Charging on the left - what was Ford thinking?

[Njia]

The charger puts you and an open charger door and the cord in harm's way when parked at the curb on the street.

Eventually, plenty of owners will be parking at the curb while plugged in. Why put the charger on the left side of the car?

For me, it's not about street parking, it's about where the charger is located in my garage (Driver's side). This is fine if I pull forward into my garage, but I'd prefer to back in - so I'd rather have the charging port on the passenger's side.

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[dtbaker61]

I think most EVs have their charge ports on the drivers side. That way drive can easily plug and unplug without having to walk around the car.

To your point, I tried a curbside charger this past summer and it worked fine.

that is SOOOOOOOO cool!

... I wish more cities would put in streetside charging as they replace the old sodium lights with LED ... If it was an un-metered 120v outlet you could trickle charge while parked to inspire use of public facilities, shopping districts, etc.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

that is SOOOOOOOO cool!

... I wish more cities would put in streetside charging as they replace the old sodium lights with LED ... If it was an un-metered 120v outlet you could trickle charge while parked to inspire use of public facilities, shopping districts, etc.

It was so cool to see the cable lower down from the pole and then retract up when I was done. It’s a pilot program with National Grid and a city in MA. Something like this or the parking meter style could really help people who don’t have driveways or garages.

 

[dtbaker61]

The charger puts you and an open charger door and the cord in harm's way when parked at the curb on the street.

Eventually, plenty of owners will be parking at the curb while plugged in. Why put the charger on the left side of the car?

All the public stations I've seen have had perpendicular parking so they can be used either side and head-in or tail-in.

I like having the port door on drivers side so I can visually see it is closed when I get in/out.....

 

[nmundo]

I think most EVs have their charge ports on the drivers side. That way drive can easily plug and unplug without having to walk around the car.

To your point, I tried a curbside charger this past summer and it worked fine.

Parking this way is illegal in many states. If parked in the direction of traffic the charging door and plug stick way out into traffic. I've seen plenty of spots in urban areas with curbside charging where you end up having to drape the cord over the hood to get it plugged in. It's one of the first things I noticed when I got mine. Adding wiring for a second AC port like Porche did would've been best.

 

[JamieGeek]

Downtown Toledo has chargers on the street but diagonal parking:

Here

 

[chrisGT]

The charger is on the left side so you will not forget it is plugged in and drive away creating a hazard. Hard to miss it when it is staring at you as you sit in the driver's seat.

The car should not be drivable when a charger is plugged in. I haven't tried with the MME but another EV I had would not move (no D or R) if a charger was plugged in.

 

[nvabill]

The car should not be drivable when a charger is plugged in. I haven't tried with the MME but another EV I had would not move (no D or R) if a charger was plugged in.

Yeah, that makes sense.

 

[FPLiptak]

Well, I would have liked it to open like a Countach door (pop out, pitch forward). Oh, wait, my Fusion’s charge door opens like that! ??

As a former Fusion Energi owner, I concur!!!

 

[Franchise]

Ford actually put considerable thought into it before putting it where it is on the .... Focus Electric.

It has been in that position on Ford plugins ever since 2012.

It is also in that position on the Chevy Bolt(s).

Looks like Audi eTrons also have it on the driver's side (yup UK versions have it on the right).

My etron has it on both. But only used the passenger side once - at a Volta station. IMO, especially with the mechanical port door, it’s just more crap to break having it on both sides.

 

[Maquis]

Charging in September I saw one on the front, don't remember the make. Dead center.

Hyundai Kona is front dead center. Not a bad design from a convenience standpoint, but I could see it getting damaged to the point of being unusable in a fairly minor front end collision.

But really, location of the charge port fits into the category of "First world problems" in my book!

 

[RickMachE]

A front outlet would not work in many garages.

 

[hetgeleteken]

Where do you charge parked at the curb?

I have seen some people complaining that the front left charge-port opening to the front sometimes gets in the way of the DC charging cables, but to me it makes sense to have it driver side up-front to make it easier to plug when I get into the driveway

Euh like everywhere in major cities across Europe.

 

[Vulnox]

Biggest issue with it being front left is if Tesla opens superchargers to all vehicles like they mentioned and seem to be doing already in a pilot program in Europe. The supercharger cables are short and intended to plug into the driver side rear of a Tesla, which if you pull forward with the MME the cable would be on the passenger side and not long enough to reach driver, and if you back in, it would be at the rear of driver and not long enough to reach the port.

So in Europe, there are pics of MMEs blocking two spots, essentially, because they park to the right of the intended charger and plug in, so the intended charger spot is empty but charger is in use, and the next spot over is taken by the MME, but that associated EVSE isn't in use.

Would say it would be a good chance for a market for 5 foot or so extensions, but for DC fast charging without cooling for that 5 foot section, could be a bad recipe.

 

[FPLiptak]

A front outlet would not work in many garages.

Considering that both of my EVSEs are located in the front of the garage front or either side would make no difference.

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