Chicago area superchargers failing in cold

[DBeckwith]

News story

Seems like they can't handle the -15 fahrenheit temperatures. I had no problem the day before across the Wisconsin border when it was -7. Lucky I'm not traveling now.

Anyone have details why they are failing?

 

[GSP]

No idea what the problem is. Superchargers work fine in Edmonton Canada, Norway, etc. I just ran across this news report.

GSP

 

[DBeckwith]

Yes, NBC Chicago indicated Rolling Meadows and Evergreen Park was down last night and Teslas had to be towed.

Today the app indicates many stalls out but I haven't heard of issues with utilities.

 

[zannman]

Was looking for details on this beyond the news story. Sounds like telematics failed and stations showed empty when there were lines at a couple. I guess Oak Brook was the one in the video.

 

[jsmay311]

Yes, NBC Chicago indicated Rolling Meadows and Evergreen Park was down last night and Teslas had to be towed.

Today the app indicates many stalls out but I haven't heard of issues with utilities.

The app currently shows Oak Brook, Evergreen Park, and Rosemont as temporarily closed.

Note that these three include 250kW, 150kW, and 72kW stations respectively, so the problems appear to extend across generations of supercharger hardware.

And most other Chicagoland locations are showing poor availability and wait times, with a significant number of stalls out of order. Most are showing 2-6 stalls out of order. Here’s just one example:

It really is the worst possible timing to have Supercharger reliability problems coincide with extreme cold.

 

[Tam]

News story

Seems like they can't handle the -15 fahrenheit temperatures.

Something is fishy because Superchargers have been doing fine in the Arctic regions like Norway.

 

[DBeckwith]

Issues with Tesla superchargers last night.

 

[renambot]

Weird, previous winters have been fine (in the last 5 years). Right now the map is all full or out of order, except 3 stalls in a parking downtown.

 

[cwerdna]

Semi-OT: Do vote at Prediction, in Which Year Will New Electric Vehicle Sales Exceed 50% in the United States "Poll" if you haven't already.

 

[TomServo]

To be honest unless you absolutely have to be traveling long distance in that kind of weather, stay home. But then we are in our 70s and wouldn’t survive long in those temps if stranded. And to be honest we wouldn’t take an ICE vehicle out.

Having said that Tesla better get to the bottom of this fast.

 

[jsmay311]

To be honest unless you absolutely have to be traveling long distance in that kind of weather, stay home. But then we are in our 70s and wouldn’t survive long in those temps if stranded. And to be honest we wouldn’t take an ICE vehicle out.

Having said that Tesla better get to the bottom of this fast.

Some people don’t have home charging and rely on Superchargers for routine charging, not just long distance trips.

Others rely on 120V 15A outlets for home charging, and those sometimes don’t have enough power to keep the battery warm enough to accept a charge in sub-zero F temperatures, so they also have to fall back on using Superchargers when it gets this cold.

 

[jsmay311]

Now the Country Club Hills SC is down too.

 

[ThomasD]

Any issues with non Superchargers?

 

[FielderJones]

I had two Xfinity internet outages of over two hours each yesterday in the bitter cold. Something about modern electronics and super cold?

 

[DBeckwith]

Any issues with non Superchargers?

Only DC chargers.

 

[kylinblue]

From what I read so far it seems like lack of awareness/preparedness for heavy range loss proceed to caused a knock on effect:
People wasn't prepared for heavy range losses
Arrive at charger with low charge
Somehow unable to charge and get stuck at the stall (mystery here, idk why yet) (could be pack voltage/temp too low causing safety interlock to release, preventing DC charging)
More people arrive with low charge, car dies while waiting in line
Now you have a pile up

For people saying "last years they worked", you are correct, but Min Daily Minimum Temperature of February (1991-2020) is 23F (wikipedia). So not as severely cold as this year.

Also i just read there's comments on how severely outnumbered the chargers are in the chicago area. Pretty sure the record deliveries Tesla made in 2023 had effects on that.
Either way the ice heads are gonna parade this issue for the days to comeironically helping the push for better infrastructure.

Meanwhile gas pump freeze in Calgary:

https://www.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/19614wq

 

[jsmay311]

More local news coverage:

Tesla being predictably AWOL in terms of not having any kind of public response only hurts them further than the already bad headlines.

 

[DBeckwith]

Here is another

 

[DBeckwith]

I think it is an issue with DC chargers. I don't think it is the utility because I have the real time demand rate and it is just barely above the standard right now. There are also no reports of brown outs.

Maybe high moisture and fast artic freeze created an unforseen hardware issue.

I had a neighbor from Sweden back in the nineties who worked for Volvo. He was stationed out here to test their cars because he said Chicago had some of the toughest winter conditions for vehicles. Something about the moisture coming up from the gulf.

I've had my Model 3 back in 2019 when it was -23 fahrenheit and I don't recall an issue.

 

[cwerdna]

Semi-OT: Do vote at Prediction, in Which Year Will New Electric Vehicle Sales Exceed 50% in the United States "Poll" if you haven't already.

Bizarre that I get hit with 3 disagrees. What's there to disagree about? I'm pointing out a poll that some folks may be unaware of.

These issues are real world issues that US EV drivers esp. those in climates where it stays below freezing for extended periods of time and who cannot charge at home nor work will face. These issues will continue to appear in news media, possibly amplifying them. And, those who stand to lose from EV adoption (fossil fuel, legacy automaker, etc) + certain other groups will echo and engage in Astroturfing - Wikipedia to amplify.

These are barriers to EV adoption in the US.