Have you met the 'i hate all things ev' guy yet?

[bonnie]

Leave the car keys by the wall socket.

The point of my original post wasn't to say that 'even with reminders, it can still be forgotten' ... it was that it's just part of getting out of the car.

Sometimes I forget to close the charge port door when unplugging (we had a series of posts on that & if you can reach back from inside the car to close). I just think it's unlikely, based on actual experience and not supposition, that people will forget to charge. can it happen? Sure! But I don't think it's going to be a common occurrence. Give the woman some credit. She remembers the kids most of the time, I assume.

 

[WhiteKnight]

and sometimes in that shuffle it's quite possible that something as esoteric as plugging in a car could easily be forgotten.

This is one reason why I would seriously consider inductive charging. It would be great to pull into the garage (over top of the charging mat) and not have to do anything. Model S can just charge itself up at 10 or 11 or whenever the rates are lower. Might only be 85% or 90% efficient but it's so inexpensive anyway.

 

[efusco]

This is one reason why I would seriously consider inductive charging. It would be great to pull into the garage (over top of the charging mat) and not have to do anything. Model S can just charge itself up at 10 or 11 or whenever the rates are lower. Might only be 85% or 90% efficient but it's so inexpensive anyway.

Yea, but it's just so inefficient, unfortunately. I think it'll be quite some time before we see induction for EVs.

 

[cinergi]

Starting to need a "forgot to charge" thread but I wanted to point out that I've completely forgotten to plug in several times now (~4 times in the last couple of months). Thankfully never caused me an issue as my commute is short but some sort of reminder is in order.

 

[vfx]

We have 3 kids, often they're rushed home from school, change clothes, off to soccer, back home, off to scouts, back home late for bed, rushed inside to get everyone to bed and the dog out, etc...and sometimes in that shuffle it's quite possible that something as esoteric as plugging in a car could easily be forgotten.

How about if the car senses the keyfob leaving and it signals you that it needs a charge. It could text you every 1/2 hour or the keyfob could vibrate or make a sound. Or the car could honk and flash lights to signal you that it's low and not plugged in. The more drained the battery it has the more noticeable the warning.

Of course this could be setup or overidden in the setup screen.

 

[vfx]

Yea, but it's just so inefficient, unfortunately. I think it'll be quite some time before we see induction for EVs.

Some of the ones they are showing now are in the 90% range. Not to bad...

 

[dsm363]

I think it's pretty much a non-issue with forgetting to plug in. I've forgotten maybe twice in the close to a year I've had the car. I also have a fairly short commute so it wasn't an issue. If you did have a 100 mile commute and your forgot to plug it, it'd probably only happen to you once and you'd never forget again.
People forget to fill up their gas tank and run out on the highway as well.

 

[cinergi]

I think it's pretty much a non-issue with forgetting to plug in. I've forgotten maybe twice in the close to a year I've had the car. I also have a fairly short commute so it wasn't an issue. If you did have a 100 mile commute and your forgot to plug it, it'd probably only happen to you once and you'd never forget again.
People forget to fill up their gas tank and run out on the highway as well.

I've seen the comparison to running out of fuel for an ICE many times -- but I don't see how it's comparable. If you run out of fuel in an ICE vehicle, it's relatively easy and quick to recover from. Not so for EV's.
There's also a difference with the opportunity to notice you're low and how quickly you can refuel/recharge. I've never run out of fuel in an ICE vehicle because I pay attention to the fuel gauge while driving. I have the opportunity to see that for the entire time I'm driving to remind me. For an E.V., I have one opportunity to remember to plug in when I exit the vehicle. Worse, because I usually DO plug in, I'll swear I am plugged in when I go to the car and shake my head in disbelief when I discover I didn't. While I can monitor SOC while driving the Roadster, I can't have an "oh crap!" moment and 1) easily find a place to charge and 2) charge in 5 minutes. With the Roadster, I need to make sure I've sufficiently charged and/or planned. If I mess that up, it's much harder to recover.

I've owned the Roadster about a year now. I plug it in every day when I get home. Yet there are still times I forget (something must distract me during the normal procedure). Most of us will have these moments (and probably still will even after a big mistake). The difference is, the cost of forgetting is much higher.

I'm jealous of your memory/routine :smile: But I think you'd be the minority.

 

[AnOutsider]

I'd hope not to forget often, but it'll happen. Heck, I still forget to grab my iPod out the car sometimes, knowing full well I dock it at night. Ah well, like i said, lots of range is one reason it shouldnt be a huge issue.

I also like the idea of induction, but that's likely better for parking spots and such due to the efficiency

 

[dpeilow]

We're getting a little off topic here.

You guys have one track minds.

 

[dsm363]

I've seen the comparison to running out of fuel for an ICE many times -- but I don't see how it's comparable. If you run out of fuel in an ICE vehicle, it's relatively easy and quick to recover from. Not so for EV's.

I agree. I meant more that it's comparable in that it happens to everyone (not that it will happen more with EVs). You're right that it's tougher to get out of the hole you create if you don't watch your charge level. I also have never run out of gas in an ICE so I personally can't see how that happens to people.

It's basically just one of the things people will have to get used to if they buy an EV. Nothing to stress over I think. Plus, there are technological solutions as people have pointed out above. No reason why your Tesla can't send you a text message at maybe 9PM (when the car senses you're at home with it's GPS) and that you haven't plugged in.

Sorry. We are getting off topic I guess.

 

[dsm363]

I went ahead and started a poll in the off topic area
Do you ever forget to plug your EV in at night (is it even a problem)?)

 

[Mycroft]

I have yet to meet an "I hate EV" guy. All the guys I know are the "I can't afford an EV" guy. Until I paid off my house, I would have been one of them.

 

[AnOutsider]

I have yet to meet an "I hate EV" guy. All the guys I know are the "I can't afford an EV" guy. Until I paid off my house, I would have been one of them.

How about I hate them because I can't afford them?

 

[strider]

Interestingly, many married people think this way also. I have the wife's (boring) car for long trips, and the EV for me! Many people don't realize the solution is standing right there, staring them in the face. You give up nothing if you are a two car household by making one of those cars an EV. Better yet, get one with some real range and a back seat, and you may find you rarely use the ICE.

+100 I would bet that 99.9% of 2-car families could replace 1 of those cars w/ an EV. That's millions of EVs right there with no loss of "freedom".

 

[dsm363]

There are some single people too with one commuter car and one 'fun' car. Of course my fun car is now my commuter car too. My poor old (new actually) Jetta TDI sits in the garage.

 

[zack]

All electric cars should come with electronic reminder systems to tell us that they need to be plugged in or tended to. Our cell phones should be involved. Also, there should be auxiliary systems that transmit via independent RF to boxes in our homes which chime and say "plug me in!" In my large apartment building where the car is 2 floors underground and I live on the top floor, cell services is dead down there so there must be an independent communication method that sends RF signals via the building's wiring or something.

 

[Jaff]

Wait a minute...I heard they filmed this in Sudbury!!! :wink::biggrin:

Surprisingly, I've never encountered someone like that. I've certainly seen skepticism, but they politely listened.

I wouldn't overly worry about it. I've met people who are absolutely adamant that the moon landings never happened. They're complete idiots of course, but you can't convince them.

 

[Doug_G]

Wait a minute...I heard they filmed this in Sudbury!!! :wink::biggrin:

Hard to emulate a vacuum... surely Sudbury doesn't suck that much. :tongue:

 

[Raffy.Roma]

I met many anti EV people. It's just that they don't care. There is nothing to do with them. Nobody could make them understand how important it is to drive pure electric.