Behind The Scenes: Ford Fast Charging Adapter

[kens]

I had to order my adapter from Canada. Thanks for nothing.

Me too. Delivery was quick though.

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[bbulkow]

Just curious about a few claims made in the opening post...

• Now when traveling on most highways in the U.S., Ford customers are within 18 miles of a DC fast charger in the BlueOval Charge Network.

my questions...

...

If when traveling to be within 18 miles of a DC faster charger for most Americans then it would imply at least 1 DC faster charger every 36 miles. The statement doesn't mention whether the chargers are along the route. My experience, I find the nearest charger to be often 50+ miles on most points along my route (this is something of a guess). The claim seems questionable and misleading if it is an average.

...

That's not how I read the claim.

If I parse the claim about 18 miles, it says "on most highways in america". Most is more than half (51%). This would literally mean if you take all the highways (not miles), defining highways as interstates and state highways, Ford customers are within 18 miles of a "blue oval" fast charger over the entire highway. Including the non-highway miles to the charger location. That means there are half the highways which may have unlimited gaps - hundreds of miles - or zero chargers at all - and half the highways have no more than 36 miles. It does *not* say that on half the stretches or miles you are within 18 miles.

Therefore, let's take I-80, a pretty long highway. If there is any single stretch where you are 18.5 miles from a Blue Oval DC fast charger, that highway is off the list. Or, if there are literally no chargers anywhere near it.

Do the same exercise for every highway in America. 51% are covered, according to this claim.

I would say this claim isn't very useful!

It could massively understate the amount of fast chargers, or massively overstate it. It could be that there are 500 highways, and 1 of them has a 18.5 mile spot. It could mean that 250 highways, with 99% of the miles, have zero chargers. Another 249 highways, all less than 10 miles long, are near a charger. The answer is probably somewhere between

A better claim would be "more than half of the *freeway miles* in america are within 18 miles of a DC Fast Charger, 99% of miles are within 40 miles of a charger, and there is no location more than 100 from a Fast Charger, excluding the freak states, alaska and hawaii" [ sorry, simpson's joke ]

It's possible Ford *did* mean "freeway miles", not "freeways". If so, the press release should be updated.

In keeping with these recent "in detail" releases with details, like the city that got the last charger, awesome, they could name the mile marker furthest from any charger in the US at the moment. That would be fun, it could be a pilgrage place for Ford owners, like the "lonliest road in america" (route 50 in NV).

PS. I looked up the definition of "highway" in Black's Law and Cornell Law. It isn't our usual common language definition that is limited access roads or routes, it's far more inclusive. " A free and public road, way, or street; one which every person has the right to use. " Cornell law points out that highways appear to contain bicycle routes. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/highway . It does point out that toll roads are not highways, so it would seem Ford should uninclude in the analysis any miles that are toll-required (eg, stretches of I-95 and bridges).

 

[jdeve]

That's not how I read the claim.

If I parse the claim about 18 miles, it says "on most highways in america". Most is more than half (51%). This would literally mean if you take all the highways (not miles), defining highways as interstates and state highways, Ford customers are within 18 miles of a "blue oval" fast charger over the entire highway. Including the non-highway miles to the charger location. That means there are half the highways which may have unlimited gaps - hundreds of miles - or zero chargers at all - and half the highways have no more than 36 miles. It does *not* say that on half the stretches or miles you are within 18 miles.

Therefore, let's take I-80, a pretty long highway. If there is any single stretch where you are 18.5 miles from a Blue Oval DC fast charger, that highway is off the list. Or, if there are literally no chargers anywhere near it.

Do the same exercise for every highway in America. 51% are covered, according to this claim.

I would say this claim isn't very useful!

It could massively understate the amount of fast chargers, or massively overstate it. It could be that there are 500 highways, and 1 of them has a 18.5 mile spot. It could mean that 250 highways, with 99% of the miles, have zero chargers. Another 249 highways, all less than 10 miles long, are near a charger. The answer is probably somewhere between

A better claim would be "more than half of the *freeway miles* in america are within 18 miles of a DC Fast Charger, 99% of miles are within 40 miles of a charger, and there is no location more than 100 from a Fast Charger, excluding the freak states, alaska and hawaii" [ sorry, simpson's joke ]

It's possible Ford *did* mean "freeway miles", not "freeways". If so, the press release should be updated.

