Day 1 nightmare with model y Not able to charge

[Tessa Robin]

I’m so sick this happened especially on day 1.

Jump to the bottom if you don’t want the whole drama story.
I wanted to adventure on my first day. I knew I was going to a rural area that was going to be very limited on charging stations. I did all I could think of to plan ahead. I went with a full charge even though Tesla told me I had enough to go. The issue was on the way back. Not knowing if I could trust the estimate range I didn’t want to chance it to go to my initial destination because it would only be 23 mile cushion. So I chose to find something closer and I had two options in two different directions. I knew if there was an issue getting to it I wouldn’t be stranded because I would be too far to go elsewhere. I called the station provider to confirm all was working well to be overly cautious. Well I get there with 11 miles left to be turned away. It was a power plant and they said they don’t let public in the gate. Security told them I had 11 miles left and nothing within 30 miles. They wouldn’t let me charge. I even asked to sit outside the gate if someone would take in. Nope! Headed down the road found a hotel about 8 miles away. Tesla wants $1200 to tow because I’m 140 miles to closest Tesla. So far car still has power but it was at 0 for a couple miles. Not sure if will by morning when a tow truck can get to me.

Should I tow to charger 30 miles away (opposite directions of Tesla) or take tesla? Would hate to go that way and it not charge and have to pay even more to back track.

From this I have learned to slow down to conserve energy. Didn’t know that and even asked Tesla to go to battery saver mode or something if that meant no radio or air but it wasn’t a recognized command. I didn’t have time to sit idle to search knowing I was cutting it close. Now I know.

FYI- The Francis charger in fort Towson, OK is not public even though it states it is 24 hrs and even has a charge rate.

I’m so sick that this happened and the cost of this is gonna hurt after just buying this car.

 

[fhteagle]

That's certainly not a good day 1 experience. But it doesn't sound like there was anything wrong with the Tesla itself, just a misleading listing by Francis Energy? If so, no you don't need to get a tow all the way to Tesla, just to the closest charging station that you can use. If you get out to the car in the morning and the ~12V battery has gone dead that's a different situation to talk through though.

First thing I would do in your situation is get the PlugShare and A Better Route Planner apps. Apps for individual charging networks seem to have these oops's, where a secured / private charger is incorrectly listed. Plugshare is at least a little bit better about this, and if the status of a station changes, the comments usually reflect that pretty quick and you can suggest an edit in the app to update it for everyone else.

This is what Plugshare shows for Superchargers, Tesla Destination, and J1772 chargers in that area. You should have gotten a J1772 adapter with your delivery of the car (ours was in the trunk area). I assume you haven't yet purchased a mobile connector, which allow you to charge from a wall socket (i.e. at the hotel) or a NEMA 14-50 at an RV park. I would highly recommend getting one of those. A CCS adapter would also be useful in these situations.

 

[Tessa Robin]

That's certainly not a good day 1 experience. But it doesn't sound like there was anything wrong with the Tesla itself, just a misleading listing by Francis Energy? If so, no you don't need to get a tow all the way to Tesla, just to the closest charging station that you can use.

First thing I would do in your situation is get the PlugShare and A Better Route Planner apps. Apps for individual charging networks seem to have these oops's, where a secured / private charger is incorrectly listed. Plugshare is at least a little bit better about this, and if the status of a station changes, the comments usually reflect that pretty quick and you can suggest an edit in the app to update it for everyone else.

This is what Plugshare shows for Superchargers, Tesla Destination, and J1772 chargers in that area. You should have gotten a J1772 adapter with your delivery of the car (ours was in the trunk area). I assume you haven't yet purchased a mobile connector, which allow you to charge from a wall socket (i.e. at the hotel) or a NEMA 14-50 at an RV park. I would highly recommend getting one of those. A CCS adapter would also be useful in these situations.

View attachment 991468

Thanks. I just hope there’s no damage when this is all over. Yes I have the adapter and that’s what I confirmed all I’d need when I got to the Francis station when I called them because I was sitting in the lot of an Hotel that I originally went to as the closest location. But when I got there I was told no station but people use the rv park plugs in the back. Of course I don’t have a mobile charger yet so fail one. So I was so trying to be overly cautious by going to this nearest one then the road split and took me to two other options and unfortunately I chose the wrong one that failed me a second time. Both these locations I called and were verbally told about. The first location was in Broken Arrow, OK. They have cabins with chargers but only for guests and they told me about the hotel one. I guess I should have gotten a cabin and called it a night early. Now I have 13 more hrs to drive today as I planned on being home. But no sleep last night is gonna make this difficult. I’m contemplating upgrading to the monthly self driving to help me finish the drive. So much for picking up in person rather than shipping. I was hoping to save some money and the money I was using was to going towards seeing the countryside. My husband is going to be livid and I’ll never hear the end.

