Anyone get charged for not immediately disconnected from Supercharger?

[jboy210]

I used a supercharger for the 1st time the other day. It said it was going to take 25 minutes so we walked to a Starbucks. While having our coffee I got a message that charging was done and I was getting charged extra for not disconnecting. We walked back and moved the car 5 minutes after the charging completed. There were still empty stalls.

I have few questions. Is this a "standard" message? Has anyone gotten charged for taking too long to disconnect their car. And if there is a charge, where does it appear?

 

[TexasEV]

You have a 5 min grace period after charging is complete before idle fees accrue. The fees are charged to your credit card on file, or if you don’t have a credit card on file yet it’s chsrged at your next service. Empty stalls don’t matter unless the site is more than half empty.

 

[ai4px]

I think they only charge if 1/2 the stalls are in use. My car told me the other day I had 25 minutes remaining and I thought: Wow, that's nice but will it remind me again at 10 or 5 minutes ahead?

 

[Need]

I got the message before and I was pretty sure I couldn't walk back fast enough in 5 min. I took about 10 to get back, but I wasn't charge. I believe it would show up on your tesla account if you have credit card on file. If not, some people said it will show up next time you go to a service center and have something done to the car. Officially they suppose to charge you if the stalls are 50% full and you didn't come back within 5 minute to unplug.

 

[Ludalicious]

does this rule apply to people with free supercharging?

 

[Need]

does this rule apply to people with free supercharging?

Yes. Well I got the message anyway, but I wasn't charged. Maybe the 5 min is not really 5 min exact. Or maybe it is prorated depending on how many stalls are still open. I just know that I wasn't charged when I got back in about 10 min after I got the message.

Also I read there that there is a trick to give yourself a little extra time to get back in case you are too far away. Most people set charge limit to 90% or 80%. So when you get the message, you could increase that on the phone app to 100%. The last 10% charges really slow and will give you extra 10 min to run back.

 

[SSedan]

Yes. Well I got the message anyway, but I wasn't charged. Maybe the 5 min is not really 5 min exact. Or maybe it is prorated depending on how many stalls are still open. I just know that I wasn't charged when I got back in about 10 min after I got the message.

Also I read there that there is a trick to give yourself a little extra time to get back in case you are too far away. Most people set charge limit to 90% or 80%. So when you get the message, you could increase that on the phone app to 100%. The last 10% charges really slow and will give you extra 10 min to run back.

Yes this will work but let's just stress the idle fees are about making sure there are stalls available for the next traveler and depending on location and time you could plug in, walk away as the only car there and 30minutes later have it be full. So I would not abuse shifting the charge percentage.
That said last winter(low single digits out) when traveling I did reset navigation to one town further than I was going for some winter buffer so the supercharger didn't flag me as done. That was Eau Claire WI not exactly a Tesla dense area never seen it over half full, CA being Tesla dense is a different beast.

 

[mxnym]

I haven't road tripped yet and have only been connected to a supercharger once to make sure supercharging would work when I need it. I have two thoughts, but they are unverified:

1. It is possible this message always displays even if there are more than 50% stalls available.
2. The charge may also show / be included at the bottom of the charging screen where it says "Paid Supercharging" (IIRC, this shows supercharger visits and cost, so in my X with unlimited, it shows $0.00 for the one visit I made. I don't know whether or not it does, but it would be reasonable for the idle fee to display here).

 

[andrewket]

Supercharger Idle Fee

The Tesla app allows owners to remotely monitor their vehicle, alerting them when their charge is nearly complete and again once fully charged. For every additional minute a car remains connected to the Supercharger, it will incur a $0.40 idle fee. If the car is moved within 5 minutes, the fee is waived.

Do idle fees apply if there are Supercharger spots still available?
Idle fees apply to any car occupying a Supercharger if the station is at least 50% full once the charge session is complete.

-- above from tesla, below is me --

In practice, if you receive an alert on your app that you're being charged idle fees, it means that the network believes at least 50% of the supercharger stalls are occupied and you will be charged. A broken stall is considered occupied. This is why many people will get the message when less than 50% of the stalls have Teslas parked and connected to the SpC. You will not receive an alert about idle fees if the network believes the location is <50% full.

 

[SSonnentag]

I always get a notification when charging gets to 10% less than my set charging goal. Then I get another notice upon completion.

 

[andrewket]

I always get a notification when charging gets to 10% less than my set charging goal. Then I get another notice upon completion.

Yes, but you don't get an idle fee alert. Charging almost done and charging done are different.

 

[SSonnentag]

Yes, but you don't get an idle fee alert. Charging almost done and charging done are different.

Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen an idle fee notice . . . yet.

 

[SSedan]

I haven't seen a notice yet but as covered where I travel 50% full is pretty darn rare. Only seen 50%+ once and it was a 4 stall location I believe and at a mall immediately after work let out, 30minutes earlier it was empty and I suspect an hour later it was too.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I haven't road tripped yet and have only been connected to a supercharger once to make sure supercharging would work when I need it. I have two thoughts, but they are unverified:

1. It is possible this message always displays even if there are more than 50% stalls available.
2. The charge may also show / be included at the bottom of the charging screen where it says "Paid Supercharging" (IIRC, this shows supercharger visits and cost, so in my X with unlimited, it shows $0.00 for the one visit I made. I don't know whether or not it does, but it would be reasonable for the idle fee to display here).

It doesn't always display. In a year and a half, I've only seen it once. That was earlier this year in Custer, SD, during the Sounds of Silence rally when all of the Superchargers were occupied.

 

[brianman]

does this rule apply to people with free supercharging?

Yes. "Free"/included supercharging is charging not parking.

 

[Uncle Paul]

The Tesla notification system is pretty well thought out. Plan is to allow people to find an open spot when they arrive with a low charge.

When your Tesla get close to getting either close to your selected charge, or close to being enough charge to get to your next travel supercharger, you will get pinged to let you know your are close.

Again, when you are fully charged to your selected amount or enough to get to your next preselected Supercharger you will be pinged that you are ready to go.

If the Supercharger indicates that it is 50% full or over, you will be notified that you are soon to be charged a .40/minute congestion charge, and it is time to move your car and let another in.

The reason they use the 50% capacity is due to the sharing aspect of Superchargers. Each charging stall is paired with another, and newcomers will want to find an unpaired slot so they can get a full charge, and not need to share with another charging Tesla that will only give them a partial charge rate.

It is not unusual for a charging customer to wish to dawdel a bit over a cup of coffee, or to finish their lunch or some shopping while they charge. Tesla uses this small charge to incentive people to go back to their cars when the charge is complete.

 

[Uncle Paul]

There are some Superchargers that may not have WiFi or the cell service for your phone. In this case you will not get the alerts, and it is up to you to schedule your charging stops efficiently.

The concept is that these Supercharger stalls are for actively charging Tesla, not parking spots.

 

[DCGOO]

If you are supercharging and lunching. Make sure you set your charge limit to 100%. The charge rate slows dramatically as the car nears full. It can take 30 minutes to go from 90 to 100%. You are always pinged at 80% ("Supercharging is almost complete"), leaving enough time time to wolf down that sandwich and make the hike back to your car.

 

[jboy210]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately here in the SF Bay Area Superchargers almost always have activity. This was at 7:30 on a Sunday morning at the Dublin, CA supercharger. On weekdays they have valets there to deal with the crowds.

When we started charging there 3 of the 16 stalls were in use. When we walked back 1/2 hour later 12 of the stalls where in use.