Getting EV'd at Superchargers

[jelloslug]

On a side note, there are legitimate use cases where getting hit with idle fees would suck. I was on a road trip with my wife. We needed to stop for the restroom and lunch. We stopped at a Supercharger and went to a restaurant to eat. It took us a good 5-10 minutes to walk to the restaurant after plugging in (the place was huge). We had a nice lunch, chatted and generally enjoyed ourselves. Yes, near the tail end of our meal I realized the car finished charging. There was probably 15-20 minutes between the time when the car finished charging and I unplugged. If I got hit with idle fees that would have been lameish. I was cognizant that the Supercharger location had plenty of empty stalls but what if it was busy? Interrupting my meal to walk 10 minutes to unplug and another few to drive and park closer to the restaurant to resume my lunch would not have been great.

I realize that other owners might need to charge and I’m a pretty conscientious (also frugal) person so if the station was busy I would have interrupted my meal to make the stall available and avoid the fees. That said, the situation would have been suboptimal.

Supercharger spots are not parking spots. If your car is done charging, you need to move it ASAP, even if it is an inconvenience to you.

 

[scaesare]

It works on mine. I have plugged in my car many times while it was locked. Mine is a 2014 S.

Oh? I may stand corrected then.

This did not used to be the case on my early '13 S. Perhaps subsequent firmware updates have changed this behavior... I'll have to re-test.

Thanks.

 

[lairdb]

You don't get with fees when the stalls are half empty. You only get hit with fees if the stalls are at least 50% or more occupied and you exceed the grace period and there probably just some flex in that too, but I've never been hit with a fee so I don't know for sure.

Is that documented anywhere? That's more reasonable than I though.

(Do you get alerted if cars arrive to push it over 50% occupied while you're idling?)

 

[amitmishra4]

Is that documented anywhere? That's more reasonable than I though.

(Do you get alerted if cars arrive to push it over 50% occupied while you're idling?)

Supercharger Idle Fee

Read the answers to the FAQ's underneath. That is what I deciphered from their language. It does not say if it will warn you if a charger gets 50% full after you arrive. I'm sure it will be proven by someone eventually though.

 

[HopeToGolf]

Supercharger spots are not parking spots. If your car is done charging, you need to move it ASAP, even if it is an inconvenience to you.

Agree. That said, this is a downside with EV life. It is not a significant issue but it is an issue nonetheless.

 

[Evoforce]

On a side note, there are legitimate use cases where getting hit with idle fees would suck. I was on a road trip with my wife. We needed to stop for the restroom and lunch. We stopped at a Supercharger and went to a restaurant to eat. It took us a good 5-10 minutes to walk to the restaurant after plugging in (the place was huge). We had a nice lunch, chatted and generally enjoyed ourselves. Yes, near the tail end of our meal I realized the car finished charging. There was probably 15-20 minutes between the time when the car finished charging and I unplugged. If I got hit with idle fees that would have been lameish. I was cognizant that the Supercharger location had plenty of empty stalls but what if it was busy? Interrupting my meal to walk 10 minutes to unplug and another few to drive and park closer to the restaurant to resume my lunch would not have been great.

I realize that other owners might need to charge and I’m a pretty conscientious (also frugal) person so if the station was busy I would have interrupted my meal to make the stall available and avoid the fees. That said, the situation would have been suboptimal.

I also feel that the time allotted is a little short.

 

[TexasEV]

I also feel that the time allotted is a little short.

So you’re saying the car charges too quickly? Because once the car is finished charging, you have no business being in that space. Five minute grace period is plenty, considering you should be heading back to the car already before it is trying to squeeze those last few electrons in.

 

[Evoforce]

I'm saying that, by the time you are notified, it can be a struggle to get back to your car within 5 minutes in some circumstances. I do think the grace period should be longer... I also agree it is not a parking spot... Also, there are times when cell service does not work and you have to guesstimate. And then there are those times when you intended to set it for 100% charge but forgot and left it at 80% and believed you had more time.

 

[scaesare]

Oh? I may stand corrected then.

This did not used to be the case on my early '13 S. Perhaps subsequent firmware updates have changed this behavior... I'll have to re-test.

Thanks.

So I just tested, and indeed as @David99 states, I now can plug my car in while locked. I can't remove the cable until the car is unlocked, however.

 

[Dr. J]

I'm saying that, by the time you are notified, it can be a struggle to get back to your car within 5 minutes in some circumstances. I do think the grace period should be longer... I also agree it is not a parking spot...

I'm with @TexasEV. They are only charging idle fees, not taking my first born child. That seems a reasonable incentive to move my car which is by definition *in the way* when idle fees are being charged.

 

[Evoforce]

I'm with @TexasEV. They are only charging idle fees, not taking my first born child. That seems a reasonable incentive to move my car which is by definition *in the way* when idle fees are being charged.

I didn't say there shouldn't be idle fees, just a little more time before they start to accrue. However, there have been many debates on this in other threads. I think I will stop debating here.

 

[tpatana]

Interrupting my meal to walk 10 minutes to unplug and another few to drive and park closer to the restaurant to resume my lunch would not have been great.

