Am I the only one dismayed about the design of the car charging door?

I guess you could probably put it on a gimble so that it rotates out like it currently does but then flips and rotates to a horizontal position to block it from weather. I doubt they'd ever do that thought since it's a weather proof connection and it would just be added weight and cost.

there's so many other areas for improvement I hope they concentrate on those first!

 

even though every user has told you it works perfectly, it still bothers you?

 

Wait you have buyer's remorse because of the charging door or other things?

 

Stick to your guns, man. The natural tendency is to think: it's just a new way of "fueling", but: there's a lot of differences. It's not a few minutes, pouring in fuel, usually under a roof. It's hours, often out in the elements, including snow. And it's electrons, not gas.

 

fair enough.

 

agree, there has to be more going on here. o/p, lay on the couch and tell us when it all began.

 

but you don't stand there for hours, just seconds. less than gassing up.

 

how does the volt charge door operate?

 

Maybe modifying one of these GoPro mount and attach plexiglass to go over the charging door so it will cover from snow and rain.

1x Triple Suction Cup Car Windscreen Dash Mount for GoPro Go Pro Hero 0V | eBay

 

Some of these are silly! The Leaf's door opens up and you can see the connectors just fine. Also disobeys the weak forces of gravity and stays put after opening thanks to a spring like mechanism, just like how the current Prius charge port door (and fuel door) pop open.



Only problem is during freezing rain then snow, the ice will form on the upwards hinge and then it acts like a snow dam. Never had it stuck. To be extra greedy I wish I had both a front charge port and a rear side charge port. That way I could back-in and charge in any space and use the charge inlet that suits the scenario best.

 

thanks for the pic, that opening is no more impervious to the weather than side opening.

 

I doubt that a cover above the port would help matters

 

Good point.

 

It may be hard to tell from the photo, but the charge ports are very much recessed. So much so that you can leave the J1772 connector flap in the open position and still close the lid as if all is well. I may do that occasionally when I'm being lazy

There is also a little LED light in there so that when it pops open the light comes on and stays on for a while. Also very helpful in the dark, one of the very few things Nissan did to the Leaf that wasn't to cut cost and someone was actually thinking about user experience. The list is very very short...

You can also buy accessories like this charge port door cover. This is perfect for where you gets lots of heavy snow and freezing rain stuffs. After you plug in, you close the cover down and the only opening is the charge handle. I don't have one, but I assume you have to connect and disconnect this cover every time you want to come and go. Something more collapsible may be a better option, don't know if it exists.

 

OP: There are some 6B billion people in the world. Odds are at least one agrees with you