[John Middleton]

What’s interesting is that it would not open even if I manually hit the unlock buttons from the door inside or if I unlocked from the FOB one time.
It has to be double open from the FOB.

First time happening to me. I hope this help someone in the future

Thanks, it just helped me. Didn't realize the doors had to be unlocked to open it!

 

[Lennyz11]

On the Prius Prime, the charge door and charge cable locks work off of the smart key system. I do not have to hit any buttons on remote. Just walk up to the charge door (with the remote in your pocket) push the charge door and it opens. This happens even when car doors are all locked and does not trigger car doors to open. Same procedure with the charge cable lock. This makes no sense why Toyota would make any changes from the way the Prius is set up when they built the R4P.

 

[Chazz8]

I changed the default “charge door lock” setting when I realized the default is to lock the charging handle until you unlock the doors every time.

At the risk of someone not knowing the charger handle is locked to the vehicle and pulling (too) hard to get it disconnected, I changed my Connector Lock setting (under Vehicle Settings -> Charging Settings -> Connector Lock) to OFF.

View attachment 159285
Setting Operation description
“Auto Lock” (Default setting). The charging connector is automatically locked when the charging connector is connected.

“Auto Lock & Unlock”. The charging connector is automatically locked when the charging connector is connected and automatically unlocked when charging is completed.

“OFF” Not using the charging connector locking system

 

[Lennyz11]

I changed the default “charge door lock” setting when I realized the default is to lock the charging handle until you unlock the doors every time.

If you charge your vehicle at public charging stations, you may find that you have been unplugged at some point. I caught someone trying to unplug me at a grocery store once.

If only charging at home, then there is no need for the cable to be locked.

 

[Hammhigg]

I’m not able to open the charging port lid. It seems to be stuck.

Any ideas?

Edit: I got it fixed. I guess the Port Lid is a smart lid and for whatever reason it got locked. First time happening to me.

The solution was to use the smart key/fob and hit the unlock button twice. I swear I almost pried open that thing lol.

This headpiece to me at the grocery. It was quite cold. Luckily, its something similar to getting the plug out. I had that minor freak out when I couldn't get the plug out.

 

[db821766]

I changed the default “charge door lock” setting when I realized the default is to lock the charging handle until you unlock the doors every time.

I also unlocked in the settings.

 

[db821766]

It’s the same setting for the locking pin. It keeps people from stealing your connection at a pay facility

 

[generaltso]

At the risk of someone not knowing the charger handle is locked to the vehicle and pulling (too) hard to get it disconnected, I changed my Connector Lock setting (under Vehicle Settings -> Charging Settings -> Connector Lock) to OFF.

View attachment 159285
Setting Operation description
“Auto Lock” (Default setting). The charging connector is automatically locked when the charging connector is connected.

“Auto Lock & Unlock”. The charging connector is automatically locked when the charging connector is connected and automatically unlocked when charging is completed.

“OFF” Not using the charging connector locking system

Does this setting also prevent the charge port door from locking? If not, is there another setting that can disable the locking of the charge port door?

 

[AUKraut]

I gotta take my Prime to the dealer next week to get them to fix my charging port door. Somehow it sticks out about 3/8" at the back in it's closed position and will no longer lock....

 

[Mrpaul1112]

At the risk of someone not knowing the charger handle is locked to the vehicle and pulling (too) hard to get it disconnected, I changed my Connector Lock setting (under Vehicle Settings -> Charging Settings -> Connector Lock) to OFF.

View attachment 159285
Setting Operation description
“Auto Lock” (Default setting). The charging connector is automatically locked when the charging connector is connected.

“Auto Lock & Unlock”. The charging connector is automatically locked when the charging connector is connected and automatically unlocked when charging is completed.

“OFF” Not using the charging connector locking system

So this unlocks the charger itself but not the little door to the charger. It took me a while to realize that. Seems like there is no way to always keep the little door unlocked while having the rest of your car locked. Or am I missing something?

 

[generaltso]

So this unlocks the charger itself but not the little door to the charger. It took me a while to realize that. Seems like there is no way to always keep the little door unlocked while having the rest of your car locked. Or am I missing something?

In my Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, this could be accomplished by removing the fuse for the charge door lock. Not sure if the same can be done in the R4P?

 

[Chazz8]

So this unlocks the charger itself but not the little door to the charger. It took me a while to realize that. Seems like there is no way to always keep the little door unlocked while having the rest of your car locked. Or am I missing something?

I think I solved it. The charger door is part of the normal door lock/unlock system. So if you lock the doors, then the charging door is locked too. No antenna in the charger door means it can’t auto-unlock touchless with key FOB. I don’t lock my R4P in my garage, so the charger door is always unlocked when it’s in the garage. Do you lock (ALL) your doors by habit?

