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Burned by Tesla on idle fees. Something to know

Discussion in 'Model S: Battery & Charging' started by Zooomer, Nov 2, 2017.

  1. kort677

    kort677 Banned

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    #61 kort677, Nov 2, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2017
    that's awfully presumptive and arrogant on your part.
    one time I pulled into an 8 unit SpC that nobody else was charging at, within 5 minutes 6 other cars showed up. the point is you cannot discern when or how many cars might arrive looking for a charge.
    don't be so self centered and move your car when the charge is completed.
     
    • Like x 9
  2. kort677

    kort677 Banned

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    taking care of ICING is far more problematic. lacking local ordinances and sometimes the lack of cooperation from the property owner where the SPC is located there isn't much that can be done by tesla to stop ICING. all you can do when encountering an ICED SpC is to call into tesla and alert them to the problem at that location.
     
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  3. kort677

    kort677 Banned

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  4. apacheguy

    apacheguy S Sig #255

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    I've tried this before. It doesn't work well at all. The car ended up taking twice as long to charge in the morning because the battery cooled down significantly overnight.

    @efusco totally agree.

    I've seen arrogant, self centered jackasses at superchargers. I'm not one of them, I assure you. What I stated was a hypothetical and yet you misinterpreted it to mean that I leave my vehicle unattended at a supercharger. Wow, dude.
     
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  5. RiverBrick

    RiverBrick Active Member

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    As much as I am for idle fees, it's a problem billing people when you don't know when and if 50% occupancy occurs.
     
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  6. kort677

    kort677 Banned

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    that is far from correct. there are many different formats for site leases employed by tesla and many localities will not ticket or allow towing without ordinances restricting parking are in place.
     
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  7. Big Earl

    Big Earl bnkwupt

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    Thanks for the clarification.
     
  8. rhumbliner

    rhumbliner Member

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    Possibly, but generally the local zoning authority dictates how many a parking spaces must be provided by a business. If the space is allocated as “Tesla Only” then the business can no longer count that spot toward their zoning requirement. If it’s a shared spot, i.e., “30 Minute General Parking”, then the business does not “lose” that spot.
     
    • Informative x 4
  9. Az_Rael

    Az_Rael Supporting Member

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    Supercharger traffic is incredibly variable. In my limited experience, I have seen an 18 stall supercharger with only 4 spots open when I arrive, and then only 2 other cars there when I came back just 30 minutes later.

    So if the OP was at a 4 stall charger, only 1 additional car would need to show up for idle fees to trigger. That seems a highly likely scenario when leaving a car overnight. Even at a 6 stall, it is certainly possible for the station to have hit 50% capacity at some point in the night. Also, another overnight hotel guest could have plugged in after the OP got there, AND left before the OP, further reducing the number of passing travelers required to hit the 50% full trigger.

    They really need to have Level 2 chargers installed at hotels with supercharger stations. It would provide spots for overnight guests to charge without the temptation of leaving a car at an "empty" SC.
     
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  10. Lloyd

    Lloyd Well-Known Member

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    #70 Lloyd, Nov 2, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2017
    Take a longer shower! :oops:
     
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  11. bcsteeve

    bcsteeve Member

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    I notice the OP is from MI and a lot of the hard-liners that have zero compassion are from CA and I have to wonder... is it a matter of perspective? I get the "never do it" mantra... cause sure, we should follow the rules. But then, never speed, never do a rolling stop, never punch a peace officer (wait, what?). Rules are... well, often bent and left to interpretation and context matters. We all speed when we know it is perfectly safe to do so and we all roll through stop signs that shouldn't be there in the first place (there are a ton in my subdivision that really should be yields). Can't that extend to superchargers? In California where we know there aren't enough to go around, then of course its a touchy subject and "no means no". But I can feel for the OP if his area is like my area. I'll take that $200 fine and bet any one of you that we can set up a camera and watch and my local SpC *never ever ever* gets to the point where hogging a spot is causing anyone any issue at all.

    Does that mean the rules shouldn't be there? Or that they shouldn't be applied? No, of course not. But perhaps it means we can cut the guy a break and a little sympathy. OBVIOUSLY - given that he posted - the bill came as a bit of a shock to him. It certainly would be to me! Is it a legit bill? Sure. But do we need to come down on him like he really did something "wrong"? Fact is, he didn't. His taking up that space didn't cause anyone the slightest amount of grief. 50% is a line Tesla drew in the sand, but as long as there is one free spot when a car arrives, no harm no foul (ok ok, we can argue about dropped rates but realistically there was in all likelihood way more than one free spot and it is unlikely anyone suffered lower rates because of what he did).

