I have repeatedly encountered problems using the auto lock feature on porting the charging cable to the vehicle. It will not disengage after charging and after opening the door vehicle. I have had to open the hood and use the emergency pull cord to unlock the port. This is a pain.

I tested the vehicle using someone else’s J1772 cable and had the same problem, so this rules out the cable as being faulty.

I have resorted to changing the setting on the vehicle to leave the cable/port unlocked. I have had not had any problems disengaging the cable with this setting. This leads me to believe that the problem is not a physical one with the vehicle port, but perhaps a software problem.?. Using the unlocked setting negates the safety feature of the lock option, which is one of the reasons that led to my purchasing the Kona, and increases the chance of theft while the car is unattended.

Has anyone else encountered this problem and can you suggest any fixes? I’m bringing the car into Hyundai dealer for servicing, but they don’t have any ideas about the problem or fixes.

Update: Brought to dealer. Informed that I must use unlock button on remote to open ALL doors including charging port. Had been using the hands free option to open the driver’s door with the remote in my pocket. That only unlocks the driver’s door, not ALL. Problem fixed.

 

It does seem like it could be a software issue. Since the vehicle's software controls the auto-lock feature, there might be a glitch or malfunction in how it handles the locking mechanism. When you visit the dealer, it might be helpful to ask them to check for any software updates or recalls related to the charging port system. If they still can’t identify the problem, consider reaching out to Hyundai’s customer service or technical support for more specialized assistance.