So when I started and left the charging station that only charged 28 miles an hr. I was at 100 miles. The location I was going to was 75. But I noticed the miles going down so panicked and navigated to these closer ones off the route to be safe. Which was 33 miles. Then couldn’t use that charger and had to drive the 58 miles to the next. To be disappointed again. With my 11 miles left that location turned me away saying it’s not for public use and told me there was one 3 miles down the road in the next town. The next town was nothing but one gas station and no charger. By then I was at 0 and I made it 5 miles to the next town and pulled into the first hotel. Tow truck is on its way hopefully there’s still some juice left and can go the 22 miles I originally planned and know now was doable if I didn’t detour trying to get the to closer one. I ended up driving the same miles. The tow almost 200 miles to Tulsa will be killer and hopefully not necessary. Thanks for reading hopefully others can learn from this.

I think my issue was I was looking at too many ev apps trusting they were accurate. I do have the plug share.

 

[Tessa Robin]

I’m so sick this happened especially on day 1.

Jump to the bottom if you don’t want the whole drama story.
I wanted to adventure on my first day. I knew I was going to a rural area that was going to be very limited on charging stations. I did all I could think of to plan ahead. I went with a full charge even though Tesla told me I had enough to go. The issue was on the way back. Not knowing if I could trust the estimate range I didn’t want to chance it to go to my initial destination because it would only be 23 mile cushion. So I chose to find something closer and I had two options in two different directions. I knew if there was an issue getting to it I wouldn’t be stranded because I would be too far to go elsewhere. I called the station provider to confirm all was working well to be overly cautious. Well I get there with 11 miles left to be turned away. It was a power plant and they said they don’t let public in the gate. Security told them I had 11 miles left and nothing within 30 miles. They wouldn’t let me charge. I even asked to sit outside the gate if someone would take in. Nope! Headed down the road found a hotel about 8 miles away. Tesla wants $1200 to tow because I’m 140 miles to closest Tesla. So far car still has power but it was at 0 for a couple miles. Not sure if will by morning when a tow truck can get to me.

Should I tow to charger 30 miles away (opposite directions of Tesla) or take tesla? Would hate to go that way and it not charge and have to pay even more to back track.

From this I have learned to slow down to conserve energy. Didn’t know that and even asked Tesla to go to battery saver mode or something if that meant no radio or air but it wasn’t a recognized command. I didn’t have time to sit idle to search knowing I was cutting it close. Now I know.

FYI- The Francis charger in fort Towson, OK is not public even though it states it is 24 hrs and even has a charge rate.

I’m so sick that this happened and the cost of this is gonna hurt after just buying this car.

The nightmare continues. Got to a charging station with tow but apparently there’s an 3rd plug adapter. I thought it was just Tesla or the adapter I have but this Francis station is not compatible. So towing another hr.

 

[Tam]

Thanks. I just hope there’s no damage when this is all over. Yes I have the adapter and that’s what I confirmed all I’d need when I got to the Francis station when I called them because I was sitting in the lot of an Hotel that I originally went to as the closest location. But when I got there I was told no station but people use the rv park plugs in the back. Of course I don’t have a mobile charger yet so fail one. So I was so trying to be overly cautious by going to this nearest one then the road split and took me to two other options and unfortunately I chose the wrong one that failed me a second time. Both these locations I called and were verbally told about. The first location was in Broken Arrow, OK. They have cabins with chargers but only for guests and they told me about the hotel one. I guess I should have gotten a cabin and called it a night early. Now I have 13 more hrs to drive today as I planned on being home. But no sleep last night is gonna make this difficult. I’m contemplating upgrading to the monthly self driving to help me finish the drive. So much for picking up in person rather than shipping. I was hoping to save some money and the money I was using was to going towards seeing the countryside. My husband is going to be livid and I’ll never hear the end.

So when I started and left the charging station that only charged 28 miles an hr. I was at 100 miles. The location I was going to was 75. But I noticed the miles going down so panicked and navigated to these closer ones off the route to be safe. Which was 33 miles. Then couldn’t use that charger and had to drive the 58 miles to the next. To be disappointed again. With my 11 miles left that location turned me away saying it’s not for public use and told me there was one 3 miles down the road in the next town. The next town was nothing but one gas station and no charger. By then I was at 0 and I made it 5 miles to the next town and pulled into the first hotel. Tow truck is on its way hopefully there’s still some juice left and can go the 22 miles I originally planned and know now was doable if I didn’t detour trying to get the to closer one. I ended up driving the same miles. The tow almost 200 miles to Tulsa will be killer and hopefully not necessary. Thanks for reading hopefully others can learn from this.

I think my issue was I was looking at too many ev apps trusting they were accurate. I do have the plug share.

That's why all but Stellantis and Volkswagen have joined NACS Tesla Supercharger.

The status of Supercharger is very good. What you see on your map is what you got, straight forward.

 

[1965Falcon]

The nightmare continues. Got to a charging station with tow but apparently there’s an 3rd plug adapter. I thought it was just Tesla or the adapter I have but this Francis station is not compatible. So towing another hr.

