Ford Nav Charger Locations

[bludzeph]

Charge primarily at home with only about 10 on the road charges since purchase in 2022.
Recently needed on the road charges during trips and was sent to chargers that required a credit card (EVO at a Pilot) when an EA charger was nearby. Seems like Ford is accepting fees to direct their NAV user to lesser stations. Very annoying!

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[Space_Pony]

Charge primarily at home with only about 10 on the road charges since purchase in 2022.
Recently needed on the road charges during trips and was sent to chargers that required a credit card (EVO at a Pilot) when an EA charger was nearby. Seems like Ford is accepting fees to direct their NAV user to lesser stations. Very annoying!

Pilot/FJ prices are higher than what I will pay. Check prices and reviews on Plugshare. You can also check out the Tesla Superchargers on the Tesla app.

 

[RickMachE]

Charge primarily at home with only about 10 on the road charges since purchase in 2022.
Recently needed on the road charges during trips and was sent to chargers that required a credit card (EVO at a Pilot) when an EA charger was nearby. Seems like Ford is accepting fees to direct their NAV user to lesser stations. Very annoying!

I think you mean EVgo...

No, Ford is not being paid to direct you to any network.

This is a case of you not understanding. EVgo is part of the BlueOval Charge Network. No credit card is needed, you simply activate via FordPass, or the Public Charging app in the vehicle.

You have been here since 2021, and haven't read this?

https://www.ford.com/support/how-to...ork/what-is-the-ford-blueoval-charge-network/

 

[Charge_Rob]

Charge primarily at home with only about 10 on the road charges since purchase in 2022.
Recently needed on the road charges during trips and was sent to chargers that required a credit card (EVO at a Pilot) when an EA charger was nearby. Seems like Ford is accepting fees to direct their NAV user to lesser stations. Very annoying!

EVgo doesn't require tapping a credit card - since EVgo is in BlueOval Charge Network you can use the FordPass app to pay for charging easily, same with all 14 BlueOval Charge Network partners including Electrify America and Tesla.

All 14 BlueOval Charge Network partners where you can use FordPass instead of the chaos of provider apps include:

• Blink
• Circuit électrique
• ChargePoint (including Mercedes-Benz Charging Network)
• Electrify America (supports Plug & Charge)
• EV Connect (including ChargeSmart EV)
• EVgo
• FLO
• FPL EVolution
• Ford Charge
• Francis Energy
• IONNA
• Shell Recharge
• Red E
• Tesla (supports Plug & Charge)

I will also clarify that there is no paid placement of chargers in FordPass or Connected Navigation. Quite the opposite, there is a cost to Ford to provide these services to drivers.

 

[AtomicInternet]

I remember when we were happy the nav knew about any chargers at all. What a difference 2 years makes lol.

 

[Dana3502]

What I find frustrating about the Ford Nav is that it would rather send me 20 miles out of my way than let me know that a Chevy dealership has a charger.

 

[Charge_Rob]

What I find frustrating about the Ford Nav is that it would rather send me 20 miles out of my way than let me know that a Chevy dealership has a charger.

What charger, and how new is it? Happy to look into why it isn't appearing in search.

 

[RickMachE]

EVgo doesn't require tapping a credit card - since EVgo is in BlueOval Charge Network you can use the FordPass app to pay for charging easily, same with all 14 BlueOval Charge Network partners including Electrify America and Tesla.

All 14 BlueOval Charge Network partners where you can use FordPass instead of the chaos of provider apps include:

• Blink
• Circuit électrique
• ChargePoint (including Mercedes-Benz Charging Network)
• Electrify America (supports Plug & Charge)
• EV Connect (including ChargeSmart EV)
• EVgo
• FLO
• FPL EVolution
• Ford Charge
• Francis Energy
• IONNA
• Shell Recharge
• Red E
• Tesla (supports Plug & Charge)

I will also clarify that there is no paid placement of chargers in FordPass or Connected Navigation. Quite the opposite, there is a cost to Ford to provide these services to drivers.

Wish I had said this...

 

[RickMachE]

What I find frustrating about the Ford Nav is that it would rather send me 20 miles out of my way than let me know that a Chevy dealership has a charger.

I have been driving a Mach-E since July 2021, putting close to 40,000 miles on them (plus 15,000 on the Lightning). I can count on less than the fingers of one hand the number of times I've charged at a dealership...

Why?

1) Often inaccessible
2) Usually SLOW
3) Often EXPENSIVE, as compared to alternatives like Tesla SuperChargers and EA

I did charge at a Ford dealership in Nevada. It was free, as they hadn't yet turned on the pay feature (and didn't for a very long time after), but it was a 120kW charger putting out about 108, vs. nearby EA putting out a higher rate of charge.

I remember a Chevy dealership being free, so I sat for like 90 minutes after dinner one night, versus driving a distance and paying to charge.

And a dealership in a podunk town that was convenient.

Dealership chargers clearly are needed to fill gaps, but in many cases there are better alternatives.

 

[Dana3502]

What charger, and how new is it? Happy to look into why it isn't appearing in search.

