30 min. limit at Mt. View SC

[SMAlset]

Hubby was running errands today up the SF peninsula, left home with about 100 mile range and ended up making an unanticipated trip stop he hadn't planned. He found himself with 37 range miles left afterwards, so decided to stop at the Mt. View SC. First time there. Told him it was one of the busiest locations from what I've read on here and to expect a line of cars waiting to charge. Got there around 4pm and said all 12 stalls were full with one car in front of him. Three cars pulled out so he got in pretty quickly, plugged in and walked across to the Starbucks. When he got back he was surprised to see that his car wasn't charging. Couldn't figure out what had happened as it was charging when he left and the car indicated he had 50 minutes remaining to charge to the level he set and he had come back before that time.

So he starts charging again. Five minutes in he looks up and notices the stalls have a sign that says something like "30 minute general parking; vacate stall when charging complete." He didn't think to take a photo of the sign but thought the sign was kind of vague. So he figures this means that the superchargers have a time limit on them of 30 minutes and then shut off. He's charged at the Gilroy SC and never noticed anything like this and can't say I've read about it on the forum yet. Anyway he had 115 mile range at that point when he started charging the second time so stopped charging and that will get him to his next stop and home so he was okay.

I know Mt. View is a super busy location used by many so can understand a limit being imposed. Not sure how that works for people traveling far beyond but guess the 30 minutes is enough to get you to another maybe less busy SC if need be or your home etc. for others not traveling that far.

 

[SMAlset]

BTW for some reason although his Tesla phone app is set to notify when charging is interrupted or completed, he didn't get any notification message, so I'd feel for the person who had a longer charge expected time and went for lunch or dinner over there to come back and find their charging halted a while before.

 

[Saghost]

That's a typical sign for a Supercharger location.

I've never seen any discussion of time limits on a Supercharger before - but I've had personal experiences with cables at a SpC site that stop charging abruptly at random times; the tech said there was a problem with the proximity circuit on that stall when they fixed it.

I'd lean more towards a hardware problem than a new policy that's never been documented.

 

[SMAlset]

He was thinking of asking the attendant about it but since the timing on the sign indicated 30 minutes and he arrived back to the car a little after 30 minutes from his original start time, it seemed a logical assumption. There were other cars lined up by then so he decided he was good enough to go and didn't pursue it. I'll let him know about your experience.

 

[NeverFollow]

Looking at the official Tesla "Find Us" Web map, there is not special notification:

Mountain View Supercharger

 

[AMPd]

30 minute general parking means ice cars can park there for up to 30 minutes.
Has nothing to do with charging your tesla.

 

[Bet TSLA]

So he figures this means that the superchargers have a time limit on them of 30 minutes and then shut off.

Completely bogus conclusion. You should change the thread title.

 

[SMAlset]

I actually meant to add a question mark at the end but hit return too soon. Edit won't let me do that, only modify tags not title.

So we're new to this whole experience. If you run into a situation where it shuts down before your programmed time, and there's no attendant, what should you do? -- As in reporting it for possible repair?? or are they monitoring it all remotely and would know? Don't think I saw a mention of supercharger problems in the manual and the map with the Mt. View location didn't indicate any problems there.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

That's for general parking, and has nothing to do with supercharging.

Every great once in awhile a charge will stop, and when it happens it usually happens right after starting it. I've had it happen maybe once, or twice. One time it kept doing it so I had to move charging spots.

 

[Ulmo]

I'd lean more towards a hardware problem than a new policy that's never been documented.

Agreed. Tesla wouldn't be that subversive. But I've also experienced the same hardware failure at that SuperCharger. That's why it's good to check the charge state halfway through the charge. No big deal unless you're late or in a hurry; just go back and correct the error. It's a bit of a nuisance, but not as bad as spilling gasoline on yourself.

I expect they'll fix this when automatic robot plugs are implemented, but if they're brain dead enough to error out and not automatically heal, I'm sure you could just hit restart in the app, or more likely, move to another stall and restart (since auto-driving car). Until then, manual heal and restart.

 

[Bet TSLA]

I actually meant to add a question mark at the end but hit return too soon. Edit won't let me do that, only modify tags not title.

Just report your original post (left bottom link) and tell the moderator what change you want. Should work eventually.

