From Love to Hate in one Roadtrip

[bonnie]

Your local SC does not have a super charger at them unfortunately. They only have the standard NEMA plug like you do at home.

I know for a fact that many do have a supercharger that is not out in the open. They use it to quickly charge customer cars. They all have multiple HPWCs.

What I don't know is if the OP's local service center has a supercharger or not.

 

[Hornedfrog1]

I know for a fact that many do have a supercharger that is not out in the open. They use it to quickly charge customer cars. They all have multiple HPWCs.

What I don't know is if the OP's local service center has a supercharger or not.

Wasn't that just what @TexasEV did, giving information to the contrary?

No. By saying, really? You’ve checked every service center? There’s no need for that.

 

[Evoforce]

High voltage/amperage connection. Bad idea. People get killed by things like this.

You are wrong about my fix! I am giving good advice. This is a wax. You might be afraid of something that you do not know but that is human nature and a healthy response when unsure. I have a lot of experience with electrical and engineering. In addition, I am not talking about putting it on the contacts or lubricating anything electrical.

 

[realvvk]

Just an update...
We were already on Range Mode and cut all cabin heat/lights. It was pretty awful.

Don't use Range Mode in winter. The battery will not be heated and you will have issues. If you do, make sure you turn it off while charging.

Yeah, long trips definitely require supercharging. Hopefully, your charge port will be repaired and you will try again.

 

[clostridium]

I know for a fact that many do have a supercharger that is not out in the open. They use it to quickly charge customer cars. They all have multiple HPWCs.

What I don't know is if the OP's local service center has a supercharger or not.

To all involved in this back and forth about SC's and supercharger availability:
Just go to supercharge.info because it lists SC based superchargers

For some reason Tesla doesn't list SC based superchargers on their own website but the site noted above will and specify that it has limited hours. There's also an iPhone app called "superchargers" that has similar info.

And at the risk of further inflaming the other back and forth about checking your car before a trip - it's all about mitigating risk because devices will eventually fail to work correctly or other non-device related problems will happen like getting stuck in the snow and you didn't have a shovel. You decide what is an acceptable level of risk for yourself and then accept the consequences. Yes, the car should work but if you get stranded that though is not going to make you feel better. Of course the level of risk for an airplane is greater so it's more problematic to cut corners on that. As long as people accept the risk of their personal approach that's fine and don't yell at people for doing things differently from you.

I don't fault the OP for not doing this though because a newly delivered car should have already had testing by the manufacturer on something as basic as whether supercharging works. And if they screwed up but then found out about issues in some delivered cars on something so critical you'd think they'd actively contact people BEFORE they had problems (to my knowledge that didn't happen but chime in if any of you were contacted) and offer to test their car.

I hope that Tesla has learned something from this and is adding this in to the predelivery checklist now to be completed at the factory or at the SC before a customer gets the car.

 

[bonnie]

To all involved in this back and forth about SC's and supercharger availability:
Just go to supercharge.info because it lists SC based superchargers

For some reason Tesla doesn't list SC based superchargers on their own website but the site noted above will and specify that it has limited hours.

Good advice, but. I just checked a service center that I know has a supercharger - and it is not listed. Also, the service center superchargers are not generally available, even during business hours. They were installed for shop use. Allowing general customer use is disruptive. (Some service centers may have a different policy but you cannot count on it.)

I would always call first and 1) see if they have a supercharger, and, 2) if they will let you use it in an emergency situation.

 

[clostridium]

I know for a fact that many do have a supercharger that is not out in the open. They use it to quickly charge customer cars. They all have multiple HPWCs.

What I don't know is if the OP's local service center has a supercharger or not.

It appears that as of today the only SC relatively near the OP that has a supercharger is the Toronto SC that is at 1325 Lawrence Ave which must have a full supercharger since it lists 8 stalls and is not time limited. The Oakville SC does not list a supercharger.

It appears that many of the SC's in the midwest do NOT have a supercharger in them. Mine in Cleveland does but only 1 or 2 of the several SC's in Ohio and surrounding states have SC's listed. It's also interesting that some of the SC pages on the tesla site list specifics about what types of charging available but some say nothing. The Cleveland SC doesn't say anything about a charger but has a supercharger. The Columbus SC has no supercharger but says the following under charging: "7 Tesla connectors and 2 NEMA 14-50 connectors, available during business hours." Would be nice if Tesla would standardize their reporting so people didn't have to go to third party data sources.

 

[Carl]

No. By saying, really? You’ve checked every service center? There’s no need for that.

. Yes I can understand that (a bit ad hominem), but the person he was answering could have checked with any service center and found out that they have, if not always SuperChargers, then at least something charging at a better rate than the average NEMA home charger.

