GM Volt Forum banner

Fixing a Sticky Gen 1 Charging Port Door

21K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  RustyBolts 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Fixing a Sticky Gen 1 Charging Port Door

Mine is a 2013 and this has been working very well for me.

1) Get a good quality silicone spray (don't use di-electric grease, it's too heavy for this application)

2) Spray the silicone on a soft cloth and wipe down the gasket mounted on the fender (see image below). This may take a few applications before the gasket stops "drinking" the silicone.

3) Carefully spray a coating on the entire inside and outside of the "cup" on the door (see image below) DO NOT SPRAY SILICONE ON THE ELECTRICAL SOCKET!

4) Close the charging door and re-open it then spray more silicone in the cup and repeat the close/open of the door. This will put a nice layer of silicone on the parts of the charging port that catch the door and hold it shut. I repeat DO NOT SPRAY SILICONE DIRECTLY ON THE ELECTRICAL SOCKET!

5) after a few repeats of #4, leave the charge door open for a while and let the silicone "dry".

6) Close the charging door and wipe off any over spray or excess from the outside.

Tire Automotive tire Wheel Auto part Vehicle


This method has worked very well for me so far. I did it once about a month ago and have zero problems since even in single digits temperatures. I hope it's of some help to other owners out there.
 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
Thanks for posting this. I use the same spray on door seals and other things and this is a great way to go. I just sprayed it on carefully and wiped off the over-spray and have not had any door opening issues. Just sheild the contacts before spraying or spray on a cloth as noted above.
 
#3 ·
#6 ·
My 2013 has a problem where the wall of the cup clearly makes contact with the wall of the electrical socket as it closes. If it were just 1/16" to the side this wouldn't happen. I either have to push the door to the side a bit, or deal with having to force the door a bit past this point.

I may try the silicone but am doubtful it will work in this case. I asked the dealer to look at it, and they replaced the whole door assembly which I wasn't happy about. Now it has worse contact, if anything. And they had broke a bracket in the back in the process, requiring another visit to keep the whole assembly from pulling out. Grrrrr ;)
 
#8 ·
Another cold season bump because someone was asking.
For the record I -just- had to re-treat yesterday as my door sort-of stuck for the first time since I did this initially.
 
#10 ·
This is a great tip, but I'll add mine. I tried all the fixes, and made up some new ones, with no more than a day or two of luck. When my dealer was doing other warranty work, he noticed the diagnostic code for the door problem and he replaced the door for me. It was under the Voltec warranty. That finally fixed it for me.
 
#18 ·
Attempting to re-attach images that were killed by the whole DropBox Debacle.
Thanks! I re-added to post #1 Dutch
 
#12 ·
Thanks for that. I had the sticking door problem with my Ampera and used Gummi Pfledge which seems to work well, until this morning when the door would not open, even with assistance, after only being closed for about 10 minutes. I'm sure the pin had frozen in the release catch as once I did get it open after a bit of thawing it was very wet/icy inside the hole in the door it locks into.

I've lubed with silicone as suggested and will see how it holds up compared to the Gummi Pfledge, and will try some dry PTFE lube spray on the pin and in the hole when it arrives from Amazon.
 
#13 ·
Have my 2012 Volt at the dealer today. car has 96k miles on it. One of the problems is a sticking charger door. Dealer called and said door needs replacement and it will cost $342. I stated that the charger door should be covered under the 8/100 Voltec warranty, they said it was not. I called our Volt advisor, at 800 222-1020, and he also stated this was part of the 3/36 bumper-to-bumper coverage that had expired.
I think this is odd since all the other Chevrolets that I purchased with a 3/36 warranty never had a charge door. This part is unique to an ELECTRIC car and a necessary part of that system.
Be advised. Anybody else have a similar problem?
 
#14 ·
I continue to follow the silicone regimen about once a year and continue to have no issue with sticking.

Now if I could get my door to stop insisting that it's OPEN when it is closed... GRRRRRRRR.
 
#15 ·
Now if I could get my door to stop insisting that it's OPEN when it is closed... GRRRRRRRR.
My 2015 did this whenever I hit a good bump after I got it back from being "repaired"( butchered and completely screwed up ) and the battery replaced ( which did no good since the car wouldn't charge without me camping the obd2 and clearing codes left and right every single time I parked the car ).

The fix for me was the connector that went to the HPCM2 was borked by the tech. I killed the 12v battery and shoved the seat back and reseated the connector ( it was obvious from the bump in the carpet and the flap being all messed up something was going on there ). That cleared up some of my issues and especially the "charging door open" problem.

If it's really a problem I'm sure you could go through the service manual and figure out what wires go to the sensor and bypass it.
 
#16 ·
My 2013 charge port door was replaced under the Voltec warranty about a year and a half ago. It was after the 3/36 had expired. So Chevy was doing it under Voltec at least at that time. However, they may have pulled back on what they are including in the Voltec warranty, such as the EVSE, which was discussed recently as now being excluded. In the case of the EVSE, their official explanation was that they had covered it previously in error and are now following the correct level of coverage. They can do stuff like that as long as the part is not specifically listed (like by name or an equally inescapable description) in the warranty.

Before paying that, I would try the home remedies, and even get more aggressive if necessary, such as cutting down or cutting off the rubber cup from the inside of the door. I think that is what sticks, at least on mine. Or add spring power. Or you could put a little knob on the outside of the door, but then you would still have to trigger the release while pulling.

This part really is a pain when it gets sticky. They did a great thing to re-design it for 2014. It was foolish to make it like this to begin with. Chevy had experience making millions of gas cap doors that worked fine for generations, then they came up with this to cover the charge port. Heck, even the gas cap door on the other side of very same vehicle works perfectly.
 
#21 ·
Today my local Dubuque, Iowa Chevy dealership replaced my EVSE under the Voltec warranty, and the issue was broken pin insulation which they could have easily concluded was due to abuse. It most likely was (I bought the car used). It was an incredibly easy process with no fighting, argueing, convincing or pleading. The Chevy dealership where I bought the car denied the warranty repair the same day I purchased it (after I arrived home 2 hours away, when I noticed the EVSE was broken).

Moral of the story: If you dont get a good answer, go to a different dealership. Just because the dealership claims its not covered doesn't mean the next one will do the same. Some wont even try.
 
#17 ·
Not exactly the same problem, but this morning my 14 charge door would not open because the mechanism would not pop up. I was able to open the charge door with my knife and pry pop out the post. Sprayed some silicone done the stem and it seems to be operating fine now. Anyone else have this problem?
 
G
#19 · (Edited)
The mechanism seems fine on mine but I also have the slight stick on my 2013. Going to lube it up a little but also I did spot on YouTube a guide that showed the owner opening up the charging port area, and there are 4 bolts to loosen to adjust the actual position of the charging port relative to the hole it is in. Has anyone done this to adjust it to center up in the cap on the door? It seems like mine is a hair to the left from where it should be which would easily cause it to hang up as the door sits open in the elements and the plastics get a little rough over time (without treatment per the previous owner. :/ )
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top