[CtrlAltDel]

~45-day-old eTron Prestige was acting odd at the local California #ChargePoint charger and wouldn't charge in Cupertino. Once home, I connected to my home charger and Audi cable around 4 PM. It never initialized, going from white> to green so I attempted to unplug it and try again when I found it would no longer disconnect.

I attempted the remedies I found online regarding unplugging the cable from the wall, waiting a few hours to reset and plug it back in, locking/unlocking the car, press and holding the eTron charging door button while pressing the unlock button but none of the online form remedies worked for me.

This was last Friday, March 6th. That day I called Audi roadside assistance and they TOWED THE VEHICLE for the weekend to begin working on it at Audi of Steven Creek on Monday morning. I was told late last night all the parts came in and I'm now fixed.

I'll update the forum with the diagnosis and what parts/software changed but a warning to #Audi #etron owners that the cable does become stuck and you are out of luck at that point.

 

[Bill33525]

Did you open the hood and pull the yellow cord?

 

[CtrlAltDel]

Did you open the hood and pull the yellow cord?

Hi Bill, I didn't see that option anywhere online as a recommendation. Can you post a link to that advice? I didnt find it and for sure would've tried that as well. Also, Audi had it in service for the first 48 hours attempting to disconnect it so unless they dont know that quick fix either, I think it's a larger issue. I'll be posting the service documents this evening once I pick it up.

 

[Bill33525]

in the owner's manual on page 111, there is a section called Emergency Release of the charging cable. Opening the hood and just above the fender charging port door, there is a small door. Open the door and there is a yellow loop cord.

Pull the yellow cord and the charge plug will release. I had this happen recently on a Charge Point charger as well. Not to be critical of Audi service personnel, but this is a very new product and it's possible no one has been to training yet.

Hope this does not dim your feeling about the product. I knew this might be a bleeding-edge experience now and then.

Enjoying our e-Tron. Put 3K miles on it in 3 months! Just back from a 450-mile road trip that we really enjoyed riding in the e-Tron.

 

[Bill33525]

in the owners manual on page 111 there is a section called Emergency Release of the charging cable. Opening the hood and just above the fender charging port door there is a small door. Open the door and there is a yellow loop cord.
Pull the yellow cord and the charge plug will release. I had this happen recently on a Charge Point charger as well. Not to be critical of Audi service personnel, but this is a very new product and it's possible no one has been to training yet.
Hope this does not dim your feeling of the product. I knew this might be a bleeding edge experience now and then.
Enjoying our e-tron. Put 3K miles on it in 3 months! Just back from a 450 mile road trip that we really enjoyed riding in the e-tron.

Locked charge port door solution and another terrible holiday trip failure by Audi/EA - AudiWorld Forums

Audi e-tron / Q8 e-tron - Locked charge port door solution and another terrible holiday trip failure by Audi/EA - If you're locked to a CCS charger and other solutions haven't worked, pull and re-insert fuse 5 (charger) and 10 (DC/DC) in the under-hood fusebox on the passenger side(US). This...

www.audiworld.com

watch the middle video with the blue e-tron

 

[Dr.T]

I'm glad to hear Audi repaired the problem under warranty. I've heard other manufacturers blame issues with charging cables and charging ports on the owner as owner abuse (they say you should have realized something was broken on the public charger handle) and deny claims related to the charging port. Then you have to file an insurance claim.

 

[CtrlAltDel]

I'm glad to hear Audi repaired the problem under warranty. I've heard other manufacturers blame issues with charging cables and charging ports on the owner as owner abuse (they say you should have realized something was broken on the public charger handle) and deny claims related to the charging port. Then you have to file an insurance claim.

Thanks for that tip @Dr. T. Good for us to know to be careful with the chargers and avoid an insurance claim!

 

[JNealCox]

One thing to check first if you can't get the charger to release at home: is the car door locked? When the drivers door is locked the charger cannot be removed from the car socket. This keeps someone from removing your car from the charger at a public station.

 

[Spartacus]

One thing to check first if you can't get the charger to release at home: is the car door locked? When the drivers door is locked the charger cannot be removed from the car socket. This keeps someone from removing your car from the charger at a public station.