 

[SMAlset]

Thanks Bet TSLA. Done. Given the feedback in the thread hopefully will have a better title soon .

 

[AnxietyRanger]

So we're new to this whole experience. If you run into a situation where it shuts down before your programmed time, and there's no attendant, what should you do?

The meaning of the sign is two-fold:
1) As said, 30 minutes for any car parking allowed (not attached to charger)
2) For Supercharging, car must be moved immediately once charging is completed

For 2), Tesla may start charging you idle charges 5 minutes after completion, to be charged on your next service visit. Unfortunately there is no way for you to know when the car completes the charge, as that can vary depending on other stall usage, issues etc., other than sitting in the car or following the mobile app (assuming it is accurate).

 

[brucet999]

That's for general parking, and has nothing to do with supercharging.

Every great once in awhile a charge will stop, and when it happens it usually happens right after starting it. I've had it happen maybe once, or twice. One time it kept doing it so I had to move charging spots.

I've had that happen a total of 4 times. Get an error message something like "unable to charge. Please plug in again" After three or four tries I have moved to another station and charged successfully. Tesla customer service has not been helpful and service center cannot find anything wrong with my charge port.

 

[brucet999]

Unfortunately there is no way for you to know when the car completes the charge, as that can vary depending on other stall usage, issues etc., other than sitting in the car or following the mobile app (assuming it is accurate).

I have never had supercharging finish without the Tesla App sounding an audible alarm at 10 minutes to go and at completion; sometimes at 20 minutes to go warning that "supercharging is nearly completed".

 

[AnxietyRanger]

I have never had supercharging finish without the Tesla App sounding an audible alarm at 10 minutes to go and at completion; sometimes at 20 minutes to go warning that "supercharging is nearly completed".

User experiences vary, sure. I guess especially the Android app has gotten reports of missed notifications.

 

[ecarfan]

Five minutes in he looks up and notices the stalls have a sign that says something like "30 minute general parking; vacate stall when charging complete." He didn't think to take a photo of the sign but thought the sign was kind of vague. So he figures this means that the superchargers have a time limit on them of 30 minutes and then shut off.

As others have noted, that sign means that anyone can park in that particular space (including ICE cars) for up to 30 minutes, and if one is charging they should move their car when charging is finished. Some Superchargers have signs like that, many do not, some have slightly different signs. It depends on the terms of the lease agreement Tesla has with the parking area owner.

As to your Tesla stopping charging prematurely, that happens sometimes and I have no ready explanation. It does not mean the Supercharger deliberately stopped charging your car. It's a fault of some kind.

Please check your Tesla smartphone app settings and make sure Notifications are turned on so that your phone will alert you when charging stops, whether prematurely or when finished correctly.

 

[bxr140]

I had to charge at MV last week. 6 car wait. Attendant said "it's a 45 minute limit, if nobody is waiting after 45 min you can stay longer".

 

[AMPd]

I had to charge at MV last week. 6 car wait. Attendant said "it's a 45 minute limit, if nobody is waiting after 45 min you can stay longer".

Yeah I wouldn't really pay attention to him.

With the current issues with some locations not providing full power, 45 minutes might only provide half a charge.
Or if you connect to a shared stall where the other one is providing full power to the first vehicle you'll be charging very slowly.

 

[tmc42]

...
Please check your Tesla smartphone app settings and make sure Notifications are turned on so that your phone will alert you when charging stops, whether prematurely or when finished correctly.

I have Notifications enabled, but at least for me, I have found that notifications are not reliable:

• Recently I didn't receive a notification when charging completed normally at a Super Charger (Notifications settings for Charging Complete is enabled).
• Yesterday my charge unexpectedly stopped at a Super Charger, I also didn't receive a notification (Notifications settings for Charging Interrupted is enabled).
• But later yesterday at a non Super Charger when my charge completed, I did receive a notification.

Unclear if this is:

1. Tesla failing to send a notification.
2. A system issue such that notifications are lost before reaching the customer's smart phone (and everyone wants us to depend on "the cloud").
3. Or a smart phone OS bug.

The several times I have not received notifications, I happened to have been at a Super Charger. Fortunately charging completed/interrupted incidents have been quickly noticed since I have also monitored charging on the Tesla app or console.