While that might not be great, what if someone is about to be late for their grandmother's funeral and they have to wait extra 20 minutes to get the charging spot because you didn't plan properly.

Please be considerate.

For one, it's very easy to estimate how long it'll take for full charge. So first step is to plan your shopping/eating accordingly. If you car will be ready in 45 minutes, plan to be at your car in 40 minutes. Easy.

It'd be great if there was an app that'd show the charge state, or even give alert when it's full. Then you would know when to head out to unplug your car.

Using SC stalls for parking is just inconsiderate.

 

[HopeToGolf]

While that might not be great, what if someone is about to be late for their grandmother's funeral and they have to wait extra 20 minutes to get the charging spot because you didn't plan properly.

Please be considerate.

For one, it's very easy to estimate how long it'll take for full charge. So first step is to plan your shopping/eating accordingly. If you car will be ready in 45 minutes, plan to be at your car in 40 minutes. Easy.

It'd be great if there was an app that'd show the charge state, or even give alert when it's full. Then you would know when to head out to unplug your car.

Using SC stalls for parking is just inconsiderate.

To be very clear, I do not think in my situation I was using the SC stall as a parking spot. As I said in my original post, if the SC was busy I would have behaved differently. Frankly, there needs to be more of a penalty when more of these cars are on the road. One thing experience has shown me is that I am far more considerate than the average person so when more Teslas are out there more of the stalls will be ICEed.

 

[brucet999]

I'm saying that, by the time you are notified, it can be a struggle to get back to your car within 5 minutes in some circumstances. I do think the grace period should be longer... I also agree it is not a parking spot... Also, there are times when cell service does not work and you have to guesstimate. And then there are those times when you intended to set it for 100% charge but forgot and left it at 80% and believed you had more time.

100% charge? I can't think of a reason to charge to 100% at a Supercharger, given that the next one is likely less than 100 miles away. Reasons not to charge to 100% include stressing your battery unnecessarily and, worse, making other users wait another 20 minutes while your car goes from 90% to 100% SOC.

 

[gambit48]

So I just tested, and indeed as @David99 states, I now can plug my car in while locked. I can't remove the cable until the car is unlocked, however.

I think that's the way to go. For those plugged in (the other 8 or 10 stalls), I had no idea what their state of charge was. If they're done, then they get hit with idle fees.

If you just park there without being plugged in, you aren't being charged idle fees. You're taking up a valuable spot (there was a Model S that arrived a few min after me and was waiting) and not getting any corrective action. Sure, a note would let them know. But an official charge from Tesla would bring things across more resoundingly. I checked my map and headed to this one because it looked like it had a couple spots open. I was already pretty far in the Yellow and I really needed to charge. That's why I was so annoyed. I only needed 15 minutes or so of Supercharging in order to go where I had to go and then make it home.

I just tested my car. Left my phone FAR away. Tried it with my mobile adapter in my garage. Car was locked and it let me plug in. Just wouldn't let me pull the plug out.

I don't mind them charging to 100. This is a stop on the way to Lake Tahoe. It's mostly uphill and with the amount of traffic, I can see people getting nervous and wanting a full charge to make sure they can hit the next Supercharger at the top of the mountain. Just don't take up a Supercharger if you're not charging at all.

 

[Evoforce]

100% charge? I can't think of a reason to charge to 100% at a Supercharger, given that the next one is likely less than 100 miles away. Reasons not to charge to 100% include stressing your battery unnecessarily and, worse, making other users wait another 20 minutes while your car goes from 90% to 100% SOC.

You appear to not have driven a lot of across the country road trips. There are definitely times when you are going off the beaten path and into areas that might not/do not have service.

 

[Dr. J]

I can't think of a reason to charge to 100% at a Supercharger, given that the next one is likely less than 100 miles away.

Here's a reason: driving from Amarillo, TX to Trinidad, CO. But maybe where you live, there are zero reasons.

 

[ℬête Noire]

For one, it's very easy to estimate how long it'll take for full charge.

Not being an owner yet, I've got a few question here.

How accurate do you find the estimate you get when you first plug in? I expect it'll off if there is a change in charge splitting part way though when someone plugs in/unplugs from the other side of your numbered pair of chargers.

You can remotely check w/the app the charging progress midway? Do you get to see a running, current estimate there?

 

[scaesare]

While I like the idea of folks selfishly taking up supercharger stalls and not even plugging in, I'm not sure how I feel about what is in essence touching someone else's property.

I've argued against unplugging people who are at chargers for a long time, as you don't know what their needs are.

It's a bit harder to justify anybody parking at a supercharger and not plugging in as anything other than forgetful or selfish...

Hmmm....

 

[gambit48]

Not being an owner yet, I've got a few question here.

How accurate do you find the estimate you get when you first plug in? I expect it'll off if there is a change in charge splitting part way though when someone plugs in/unplugs from the other side of your numbered pair of chargers.

You can remotely check w/the app the charging progress midway? Do you get to see a running, current estimate there?

I'd say it's pretty accurate, if not a tiny bit conservative.

And yes, if you're at a spot that wasn't shared, but then another car pulls up and starts sharing, it does affect the rate of charge and the App will update. I do check periodically while charging.