Out of Spec: Kyle’s first long trip in the MME

[generaltso]

The big problem is not that these things happened, but that Ford has not fixed them.

There are several reports that they're working on it.

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[MattG]

Could some owners on this forum report back on how the MME charges at EVGo and Chargepoint DC (not L2) chargers?

I’ve used three difference 62.5kW Chargepoint stations. first station, the first time the charge rate fluctuated, wasn’t steady. I think I’ve used that station three times after that and it’s been flat, in the 50s if I recall, until the 80% cliff, great experience. Charge didn’t start one time but that’s because the connector wasn’t fully plugged in.

the second chargepoint DCFC was flagged on plugshare as not working but I tried it anyway. Charge started fine but stopped after a minute or so.

the third chargepoint DCFC worked fine. Charge quickly climbed to the 50s and was steady. Only used that one once.

 

[silverelan]

The MME's charging situation is a hot mess.

It's not clear to me what the issue is here on both EA and EVgo but the point that Kyle and others have made is that these kinds of DCFC challenges are intolerable for the general public.

 

[CyanLite]

A simple “We’re receiving some bug reports on P&C and our engineering team is looking into it” would suffice from Ford. Or “Coming soon, we’re Improving our charging experience”. At this point, I’d take an “unnamed source at Ford...” giving an anonymous post to a media outlet.

We’re left with speculation from forum members here instead. If this is the customer experience that we can expect going forward, then I’m just going to go back to Tesla and deal with build quality issues.

 

[jhalkias]

Totally agree, NOTHING is 100%.

I've charged a total of 314 supercharging sessions at 31 locations with my 2018 Model 3 (60,000+ miles) and had to switch to another stall maybe a total of ten of those charges due to either a dead stall or plastic dead bolts that came off another 2017-2018 early production Model 3. That's 3.14%.

My Model Y hasn't seen much roadtripping due to the pandemic, but I've supercharged it 11 times at 5 Locations. Never an issue of any kind, including charging at 0F (138kW charging speed at a V2 Supercharger (150kW max)).

Not once did I have to scramble and find some other location or charging network. Maybe that's what was meant by @malba2366.

Correct, never 100%, but never stranded or overly inconvenienced.

I think the return trip, next week’s Out of Spec Motoring video, will be a bit more favorable to the Mustang.

1 - Almost every session without plug and charge has been great
2 - Great means it charges... it doesn’t mean it charges well (charging curve / random slow charging)
3 - P&C should have worked out of the gate as EA and Ford both certify this vehicle to be compatible. It’s incredibly frustrating that this isn’t the case.

We are past the early stages of EV charging, this stuff needs to be perfect if EVs are ever going to sell in any meaningful numbers.

Someone else said it. This is how it goes for those of us who are early adopters. Keep in mind the maturity of the Tesla SC network. Did it work flawlessly two months after the first car was delivered?

Yeah, I’m cutting EA and Ford some slack at least in the first year. I am willing to be a bit inconvenienced and hopeful that P&C and the charging curve get worked out soon. As long as I can charge, I can live with it.

Hot mess? Disaster? Get over it.

Issues? Absolutely. Welcome to being an early adopter.

 

[Mirak]

P&C is more of a novelty, until Ford and EA figure out how to incorporate Pass+ membership into it. Once you've used up your 250KWh (500KWh for some of us), the convenience of P&C isn't worth the extra cost.

I wonder if Ford will extend the expiration date on my “free” 250kW? It’s going to expire before I can use it.

 

[Moogly]

I just did a 600 mile road trip and here is is my experience

Let me start by saying I enjoyed the drive. And the car in general.

EA Chargers - P&C never worked. However, you can use the fordpass app to activate the charger when you pull in and then it works great. It used my fordpass allowance without a problem.
I never faced the protocol errors mentioned in the youtube video.

Chargepoint :. It worked fine. No issues at all. In fact most chargers were free as part of the ford pass network.

As far as L2 charging goes I am one of those IL owners whose is having trouble and it is due to the quality of supply from ComEd. I have a case with ford and they told me that they are working on a solution.

I am a first time EV owner and feel very good about the mache. Yes. There are issues and it is typical of new cars. Be patient. Raise the issues you are facing... Drop the emotions


As far as the dealership experience goes,. I hate it. They are clueless about the car.

