Terrible DCFC experience

[roamtheworld]

It's ridiculous that this should be necessary to get maximum charging rate. Another thing that needs to change so that EVs can go mainstream.

I’m not turning off heat or AC before or while charging if I’m in the car.

The problem is the upkeep and maintenance of the chargers that have been deployed in North America is terrible. Almost every visit to a charging station I have noticed a unit not working. EVGO, EA, Harley stores, Blink and ChargePoint all have had broken chargers. We have just been lucky to have another charger available at the time we needed it except a visit to Harley Davidson location that time we had to drive 2 miles to a ChargePoint to get a charge.
I’ve noted the issues in Plug Share and emailed or called every time and only heard back once from Blink. I was never notified if any this was fixed either.
Terrible customer service

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[MellowJohnny]

The charge points at Petro are notoriously bad - I have avoided them so far because of what I’ve heard, mostly from @TheStraightPipes guys on YouTube.

 

[Maquis]

I never knew this!

If you’re as old as I am, you’ll remember this:

 

[Womps]

There is a Shell Recharge on Gasoline Alley just south of Red Deer Alberta on QE2. Extremely busy freeway. This charger, and there is only 1, has been out of service since Oct. 8th. Right across the street are 8 Tesla Superchargers. Just before Christmas we were driving by and a tow truck was backed up to a Chev Bolt that couldn’t get juice from the Shell Recharge and didn’t have enough juice to make it to the next charger which is roughly 10 minutes away. If only we could use the Tesla Superchargers!

 

[Hammered]

@Ford Motor Company put a damn DCFC charge prep button in the cars already. Forcing use of car's nav is crap.

 

[Logal727]

@Ford Motor Company put a damn DCFC charge prep button in the cars already. Forcing use of car's nav is crap.

Using car's nav doesn't do anything either for DCFC pre-conditioning

 

[dtbaker61]

I am always surprised when I hear of DCFC stations being down.... Seems to me that the station owner/operator would want to have them up 99% to sell energy and pay those suckers off!

 

[astronut325]

Using car's nav doesn't do anything either for DCFC pre-conditioning

This is an annoyance too. On the trip I made with my buddy in his Tesla, the car started pre-conditioning about 20 minutes before we arrived at a Supercharger. That way, even with 45F temperatures, we were able to get going in 10 minutes. This is how it should be for all EVs.

 

[Logal727]

This is an annoyance too. On the trip I made with my buddy in his Tesla, the car started pre-conditioning about 20 minutes before we arrived at a Supercharger. That way, even with 45F temperatures, we were able to get going in 10 minutes. This is how it should be for all EVs.

Yep, the Ioniq 5 does this now too. And Hyundai added that in a software update

 

[Mauser]

It's about -2C or 28F in Canmore Alberta right now. Was the OP sitting in their car with a warm Timmies, with the heated steering wheel and seats on, all while playing an intense game of Lane Change on the Center screen, while induction charging the iPhone 13, and cranking Nickelback on AppleCarplay while DCFCing? Probably not.

It stabilized at 33Kwh before I managed to open my door and grab my wallet to GET my coffee...

 

[AhardFSU]

This is an annoyance too. On the trip I made with my buddy in his Tesla, the car started pre-conditioning about 20 minutes before we arrived at a Supercharger. That way, even with 45F temperatures, we were able to get going in 10 minutes. This is how it should be for all EVs.

As Logal mentioned, other manufacturers having preconditioning enroute to a DCFC, including Porsche. It would have been great if Ford enabled the Lightning and Mach-E to precondition enroute to a DCFC. I'm not sure why Ford didn't or can't do it.

 

[Phil Martin]

It's ridiculous that this should be necessary to get maximum charging rate. Another thing that needs to change so that EVs can go mainstream.

That and the "requirement" that everyone needs an app to scroll through messages and try and figure out if the charger they are anticipating to use is going to work properly or not.

 

[Hammered]

Using car's nav doesn't do anything either for DCFC pre-conditioning

This is false, the car's nav to DCFC does in-fact precondition the battery.

 

[HuntingPudel]

The main reason to turn off your heat or A/C for the first several minutes is really because the HVAC system (mostly the heater) draw a lot of power, making the amount of charge going into your battery less. If your interior is already warm, leave the seat and steering wheel heat on and turn off the HVAC. When it gets too cold for you, turn the HVAC back on for a few, then turn it off again. Othewrwise, it's like trying to fuel up an ICE vehicle with the engine running at 25% throttle. It's going to take longer because you're using up the fuel elsewhere. ?‍?

 

[Hammered]

I've found the MME to call for more amperage from the charger if heat / AC is used. The only logical case I could see being made is if the battery needs heated or cooled, and therefore must compete with the climate system. Outside of that specifically, the car calls for additional current to maintain the desired input into the HVB.

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