Tesla charging so far unreliable

[aggiepm]

On our trip from NorCal to SoCal I was excited I could finally use Tesla charging because there are always waits at the EA stops in I-5.
On the way to SoCal first charging stop I had to use the Tesla app to start charging. Second stop worked fine, plug and charge just worked. Third stop I had to try a couple chargers, but plug and charge did work once I got to a charger that worked.

Now for the way back. First stop, could not get Tesla to work, tried multiple chargers, all got red ring of death.
Second stop I just went EA because the Tesla chargers are in a place where you have to make the bumper hit a high curb to make the cable reach. Third stop, again tried multiple chargers, none talked to my car, ended up having to wait in line at EA.

Thankfully I had it planned out that each stop also had EA next to Tesla.

When I say Tesla could not even talk to my car, it would not even pass the first handshake and lock the charger. It just could not talk to the car.

I have the A2Z adapter, maybe it is that. I will try Tesla again with the official Ford adapter. But as of right now, I'm would not trust Tesla, specially if that was the only charger at a stop and I wouldn't have enough charge to get to an EA or something. Yes I made sure the lock switch was all the way locked.

Anyway, I'm just sitting at an EA and annoyed ??

Sponsored

 

[B177y]

Sounds like you're not getting the adapter and Tesla cable all the way connected and locked. You really need to slam them together and get the lock to click closed.

 

[Jlbern27]

On our trip from NorCal to SoCal I was excited I could finally use Tesla charging because there are always waits at the EA stops in I-5.
On the way to SoCal first charging stop I had to use the Tesla app to start charging. Second stop worked fine, plug and charge just worked. Third stop I had to try a couple chargers, but plug and charge did work once I got to a charger that worked.

Now for the way back. First stop, could not get Tesla to work, tried multiple chargers, all got red ring of death.
Second stop I just went EA because the Tesla chargers are in a place where you have to make the bumper hit a high curb to make the cable reach. Third stop, again tried multiple chargers, none talked to my car, ended up having to wait in line at EA.

Thankfully I had it planned out that each stop also had EA next to Tesla.

When I say Tesla could not even talk to my car, it would not even pass the first handshake and lock the charger. It just could not talk to the car.

I have the A2Z adapter, maybe it is that. I will try Tesla again with the official Ford adapter. But as of right now, I'm would not trust Tesla, specially if that was the only charger at a stop and I wouldn't have enough charge to get to an EA or something. Yes I made sure the lock switch was all the way locked.

Anyway, I'm just sitting at an EA and annoyed ??

I have driven this many times from socal to nocal and havent had any issues with tesla. I do use the ford adapter. Try the ev range chargers next time. They are always empty

 

[aggiepm]

Sounds like you're not getting the adapter and Tesla cable all the way connected and locked. You really need to slam them together and get the lock to click closed.

ya it does seem that way, but I made sure the Tesla cord was all the way in and the lock it set, not sure how it could be in any more. and I did use the adapter successfully on the way down to SoCal. I even tried tht dam charge post at one station and still no dice.
We'll see how the Ford adapter works, because I agree with you it does seem like I'm not getting the lock switch all the way locked in ?‍

 

[FrankieG889D]

Not all Tesla Stations are usable. Maybe that’s the issue?

 

[Jgg181]

Just drove from Orlando to Dallas, and Dallas to Austin.

My experience going West is that I used Ford Electrify Superchargers to Dallas(6 stops over 2 days). Variable pricing and all chargers operated fine in the Electrify America portfolio…my experience.

However, while in the Dallas Metro, I joined the Tesla ‘Club’ for $13 for the month, and I am using nothing but Teslas, Level 3 and Level 4 chargers, and they all operated fantastic, and pricing was constant…$0.37-$0.39.

With that, I am doing nothing but Tesla Superchargers all the way home(Orlando), and using the ABRP app, which complete with full performance and charger, types, and charger preferences in it’s mapping filters.

For me, it is the best long-haul charger/mapping app I have found after trying and using over 5 different apps, prepping for this trip.

Just remember, if you use the Tesla Charger app to charge, I recommend turning off Ford’s “Plug and Play’, that way you will not confuse the vehicle or charger about when to start, and with which charger platform(Tesla membership, or Ford Electrify America.)

Finally, I use A2Z adapter, and the nuances everyone points out initially happened with me also, but I have rectified that by just placing the adapter on and off the Tesla charger numerous times, so no more ‘friction’ inserting issues, and it starts right up, once I tell the Tesla, the charger #(1A,2B,3C, etc).

‘Happy travels!?

 

[bhatamey26]

Sorry to hear about your experience!

I went on a trip from San Jose to Los Angeles this week. Came back today afternoon. My first long trip (multiple supercharging!) on my Mach-E. And it went as smooth as it could.
I had gotten my A2Z adapter just a week ago. Had already tried on a nearby supercharger before heading for this one.

Just for your help.
While going from San Jose to Anaheim I had 2 stops. One at Coalinga Tesla Supercharger and the other was at Outlets at Tejon Ranch.
While coming back I had 2 stops too. The first one was at Outlets at Tejon Ranch and second one was at Firebaugh Tesla Supercharger.

