Tesla owners in colder regions are getting an upgrade to make winter charging more convenient. The company has introduced a dedicated charge port heating option that should once and for all end issues with frozen charge ports, a common frustration in freezing and snowy conditions.
Tesla vehicles have faced a number of cold-weather challenges, from frozen door handles and jammed windows to charge port becoming frozen shut. While Tesla implemented software updates to address some of these problems, the company had to do a hardware change to address the frozen charge ports by adding charge port heaters in late 2020, a feature which is now standard across the lineup.
Activating the charge port heater required indirect methods however. Drivers had to enable rear defrost, use the “Defrost Car” button in the Tesla app, or rely on preconditioning while en-route to a Supercharger. While effective, these methods also heated the cabin, unnecessarily in many cases, especially for quick charging stops.
That has now changed with Tesla’s latest software update, 2024.44.3. Owners can now directly control the charge port heater with a new option accessible through the vehicle’s touchscreen under Controls > Service > Charge Port Heater. (h/t: Not A Tesla App)
This feature is on our 2022 Model Y, and is an on/off option. Tap the button and it turns blue to indicate the heater is active. Tapping it again turns the feature off. Currently the feature is not accessible through the mobile app, which would be convenient so you wouldn’t have to go out to your car in freezing conditions to turn it on.
To see if you have this feature, go to the Service menu inside your vehicle, or check the release notes in your app under the Minor Updates section and look for the following:
“Heat your charge port in case your charge cable is frozen stuck. Go to Controls > Service > Charge Port Heater.”
As we mentioned, Tesla has equipped all vehicles manufactured since late 2020 with charge port heaters, though the cut-off date may vary slightly between models, but every vehicle since that date that is on 2024.44.3 or later should have this feature.
