Frustrated With PHEVs

[mgc0216]

I feel like some passive-aggressive 'business' cards to stick in violators' windscreens could be fun.

I was considering aggressive aggressive business cards - sort of like those old check the box "you aren a$$hole" notes you could leave for folks.

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[NY_Rob]

^ I've tried notes... all I got back was a note with "you don't own the parking spot" written on it.

 

[Blueassassin]

As a plug in Hybrid owner I would understand being mad at a gas car for taking the spot but if they are charging they are using the spot. Hotels and a lot of other businesses need to get on board and build more chargers that's what we need to push. Complaining here doesn't help contact the hotel leave feedback that they need more chargers. We are the ones at the front of this EV stride and need to voice our opinions we need more chargers!

 

[Billyk24]

I got the call a few days ago. Nope, not that one. My dad died suddenly at 56 of a windowmaker and I needed to come take care of the ensuing maelstrom of paperwork and family drama. After what was undoubtedly the single worst day of my adult life, I pulled into the only hotel in town that I knew had EV chargers, mentally and literally on fumes. Just my luck then that both of them were taken. No, not by EVs, mind you but by a pair of shiny new Wrangler 4xEs with six inch lifts and 35 inch tires. "Guess this shit heap of a day is going to be just a bit longer" I thought as I left for the closest supercharger at 11 PM, around 20 minutes away. Sure enough, the next night, both spots were again taken, this time by a Prius Prime and a Volt. Again, after shuttling sobbing family around all day, I had to spend an extra hour supercharging. Can someone please explain to me how it's acceptable for vehicles that work perfectly fine when not charged to take the limited public charging access from those that rely on it to get home? Especially at hotels, this is really just people feeling like they're saving five bucks and getting to park up front. This problem is only going to get worse as more and more PHEVs come to market.

What PHEV use dcfc? Aren't they just level2? Is your observation missing something?

 

[mgc0216]

What PHEV use dcfc? Aren't they just level2? Is your observation missing something?

I think maybe it's your observation that's missing something?

He didn't say anything about the hotel chargers being DCFC - he said he left the hotel to go find a Supercharger (presumably since he was going to have to wait on getting the car charged up he'd rather drive 20 minutes to do it at an SC than a closer L2 that may have been open but taken longer than the SC).

 

[Dark-Fx]

What PHEV use dcfc? Aren't they just level2? Is your observation missing something?

Outlander and i3Rex. I think there might be more on the market but I can't recall them off the top of my head.

 

[Max]

How about putting fake chargers close to hotel doors to attract the a$$holes and put the real ones in the back with no signs so the front desk could reveal their secret location to those that ask.

 

[MrMetlHed]

4xe owner here, but one that moves the car as soon as it's done charging. Around here the worst offenders I see are almost universally Teslas parked in an EV spot and not bothering to plug in (seriously, why?).

It's been interesting watching the public charging situation unfold and I suspect it'll get more crazy-making over time. I think spike traps and annoying stickers may sound satisfying, but I don't want to live in that world either. Much prefer the "spots are further away" solution combined with some sort of notification system and app fines for parking with a full charge / not plugging in.

As a small condo dweller I have no place to charge (yet, had to fight the HOA to get a 110v installed in my carport and am waiting for it to be wired properly,) so if I want to use my battery it's grocery stores and restaurants. And only the free ones because the economics never, ever work out for a PHEV if you have to pay. I'm not really going to feel guilty about my vehicle not being "worthy" for that spot. I, too, get frustrated when the two chargers at Whole Foods are already taken, but I don't know their situation and maybe they're like me -- no ability to charge at home (and no way to afford a house with a garage any more these days.) Until there are chargers everywhere this is probably just going to feel like the laundry room in an apartment complex.

 

[mgc0216]

I think there is a difference between taking the spot at whole foods for an hour while you shop vs. parking your car in a charger at a hotel overnight when you really don't need to. One is using the spot as it was intended the other is rude.

To use your laundry room analogy - if I'm using the washer and am 5 minutes late coming back because I had to finish that episode of Yellowstone that's different than leaving my clothes in the washer while I go out and run errands for 3 hours. Of course, someone can always heap my damp clothes up on a table if i'm being a jerk, not so easy with a vehicle.

 

[sub]

I’m so sorry about your Dad. That sucks. I lost my Dad years ago and it still hurts to think about it.