Yep, should have checked that first. Thanks

 

[Lucken]

One thing to check first if you can't get the charger to release at home: is the car door locked? When the drivers door is locked the charger cannot be removed from the car socket. This keeps someone from removing your car from the charger at a public station.

Unless you've set the car's software to override that in the settings. I've done that for precisely that reason.

 

[Steven Gacovino]

My home level 2 charger got stuck yesterday, and I did use the yellow latch release. Service said they could fix and will get parts. In the meantime, my vehicle is not accepting a charge. Did the latch release affect the car's ability to take a charge? Does anyone know if there is a re-set that I have overlooked? It simply gets stuck in "initializing" mode but the charge will not take place. I am reluctant to drive the car at this point. Would appreciate any suggestions. I have tried the plug/unplug from the house charger and the lock/unlock. Thank you.

 

[danza13]

My home level 2 charger got stuck yesterday, and I did use the yellow latch release. Service said they could fix and will get parts. In the meantime, my vehicle is not accepting a charge. Did the latch release affect the car's ability to take a charge? Does anyone know if there is a re-set that I have overlooked? It simply gets stuck in "initializing" mode but the charge will not take place. I am reluctant to drive the car at this point. Would appreciate any suggestions. I have tried the plug/unplug from the house charger and the lock/unlock. Thank you.

Same exact thing happened to me, did your find out any hacks on this?

 

[NarashanAudi]

Same exact thing happened to me, did your find out any hacks on this?

Anyone figured this out? Just got the same problem after using the yellow latch to manually unlock the charger. It doesn't charge anymore...just blinks white. Hope I don't need to take it for service. Will try calling them tomorrow!

 

[JNealCox]

Anyone figured this out? Just got the same problem after using the yellow latch to manually unlock the charger. It doesn't charge anymore...just blinks white. Hope I don't need to take it for service. Will try calling them tomorrow!

Sorry about your problem; however, as I recall the recommendation is to contact Service if either of the pull cords is used.

 

[coski]

Here is the relevant page from the manual.

 

[frank.r]

Just had a similar issue. car was stuck in initializing mode on Electrify America charger. Used the yellow tab to release and tried another charger with no luck and had to use the yellow tab again. After multiple attempts to get the car charging ended up having to have Audi service tow it to the nearest dealership. They were unable to find an issue. In fact, I just got the charge complete notification from the app. So still not sure what caused me to get into this state or out of it... Wondering if the high power disconnect then reconnect would have resolved this issue?

Anyone successfully get the car to charge again on their own? Or is this something I would be at risk of on any long trip? (talk about range anxiety...)

 

[Robcooks1]

It seams there are at least 4 or 5 recent threads regarding the same issue. I recently had the same problem at EA after charging session completed cable would not disengage. I tried a number of lock unlock procedures with no luck. Fortunately had read about manual cable release from the forum and subsequently the manual.
I highly recommend a brief read through as this is a completely new platform for most people and Audi does little to make people aware. The yellow cord on interior side of charge port under little door flap is the manual cable release.
The Red is for manual battery disconnect and is in case of fire and required for responders. Important stuff that should be spelled out clearly with a sticker or something.
I was able to release cable but now the yellow cord is slack and don’t know if it will function again in same situation.
Any thought?

 

[JNealCox]

My understanding is that if you use the cable, you have to take the car into the Dealer to have it reset.

 

[FCW]

I have a 2019 E-tron Quattro. Yesterday, I also couldn’t disconnect the charger handle. It was parked in my garage. I tried to disengage using the yellow pull. When pulled it came completely out without any resistance as if it wasn’t attached to anything. I didn’t feel well enough to try to figure out the business with the fuses that someone mentioned. Unfortunately, I tested positive for COVID-19 earlier that day and my wife needed to go to the pharmacy for Paxlovid. I was able to have a friend pick up the prescription. I called Audi Roadside Assistance and they said they would send someone to tow the vehicle in two days (I called on a Saturday). I don’t know how they could have towed the car under the circumstances, but maybe they can. In any event, after sleeping for 16 hours I tried the handle again and it disconnected, so apparently the system reset somehow. Very upsetting experience.