Today I ended up helping a fellow EV driver at an Electrify America station — and it turned into a great reminder of how fast things can go sideways when tech meets real life.

The car? A 2025 Cadillac Lyriq.
Beautiful ride. But the charger? Stuck. Locked in place. Wouldn’t release.

She had already called support and was waiting on them to do… something. Meanwhile, it just sat there – the cord locked tight. I could see she was flustered, so I stepped in to help, along with another woman nearby.

After a few minutes of going through the basics, I remembered something I’d read (shoutout to ChatGPT for helping me think through it earlier): there’s an emergency release latch near the charging port.

Sure enough — we guided her to pull it, and it worked. Charger released, crisis averted.

💡 What Actually Happened?

It looked like a weird combination of a software bug and hardware lockout.
The car might have been idling-charging or in a weird post-charge state, and the cord locked up as a safety measure.
Classic EV moment: high tech meets low control.

✅ What to Do If This Happens to You

Step 1: Don’t panic.
Take a breath. EVs are safety-first, so the system might just need a second to reset or finish communicating.

Step 2: Check the basics.

  • Is the car still actively charging?
  • Does the dash say “charging complete” or “ready to unplug”?
  • Is the cord locked visually, or just resisting?

Step 3: Try the official method first.

  • Use the vehicle’s unlock button or app
  • Wait 30–60 seconds after charging completes

Step 4: Call support (Electrify America, Tesla, etc.)

  • Start a ticket. But don’t wait forever – tech support can lag.

Step 5: Use the emergency release

  • Most EVs (including the Lyriq) have a manual latch or pull tab inside or near the charging port.
  • It might be behind a panel or rubber flap — check the manual or look it up on your phone.