Public Charging Sucks

[TGIF]

I left home 5 hours ago and have driven about 3.5 hours. First charger wouldn’t accept my credit card info so had to call. I’ve been waiting at my second charging station for an hour and still don’t have a seat at the table. It will probably be 45 minutes to adequately charge. Another call to EA which they said the sites are under maintenance ( for the last couple weeks) for improvement to my driving experience. I care about now.

I love my car but when almost half my road trip time is spent waiting for and finally getting through a line for a charger I can’t justify taking it on a road trip.

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[edfreire]

I’ve taken mine on several trips and haven’t had any issues charging. I do however travel only on weekdays

 

[nvabill]

I left home 5 hours ago and have driven about 3.5 hours. First charger wouldn’t accept my credit card info so had to call. I’ve been waiting at my second charging station for an hour and still don’t have a seat at the table. It will probably be 45 minutes to adequately charge. Another call to EA which they said the sites are under maintenance ( for the last couple weeks) for improvement to my driving experience. I care about now.

I love my car but when almost half my road trip time is spent waiting for and finally getting through a line for a charger I can’t justify taking it on a road trip.

Guess you haven’t been keeping up on the forum, your issue is most likely the number one complaint on this whole MME forum or damn close!

On a different note, Merry Christmas, hope the rest of your trip goes well!

 

[RickMachE]

Traveling on a holiday and chargers are crowded. Hmmm...

 

[TGIF]

I’m disappointed as I love my MME, and given the number I’ve seen at the charging stations, I’m not alone. I knew from my research before the trip it would be dicey. I took this same trip a year ago and had zero issues. Today, 2 of 3 stops have been problematic. I want EVs to succeed and I wish infrastructure providers would get their act together.

 

[4sallypat]

Remember, the charging infrastructure is not owned by state / county / city.
They are all privately owned (EA, EVGo, Shell, Chargepoint)...
Until the state, county and cities plan on getting a massive amount installed, we will be at the mercy for awhile.

Not a surprise - I always have a plan B (different brand DCFC) and plan C (level 2) when I go on a roadtrip.

As for EA, I have pretty much have given up on them because of all the manufacturers offering free charging.

I still haven't used up my 300kW free charge on EA/Ford pass.

 

[Mirak]

You know what else sucks? Wintertime highway range. I started at 100% and my “270 mile range” 4X couldn’t make it 180 miles home without stopping for a DCFC session. I was gonna fall at least 15 miles short.

78mph, 10mph headwind, 34 degrees. In other words, Kansas winter. Oh, and freezing my ass off not using the heater.

But I know, I know, I’m the problem. I just gotta “change the way I think” about road-tripping. Our transition to an EV future with li-ion batteries is going great!

Merry Christmas everybody!!

 

[Mach-Lee]

78mph, 10mph headwind, 34 degrees. In other words, Kansas winter. Oh, and freezing my ass off not using the heater.

Headwinds suck, that’s like driving 88 MPH so the range will nosedive.

 

[RickMachE]

Headwinds suck, that’s like driving 88 MPH so the range will nosedive.

The lack of understanding of this kind of stuff, and the reality that it has the same impact on gas vehicles (no it doesn't!) Is one of the biggest obstacles to EV adoption.

 

[B177y]

The lack of understanding of this kind of stuff, and the reality that it has the same impact on gas vehicles (no it doesn't!) Is one of the biggest obstacles to EV adoption.

I agree that it does have an impact on ICE cars. The difference is that there are many more options to fill the gas tank when conditions create the need. If weather/speed/climate control/traffic impact your range during a road trip in an EV, there may not be any options to get that battery charged.

I took a few road trips in the 3 months that my CR1 was working. About 80% of my DCFC sessions were flawless. The other 20% ranged from inconvenient, a couple times having to wait for others, to having to find another location due to chargers not working at all. I arrived at one charger late at night with only 3% SoC due to bypassing an earlier charger because the mapping said I could keep going and estimated that I would arrive at that next charger with 12%. I couldn't figure out what caused the huge drop, but that was my "range anxiety" moment for sure.

If 20% of the gas pumps were regularly out of service, there are still plenty more left to fill your car. The demand for decent reliable chargers seems to exist, but for whatever reason, the companies can't seem to get the supply of operational chargers to meet that demand. Checking 2 or 3 apps to see if your next charger is actually working also detracts from EV adoption.

 

[JRSNoVa]

I had hoped when I got my first EV two years ago that the charging infrastructure would at least keep up with rising demand, if not expand faster. In reality, it has fallen further behind. Slow rollouts of new sites and continuing issues at EA make long trips more time consuming, not less. And that's mainly on routes I take regularly and know to avoid perpetually busy stops.

 

[Space_Pony]

I had hoped when I got my first EV two years ago that the charging infrastructure would at least keep up with rising demand, if not expand faster. In reality, it has fallen further behind. Slow rollouts of new sites and continuing issues at EA make long trips more time consuming, not less. And that's mainly on routes I take regularly and know to avoid perpetually busy stops.

If you drive over 200 miles a day, this vehicle is not for you. An EV works if you can charge at home and avoid the expensive DCFC stations. Some of the new DCFC chargers are more expensive to charge your car than gas for an economical ICE car.

 

[B177y]

The reason is economic. The world runs on profit motive; when it doesn't run on profit motive, things tend to suck.

Right on cue, this morning's Wall Street Journal has an article on just that subject (subscriber only link):

https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/investors-sour-on-ev-charging-companies-f6318bfb?mod=mhp

 

[JRSNoVa]

If you drive over 200 miles a day, this vehicle is not for you. An EV works if you can charge at home and avoid the expensive DCFC stations. Some of the new DCFC chargers are more expensive to charge your car than gas for an economical ICE car.

Agreed, but not relevant to my point. I drive less than 5000 miles a year but I still do some long drives. The public DCFC situation is worse than it was. Only the opening of the Tesla network will make it better in the short term.

 

[RickMachE]

Free link

https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/...m77mgruc2sjx&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink

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