E.U. gets 5-years of free charging access

[macchiaz-o]

Speaking of Ford Pass... is anyone else finding the app regularly crashing on Android? It apparently must be running in the background, because even without actually opening the app, I get a "FordPass has stopped working" crash message a few times per week.

No problems with crashing or reported crashing.

Right now the app is actually working well... Faster than in the past. But it's still obviously at the mercy of Ford's web back end which I've found to be ridiculously slow and unreliable.

I'm using a Google Pixel 3a w/ Android 11, 10/5/2020 security update, and 9/1/2020 Google Play system update.

Sponsored

 

[ajmartineau]

@TheLight75
I think the title of this thread should be changed now that you know the charging is not free for 5 years.

 

[trutolife27]

yes, the thread should be taken down.

 

[dbsb3233]

I'd say it's highly misleading, at best. "free charging access" implies access to free charging, which it's not.

And it's not even "charging access". Anyone can access those chargers with or without the Ford app. It doesn't enable access to charging.

What it really is is free access to the Ford app, which just makes charging payment easier.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I'd say it's highly misleading, at best. "free charging access" implies access to free charging, which it's not.

And it's not even "charging access". Anyone can access those chargers with or without the Ford app. It doesn't enable access to charging.

What it really is is free access to the Ford app, which just makes charging payment easier.

No, it's more than that. It's access to the network with membership rates.

 

[dbsb3233]

No, it's more than that. It's access to the network with membership rates.

That's fine, but it's still not access to "charging". Access to discounts, yes; access to trip planning, yes; access to easier payment, yes (all via the app account). But not access to "charging" (everyone has access to that), and especially not access to "free charging" as the headline implies.

They should have said something like:

E.U. gets 5-years of charging features for free

 

[Jolteon]

I think you've missed what I said.

We shouldn't have to pay to use Plug&Charge. That that is a subscription is outrageous.

I did not say the charging should be free.

 

[Jolteon]

Also, they seem to be doing a lot of integration work on the various networks. That isn't free to them.

And since the MSRP of the car isn't free, I paid for that service when I buy the car.

 

[Jolteon]

I respectfully disagree, especially with your last statement. It's your opinion, but you state it like it's everyone's requirement.

There is a cost to Ford and Greenlots for this service. They are choosing to make all of us pay for the first X years of it by bundling some amount of that cost into the vehicle purchase price. After that, more of the cost shifts to the individuals that want to keep the benefit, and some or all of the cost shifts away from those that don't want to pay for the convenience.

With how infrequently I intend to charge away from home, I'm fine with this.

Also, I don't think we know one way or the other if Plug and Charge *requires* FPCN. I'm *guessing* that it can work without FPCN, too. I should be able to register my car directly with a supplier like ChargePoint, or indirectly through a FPCN competitor like Greenlots (as hypothetical exame), so that future charges with them are authorized simply by plugging in the car.

With how frequently I need to charge away from home, I'm very much not fine with this.

I don't get how Plug&Charge works without the Ford server authenticating the car's payment. That sounds like what "FordPass Charging Network" is. What else could it be? I mean I don't need to subscribe to a Ford-skinned rebrand of Plugshare if all the network is is a list of chargers.

 

[macchiaz-o]

With how frequently I need to charge away from home, I'm very much not fine with this.

Except you are okay paying subscription fees to Tesla for map and podcast access? Fine. But it does seem early to dismiss a function when we don't even know its cost, yet. Especially when alternative ways to get discounted charging rates already exist, like directly subscribing as an EA+ member.

I don't get how Plug&Charge works without the Ford server authenticating the car's payment. That sounds like what "FordPass Charging Network" is. What else could it be? I mean I don't need to subscribe to a Ford-skinned rebrand of Plugshare if all the network is is a list of chargers.

Seems like FPCN is:

• One membership (subscription) in lieu of individual charging network memberships and/or subscriptions.
• Pass through billing to the payment method on file with FordPass.
• Plug&Charge, where available.
• (Probably??) "Member only" charging rates, when available.

That's it, as best I can tell. Other charging related functions such locating chargers, navigating to them, and seeing which ones are in use... That's part of the car's Ford Connected Services. Not part of the optional FPCN.

Plug&Charge is a portion of the ISO/IEC 15118 standard, not proprietary to Ford.

Barring more information, I'm not understanding why FordPass would need to participate in every Plug&Charge session. It may depend upon Ford allowing vehicle owners/drivers to manage the PKI certificates loaded into the car. We don't yet know if this is or will be supported by Ford.

Hypothetically, one way this could be achieved is by supporting 3rd party payment processors to get their certs loaded and activated in the car through a quick one-time authorization between their smart phone app, SYNC 4A, and the vehicle owner (via touchscreen confirmation). Much like how we all pair our Bluetooth devices.

 

[Jolteon]

Except you are okay paying subscription fees to Tesla for map and podcast access? Fine. But it does seem early to dismiss a function when we don't even know its cost, yet. Especially when alternative ways to get discounted charging rates already exist, like directly subscribing as an EA+ member.



Seems like FPCN is:

• One membership (subscription) in lieu of individual charging network memberships and/or subscriptions.
• Pass through billing to the payment method on file with FordPass.
• Plug&Charge, where available.
• (Probably??) "Member only" charging rates, when available.

That's it, as best I can tell. Other charging related functions such locating chargers, navigating to them, and seeing which ones are in use... That's part of the car's Ford Connected Services. Not part of the optional FPCN.

Plug&Charge is a portion of the ISO/IEC 15118 standard, not proprietary to Ford.

Barring more information, I'm not understanding why FordPass would need to participate in every Plug&Charge session. It may depend upon Ford allowing vehicle owners/drivers to manage the PKI certificates loaded into the car. We don't yet know if this is or will be supported by Ford.

Hypothetically, one way this could be achieved is by supporting 3rd party payment processors to get their certs loaded and activated in the car through a quick one-time authorization between their smart phone app, SYNC 4A, and the vehicle owner (via touchscreen confirmation). Much like how we all pair our Bluetooth devices.

I should be clear - I'm objecting to Plug&Charge only as a subscription service.

Since Ford hasn't provided enough info on how this "network" works, I'm left to assume that Plug&Charge is part of the subscription.

I completely agree that the rest of the FPCN (discounted rates, etc.) are optional and that's fine for a subscription.

 

[Jolteon]

Of course. I still think you're ignoring that I have no expectation of free *charging* just free lifetime Plug&Charge functionality.

Charging for a Plug&Charge subscription would be like if Tesla charged a fee for *access* to the Supercharger ecosystem, which you then had to pay for each charge.

 

[SashaLondon]

That's fine, but it's still not access to "charging". Access to discounts, yes; access to trip planning, yes; access to easier payment, yes (all via the app account). But not access to "charging" (everyone has access to that), and especially not access to "free charging" as the headline implies.

They should have said something like:

E.U. gets 5-years of charging features for free

As a massive anti-brexiter, I would sadly say that should be the EU and UK (I hope).

Sponsored