Charger stuck in USB port

Can you then get a decent grip on the USB/AUX module with one hand and pull the charger out with the other?

BUT (a) what kind of charger did you plug in? and (b) our 2015 Prius Four's USB port is an input port only: if it supplies any power at all, it is not enough to keep our phones charged.

 

Not a good idea. If you pull too hard you can break the phenolic (small circuit board inside the connector with contacts).

Have you tried this? A feeler gauge might work too, but if you use anything metal be sure the Vehicle and all accessories are off.

 

How does a USB plug even get stuck in a port? There is no latch. I've never had it happen, and I've never heard of such a thing before.

 

There are a few ways it can happen. One is described in the YouTube link provided in the previous comment. When the male and female connectors are not fully compatible, the internal leads can be inserted too far and get hooked on the other side's phenolic. When you pull out too hard, it will usually break the leads, but it can sometimes break the phenolic too. The same thing can happen if either one of the phenoics is not centered properly. That usually doesn't happens until after extend wear has taken place and made the usb mechanical connection (outer shell) become loose.

 

Apple did NOT put the wrong type of usb port at the end of their cord!
KIDS!
It's the CHEAP computer and CHEAP parts they use.

 

That doesn't surprise me much. The important thing is that, regardless of where the blame lies, the problem is caused by mechanical mismatch.

If KartTune has the same problem, the solution described in the video should fix the problem.

 

Yes, I agree. It may look weird, but if it works, that's what matters.
Though maybe this plastic from maybe a water bottle maybe be better, the paper may get caught also.
That could have been an older port with a newer cable.

 

I've seen both - poorly designed and worn out ports.

 

It does charge my iPhone SE to full, might be your phone that needs troubleshooting.

 

I got round to trying it again with my Pixel 3a. Over the space of a minute or two it sometimes managed a 300mA charge rate but occasionally showed a negative charge rate -- not that the phone was recharging the Prius 12V battery, I'm sure, but that the phone was using more power than the USB port could supply to make up for it. And I wasn't actually using the phone for anything at the time.

 

That’s about all it will charge. It will charge my iPhone 5s (similar to the SE) or old iPod, but not a 6s or 7 Plus, regardless of cables used. It is not the phones that are the problem, it is the current draw of the phones relative to the very low output of the USB port. Toyota did not put much charge current on this port.

 

Car was released in 2015 at the latest, but plugging in a phone made in 2018/19. It's like millienals asking how come I can't press a button to change to the next song on a record player. Common phones in 2015 didn't require 1 ampere or more to recharge at the time.

 

It is a technical standards mismatch problem. When Toyota put USB in the Prius in late 2009 (after I bought mine), they didn't use the latest possible USB standard. And then didn't update it for the 2012 refresh.

Meanwhile, USB standards kept advancing to higher and higher power levels, and customers started bringing along newer equipment using these new standards, and expecting higher charging currents. The result is a lot of disappointment today over a car system designed more than 10 years ago -- an eternity in the computer and smartphone worlds, but quite normal in the car world.