Fordpass charging logistics: when will we know?

[As3357]

Now that the cars are actually starting to ship, seeing Tom Molougney's plug-and-charge session as well as his follow-on comments in this week's insidevs blog has once again got me thinking about the mysterious FordPass charging network and the procedure for actually using one's account for charging. Until now it has been premature to expect that info to come out, but now that the cars are shipping it feels like some information would be nice to have.

While EA supports the aforementioned "plug and charge", what happens if it doesn't work and the session doesn't initiate? Do we need to use EA's app to start the session or will Ford's app do that? What about other networks, particularly those that require fobs, NFC cards, or even credit cards? If we have a problem, is Ford frontline support or do we call the charger company and what credentials will they need?

I get that the owner's manual can't provide that level of detail, but since we are actually in "the information age" it seems like one ought to be able to easily access this kind of information by now. A brief googlefoo didn't return anything other than press releases and general EV charging information.

As someone who drove a Mach E before plug and Charge and the EV aspect of FordPass was as capable as it is now, I found charging at multiple networks quite simple.

Most had a "pay at the pump" feature and I did not even have to worry about downloading multiple apps.

Sponsored

 

[mr_raider]

I'm curious how it will be implemented in Canada. Anyone know?

We have a decent Flo/Circuit électrique Network Here. There's an L3 even at the local hard ware store 3 minutes from the house.

 

[engnrng]

@SNbGC has done a super job laying everything out for you in some detail. I'll just add that this is much simpler in practice than you might think.

Even if you are going further than the MME's range you may not need DC charging. A few times on an "out and back" day trip I've been right at the edge of my range, but in these cases I usually just use conveniently located J1772 chargers. They have given me me enough added range so DC charging wasn't needed. I think I may not have even had the necessary card but I've never had an issue just using a credit card just like you would at a gas station.

These folks wouldn't even take the Tesla to Palm Springs. I'd take that trip in an S or an X without thinking about it, but I haven't had a BEV comfortable enough to take on a longer trip or that would charge over 50 KW. One reason why I'm looking forward to that 117" wheelbase and 150 KW charging.

If you are going on a trip (aka "adventure") just plan your route and stops before you go. Even if you are ready that will give you a little more structure and remove the need to worry along the way. And definitely try the station you will be using before you go. That will likely be an EA station.

For the EV Newbies, a comment on the Palm Springs round trip. Palm Springs is a couple of thousand feet in altitude above where most people within range live. So, when you use up more than half your range going to Palm Springs, you will regain some of that by going downhill on the way home. From my experience, this effect can seem a little worrisome, but you get used to it as you learn your car. Also, the road to Palm Springs is usually windy, but whatever you gain/lose going East, you should get the reverse effect going West.

On topic, in California, there are a lot of EVGO and Chargepoint L3 chargers, although a high percentage are limited to 50 kW. As you do your planning, with and without the promised benefits of FordPass, be sure and check the available charge rate information - info that shows nicely on PlugShare. There is a large difference in charge speed between 50 kW and 100+ kW.

 

[BlueMach]

One reason for this is that you will rarely need to use DC charging, and if you're not using DC charging then it can't be complicated. I can't remember the last time I used one, and that was more experimental than anything. Along these lines, I know about 10-15 people who own Teslas and not a single one has ever taken it on a trip which required DC charging. When I ask if they've used that nifty Supercharger network yet the answer is always "Nope". It turned into something of a running joke, though maybe they have used the Supercharger network by now. Haven't seen them in almost a year because of the pandemic.

I'm not sure I'd say that so definitively for others.

It depends on each person's use case, and for me, that use case will be DC Fast Charging across the country regularly. I see people road trip their Teslas coast to coast, and I'll be doing that with the Mach-E no question.

300 mile EVs with 150 kW DCFC are kinda wasted sitting around town, no? I assume a lot of us on here will be road tripping the heck out of our Mach-Es.

 

[Awmustang]

Which state still has a maintenance free EZPass? Every time I consider picking one up for convenience passing through stupid states, the maintenance charges put me off.

Illinois's I-Pass has no maintenance fee. You do have to preload it with money, but that money can sit there untouched for months or years. The I-Pass is compatible with all E-zpass tolls.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Good luck with that. Waiting for that support will be longer than for your Mach-E...

Didn't say I was holding my breath or anything. Just pointing out the gap.

 

[DBC]

For the EV Newbies, a comment on the Palm Springs round trip. Palm Springs is a couple of thousand feet in altitude above where most people within range live. So, when you use up more than half your range going to Palm Springs, you will regain some of that by going downhill on the way home.
...
On topic, in California, there are a lot of EVGO and Chargepoint L3 chargers, although a high percentage are limited to 50 kW. As you do your planning, with and without the promised benefits of FordPass, be sure and check the available charge rate information

It's about 125 miles between where I live and Palm Springs. I would not try and do a round trip without charging. My point was that there are so many spots to charge any worry about being stranded are borderline insane. Here are just the CCS chargers along the way:

In addition to the DC charging, there are many Level 2 chargers available once in Palm Springs:

If it's too much hassle to take a BEV on this trip I'm not sure what trip you could take.

The idea of filtering for higher power DC chargers is a good one. Here is the first image screened for DC chargers at 150KW (all CCS). More than enough but significantly less than when all DC chargers are listed:

Also great point about the terrain. First time you go up a mountain you gasp at how fast the range drops. But as you mention you get it back on the way down. However, this does mean that whether you can get from A to B is route dependent. If the climb is right after A, you may be able to go from A to B but not B to A. If the climb is at the end of the trip you may not be able to make it to the top, though if you could there wouldn't be an issue making it to the bottom and then some.