In keeping with these recent "in detail" releases with details, like the city that got the last charger, awesome, they could name the mile marker furthest from any charger in the US at the moment. That would be fun, it could be a pilgrage place for Ford owners, like the "lonliest road in america" (route 50 in NV).

PS. I looked up the definition of "highway" in Black's Law and Cornell Law. It isn't our usual common language definition that is limited access roads or routes, it's far more inclusive. " A free and public road, way, or street; one which every person has the right to use. " Cornell law points out that highways appear to contain bicycle routes. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/highway . It does point out that toll roads are not highways, so it would seem Ford should uninclude in the analysis any miles that are toll-required (eg, stretches of I-95 and bridges).

I guess I read it as freeway/highway miles. If I were to sentence diagram it the subject would be 'customers' and could be at any point on the highway (when traveling) and within 18 miles of the fast charger. Either way I agree is not a useful claim.

 

[DonM]

Pretty cool that you can actually run it over and it'll still be ok.

I was worried I wouldn't be able to buy one before summer road-trip season. Just bought 2 today for my 2 mach-e's.

 

[ThunderClap]

Message us your order number and we'll see what we can do for you!

UPDATE: If you haven't received an adapter and you're in the U.S. (lost in the mail?) you can call 844-589-0060

I never got any response after this!

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I never got any response after this!

@ThunderClap based on your order records it looks like you requested the adapter address be changed on 1/30 to a different address you ordered with, and a different address you provided us in your message this week. The adapter was shipped.

 

[ThunderClap]

@ThunderClap based on your order records it looks like you requested the adapter address be changed on 1/30 to a different address you ordered with, and a different address you provided us in your message this week. The adapter was shipped.

Yes, actually i requested change twice after that. I relocated 3 times since my initial order. And gave you the latest address on the message.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Yes, actually i requested change twice after that. I relocated 3 times since my initial order. And gave you the latest address on the message.

Based on the FedEx tracking you had the adapter held at a FedEx location instead of shipping to an address, and someone with the same last name signed for it the same day.

 

[bbulkow]

I guess I read it as freeway/highway miles. If I were to sentence diagram it the subject would be 'customers' and could be at any point on the highway (when traveling) and within 18 miles of the fast charger. Either way I agree is not a useful claim.

In my reading is "most highways" is clear, but I don't think they meant it. I think they meant most highway *miles*.

In any case, what happens on the other 49% of roads is pretty important. I'd love a more specific metric and statement. In keeping with these posts with specifics (keep em coming ford!)

And how about that "least electrified milepost", Ford? You have the data!

 

[areacode413]

Ford I am returning my old adapter tomorrow. Thanks for the updated replacement unit.?

 

[Jtbuster]

Based on the FedEx tracking you had the adapter held at a FedEx location instead of shipping to an address, and someone with the same last name signed for it the same day.


@Thunder

Based on the FedEx tracking you had the adapter held at a FedEx location instead of shipping to an address, and someone with the same last name signed for it the same day.

@https://www.macheforum.com/site/members/thunderclap.22379/
You just got rightly burned.

 

[CaptainKirk]

The Fast chargers are now back in stock, at least in the USA, but they’re not free.
I received mine from Ford today in Arizona after being on the waiting list since ordering my Mach e in Canada in August. At that time they were no longer free, so my cost here in AZ ended up being $US180 ($200-10% discount, plus tax).

It was a pretty fast and efficient process. Ford’s email arrived a week ago and encouraged owners to order quickly. I did a quick check and the Canadian site was still saying “out of stock”. But since I was visiting AZ it flipped me to the USA site, then a local dealer’s site. (A few states like AZ require you to go through a local dealer, most allow direct purchase online).
It was then shipped directly to me in AZ in 3 days from Dearborn, with no option of picking it up at the local dealer.
I just wanted to grab one of these as soon as they were available - weak $CDN or not - because it opens up so many more charging sites.