    I'm not excusing him. Lesson learned. But if I were Tesla, I'd be letting him off with a warning. In fact, we should all be granted one gimme. I bought used and nobody ever told me about this fine. I knew about it from obsessively reading the website, but is that a requirement for purchase? No. There's no signs posted on the chargers. The app doesn't even say anything until it is too late... but then, the app also isn't required equipment. What if I didn't have the app? What if I didn't have a phone? How am I supposed to know that there's a charge? Its those hypothetical "what if" that should give each owner a warning prior to enforcement.
     
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  12. Leopold Stotch

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    I would never leave my X in a SC stall like that. Maybe I’d leave my ICE car in front of a gas pump while I go off for a nap. But never a SC.
     
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  13. bcsteeve

    bcsteeve Member

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    BTW, what is the app supposed to do in terms of messaging? Sometimes I get the "charging is almost finished" message, but not always, and almost never when it actually is "almost" finished. Usually I get the message 5 minutes after I've walked away from the car and there's still 30 minutes left to charge. I've never gotten a "finished" message. I've certainly never gotten any warning about fees. Maybe I'm using it wrong lol. I use superchargers basically in two ways: 1) when I feel cheap and/or I have extra time and/or want to do some shopping near my local charger; 2) on the route to my Mom's where I have two chargers on the way and have to either spend 55 minutes at one or 20 minutes at both (I usually do the single). In both cases, I don't think I've yet let my car for more than 10 minutes after it has finished. Usually I'm back before it finishes and I just leave.
     
  14. bak_phy

    bak_phy Member

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    I thought that at this point in time the cars would be parking, charging and re-parking themselves elsewhere all while the owner was soundly asleep. All on private property off course.
    Perhaps things haven't progressed quite as fast as promised.
     
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  15. rhumbliner

    rhumbliner Member

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    Not to distract from the point of this thread — I completely agree with Tesla’s policy — but I have visited SC’s where my in dash map says the location has 4 of 8 stalls busy when in fact there is no one there. Their occupancy detection definitely is not accurate.
     
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  16. rhumbliner

    rhumbliner Member

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    As a transplant from the Midwest, I doubt its a regional thing. I, too, view the OP as uncaring for others. Certain rules like rolling stops and exceeding the speed limit don't inconvenience anyone if done safely. However, taking up a charging spot overnight makes the assumption that absolutely no one will need a late night charge. Sure there are other stalls open, but are they all fully functional? Suppose a Tesla club pulls thru late at night? I have, in fact, rolled thru Casper, WY at 2am and charged at the Hilton Garden Inn for an hour (with the permission of the front desk) and continued my journey . If both their chargers were occupied by sleeping owners I would have been screwed.

    My conscience would bother me if I did what the OP did.
     
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  17. WhiskySTL

    WhiskySTL Member

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  18. d21mike

    d21mike Active Member

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    The OP said he wanted to save 1 hour of trip time. Would it not be better to plug in for a short amount of time "while" you get checked into the hotel and get to your room? Even a 30 minute charge would give you a pretty good charge. And then a top off the next morning if required? Not sure you would loose that much time but you would have to walk back out to the car at least 1 extra time. If I was in a rush I think my first stop would be the chargers before heading into the hotel.
     
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  19. ThosEM

    ThosEM Space Weatherman

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    I can sympathize with the OP because I found myself in a similar situation at Plymouth NC, where the SC is in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn Express. I could look out the window and see the car charging. I was tired and ready for shut-eye before the car was finished, and there were no other cars so I left it running and did not check back in for it to be finished. In the morning there was another car, but I have no idea whether more were there during the night. No charge accrued since this was before the policy was active.

    Certainly as SCs get busier, drivers must be deterred from treating SCs like their personal home charging system.
     
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  20. Brass Guy

    Brass Guy Active Member

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    I don't think we're in San Mateo anymore. CAM00906.jpg Oh - I can see it's flashing green, I'm OK.
    BTW, I did leave as soon as I had enough charge.
     
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