One of my co-workers unplugged my Prime and didn't realize he had to re-install the dust cover and jammed the door closed with the dust cover in it's stowed position. The door still opens and closes, but there is a lot of play in the mechanism now. He has offered to pay for it, but I'm not even sure what to say when I bring it to the dealer. What do you think?
Same thing almost happened to me when I was demoing for a friend. The "friend" tried to help by closing the door before I moved the plug cover back to the power connector. Fortunately no damage was done in my case. Tell the dealer exactly what happened. My gut feeling is you're not the first.
It was a woman and didn’t force it enough to damage it fortunately. Being new to the game it wasn’t immediately obvious what the problem was.
Picture might help to estimate the cost to repair the damage done. I would think the hinged area has somewhat deformed? Any body shop should be able to fix it, but how much... that I have no idea. After all, this is a car that headlight replacement is going to cost you $1000+. BTW, I had similar incident with my old car, not PRIME. It was not charger port door, but the hood over engine compartment. I had the hood open with the rod holding in place for checking oil or something. My daughter tried to shut it without removing the holding rod, thinking it is like a trunk lid. Yeah... hood was bent, and was too expensive to fix it.
I've had the car for 18k miles now, and honestly the entire door mechanism just feels really flimsy so I doubt the dealer will be able to do anything about it other than replacing the entire mechanism. After a few months with the new cover, the build quality will feel pretty shoddy again.
I do find the dust cover to be useful yes but also weird to put into that stowed spot, just odd. So let me get this straight the electrical connection on the PIP is just out in the open? Or does the door (I assume it has a door like the Prime) provide a weather seal? I do find it a bit baffling why they would put a metal door over the gas cap and a cheaper plastic one on the charger port... I mean I think it will be fine otherwise but that's until I either do the same thing as the OP or I leave the door open and drive down the highway with the whole thing flopping around with the wind...
I've stopped placing the cap in the holder when charging at work. Too many times I've returned to find it not replaced and the door still open because they couldn't figure out how to close the lid. Fortunately no-one has caused any damage to my car yet. Now I either just let the cap dangle or I wedge it under the J1772 plug so that it falls loose when people unplug the car.
Well at work there are 8 spots for 4 chargers. And since my work is at an airport and I'm traveling for a few days at a time, it's understandable that someone will need the charger before I return. Also I have a sign in my car that says its ok to unplug.
@Rightrudder Gotcha. That makes more sense now. My first impression was how well do you like your fingers!
there is a plastic cover built into the door, that closes over the socket. it is not weather tight, but keeps most moisture out. that being said, i have routinely charged outside in heavy rain and snow, which gets into the socket after you open the door, and before you plug in. it has never been an issue. i'm not sure what made toyota add the cover.
Well since I think we do have a few ladies here on the forum we can clarify a little bit. A woman will likely be able to apply the same amount of force on the door as a man, the difference is that upon feeling resistance she will assume something is wrong and she will stop and ask for advice before proceeding Of course that is the last thing us men will do. A man, feeling resistance on the door will assume he just needs to push it harder. When that doesn't work he will start pounding the door with his fist. If it still won't close then he will go into the house and get his rubber mallet and then hammer it until it closes