 

[clostridium]

Good advice, but. I just checked a service center that I know has a supercharger - and it is not listed. Also, the service center superchargers are not generally available, even during business hours. They were installed for shop use. Allowing general customer use is disruptive. (Some service centers may have a different policy but you cannot count on it.)

I would always call first and 1) see if they have a supercharger, and, 2) if they will let you use it in an emergency situation.

Remember that we got into this whole discussion with the idea that someone could test if their car would supercharge successfully, not so that people would just use it to charge up their car. I'm suspecting that the SC would let you test your car especially in light of a known defect in a specific time period of production.

You are correct that if you want to charge your car you should never assume that the SC would let you even in an emergency. Always should call ahead.

 

[mdk1a]

The charge port for my S75D also built in December 2017 has been fine for me. Tightness when plugging the charger in just has never been an issue. Pulling it out did require some getting used to for a few days. I did also run into the issue with the UMC box flashing red at home a couple of times, but a quick unplugging/plugging from the outlet always resolved it.

Reading about the charge port issue from other owners whose cars were built around the same time as mine did give me enough concern that I went to a couple of the nearest Superchargers (Monroe and Lynnwood) to try it out in recent weeks. Again, no tightness when plugging in, but I did have to push it a bit more to turn the port from orange to green. I didn't have to wiggle it or anything. It's more push than what I'd need to do at home, but at the same time I don't think one needed to be Captain America to do it either. Even though I've always thought my charge port is fine, I have to say that having successfully tested it at a couple of Superchargers does give me that extra confidence for the upcoming road trips that I'm planning to take. It also helped in getting a feel for what it's like using a Supercharger overall.

Just wanted to add a data point that not all December 2017 builds are having the same problem and share what particular technique worked for me at the Superchargers.

 

[whitex]

I do not agree with this statement. Every machine needs to be checked periodically and before an intense or long use. This is true of ICE vehicles and their manuals state such. This is true of industrial equipment in factories, trains, airplanes, etc. It is true of an electric vehicle too.

Periodic scheduled maintenance, yes. Checking the car before every single trip over 100miles is ridiculous. The car in question just came through delivery inspection a week earlier. Are you suggesting the OP should have immediately scheduled maintenance for day after delivery? And even if he did, do you think they would have caught this?

 

[whitex]

When my car crapped out last weekend a bad situation was made worse when I got the the Bellevue, Wa service center. Not because they were rude, but because service was not open on Sunday but the sales department was and when I inquired about a Loaner the ladies at the front desk said, “I’m sorry. Only the service department can check out loaners.” I had to drive home, 260 miles, in a Kia minivan. Then my local SC wanted me to come swap out for a Tesla loaner the next day so over an hour one way.

First, I'm unclear how this answers my question of what "will take care you" means after the ruined trip. Second, it sounds like at least in your case they got you a Kia to keep you going. They didn't tell you to just leave the car and come back when the service is open. The OP was left stranded due to a week old car not being able to charge. I get that things break, but manufacturers should be standing behind the product and smoothing things like this out when it happens.

 

[RAW84]

I find the notion that the OP should've checked supercharging prior to his trip patently ridiculous. He had his car for a few weeks now, so he knew his onboard charger was working fine. He was charging with the Tesla supplied cord, so why would it even cross his mind that that the Tesla designed supercharger would use a different (however slight) connector? The reasonable fear is that the targeted supercharger is offline or full, and thanks to the navigation app in the car he could've checked this both before and during his trip.

When talking about "shoulds" it needs to be directed at Tesla. Tesla knows this issue exists. They know, roughly, which cars are effected. They need to notify every single one of those owners, even if not all will be affected as much. It's completely unacceptable that folks have to find out about this on an online enthusiasts forum or, much worse, in the middle of a road trip when they need to charge. They should take the same approach they did with that seatbelt recall where everyone was notified and encouraged to stop by the service center so they could check it.

 

[Hornedfrog1]

First, I'm unclear how this answers my question of what "will take care you" means after the ruined trip. Second, it sounds like at least in your case they got you a Kia to keep you going. They didn't tell you to just leave the car and come back when the service is open. The OP was left stranded due to a week old car not being able to charge. I get that things break, but manufacturers should be standing behind the product and smoothing things like this out when it happens.

What I was saying is that it’s a stupid set up and that tesla could do a lot better for everyone if they trained everyone to handle car problems because they don’t just occur during the weekdays. I totally get that he was stranded and that totally sucks which is why my car will not be taken on road trips any longer. I’m just trying to point out that Tesla seems to be dropping the ball in many areas and his seems to be an even greater extreme to that point.

