Supercharging pain in rear

[Electric700]

Yes, I might end up doing that if the car doesn't grow on me soon. I'm trying hard to rationalize away the flaws. Not everyone has so little going on in life that they can plan their entire day around a supercharger and read every workaround posted on an Internet forum to make up for flaws.

And to roblab, you own stock in Tesla and that makes you "a Smart Tesla driver?" You lost me there buddy, I don't see the correlation other than it makes your opinion biased.

You have an awesome car. I've taken trips up through North Carolina and beyond without significant issues in my Model S. Sometimes there have been Supercharging slowdowns that almost always have been resolved by switching to a new Supercharger connector. Tesla is working to improve the Supercharger network and has plans for a next generation 350 kW+ Supercharger, which I think will be really great. It may even have a wireless option (similar to how Plugless Power works).

I would give Tesla time to resolve the issues at some of the Supercharger centers such as Burbank.

 

[oktane]

Thank you guys I hope you're right that Tesla will invest more on infrastructure to make this an ICE replacement.

Part of the issue with Burbank is that I couldn't get a full charge at my destination the night before and arrived at Burbank (the closest SC in my direction of travel) quite low, late evening, and already running behind which added to the frustration.

I had made several more stops prior throughout the day, charging literally wherever I could including a 120V outlet overnight @ 8A since 10A sustained tripped the breaker), borrowing a neighbors 12-50 for 2 hours, and borrowing a car dealers EV plug. Comparing that to simply filling my tank and being set for 400 miles is quite an adjustment.

I'm sure as the infrastructure evolves and battery technology improves the ICE will become a rarity.

The question is whether the infrastructure is evolved sufficiently right now and the fringe benefits of owning a Tesla right now (such as EAP/FSD) are enough to be worth the aggravation.

 

[Bruinfan]

I've made 2 trips from Sac to socal... and the biggest complaint is it probably added about 40 min to my overall trip time.

In my youth, I could make the drive in 5 1/2 hrs, one bathroom stop, going 85.

Now, with kids, at 70-75 mph, it's a 7 hr trip in an ICE, with a 45-60 min lunch stop and at least one other 15 bathroom stop.

With the tesla, it was 8-9....

full charge from sac, to gustine for an hour lunch/charge.
bathroom stop at harris ranch for 15-20
45 min charge at tejon ranch: wife wanted to shop anyways, so dropped her off.
45 min dinner at rancho cucamonga/ full charge
the 245 miles got me from RC to san berdoo, to downtown LA, to disney no problem. recharged full in OC (at a friends, but could've done it a buena park off hours)
from there: down to irvine, then back up to bakersfield. purposely avoided burbank and tejon ranch(worried about ny day travel). 20 min charge got me to harris, another 15 to gustine. dinner at gustine got me enough charge back home.

very easy... i use this board to check for SC problems... and from that i learned to avoid burbank.. with some planning, it's easy. just slower.

then i post to let people know my experience at every SC so they can plan.

i'll tell you this much: i much prefer the tesla road trip over the pilot. autopilot decreases my driving fatigue,not only on the long drive, but especially in that LA traffic.

 

[Rocky_H]

We of the flyover states are finally getting our revenge. During the first year and a half I had my Model S, there were no Superchargers within range for me to drive to. We were grumbling and pissed off that Californians were getting more and more 20 miles, 50 miles from others while we couldn't reach any. Now the tables have turned. I can use the ones in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Montana, etc. and I get the Superchargers all to myself at 100kW+, while they are falling behind on density in California with full stalls and low charging rates. I do feel some sympathy that on your first trip, you happened to catch a really bad location.

 

[AndreSF]

I recently did a SFO to Anaheim, CA (Disneyland) and back trip with the family. Yeah, Burbank is not very exciting stop indeed, and when I was there, there were at least 3 cars taking stalls that were clearly Service Center cars (stickers on windows).
I'm surprised OP needed 2 hours to get enough miles from 60 remaining to reach next SpC, as depending on direction of travel, there are quite a few choices down there.
Overall, yeah, supercharging is different to what we used to, but it was not painful for me at all, and all the planned stops were actually welcomed. Some locations are not that exciting with not many things going on around, but just getting out of the car for a bit is nice. Overall, charging added some time to my trips, but not to the point to be annoying. Trip planner is usually wrong though (in my experience) about its estimates due to higher speed limit down this route and changes in elevation.
I usually am more frustrated with Interstage 5 driving... Everyone drives in the fast lane, passes on the right trying to avoid big rigs.

 

[Archer]

Part of the issue with Burbank is that I couldn't get a full charge at my destination the night before and arrived at Burbank (the closest SC in my direction of travel) quite low, late evening, and already running behind which added to the frustration.

I had made several more stops prior throughout the day, charging literally wherever I could including a 120V outlet overnight @ 8A since 10A sustained tripped the breaker), borrowing a neighbors 12-50 for 2 hours, and borrowing a car dealers EV plug. Comparing that to simply filling my tank and being set for 400 miles is quite an adjustment.

Where were you coming from and where were you going to after the Burbank SC? There are pratically a SC within 25-150 miles of each other throughout most of California. Just curious exactly why your travel needs required such kluggy alternatives before you arrived at Burbank. I've traveled throughout the west coast and southwest states over the past 2 years of ownership and have found the SC a pretty damn good network with a few rare exceptions of problems.

 

[Canuck]

None of us on this forum are ignorant or we couldn't afford this car.

I guess you've never heard of inheritance.