 

[Rav4Prime1960]

I’m not able to open the charging port lid. It seems to be stuck.

Any ideas?

Edit: I got it fixed. I guess the Port Lid is a smart lid and for whatever reason it got locked. First time happening to me.

The solution was to use the smart key/fob and hit the unlock button twice. I swear I almost pried open that thing lol.

it took me while to figure out how it even opened. Then one time it wouldn’t open at all. Turns out it locks when the car is locked. Felt like an idiot ☺

 

[Redhawk2000]

This actually happened to me at the dealer as I was about to drive it off the lot. Car was unlocked, we tried a variety of things and nothing worked. The folks at the dealer, including from maintenance, were completely stumped ("it's not like we've had a bunch of these to look at"). Eventually after skimming through the manual I found that there is a manual release lever in the trunk. You have to pull up the plastic floor cover on the passenger side to access it.

The manual says that the lever is for emergency use only and that if you have to use it regularly the car needs service. But a good thing to know in a pinch.

Have not had the problem since that one time.

I'm having that issue today for some reason. With a quick scan of the pdf of the manual I couldn't find a reference to that lever. I opened the small compartment behind the charging port and couldn't see it in any obvious way. I also took off the cover for the battery and didn't see any obvious lever. Any guidance from anyone? The car is unlocked and I long ago turned off the auto locking feature. Edit - I found it in the manual, I will try it. Edit 2 - It was more difficult to find the lever than the manual showed, but once I figured out how to use it, it did release it fine. I then tried opening and closing the port about 6 times and it was normal.

 

[jlawr1]

I'm having that issue today for some reason. With a quick scan of the pdf of the manual I couldn't find a reference to that lever. I opened the small compartment behind the charging port and couldn't see it in any obvious way. I also took off the cover for the battery and didn't see any obvious lever. Any guidance from anyone? The car is unlocked and I long ago turned off the auto locking feature. Edit - I found it in the manual, I will try it. Edit 2 - It was more difficult to find the lever than the manual showed, but once I figured out how to use it, it did release it fine. I then tried opening and closing the port about 6 times and it was normal.

So as previously noted. Use the mechanical key in the key FOB to lock/unlock the driver's door. That should reset the FOB so you can unlock the doors and the charging port cover. If the charging port cover locks again, you should be able to push the unlock button on the FOB twice to open the charging door.
Good luck. Hopefully it will never happen again.

 

[mililani]

Just FYI, folks: if you're using the public charging infrastructure, especially free charging stations, it's best to change the settings to Auto Lock and Unlock. I think it's good EV etiquette to not have your car take up a plug after it's done charging. I've seen this happen here and there, and it's a bit infuriating when some car is done charging and it's just sitting there for hours. Anyways, some EV owners told me they will just unplug that car and plug themselves in to charge in the adjacent stall (barring the cable can reach). I've started doing this myself -- only at the free charging stations. For the paid chargers, once you disengage the charging handle, usually the charging session is done and your account will be charged accordingly. So, no one will be able to take the charger and "steal" from you, more or less.

 

[Lucy T]

This is what I had to do to unlock my charging port lid. (Like another reviewer commented, I was <THIS CLOSE> to using a butter knife to pry the lid open...

1. With all doors closed, press "lock" on the key fob twice
2. Press "unlock" on key fob and open the driver's side door
3. With the door open, press "unlock" on the key fob twice

That did the trick for me. Hope it helps someone out!

 

[borealcat]

This is what I had to do to unlock my charging port lid. (Like another reviewer commented, I was <THIS CLOSE> to using a butter knife to pry the lid open...

1. With all doors closed, press "lock" on the key fob twice
2. Press "unlock" on key fob and open the driver's side door
3. With the door open, press "unlock" on the key fob twice

That did the trick for me. Hope it helps someone out!

Very similar to remedy I discovered today, but different with nuance, in case this also helps anyone

if cover would not open with repeated fob unlocking attempts:

1) lock doors with fob
2) unlock doors with fob
3) cover opens!

: )

 

[OneAlpine]

Charging lid would not open after trying all the things here. . .BUT I was unloading car and putting things in garage fridge, ALARM accidently went off with keys in my pocket. When I realized that might be the problem, I started car backed out from driveway and then back in and door immediately opened after turning the car off. Also I previously tried turning the car on and off but the problem only resolved after putting in gear and moving it.

 

[jlawr1]

Charging lid would not open after trying all the things here. . .BUT I was unloading car and putting things in garage fridge, ALARM accidently went off with keys in my pocket. When I realized that might be the problem, I started car backed out from driveway and then back in and door immediately opened after turning the car off. Also I previously tried turning the car on and off but the problem only resolved after putting in gear and moving it.

Thanx for posting. This may save us in the future. It's great to learn the idiosyvcrocies of this car.