Apart from the one at Coalinga, where I had to push the charging cable hard into the adapter, everything else worked in the first attempt. Of-course I was using Tesla App and had purchased the membership and found it easy to use than the plug and charge. One issue I found with Ford App's plug and charge is, sometimes it shows the charger as busy, even if the charger is unoccupied. Hence went ahead with the Tesla App.

The Mach-E definitely occupies two charging spaces. And needs to be parked very-close to the charger.

I always charged from 25%-90% SOC as it was my first trip and I was a bit anxious. I was getting 115kW for initial 4-5 mins, then till 80% SOC it was about 85kW and after that till it 90% it was down to 28-32kW.

I didn't click any pictures, because I thought I was late to the party, which I already am!

Happy Travels! And let me know if I can be of any help.

 

[voxel]

A2Z adapter is a bit finicky because of the locking mechanism. My first 4 attempts failed with three different chargers.

 

[leeman]

I gave mine a try didn't work and then I realized that in my area in Orange County it's $.82 a kilowatt

 

[Mr. Toejam]

I used the supercharger at Enos Drive near Tupman. I did have to maneuver my car just right to charge, but the A2Z and Tesla supercharger were flawless. I used the app to pay because I haven’t had an update since last August. Get the connector all the way in and you must have the lock fully secured.

 

[Flashgolfer]

The title of this post is accurate, but misleading. Using a third party adapter would seem to be the issue. A better title would be "issues with A2Z adapter". I have used the Ford adapter at multiple Tesla locations around the Boston area (and in New Hampshire) multiple times with ZERO issues. It is so flawless, that my wife, who normally avoids anything related to 'charging,' has now offered to charge at Tesla anytime. Access to the Tesla is a game changer for me. From reading the responses, the issue is A2Z, not Tesla.

 

[hack-e]

That sounds like a pretty bad experience. I hope you have a better experience in the future. Superchargers have worked well for me so far.

I am currently on ~5,000 mile trip from Texas to the North East (AK, TN, KY, OH, PA, NY, Ontario, MD, DC, DE, NJ, MA). I decided to get EA and Tesla memberships to save money, which means I have turned off P&C and then am forced to use EA and Tesla apps to activate. I would have used the Ford/Tesla adapter but it arrived 1 day (< 24 hours) after I left, so I am using he A2Z adapter.

I figured I would use Tesla half of he time but as it stands now I have charged 28 times, 25 on Tesla and 3 on EA. I have had 0 (zero) problems with the A2Z adapter. I had 1 Tesla Supercharger in TN that seemed to only want to charge at 36 kW. I had two other Tesla Superchargers that seemed a bit slow (~80 kW when expected maybe ~100 kW - even tried the wet towel trick with no luck). For EA, I have tried charging at 4 locations. One just yesterday was full (1 broken, being repaired, 3 taken). Of the other three locations I used, only 1 worked fully. The other 2 were giving about 36 kW and 60-80 kW max.

Tesla Superchargers have made this trip so easy. I don't even bother looking for EA anymore. I figured at a minimum that helps other CCS users by me not taking up a spot.

I did use the A2Z with P&C about 3 times before the trip with no issues. The very first time I plugged in the A2Z it seemed difficult but every time after has been fine.

One thing that Ford needs to figure out...and I'm not sure if it's a Ford issue or a standards issue, but why must P&C be mutually exclusive with membership pricing?

Does anyone else besides Tesla have P&C with membership pricing?

It's really inexcusable that we can't have both with our Ford EVs.

 

[dbsb3233]

Not all Tesla Stations are usable. Maybe that’s the issue?

Good point. Even though most of the stations along I-5 are V3, maybe he happened to stop at some of the V2s instead, not realizing those aren't compatible?

 

[dbsb3233]

Just remember, if you use the Tesla Charger app to charge, I recommend turning off Ford’s “Plug and Play’, that way you will not confuse the vehicle or charger about when to start, and with which charger platform(Tesla membership, or Ford Electrify America.)

The other way to do it is to leave Plug&Charge turned on, but activate the session in the Tesla app BEFORE you plug in. It gives you a couple of minutes to plug in before it times out. Activating in the app first ensures that grabs the session rather P&C.

But be prepared to plug in quickly. I think you have about 2 minutes. If you fumble around and take too long to get the adapter on, or have to move the car closer, etc, you may time out without realizing it. If that happens, P&C would grab the session instead and you'd be paying the non-discounted rate with your Ford account.

 

[dbsb3233]

Does anyone else besides Tesla have P&C with membership pricing?

Unfortunately not. Same deal as with EA -- if you want to use the Tesla membership discount or the EA Pass+ membership discount, you have to pay with the Tesla or EA accounts. Which means you have to initiate the session with those apps (or in EA's case, you can use the phone tap method too).

Plug&Charge is a Ford feature, paying with your Ford account. Same with the FordPass app, and the Public Charging app on the car screen.

Ford did attempt to offer it's own membership discount plan 2 years ago for EA chargers, but it failed to work right and they shut off signups a few weeks later. They tried again just with a small group of testers and it worked that time, but for whatever reason they never opened it back up to the public. I suspect that's about the time they decided to put their focus on a Tesla/NACS partnership instead.

Hopefully Ford will resurrect their own discount plan again so we can use it with P&C.

Sponsored