid using faulty charging cables and charging units.

If you see any unknown issue in the charging cable or charging process, then it is better to let it be checked by professionals.

A faulty Tesla charging cable or unit can also result in stuckage of charging handle in the Tesla charge port.

Keep Tesla charging system free of Dirt or Debris

If you notice dirt on the charging cable, charging handle, charging cable, or around the Tesla charging port, make sure to clean it.

Because dirt or debris can cause the Tesla charger stuck in the port.

Important Note: By any chance and in any situation, don’t make any forceful attempt to remove Tesla charger from the charge port. This can significantly damage the Tesla charging unit.

Any forceful attempt to remove charger from the port can cost you more than just having a repair checkup by certified professionals.

It is better to make an appointment for the Tesla service center then.

Conclusion

So here I have explained all the scenarios related to how to remove Tesla charger and what to do if the charger is stuck.

So, if you have found it helpful then share this with your co Tesla owners.

See you in the next article!