It appears that Tesla is starting to roll out a charge port heater update for select vehicles. The feature, which heats a Tesla’s charge port, makes it easier to remove the charging cable and plug in frigid conditions.
Frozen charging plugs and cables have been a notable inconvenience for electric vehicle owners for years. This was one of the reasons why in 2020, Tesla started including a heated charge port to its vehicles. This was a welcome update that was appreciated by customers, but similar to Tesla’s other features, it still had some areas for improvement.
As noted in a NotATeslaApp report, the heated charge port can only be activated by engaging a vehicle’s other features. Users, for example, can use the “Rear Defrost” button in Climate Controls, which engages the charge port heater and heated mirrors. Users can also engage the charge port heater by preconditioning their vehicle, but this also heats up the cabin.
Tesla is Adding a Charge Port Heating Option: https://t.co/oAcZL2m8TU https://t.co/oAcZL2m8TU
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) November 27, 2024
With the new update in place, users can now manually turn on the charge port heater without engaging another function. Tesla described the new feature on its release notes, which are as follows: “Heat your charge port in case your charge cable is frozen stuck. Go to Controls > Service > Charge Port Heater.”
So far, the ability to manually turn on the charge port heater on its own has only been released on select 2024 Model X and 2023 Model Ys that are running update 2024.44.3.1, as per NotATeslaApp. Considering that heated charge ports have been standard on Teslas since 2020, however, it would not be surprising if the feature ends up being rolled out to more vehicles in the near future.
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