 

[Max*]

I guess you've never heard of inheritance.

I agree, ignorance can be passed down generation to generation.

 

[NOLA_Mike]

I guess you've never heard of inheritance.

Or the lottery...

 

[oktane]

Touché everyone...LOL. You're right I won the lotto.

 

[ThosEM]

When you go to a gas station and one of the pumps isn't working, it is clearly marked with a plastic bag over the pump nozzle. Tesla must find a way to be at least that courteous to its customers; and perhaps it will now that it will charge for superjuicing.

It's annoying that charging slows down so much above half full. I wonder if anyone is researching how to escape from that limitation and make it possible to go faster until nearly full, without "spilling electrons" all over the place? When charging at 10 kW, it doesn't slow down until I get to 95% or so. If that were true at 100 kW, it would be great!

We are hearing talk about 350 kW charging from Porsche and others in the Obama administration, and Musk has characterized even that as a "child's toy" so he seems to be thinking of higher rates than that. Battery management will become more of a hurdle for that. But just reducing the taper would go a long way to making charging slicker.

 

[DarkMatter]

Taper reduction is one of the aspects of battery chemistry that gets attention. It's probably balanced against capacity improvement, as typically higher capacity batteries need more taper as they accept a lower C rate. There are many things to balance in battery design but I have no doubt this will keep getting better.

 

[3Victoria]

@oktane --- I think the problem is that you have been trained for years into the ICE mindset. It will take a while to get it, and after a while you won't need to think about it a lot. Most people come to like the idea that their "tank is full" ever morning, and they don't have to stop at the gas-station on their way to work, because they forgot to fill up yesterday, and now they are going to be late for that important meeting.
The Supercharger network is already good, and getting better everyday. Also, TEslas can use all chargers and even 120/220AC. So pretty darn adaptable.

@ThosEM EM tweeted that more stalls are coming, and more power so the charging is not slowed.
Elon Musk ‏@elonmusk 22h22 hours ago
@matt_mantyla @TeslaMotors Increasing capacity at existing Supercharger locations now has top priority. Some are overflowing while a nearby one is empty.
And that they will upgrade the mapping software to be much smarter and informative about the state of SCs.

 

[oktane]

I hope you're right. I really hate going to the gas station. I was just too optimistic with the road-tripping aspects of the Tesla. I envisioned myself cruising care-free across the country with restroom or coffee breaks at each SC. For now I'll stick with being happy I don't have to go to the gas pump every 4-5 days locally.

 

[Canuck]

I guess you've never heard of inheritance.

Come on @kort677. I know you disagree with practically all of my posts but really, this one?

Do you really "Disagree" that some ignorant people have inherited money? Plus, it was made tongue-in-cheek, like a joke. You know, humour, or humor, for you Americans. Har, har

You're responsible for most of my Dislikes (now Disagrees) here and I can take it, even though I never give you any and have even held out olive branches to you, but this one was just a little too much.

Unless, perhaps, you inherited your money...

 

[3Victoria]

I hope you're right. I really hate going to the gas station. I was just too optimistic with the road-tripping aspects of the Tesla. I envisioned myself cruising care-free across the country with restroom or coffee breaks at each SC. For now I'll stick with being happy I don't have to go to the gas pump every 4-5 days locally.

I do not understand why you can't cruise "care-free across the country with restroom or coffee breaks at each SC"? I takes only a modicum of planning. Many have already done it, multiple times -- so it is definitely possible.

 

[oktane]

Because I never know if a planned 15-30 min SC stop is going to end up being a slug-fest with 3-4 Teslas waiting in line to charge for 2 hours at 35kW. Not worth the hassle for me, for now I'll just take a ICE car until things improve.

 

[Rocky_H]

I hope you're right. I really hate going to the gas station. I was just too optimistic with the road-tripping aspects of the Tesla. I envisioned myself cruising care-free across the country with restroom or coffee breaks at each SC. For now I'll stick with being happy I don't have to go to the gas pump every 4-5 days locally.

I do think there is some adapting of habit here that is new to people switching from a gas station "fill it up" kind of mindset. They think of filling up the car as something where they have to wait around for it because they can't do anything else, and yeah, that can make it seem to take forever. Read this comment, where I summarized about the method of alternating short and log stops of Supercharging that most Tesla owners have adapted to. It makes things much more pleasant and makes it feel like there is hardly any waiting at all.

Fastest long-distance: stop at every Supercharger or drain battery for faster overall recharges?

 

[Canuck]

Because I never know if a planned 15-30 min SC stop is going to end up being a slug-fest with 3-4 Teslas waiting in line to charge for 2 hours at 35kW. Not worth the hassle for me, for now I'll just take a ICE car until things improve.

You must be in California. Around here, at Hope, Kamloops and Kelowna, where I supercharge on trips, if I see one other car I'm surprised. I know for a fact there will be no wait.

The only good thing about a full supercharger in Canada would be to stop stupid tweets from our jackass right wing politicians...

Jason Kenney on Twitter

 

[Rocky_H]

You must be in California. Around here, at Hope, Kamloops and Kelowna, where I supercharge on trips, if I see one other car I'm surprised. I know for a fact there will be no wait.

The only good thing about a full supercharger in Canada would be to stop stupid tweets from our jackass right wing politicians...

Jason Kenney on Twitter

Yeah, that was covered early on. He got a bad taste of Supercharging because it was Burbank. Apparently that is one that is usually overcrowded and is too small with only 6 stalls.