 

[Evoforce]

I think most of us here are genuinely trying to remotely help the OP mitigate his situation as best as possible. Any of us who have been on this planet long enough, have most likely been stranded or broken down with a vehicle.

It is almost never fun and when it is happening in real time it can be very frustrating. Hopefully the anger will pass once the car is repaired, and you will replace this trip with much more enjoyable ones with your Tesla.

It has happened to me in my past with various vehicles, and it also happened to me with my Tesla when I was 2500 miles from home. I think a lot of us have some good stories of survival to tell.

My lady did not want me to buy a Tesla either, and our breakdown with it happened on our first major trip too. She has grown to love it now and gleefully announces that she is a Tesla snob. But I sure did get the daggers in the beginning, when purchasing it, and that first fateful trip.

I don't know your lady but mine did a 180 degree turn.

Good luck!

P.S. My troubles with my Tesla were because of contactors in the main traction battery that left us stranded, and without power or lights, on a semi truck engorged turnpike in the middle of the night. We thought we were going to be killed...

 

[AnxietyRanger]

I did have to push it a bit more to turn the port from orange to green. I didn't have to wiggle it or anything. It's more push than what I'd need to do at home, but at the same time I don't think one needed to be Captain America to do it either.

Just wanted to add a data point that not all December 2017 builds are having the same problem and share what particular technique worked for me at the Superchargers.

IMO it sounds to me like you should consider having the SC check your port if it is still affected. Superchargers should not require any extra technique or force to start charging. Needing to use extra force is the exact symptom of the December 2017 manufacturing issue.

 

[TexasEV]

There is no need to be snotty. We are all on here to get opinions and to try and learn from each other. If you have some information that conflicts with something someone else said, just say it.

When you state something as a fact that is so obviously incorrect, expect to get pushback from people who have been around a while and actually know something about the topic.

By the way, calling an outlet a NEMA outlet is meaningless. It’s almost like saying the car wieghs pounds. I think what you meant is NEMA 14-50 outlet. Every outlet in the US is a NEMA outlet, from the lowly 1-15 to the 24-50 for 347V use:
NEMA Straight Blade Reference Chart

 

[Brian-MS90D]

@whitex , I'm tired of reading posts such as the OP and yours that states one failure of a Tesla and then use hyperbole such as "I hate this car!" and "needing to check the car is ridiculous." The use of hyperbole is telling.

You stated that owners should not be required to check their cars before taking a trip. I pointed out that is not the case.

When I hear the word "trip" I think of more than 100 miles. Also, the OP's trip was 426 miles

 

[McRat]

I do not agree with this statement. Every machine needs to be checked periodically and before an intense or long use. This is true of ICE vehicles and their manuals state such. This is true of industrial equipment in factories, trains, airplanes, etc. It is true of an electric vehicle too.

Uh... no. Owner's Manuals say to check obvious things every day before you operate a car. Sometimes they will have break-in information for performance engines.

Unless you have a Supercharger in your garage, can't test that each day you drive it.

Name a car you owned that had documentation that requested you test-fill the gas tank. This I have to see to believe. If a car charges at L2 or L1, why would anyone think it would not DCFC? The seller should have DCFC'd before delivery just like other sellers fill your tank while you do paperwork.

Can you imagine trying to put gas into a brand new BMW just to find out the gas cap on the new car cannot be opened? (Yes I know newer cars don't have gas caps anymore).

 

[SMAlset]

Wife here who's husband has always wanted a Tesla and surprised me by ordering one and then telling me. Our initial charging failure was a bit different. Picked up car at our delivery SvC/Store, drove it immediately to get it wrapped. They had it a week. Driving home on a Saturday from there husband decided to use the ChargePoint at his office being new to the whole charging thing. Only could get a red ring which we knew wasn't good. Spent time with Tesla by phone. Nothing worked. Thankfully there was a SvC not far from there and soon closing for weekend and we were able to drive there in time. Long story short it was an intermittent port problem and got replaced on Tuesday after they ordered part on Monday.

Ours was more of a disappointment/inconvenience than OPs experience. Still it had me wondering what else might go wrong with it if we hadn't even gotten the car home yet and if this was ultimately a good buying decision. In our case it has been our only real issue and I'm totally in love with the car. Waiting for our Model 3 now which will be our 2nd vehicle. So maybe OP there is hope for your wife too.

It is really disheartening to read accounts of this latest charge port issue especially since it's so essential and could leave an owner with no power. Knowing there has been an issue with a range of cars with this run of part tolerance (assume that's the problem), I would have hoped all owners in that range would have been contacted to make them aware they could be affected and to check this and schedule an appointment if necessary. If they can do OTA updates to batches of cars, would seem like maybe an easy way to go for notifications by phone or alert on car screen.

Love the owner who offered up their charging for the OP BTW.