Interesting Washington Post article on EA Reliability

[RivianDad2]

That's because you stay in your vehicle. My local EA station is in Target parking lot. A lot of people, including myself, plug in and then go to Target. I typically monitor the app, so I'm back before it ends... but I've been a few times where others just plug in and seem to forget about the car, while cars are lined up waiting to charge.

I think this could be a huge part of the problem. When you go to a gas station, most people understand that they can’t just leave their cars at the pump for more than a minute or two longer than it takes to fill up. Because charging stations are often near the handicap parking, I would imagine that a lot of people think of those spaces as special parking and just leave their cars there while they shop. There’s some logic to it because most people aren’t going to sit in their cars for half an hour waiting for the car to leave, so there’s the sense of less pressure to be quick.

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[VSG]

I think this could be a huge part of the problem. When you go to a gas station, most people understand that they can’t just leave their cars at the pump for more than a minute or two longer than it takes to fill up.

Eh. I don't agree about gas stations. There are far too many times where I pull up behind someone and they don't even start pumping - they go straight into the convenience store because they want to pay cash ahead of time, or because they only want $20 or whatever of gas, or because they also want to buy an energy drink. And because there's always a line inside - one cashier who has to take gas payments, checkout convenience store purchases, and sell lottery tickets - the end result is I sit there for 10 minutes while the pump is sitting idle and while I can't back out because someone has pulled in behind me.

There's inconsiderate human behavior everywhere.

 

[zefram47]

I wonder how much money people actually save using a home charger vs. these "free" chargers? You also have to take into consideration the convenience of home charging. Not judging, just wondering.

I've been doing around 1100 miles per month and home charging yields around $60/mo for me. So anyone using L3 "free" charging and has L2 at home really doesn't value their time (or they live in a state with absurdly high electric charges...I'm close to $0.13/kWh).

 

[iansriv]

I've been doing around 1100 miles per month and home charging yields around $60/mo for me. So anyone using L3 "free" charging and has L2 at home really doesn't value their time (or they live in a state with absurdly high electric charges...I'm close to $0.13/kWh).

I agree. It's a personal choice and may depend on an equation of value. Cheers.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

I've been doing around 1100 miles per month and home charging yields around $60/mo for me. So anyone using L3 "free" charging and has L2 at home really doesn't value their time (or they live in a state with absurdly high electric charges...I'm close to $0.13/kWh).

Consider yourself lucky. 3x that for my cheapest rate

 

[Robin]

I own a first edition ID4, it's been a pretty solid car outside of the software. DM me if you'd like any more info on it.

Lines at charging stations are starting to develop in many areas for sure. EA is owned by VW and creates an interesting situation for them.

EA announced a significant investment to expand/upgrade charging locations, but they aren't moving very quickly. I see more EVgo stations popping up instead.

I find that even the newest EA chargers are still having some issues, but not as bad as before.

Long story short, no, I think once people can use the supercharger network, very few will choose Electrify America and once the revenue drops, VW will find it difficult to justify further investment.

Unfortunately, VW EVs are not currently on the list to get the adapter for Tesla Superchargers next year (yet). We plan on selling our ID4 unless that changes soon.

What does VW do? Protect their EV sales or protect their charging business which isn't doing so well?

?

 

[mogulmaster]

It sounds like CA regulators are leaning hard on EA to improve maintenance of sites, while the EPA is staying out of it as much as possible. I also appreciated the background on how we got here.

I just got my R1S in August (my first EV), and I've had almost as many problems at EVGo sites as EA sites - so it's not just an EA problem.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/12/13/electrify-america-ev-charger-broken/

if you are traveling, there is no other option but EA. The other two focus on metro areas and have nothing out there along the interstates or US highways. (My travel is within Colorado to Texas and back).

There is a natural focus to criticize EA since it’s the only one.

Plus, using Plugshare to sample the performance is not research. That’s like using Yelp to get a handle on the real quality of a restaurant. Most likely the one to comment there is the discontented person
.
My experience in Colorado is that EA locations have power when one pulls up for a recharge. Once in awhile, there is one offline but the other 3 are reliable. But, I think the delivery rate is slow. I wonder if there isn’t a back door deal that slows the kW if you have a “manufacturer-paid plan”. My Taycan charges at ½ the charge speed of my Rivian, yet it’s rated to be capable of faster charging. Porsche provides 3 years free charging at EA so I use this frequently. This is a real subsidy and is far better than a tax break, for which neither the Porsche nor Rivian qualify.

Those with these kinds of plans are stuck with using EA until the plan terms out.
One EA station stands out as really bad … the one in Frisco Co at a Walmart. It’s one of the oldest installations and get really high use because it is along I-70.

 

[Reed1T]

Article is behind a pay wall for me. The EA stations I have used here in CO seem to be working most of the time, although I have definitely seen other vehicles struggling to connect while I’m charging.

All of these charging companies seem to have a lot of work to do. And honestly I think Tesla will have some struggles too (with non Teslas). They have never had to connect their chargers to anything but Teslas.

Really sorry to correct you here, but Tesla has been running open in Europe for the last 2 years and has lots of experience now. They have proven to be reliable.

and in North America, they have been running “open” on several chargers in a few locations, and are proving to be reliable.

Tesla is a software company, it’s in their best interests to make it work. Especially if it’s going to be a massive part of their income in years to come.

 

[COdogman]

Really sorry to correct you here, but Tesla has been running open in Europe for the last 2 years and has lots of experience now. They have proven to be reliable.

and in North America, they have been running “open” on several chargers in a few locations, and are proving to be reliable.

Tesla is a software company, it’s in their best interests to make it work. Especially if it’s going to be a massive part of their income in years to come.

I agree it’s in their best interest to make it work - I don’t have any indication they won’t. They have plenty of experience maintaining a charging network.

I’m also aware of their success so far in Europe, which is a good sign for sure - but superchargers and Teslas in Europe both use CCS, not NACS, so there is a difference. We will be relying on adapters here for some time, which is another complication.

Europe also doesn’t have electric pickup trucks, so something as simple as the layout of the station could make it very hard to use if you have Cybertrucks, Lightnings, Rivians, and smaller vehicles trying to fit into the same small area, all parked differently. I’ve had that experience at a couple EA stations and it is a little crazy…So there is more to consider than just the station, cable, connector, software…

Will be interesting!

 

[Rudylake]

Yes, one EA charger (combo CCS/Chademo) near me that is positioned and has a short cable length that prevents me from being able to use it with my Lucid. I used a different location yesterday and they didn't really give any buffer space between spaces so backing in to the spot and getting in / out while trying to avoid the giant metal bollard was difficult. AND there is nowhere to queue up so people are on the honor system to position themselves in a virtual line. I had two people try to take my charging spot when it was my turn. SOOOOO frustrating.

?

 

[Supratachophobia]

Yes, one EA charger (combo CCS/Chademo) near me that is positioned and has a short cable length that prevents me from being able to use it with my Lucid. I used a different location yesterday and they didn't really give any buffer space between spaces so backing in to the spot and getting in / out while trying to avoid the giant metal bollard was difficult. AND there is nowhere to queue up so people are on the honor system to position themselves in a virtual line. I had two people try to take my charging spot when it was my turn. SOOOOO frustrating.

Let me guess, model 3 owners?

 

[Tim-in-CA]

Let me guess, model 3 owners?

Mercedes and BMW

 

[Supratachophobia]

Mercedes and BMW

Those would have been my 3rd guess

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