vanpan

I purchased a used 2016 Panamera e-hybrid about a year ago and am loving it. I haven't had any problems until recently. I went to start it the other day and the console displayed the message "Remove charging plug to start". I had already taken the charging plug out, so this seemed odd. Unfortunately the car wouldn't let me put it into gear, so I was stuck.

I tried inserting/removing the charging plug a number of times. I noticed the car indicates its charging while the plug is in, but the "clamp" doesn't kick in to prevent me from removing the plug from the car. I don't even have to press the button on the handle to remove it. I inserted and removed the plug a few times, trying to start the car in between. After 5 or 6 tries, the message remained, but it let me put it into gear and my check engine light came on. I drove around a bit, parked the car, started the car.. the message persisted but I could the car it into gear without issue. I drove it home and plugged it in. Still no clamp to prevent me from removing the plug, but it charged just fine.

Fast forward the next day and I'm experiencing the same problem, but now I cant get the car into gear at all.

Any suggestions on what might be causing this? Any way to get around the car not going into gear so I can get to a dealer, or should I book an appointment and call a tow truck?

Any help would be much appreciated!

orca15

Have you tried some WD-40 or other lube in the latch, followed by a dozen ins and outs to see if that loosens it? Seems like your latch is stuck open. No experience, just first thing that came to mind. Some compressed air might help as well, but don't blow up any drain tubes doing it.

vanpan

Thanks orca15, that seems to have done the job. It’s now hit and miss. I’ve sprayed it with wd40 and then inserted/removed the plug a bunch of times and it seems to be getting better each time. I assume there is a magnet or a latch in there that physically moves closer to the plug that has gotten stuck open.

I appreciate the suggestion, I’m sure this would have cost me thousands of dollars at the dealer!

orca15

glad it helped! I’d follow up with some real lubricant - WD40 is really for absorbing water and breaking things loose- I’m not an expert but I always spray some silicone on things like that to keep them loose, repel water, and last longer. There is a WD40 silicon version.

earl pottinger

In the past when I did dot-matrix printer repairs, I found over time WD-40 thickens and gets gummy. I moved to using sewing machine oil, it did not get thick but it did requiring re-applying after a while, but left nothing behind.

Not suggesting sewing machine oil is the solution but rather WD-40 is not a long term solution in the long run.

gavinmcl

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but I’m experiencing the same fault

I’ve followed all the advice above and I’m still having intermittent issues but I’ve noticed that if I play around with cables for 10-20 seconds then the yellow “grid” light stops flashing and then the car lets me start

did you ever find any more issues or did the fault just disappear?


Grid light when not plugged in - when this goes out, I can start the car

Error shown when I try to move out of Park