Locked charging plug

John Adams · September 7

Just seen this video about a locked charging plug and the guy saying you can't stop a charge until it reaches the charge set by the car. Apparently the guy spoke to Lexus CS who couldn't help and the owner is apparently on this forum. Who could that be? Have to say I haven't had a problem stopping a charge on a Tesla charger using the app..

RONNIE W HODGEKINSON · September 7

39 minutes ago, John Adams said:

Just seen this video about a locked charging plug and the guy saying you can't stop a charge until it reaches the charge set by the car. Apparently the guy spoke to Lexus CS who couldn't help and the owner is apparently on this forum. Who could that be? Have to say I haven't had a problem stopping a charge on a Tesla charger using the app..

Really Interesting John ..Now here,s a Thing... What would happen if The Car Started Emmitting Smoke with the Potential of Fire.. In That situation What could you possibly Do If The car Is in Complete Control..Very Dangerous Situation.....Lexus Needs to Address This And quickly.....IMHO

John Adams · September 7

9 minutes ago, RONNIE W HODGEKINSON said:

Really Interesting John ..Now here,s a Thing... What would happen if The Car Started Emmitting Smoke with the Potential of Fire.. In That situation What could you possibly Do If The car Is in Complete Control..Very Dangerous Situation.....Lexus Needs to Address This And quickly.....IMHO

It would be interesting to know if this car has had the software update. I had multiple problem with charging when I first had the car but mine was related to getting the plug to lock so I could start the charge , not stop it which was never a problem. Since the software update I haven't -touch wood- had a problem. I have used a Tesla charger a couple of times and stopped without problem. I do agree however that the software is generally poor as stated in the video

ColinBarber · September 7

Well there's an 8 minutes video that didn't need to be more than 2. Not sure why he said the Lexus uses an LFP Battery - it doesn't.

1 hour ago, RONNIE W HODGEKINSON said:

Really Interesting John ..Now here,s a Thing... What would happen if The Car Started Emmitting Smoke with the Potential of Fire.. In That situation What could you possibly Do If The car Is in Complete Control..Very Dangerous Situation.....Lexus Needs to Address This And quickly.....IMHO

Not sure what Lexus could do in that situation - you don't want to be entering the vehicle if it is smoking so you wouldn't be able to stop charging even if Lexus add proper controls in the vehicle. Obviously the app should be able to stop charging remotely, but that relies on a mobile data signal which might not be available. The charger itself would soon notice an issue and trip out though if something serious happened.

JoMit · November 7

Hey, so tried to charge for the first time this morning and it's my first EV. charged at Shell Recharge (homecharger being fitted next week), pressed stop on the shell 'pump' and it was locked in place for about 40 mins! phoned them no help, found this thread whilst googling the problems.

It can't be logical to have to set charge within car everytime? Is there a fix for this?

Love the car other than this.

thanks

Ken R · November 7

Surely unlocking the car and pulling the charger cable from the charging socket on the car is the answer???

JoMit · November 7

1 hour ago, Ken R said:

Surely unlocking the car and pulling the charger cable from the charging socket on the car is the answer???

i tried and tried, the man from petrol station tried, 2 other EV owners tried - it was just locked in place. god i hope there is an answer, i've now got the fear to charge.

i also tried locking and unlocking the car, turning it off and on multiple times. finally spoke to someone at lexus who have sent intructions on how to manually release the plug from under the bonnet but ideally i just don't want it to happen again!

Lexusjim · November 8

Sounds as if there is a fault.. it's a new car...take it back to the dealer and demand they sort it out

PaulWhitt20 · November 8

Did you try pushing the cable firmly back in? I am imagining a scenario where you pull the cable to get it out but it is still locked. This pulls the cable tight against the locking pin so it will not unlock. Then in your frustration you pull and pull at it and it won’t free up. A bit like you can’t unlock a mortice type lock if you pull hard on the door. I think this happens to me once.

Mygbox2001 · November 12

After charging my car for the first time, I found that I couldn't unplug the charger connector until I unlocked the car. Now that I've learned this, I'll adjust to it. However, I have a question: if I am charging at a public station and my session is complete, can the next person unplug the connector? Sometimes I might be a little far away, and it would be convenient if the next person could start their session without me being present.

wivenhoe · November 12

I’m not sure how anyone could use a cable from your occupied bay - if they were in a bay close enough they would have their own cable. A lot of the Ultra & high speed chargers will bill you for occupying a bay after charging has finished - it can cost an awful lot. I think for instance Tesla charge 50p / minute but if all chargers are in use then it’s £ 1 / minute

Mygbox2001 · November 12

I am discussing level 2 charging stations, particularly those at my workplace. Each station has two connectors that are long enough to reach the car parked next to mine. However, let's focus on the main point: the locking mechanism on these connectors is unnecessary and may not be safe. I have owned several EVs since 2014, and this is the first one that has this feature.

Tickedon · November 12

2 hours ago, Mygbox2001 said:

I am discussing level 2 charging stations, particularly those at my workplace. Each station has two connectors that are long enough to reach the car parked next to mine. However, let's focus on the main point: the locking mechanism on these connectors is unnecessary and may not be safe. I have owned several EVs since 2014, and this is the first one that has this feature.

Unsafe? It’s designed to stop someone stealing your untethered type 2 cable by keeping the cable locked into your car. It is actually a very sensible anti-theft measure. The vast majority of 7kw-22kw public chargers do not have a tethered cable.

Mygbox2001 · November 13

I am referring to public and workplace charging stations that have tethered cables. Personally, I've never taken my charging cable outside of my home. When I mentioned safety concerns, I was specifically talking about the challenge of unplugging the cable if the car is locked. My comment was not about theft. I believe Lexus should provide an option for drivers to enable or disable this feature based on their preferences.

wivenhoe · November 13

10 hours ago, Mygbox2001 said:

I am discussing level 2 charging stations, particularly those at my workplace. Each station has two connectors that are long enough to reach the car parked next to mine. However, let's focus on the main point: the locking mechanism on these connectors is unnecessary and may not be safe. I have owned several EVs since 2014, and this is the first one that has this feature.

You said public charging which is not unpaid for workplace chargers. In my experience when a public charger has 2 cables, generally but maybe not all, have type 2 and CHAdeMO charging cables

In terms of locking, I have had 4 plug-ins all using Type 2 connectors. (2 Merc, 1 BMW & a Range Rover) and all locked the cable which had to be unlocked by opening the car locks.

Which EV’s have you had that allowed you to disconnect the cable when the car is locked and how do the chargers shut off mid charge - all the chargers I have used over the last 10 years shut off mid charge when I unlocked the car. If you could remove the cable mid charge whilst the car is locked what would stop someone disconnecting a public (not workplace private charger) whilst the car is unattended. In your scenario, you could park the car, put on charge for a long journey and find out someone has disconnected your car with no charge.
If it bothers you so much, why not just use the App to unlock the car remotely - that will interrupt the charge.

GMB · November 13

Complicated innit? I just got to tesco and fill up with momentum.⛽

John Adams · November 13

Fill up with momentum? Is that the new nett zero petrol?

Mygbox2001 · November 13

It's not bothering me too much. As I mentioned, I will get used to it. I have used and seen level 2 stations that can accommodate multiple cars, such as those installed in parking lots where cars are parked facing each other. I think it would be beneficial to allow other drivers to unplug vehicles and start charging once a charging session is completed. However, having the cable locked all the time is, in my opinion, not a good design. This point about allowing unplugging after a session ends was my initial question. Regardless, I believe we have discussed this topic enough. Thank you all for your feedback!