 

[jhalkias]

I just did a 600 mile road trip and here is is my experience

Let me start by saying I enjoyed the drive. And the car in general.

EA Chargers - P&C never worked. However, you can use the fordpass app to activate the charger when you pull in and then it works great. It used my fordpass allowance without a problem.
I never faced the protocol errors mentioned in the youtube video.

Chargepoint :. It worked fine. No issues at all. In fact most chargers were free as part of the ford pass network.

As far as L2 charging goes I am one of those IL owners whose is having trouble and it is due to the quality of supply from ComEd. I have a case with ford and they told me that they are working on a solution.

I am a first time EV owner and feel very good about the mache. Yes. There are issues and it is typical if new cars.


As far as the dealership experience goes,. I hate it. They are clueless about the car.

Good to know you can use the allowance by activating in the app. Going on our first road trip the end of this month. I may try P&C first but that is good to know. Thanks!

 

[generaltso]

Chargepoint :. It worked fine. No issues at all. In fact most chargers were free as part of the ford pass network.

They may have been free, but it wasn't FordPass that made them that way.

 

[Moogly]

They may have been free, but it wasn't FordPass that made them that way.

I had to activate it using the fordpass app. Or using the chargepoint app. It won't activate otherwise. It's was not a charger where you could pull in and plug to charge for free.

 

[generaltso]

I had to activate it using the fordpass app. Or using the chargepoint app. It won't activate otherwise. It's was not a charger where you could pull in and plug to charge for free.

Right, you have to activate ChargePoint stations with an app or RFID card. But the station owner decided to make that station free. It had nothing to do with being a part of the FordPass network. It would have been free for anyone.

 

[Moogly]

Right, you have to activate ChargePoint stations with an app or RFID card. But the station owner decided to make that station free. It had nothing to do with being a part of the FordPass network. It would have been free for anyone.

Ok. Good to know. I got a full charge for free.

 

[timbop]

If some of you also watch EV Dave, just remember he bought the car Kyle tested. Just trying to avoid people jumping to conclusions based on YouTube videos by two well known reviewers on the same physical car.

At first I was thinking EA was totally to blame for the MME's DC charging issues, but I'm wondering now seeing that other cars Kyle has tested on the same chargers charge well (VW ID4).

Could some owners on this forum report back on how the MME charges at EVGo and Chargepoint DC (not L2) chargers?

I know I know, what does a twice Tesla owner care... I'm an EV enthusiast first. I want all the manufacturers to succeed with their EVs. We'll need them all to transform to sustainable transportation.

The compounding evidence suggests that plug-n-charge is the primary culprit for charging issues on the Mach-E. It is not the only cause, but in many cases those that had charging fails with P&C were subsequently able to charge successfully when initiating EA sessions through the app. That correlates with the apparent success of VW and other brands on EA: none of those have P&C yet. Porsche has added P&C, but I haven't seen any comments either way about the reliability if it.

 

[silverelan]

Someone else said it. This is how it goes for those of us who are early adopters. Keep in mind the maturity of the Tesla SC network. Did it work flawlessly two months after the first car was delivered?

Yeah, I’m cutting EA and Ford some slack at least in the first year. I am willing to be a bit inconvenienced and hopeful that P&C and the charging curve get worked out soon. As long as I can charge, I can live with it.

Hot mess? Disaster? Get over it.

Issues? Absolutely. Welcome to being an early adopter.

Ford's P&C was called garbage on a video with 10k+ views in 24 hours.

If you don't think this is a major perception problem for Ford or understand the detrimental impacts of the negative touch point with the DCFC situation, then kudos to you and your dismissiveness.

So far, Ford has missed the opportunity to acknowledge this is a challenge being worked on by the team. Nor can Ford simply declare that P&C is in beta testing without looking foolish because only amateurs and Tesla do QA in production.

 

[timbop]

Multiple reviewers (who are experienced with EVs) have said they have had issues charging the Mach E. There are a bunch of people on this forum who have not been able to charge their cars at home, in locations where other EVs have charged - this has been reported to Ford and they have done nothing for over a month. If you can not see the problems with that, then you are obviously drunk on the kool aid.

Oddly enough he drove HIS CAR from Maryland to Florida and back - charging dozens of times along the way. He is one of those who discovered the primary issue with EA is plug-n-charge, which apparently you haven't discovered yet. I suggest you look for his many charging videos of the trip, as well as others who've reported the same experience.

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