 

[AzYooper]

Hi Mustang Mach-E owners,

When we launched our complimentary Fast Charging Adapter (NACS) program one year ago, our team put a phrase on the top of every single box shipped to a customer: “Our Gift, Just For You.” And on the inside, Jim Farley penned a personal note to all our customers that celebrated the fact that Ford was unlocking access to thousands of Tesla Superchargers and, in turn, creating more charging options for the community.

It may have taken some time, but we’re proud to share we have fulfilled this promise. Every complimentary adapter reserved by our U.S. customers has been shipped. From customer reservation #1 in Austin, TX, to customer reservation #139,936 in Waconia, MN, we are truly grateful for those who have charged with us (and patiently waited).

Yes. Nearly 140,000 complimentary adapters… But you already knew that with your spreadsheet trackers. ?

​

Thank you and happy charging!

Robert and Brian

I received my Tesla Version adapter in September 2024 and I thank Ford for that. It was my understanding at that time that those adapters were subject to a recall and should not be used, and that a Lectron replacement was on the way. I have not received a Lectron at this time. Is it still coming or did I misunderstand something? In the meantime I am hesitant to use the original Tesla adapter.

 

[Msnwcpa]

Hi Mustang Mach-E owners,

When we launched our complimentary Fast Charging Adapter (NACS) program one year ago, our team put a phrase on the top of every single box shipped to a customer: “Our Gift, Just For You.” And on the inside, Jim Farley penned a personal note to all our customers that celebrated the fact that Ford was unlocking access to thousands of Tesla Superchargers and, in turn, creating more charging options for the community.

It may have taken some time, but we’re proud to share we have fulfilled this promise. Every complimentary adapter reserved by our U.S. customers has been shipped. From customer reservation #1 in Austin, TX, to customer reservation #139,936 in Waconia, MN, we are truly grateful for those who have charged with us (and patiently waited).

Yes. Nearly 140,000 complimentary adapters… But you already knew that with your spreadsheet trackers. ?

Creating the Ford Fast Charging Adapter​

One key learning from our complimentary adapter program? Our customers wanted a durable, reliable, and robust NACS adapter. And they wanted it ASAP.
Supply for adapters constrained quickly, however we were quietly prototyping a co-developed adapter with Lectron by mid-2024 to ramp supply, specifically for Ford customers like you. In January 2025 we had shipped 60,000 adapters, and by the first week of March we had shipped 80,000 more. It’s also now available for purchase.

Follow this link to hear more from our charging team about how it came to life. The Ford Fast Charging Adapter is tough.



You’ve made it this far in our post, here’s some charging fast facts:

• In 2024, Ford became the first automaker to unlock the Tesla Supercharger network in the U.S. for its electric vehicle customers. Now, the BlueOval Charge Network includes over 180,000 chargers.
• BlueOval Charge Network now has more than 44,000 DC fast chargers. This is a more than 53% increase from the number of DC fast chargers available to our customers in early 2024.
• Now when traveling on most highways in the U.S., Ford customers are within 18 miles of a DC fast charger in the BlueOval Charge Network.
• February 2025 was our all-time high for Ford electric vehicles at the Supercharger network (~20% of all public charging visits) in the BlueOval Charge Network.

To our current electric vehicle customers and eagle-eyed forum community: Thank you for trusting us as we continue to grow the community with you. We truly value your feedback, and we can’t wait to show you what we can unlock next.

Thank you and happy charging!

Robert and Brian

Thank you Team Ford!

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I received my Tesla Version adapter in September 2024 and I thank Ford for that. It was my understanding at that time that those adapters were subject to a recall and should not be used, and that a Lectron replacement was on the way. I have not received a Lectron at this time. Is it still coming or did I misunderstand something? In the meantime I am hesitant to use the original Tesla adapter.

Only a batch of the Fast Charging Adapters were subject to the customer satisfaction program. If you were not contacted via email, your adapter is not impacted.

Reminder:
Performance is identical for both Ford-approved adapters. Notable differences include the physical dimensions and the disconnection process.

The Fast Charging Adapter (NACS) has a release tab to disconnect from the Tesla charging cord.

The Ford-branded Fast Charging Adapter (NACS) has a release lever to disconnect from the Tesla charging cord.

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