 

[DBC]

I'm not sure I'd say that so definitively for others.

It depends on each person's use case, and for me, that use case will be DC Fast Charging across the country regularly.

There are always people on the tail of the distribution, and those willing to take a BEV across country are doubtless in that position. But yes, everyone has their own use case. Some people have taken a Leaf across country or from Canada to Mexico.

Just that the tail at that end is so thin it's reasonable to ignore it. My point was the opposite -- that the tail in the other direction is irrationally thick. IOW the tails are asymmetrical.

 

[dbsb3233]

300 mile EVs with 150 kW DCFC are kinda wasted sitting around town, no? I assume a lot of us on here will be road tripping the heck out of our Mach-Es.

I get your point, but the problem is 300 mile "range" in a BEV isn't like 300 miles of ICE range. At 75 MPH interstate speeds when it's cold out with the cabin heater on, 300 can become 170 pretty quickly. 150 with 10% safety floor. 135 in the AWD.

Granted, not too many people have 150 mile daily commutes, but still, many will just use the Mach-E around home and for shorter road trips, and take a 2nd vehicle on the longer ones. Depends a lot on the route and destination though. Many places still don't have good destination charging on the other end.

 

[BlueMach]

I get your point, but the problem is 300 mile "range" in a BEV isn't like 300 miles of ICE range. At 75 MPH interstate speeds when it's cold out with the cabin heater on, 300 can become 170 pretty quickly. 150 with 10% safety floor. 135 in the AWD.

Granted, not too many people have 150 mile daily commutes, but still, many will just use the Mach-E around home and for shorter road trips, and take a 2nd vehicle on the longer ones. Depends a lot on the route and destination though. Many places still don't have good destination charging on the other end.

My only point is that assuming that there's a 2nd vehicle for some of us is a stretch. Some of us are 1 car BEV households, and buy the BEV *for* the long trips we like taking. I'd be buying a used Leaf if I wanted a commuter, personally. The Mach-E will be a highway warrior for me as my primary road tripper.

 

[Blinkin]

As someone who drove a Mach E before plug and Charge and the EV aspect of FordPass was as capable as it is now, I found charging at multiple networks quite simple.

Most had a "pay at the pump" feature and I did not even have to worry about downloading multiple apps.

I'm really expecting to go primarily pay at the pump (er.... plug). I have a 40A Grizzl-e at home (installed today!) so I expect to charge on the road very rarely. I doubt I'll use DCFC more than 10 times in a year, and I've been swiping credit cards at gas pumps all my life so I don't think it'll feel significantly inconvenient to do so with an EV.

I dunno, we'll see how it goes, but I think most people get worked up about fast charging out of proportion to how little they use it.

 

[DaveRuns]

My understanding is you can buy a plug that works with Tesla and therefore you can also use Tesla's DCFC network. I don't know how you pay or what you need for them but since they have the widest DCFC network until Fordpass really does what it is supposed to do, that seems like the most reliable way to get DCFC.

No...You can buy an adapter that will work in the Tesla wall unit, if you have one installed at your home. This doesnt mean itll work at Superchargers.

 

[dbsb3233]

My only point is that assuming that there's a 2nd vehicle for some of us is a stretch. Some of us are 1 car BEV households, and buy the BEV *for* the long trips we like taking. I'd be buying a used Leaf if I wanted a commuter, personally. The Mach-E will be a highway warrior for me as my primary road tripper.

Oh sure, for some there won't be a 2nd vehicle (ICE or PHEV) in the household. Although I do think that pairing with a 2nd car will be the majority of mainstream BEV market for the next half decade or so. I suspect most single-car owners will probably continue buying ICE, or PHEV, until BEVs and the infrastructure get a lot better. (Beyond the true BEV enthusiasts & Tesla fanboys.)

 

[macchiaz-o]

Now that the cars are actually starting to ship, seeing Tom Molougney's plug-and-charge session as well as his follow-on comments in this week's insidevs blog has once again got me thinking about the mysterious FordPass charging network and the procedure for actually using one's account for charging. Until now it has been premature to expect that info to come out, but now that the cars are shipping it feels like some information would be nice to have.

While EA supports the aforementioned "plug and charge", what happens if it doesn't work and the session doesn't initiate? Do we need to use EA's app to start the session or will Ford's app do that? What about other networks, particularly those that require fobs, NFC cards, or even credit cards? If we have a problem, is Ford frontline support or do we call the charger company and what credentials will they need?

I get that the owner's manual can't provide that level of detail, but since we are actually in "the information age" it seems like one ought to be able to easily access this kind of information by now. A brief googlefoo didn't return anything other than press releases and general EV charging information.

For the stations that require a network-specific card swipe to start, I wonder if we'll be receiving a charge station activation card, like those that the UK buyers will be receiving?

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/uk-customers.588/post-77447

Hopefully for stations that require NFC tap-to-start, we'll be able to tap our phones. (Not sure if that works with Apple phones, but it would work on Android.)

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Which state still has a maintenance free EZPass? Every time I consider picking one up for convenience passing through stupid states, the maintenance charges put me off.

A few places don't:

E-Z Pass System Comparison (jd4x4.net)

My NY Peace Bridge account was grandfathered in as no fee but when it was merged with the rest of NY, new folks have a fee apparently.

Sponsored