Well, first off, welcome to the forum and I certainly hope you can find some good information to help you have a much better experience with your car moving forward. EV's are a new thing and unfortunately the charging infrastructure is still in it's infancy. The good news is that it's getting better and better every year and hopefully the situation you just had will be a thing of the past soon. There is a wealth of information on the forum to help you. There are a lot of things you just don't learn until you've been in a situation like you just went through. Plugshare is great to see what's out there and also learn the status of a charger. Unfortunately the non-Tesla chargers are often broken. If I'm going on a trip, I bring my mobile connector and adapters (both for J1772 chargers, and for RV plugs, wall plugs, etc.). The range listed on your car is optimal range and not what you will actually get, especially in cold weather, so tools like ABRP are good for planning. Good luck out there and tell the husband it's a learning experience and you are not the first to get stranded in a charging desert.

 

[Mrdrbot23]

This is definitely a bad experience for day one. I'm not trying to make you feel even worse but this was not an issue caused by your Tesla at all. I see that there are very few superchargers in OK as it is. I also picked up my new MYLR in another state in June and used its GPS to route me home knowing that it would get me to superchargers on the way given that I had no experience at that point to plan my own route. For now, I'd suggest you trust your Tesla's Trip Planner (see this section in the user manual about it) -- ensure that it's on and that you use that for now. Only use ABRP once you've gotten more experience with your Tesla on road trips and know what to expect.

My primary app to find chargers is PlugShare. I generally only use it to look for places to charge for convenience, not necessity (e.g. if I'm going to be spending an hour or two shopping or dining out and there's an easy place to charge nearby). Be sure you have the app's filters set to show only the chargers for which you have an adapter. Below is a screenshot of my PlugShare filter settings - it includes the NEMA 14-50 since I carry the mobile charger in my car for emergencies/family visits.

Buy Tesla's mobile charger ASAP if you expect you'll need it - I keep one in my sub-trunk and it's come in very handy when visiting family. I hear that some Tesla Service Centers have them in stock so you can just walk in and buy one. Alternately, I've seen some used ones listed on Facebook Marketplace at great prices.

Also, switch the remaining battery view from miles to percentage (just tap on it on the display to make this change) - it's much less stressful and you'll absolutely learn over time what this translates to for your daily drives and roadtrips.

Last, drive more slowly when you can - high speeds chew up your battery. Per Tesla on this page of range tips:

• Energy from speed, or kinetic energy, is proportional to the square of the speed. By doubling your speed, you increase energy consumption by a factor of 4.

On the highway I stay in the right lane and drive only a few miles over the speed limit most of the time. I speed up only when going that slowly disrupts the traffic flow and makes me more of a hazard to others.

Good luck getting home! I really hope your husband doesn't get mad at you - all of this was a mistake driven by inexperience and is one you'll learn from and I'm sure you'll get better at road trip planning as a result!

 

[Earl]

I wanted to adventure on my first day. I knew I was going to a rural area that was going to be very limited on charging stations. I did all I could think of to plan ahead. I went with a full charge even though Tesla told me I had enough to go.

Kudos for the courage to go out and the wisdom to try to be prepared.
Unfortunately, what your experiences confirm is that the west is still wild for EVs. I've done a lot of driving in the areas you were in and, with an EV, it isn't for the faint of heart. In the urban areas, its easy today but it takes a lot of work and preparation in remote areas.
While it was difficult, it sounds like you've gained additional wisdom so that, when you do this again, the experience will, undoubtedly, be much more pleasant.
As others have said, when traveling in remote areas, it is good to have adapters with you including:
Minimum:
- NEMA 14-50 for RV park "50 amp hookups"
- J-1772
A good idea:
- CCS and/or CHAdeMO
- TT-30 for your Mobile Connector - available from EVSE Adapters (TT-30 Adapter for Tesla Model S/X/3/Y Gen 2) for
And others to cover even more things:
- the Tesla adapter bundle (https://shop.tesla.com/product/nema-adapter-bundle)
Unfortunately, I guess Francis Energy has not gotten better. I haven't used them for several years.
Let's hope that some of the new federal funding goes into adding more reliable chargers to remote areas although I don't have a lot of confidence. So far most government funding for charging infrastructure has been an abominable disaster but we can hope.
In the mean time, be prepared and be sure to have backup plans when traveling off the interstates.

 

[Rocky_H]

Oh, I'm sorry about that. There are frequently a couple of things that are very important to learn right off the bat, and it's unfortunate that you discovered them the hard way. I have two general thoughts on this:

1. Oklahoma is just tough. There are very few charging resources there.

2. I'm going to second what @Tam said. There is a stark difference between Tesla's Supercharger network and everything else. So I will generally stick to only a Supercharger covered route if I possibly can, even if it's a bit more out of the way and more miles. It's just dependable and has great redundancy at each site, so you never have to question if it's going to work or not. And so the other part of that is I will manage my speed to MAKE SURE I make it and don't have to find a plan B backup option that will be hit or miss.

 

[Tman317]

I generally don't take my MY on road trips just because of the charging. While Tesla supercharger infrastructure is the best around it is still insufficient when coupled with lack of range in my opinion . I believe it will be 10-15 years before gets really solid. In the mean time it's a really fun around town car.