I agree with you. I see the same thing at my apartment complex. It has 1 level 2 charger and there are at least 10-15 Teslas that live here. Yet people park their vehicle there to charge overnight. My R1T will be my first EV so I’m not up on the proper charging etiquette but I would never do that. I would come move my truck after it was charged in case someone else needed it.

You will leave your Rivian plugged in all night too. A full charge will take 12+ hours.

Even if you are only charging 50%, and finish charging at 2 am, are you going go move your car at 2AM? And even if you were willing to do that, do you really expect your neighbors are going to wake up at 3 am to check to see if you moved your car?

This is assuming you are not charging daily, but charging daily would be nearly impossible to coordinate with 16 people sharing 1 charger.

Personally I would move (or buy a different vehicle) if I were you. I can't imagine owning an EV without a dedicated charging space. 16 people sharing one charger is going to be awful.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

I got the call a few days ago. Nope, not that one. My dad died suddenly at 56 of a windowmaker and I needed to come take care of the ensuing maelstrom of paperwork and family drama.

Sorry for your loss, My wifes parents were out last summer helping us renovate our house over the course of 6 weeks in the lead up to our wedding July 31st. We had the wedding and a couple days later her parents left our place to do a canoe trip with friends in Banff, as they do every year. There was a beautiful but windy day ahead of them as they set out for their 3rd day, so they took it easy and decided to set up camp early and just enjoy each others company for the day. That evening while her they were sleeping a tree snapped waist height in the wind, and fell on their tent. Fortunately Beth was able to free herself, but Randy took the brunt of the trees impact and died soon after. The one positive from it was that my wife and I were able to spend the time exclusively with him prior to the accident, as well, it was the most time she had spent with her dad since moving out in 2010. He wasn't much older than your dad, and know how difficult it is to try to reconcile the unexpected immediate loss.

To your point about PHEV's, I would say I agree that its a bit unnecessary for a vehicle that gets 30 miles of range at low speed to be using a public charger like that. I've also seen it a few times where a 4xE (not singling them out, just happened to be the case) would park at a public level 2 charger, not plug in, and just screw off for a couple hours while it just occupied the spot.

But, I do understand the desire of those that want to plug theirs in. They likely aren't thinking about the fact that its the ONLY source of propulsion for battery exclusive vehicles and thus aren't taking that into account.

 

[zefram47]

Outlander and i3Rex. I think there might be more on the market but I can't recall them off the top of my head.

Not to be too pedantic, but the i3 REX is an EV that happens to have a tiny gas tank and basically a motorcycle engine. It's not a PHEV and not intended to be driven long distance with the range extender.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Not to be too pedantic, but the i3 REX is an EV that happens to have a tiny gas tank and basically a motorcycle engine. It's not a PHEV and not intended to be driven long distance with the range extender.

It's also not meant to be driven a long distance on full EV. Worst of both worlds.

 

[MrMetlHed]

I think there is a difference between taking the spot at whole foods for an hour while you shop vs. parking your car in a charger at a hotel overnight when you really don't need to. One is using the spot as it was intended the other is rude.

Agree completely that the guys staying at the hotel charger overnight (on what would have only taken them 2-2.5 hours to charge) was wrong and rude. I just hesitate to criticism them for using it to charge at all, the infrastructure is meant for them as well. They could have been getting a charge to go off road on battery only the next day or something. But yes, they should have moved their car as soon as the batteries were charged.

I hope there are some decent enforcement mechanisms for this in the future without relying on everyone having to pay for the electricity (which is often extremely marked up at stations that charge money.) We should be encouraging more electric vehicle charging, not less.

 

[zefram47]

It's also not meant to be driven a long distance on full EV. Worst of both worlds.

True, I spose. My MINI wouldn't exist without the i3 coming before it. Back when it first came out I think the REX made sense because DCFC wasn't widespread, but that's been changing rapidly even in the 3 years I've had an EV here in Colorado. A friend of mine had two i3 REX cars and said they only filled it up once or twice in the many years of ownership.

To others' comments about PHEVs and monopolizing chargers. As a short range EV owner it is kind of annoying, but as above with DCFC being more readily available it doesn't bother me as much. Now I do agree that leaving a PHEV to charge overnight at a hotel...that's being a pretty epic dick. I'm also on record saying that every hotel ought to have several L2 chargers available and increase their number as demand increases. They're one of those places where L2 charging makes the most sense since you will actually be there overnight.

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