Charging your Tesla is essential when having an eclectic vehicle, like a Tesla. You plug in the charger in the charging unit on your Tesla. Once your Tesla is charging there is a lock safety latch that is locked when it is charging.
You do not want someone unplugging your Tesla while you are away from the vehicle. It will unlock when the charging is completed or when you stop the charging manually. Once it is unlocked you should be able to unplug your Tesla charger.
But what happens when you can not unplug your Tesla charger?
In this guide, I will be going over the most common reasons why you can not unplug your chargers and how you can solve this issue.
Why Won’t Tesla Charger Unplug?
You may be asking yourself why you are unable to unplug your Tesla charger. The reason could be that your charging latch is stuck and remains locked even though the charging has stopped.
It could even be due to dirt and debris within the charging unit and/or charging cable. Many issues could occur such as the Tesla charger overheating. Below I will be going over the most common reason why your Tesla charger will not unplug based on what other users have experienced and what has worked best for these other Tesla drivers.
1. Charging Cable Latch Remains Locked
When you are charging your Tesla the charging latch will lock to ensure that the cable is secure while charging. Usually, the lack unlocks once the charging is complete and you can remove the charger from your Tesla.
In some cases the latch may remain locked even after charging, this is a common reason behind why you can not unplug your Tesla charger. If the charging cable latch remains locked do not try to pull the charger out by force. This will only cause more damage to your Tesla charging unit.
Fix – Try Locking and Unlocking Your Tesla
This may sound too easy but doing this can unlock the charging latch on your Tesla. If you use your phone as a key for your Tesla, lock your Tesla on your phone. Walk away from your Tesla just to get out of the range of your vehicle.
Wait a few minutes before you walk back to your Tesla. Once you are back within range of your Tesla unlock your Tesla with your phone. Some users stated that this solved the issue and once the Tesla was unlocked using a phone this unlocked the charging latch and was able to unplug the Tesla charger.
2. Issue With Charging Cable Latch
As mentioned above the issue with why you can not unplug your Tesla charger could be the charging cable latch. This latch locks when your Tesla is charging to secure the charging cable.
If there is an issue with the charging cable latch and it remains locked even after you have unlocked your Tesla there is another thing you can try. You can do a soft reboot on your Tesla to see if this will unlock the charging cable latch and that you can unplug your Tesla charger.
Fix – Reboot Your Tesla
When your Tesla charger is not unplugging this can be due to the charging latch not being able to unlock. If the stated above did not work you can try to reboot your Tesla.
Rebooting your Tesla can unlock the charging latch on your Tesla, once the charging latch is unlocked you should be able to unplug the charger on your Tesla. If you do not know how to reboot your Tesla follow the steps below.
- Go into your Tesla
- Press and hold the scroll wheels on either side of the steering wheel for about 10 seconds.
- Once you see the main touchscreen to reboot, release the scroll wheels.
- Your Tesla will not be rebooted, check to see if you can unplug your Tesla charger now.
3. Charging Session Has Not Stopped
I know how obvious this sounds but one thing to consider when you can not unplug the charger on your Tesla is if the charging session is complete. If you are still charging your Tesla this means that the charging latch is locked.
When you are in the middle of a charging session the Tesla charger wants the cable to be secure while in the charging unit.
This is why the charging latch is locked while charging. Check to see if your Tesla is still charging, if you need to unplug your Tesla right away there is a way that you can force stop the charging on your Tesla.
Fix – Wait Till the Charging Session on Your Tesla Has Stopped/Force Stop Charging
If your Tesla is still in the middle of a charging session the best thing to do is wait for the charging session to end to try to unplug the charger. You should never try to force the charger out of the changing unit on your Tesla, this can lead to more damage.
The charging latch will be locked until the session is over, that is why you should wait until your Tesla is fully charged to see if you can unplug the Tesla charger.
If you need to unplug your charger before the charging session is over there is a way that you can do a force stop on the charging via the Tesla app or on your Tesla touchscreen. If you use your mobile device as a key go into the Tesla app and tap on the Stop Charging.
If you are inside your Tesla it is the same with the Tesla touchscreen, tap on the Stop Charging. This will stop your Tesla charging session and unlock the safety lock on the charging latch.
4. Dirt/Debris Stuck in the Unit
Another thing to consider when you can not unplug the charger on your Tesla is that the charging unit on your Tesla is dirty. When there is dirt and debris in your Tesla charging unit this can cause issues while you are charging your Tesla.
One of these issues can be that you can not unplug your Tesla. There could even be dirt and debris within the charging cable as well. When this is the case the best thing you can do is clean around your charging unit to see if you can get your charger unplugged.
If cleaning around it does not work there is a way that you can do a manual release on the charger to get the cable unplugged.
Fix – Do a Manual Cable Release and Clean Any Dirt/Debris
If you notice that your charger unit on your Tesla is dirty and this is why you can not unplug your Tesla chargers. Try to clean as much dirt and debris around your Tesla charging unit and charger to see if you can get it to unlock itself. In order to completely clean the unit you will need to unplug the charger from your Tesla.
You can do a manual release on your Tesla charger if there is no other way you can get your charger to unplug. As previously stated when your Tesla charging unit has first any debris around it this can cause features on the charging unit to malfunction.
Now the manual release switch is in a different location depending on what Model of Tesla you own. Do a quick Google search to look up where your manual release switch is on your Model of Tesla.
Once you have found your manual release switch on your Tesla you can pull that to unlock your Tesla charger. Once you have done this you should be able to unplug your Tesla charger.
If you notice any more dirt inside the charging unit, clean it with a clean soft cloth and you can also use air in the can to blow out any debris that may be with this charging unit or charging cable.
5. Faulty Charging Cable/Charging Unit
If none of the steps above has worked and you are still unable to unplug your Tesla charger. And you have tried the manual release switch and the charger will still not unplug from the charging unit.
This could be either a faulty charging cable or your Tesla charging unit could be faulty. Both of these can be possible and this is something that you should leave to the professional to fix.
As I have stated throughout this guide do not attempt to force the charger to unplug from your Tesla. You can try to push the charging cable back in and pull it out but this can either not work or it does but causes damage to your Tesla charging unit.
Fix – Contact Tesla Customer Support
Contact the Tesla Customer Support if your Tesla charger or charging unit is faulty. If you have tried all of the steps above and your Tesla charging is still not unplugging you should call a professional to solve this problem.
When you contact the Tesla Customer Support the professional can either give you other ways to troubleshoot this issue. Or Tesla will send over a professional to repair your charger or charging unit. It all depends on where you are charging your Tesla.
My Final Thoughts
In conclusion, there could be a few reasons why your Tesla charger is not unplugging, when this is the case there are a few easy steps you can take to solve this problem. Follow the step above to see if this will get your Tesla charger to unplug from the charging unit.
If your charger is still not unplugging after trying these steps contact the Tesla Customer Support to get more help. If your charger is stuck on your Tesla and even the manual release switch does not work you may need a professional to get the charger to unplug from your Tesla.