Karl Chevrolet in Webster City, IA and Karl Chevrolet in Ankeny, IA do not appear in the app. Kind of ironic since I bought my Mach-E from Karl Ford. Webster City is right on my way to visit my dad, but the Ford App wanted to send me to Ford Dodge Ford 24 miles away.

EDIT: I just checked and Ankeny is now in the app. Either you are really quick at working on these things or it was added in the past month or so! I know the Ankeny charger has been there for a couple years because I did promo work for Chevy the past 2 summers and that's where our vehicles were stored. I don't know about Webster City since I've been an EV driver for only a couple months so had no reason to pay attention before.

 

[Charge_Rob]

Karl Chevrolet in Webster City, IA and Karl Chevrolet in Ankeny, IA do not appear in the app. Kind of ironic since I bought my Mach-E from Karl Ford. Webster City is right on my way to visit my dad, but the Ford App wanted to send me to Ford Dodge Ford 24 miles away.

EDIT: I just checked and Ankeny is now in the app. Either you are really quick at working on these things or it was added in the past month or so! I know the Ankeny charger has been there for a couple years because I did promo work for Chevy the past 2 summers and that's where our vehicles were stored. I don't know about Webster City since I've been an EV driver for only a couple months so had no reason to pay attention before.

Both Karl Chevrolet locations are in FordPass (you have to remove the default "Ultra Fast Only" filter to find the Webster City one, since it's 50 kW), so they should flow through to Connected Navigation within a few weeks of being in FordPass.

As to why it routed you 24 miles away, it's possible it did the math based on the very different charge speeds - Fort Dodge Ford is a 180 kW charger, Karl Chevrolet's is 50 kW. Just speculation, but it may have computed an earlier ETA that way due to the shorter (faster) charge stop.

But definitely interesting to look into. We want to make sure we have the most accurate charger data possible - thanks for bringing this up.

 

[Dana3502]

Both Karl Chevrolet locations are in FordPass (you have to remove the default "Ultra Fast Only" filter to find the Webster City one, since it's 50 kW), so they should flow through to Connected Navigation within a few weeks of being in FordPass.

As to why it routed you 24 miles away, it's possible it did the math based on the very different charge speeds - Fort Dodge Ford is a 180 kW charger, Karl Chevrolet's is 50 kW. Just speculation, but it may have computed an earlier ETA that way due to the shorter (faster) charge stop.

But definitely interesting to look into. We want to make sure we have the most accurate charger data possible - thanks for bringing this up.

Thanks for the info! I'm considering driving my Mach-E to help friends on RAGBRAI which is a bike ride across rural Iowa so I want to learn as much about charging and planning as I can before that.

 

[RickMachE]

The benefits of using tools like ABRP and PlugShare is multifold. I find a huge benefit in planning on my desktop computer, with a big screen. ABRP with a free account lets you save your route, then open it on your phone, for use in the car.

When I plan a trip, I do the following:

1) Put route in GoogleMaps to determine the quickest non-EV route in miles and time. Why? Because then if you see a noticeable discrepancy with the EV tools, you can say "why?" and figure it out.

2) I then put the route into ABRP. I have prioritized two networks - EA and Tesla - because they are almost always the best option. That means if they're are 3 options at a stop, including say Pilot / Flying J, it won't select that (it's also always the most expensive option). If it's a multiday trip, I figure out where I want to stop for each night, and look for hotels I like (Hampton, Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield) to see if they are nearby and if they have free charging. Sometimes all the stars align, but you don't want to pay $50 more for a hotel with charging when the charging is going to be worth say $25... I try to ensure there is DC fast charging at the exit in case the hotel chargers are broken or full.

3) I look at each charging stop in PlugShare to read the reviews. I then look at each charging stop in their app for pricing and to see if it's down and PlugShare may not know.

I look at pricing for two reasons. 1) Should I move to EA, or to Tesla, instead of what's picked because it will make sense to get the membership, with discount, on this trip? 2) None of the tools take pricing into account. Sometimes Tesla is a lot cheaper, almost never is EA cheaper, but sometimes there are no options. 2) A location can have multiple Tesla locations within a few miles. Often they are priced very differently, like 20% or more. Going from 10 to 80% in my Lightning is 92kWh. Assuming 20% is 6 cents, that's $5.52 wasted on ONE STOP.

4) If it's a long trip, I save the main ABRP trip, but then break it into days and save those. I don't want the mobile app redoing day 3 if I don't change my plans.

5) During the trip, I have Android Auto with Google Maps on the main display (used to be Ford navigation, but on the last trip I tried GM and liked it). I have ABRP running on my phone also, and GoogleMaps running on my wife's phone. As I go along, I evaluate how things are going and whether I am beating the plan. If so, I sometimes push charging past what is planned, if available, which can then shift things a bit.

 

[bbulkow]

Charge primarily at home with only about 10 on the road charges since purchase in 2022.
Recently needed on the road charges during trips and was sent to chargers that required a credit card (EVO at a Pilot) when an EA charger was nearby. Seems like Ford is accepting fees to direct their NAV user to lesser stations. Very annoying!

I wouldn't assume malice when incompetence is more likely.

No nav is perfect right now. I use abrp with a subscription, plus google maps, plus fords public charging app, with a little sprinkle of plugshare. Ford nav charge stations are very poorly organized and doesn't pay attention to your route.

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