It's not if one stall was open. It's if more than half of the stalls are open when charging is completed. Remember Elon tweeted it's waived if a supercharger is "basically deserted".
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Remember, Elon's tweet is not policy yet. Until Tesla puts it in writing, I would abide by the request when you are told that Idle Fees will apply.
I wasn't saying otherwise. I was just responding to the person who talked about trying to get the fee waived because they thought a stall was open. Having one open stall is not going to do it, nor should it. And I wasn't basing it on Elon's tweet, I was saying how Tesla translated that tweet into policy. The new FAQ says fee waived if fewer than half of stalls are occupied when charging is finished:
Supercharger Idle Fee
ahurst
Member
I have received the texts saying "may incur" idle fees, but have not yet received the text saying I have indeed incurred a fee.
I'll put myself in the camp of "a bit annoyed by this". Today, charging at the Vaughan Supercharger in Canada, I got a notification that stated "Charging Complete. Idle fees are now accruing." However, when I went to move the vehicle (it took me 1 minute to get there, according to Teslaf, but 3 minutes by my own calculations) way less than 1/2 of the 20 stalls were occupied.
The feature definitely needs a notification that provides more warning - not the 15m earlier "your car is almost done" when it was at nothing like 80% full.
Also, note a workaround: assuming you, like I, are not in the habit of charging your vehicle to 100%, simply upping the charge limit will give you plenty of time to get to your vehicle - easily another 20-30m of charge time to get from 80% full to 100% full. It seems much better to move your vehicle if you don't need the charge, but 0.50/minute is pretty steep when the supercharger you use is at least a 10m walk from anything at all (Barrie Mapleview, anyone?).
The feature definitely needs a notification that provides more warning - not the 15m earlier "your car is almost done" when it was at nothing like 80% full.
Also, note a workaround: assuming you, like I, are not in the habit of charging your vehicle to 100%, simply upping the charge limit will give you plenty of time to get to your vehicle - easily another 20-30m of charge time to get from 80% full to 100% full. It seems much better to move your vehicle if you don't need the charge, but 0.50/minute is pretty steep when the supercharger you use is at least a 10m walk from anything at all (Barrie Mapleview, anyone?).
That's not what he said. The 15 minute warning is grossly inaccurate was his point.
Right. Many people only need 80% but leave the setting at 100% to add a little buffer. Overall, I believe most people are motivated by their time and would want to leave when they have enough juice. You made an excellent point about nothing being nearby and the long walk. Under such a circumstance, I am willing to bet Tesla would waive the fee.
Still, in my mind, you don't have much to complain about. You could have watched the level of charging on your phone, as I do. I will make sure to be back prior to it reaching 100%. Full station or completely empty.
FlyF4
Son of a MX
Sometimes I wish there were idle fees that could be applied for the lazy people whom disconnect the car and then leave it there instead of driving it across the parking lot to park it. Recently I visited a SC where all the stalls were taken, yet one model S was parked there unconnected.
I was there charging my model s same time as you were, and can confirm only 3/20 stalls were occupied. One by me (black 18 model s, you blue model x, and a grey model s) Thankfully by the time I was ready to leave the car was within 5 min. of finishing charging)
Not quite.
(a) 15m notification says "you're almost done" when really you're not at all almost done, making it not a useful notification.
(b) 10m walk to the car is a different location - Barrie Mapleview - not the Vaughan location which has many amenities right there.
(c) It was and generally isn't my intention to leave my car parked at a charger when full, so the fact that I'd plan to be back at my car and get there in time doesn't relate to whether the feature is well enough implemented for people to do it.
Getting the feature right involves making it easy and pleasant for owners to work together to make good use of the shared resource. Part of that would be not notifying you when there is in fact no resource contention, and part of that would be notifying you near the moment when you need to take action so that you want to react to the notification and be a good citizen, rather than ignore it as noise.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
It's difficult to predict occupancy. Tesla probably errs on the conservative side to ensure that spaces are available for newcomers.
As an example, one Sunday I was headed up to Tahoe and planned to charge at Rocklin (18 stalls). I checked when we left San Francisco and only a few stalls were occupied. Even when we were 30 minutes away, still lots of stalls available. As we got closer, I watched in disbelief as the number of available stalls started falling precipitously. By the time we got there, we were lucky to get the last available stall and several people arriving just minutes later had to wait. By the time we charged and left, there were about 6-8 stalls empty. Hard to predict. Err on the side of having stalls available vs. parking spots for those done charging.
So, even though your SC station did not appear to be full at the time you were there, I assume that Tesla has historical data showing that it could become congested and that is why they initiated idle fees.
So, just plan to move your car as soon as you have the charge you need. This is a courtesy to others. By now, you should understand how charging tapers and what the various courtesy notices from Tesla mean. "Almost done" has different meanings to different people. Don't just wander off and expect notifications to the minute. It's a charging station, not a parking spot.
Lasttoy
Active Member
Maybe i am old, (75), "idle" ? You mean stay plugged in when is charged to the limit you set? I traveled to 20 cities last summer. Only place i waited was in Bay area. Everyone was courteous, stayed in their cars to wait for full charge. I travel up and down 95 monthly. Go to eat while car is charging. If, if they want to charge me for not removing car at charge i had set, i will move it to max charge. I have never ever seen anyone waiting for stall except in Bay area. I dont understand their attitude? Or the charging, i was told by SC that once car reached my setting it would stop charging, no harm no foul?
Whats the fuss about? I have never gotten anything from Tesla about this?
What did i miss?.
Whats the fuss about? I have never gotten anything from Tesla about this?
What did i miss?.
Lasttoy
Active Member
Something is wrong . I have never gotten any text or email telling me my charge is about to be finished or is?
Why? My account has my cell number?
Why? My account has my cell number?
On iOS, go to the settings app. Scroll down until you find the Tesla app. Click it. Within the Tesla App's settings, click on 'Notifications'. Turn them on.
On Android, some similar approach probably applies, but I don't know where the settings are.
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
Sorry, but seems to me that a 15m notification when you are at Barrie Mapleview, or indeed have strayed away from the locale, is needed to give you time to finish up and start the walk. Tesla could calculate distance from your phone to car and customised the notification accordingly ... but you may have driven there, got out and gone off somewhere else and your partner is going to complete the drive. My wife and I both get phone notifications regardless of who is actually using the car ...
But I don't know the answer ... you might get that notification stood 20 feet from the car ... and I agree 15m is a useless reminder WHEN you are near the car ... presumably people have said "In order not to get charged I need more warning" so Tesla added the 15m notification ... you might be paired, or stall needs maintenance, and car is charging slower than you anticipated so will take longer ... lots of variables
Hence I think we have now wound up with Lowest Common Denominator of "15m notification" as the solution
Darn car will be able to move itself soon and this problem will go away!Maybe (I should know, have done it, but can't remember) there are different notifications when having the next destination in the SatNav, or not? So a SatNav destination that requires 10 minutes charging, and Charge Limit set to 100%, would be able to give you the first "Enough to continue your journey" alert so you can get going if appropriate, and then, later, a useless 15m "almost full" message ... and then finally a "Done. Move or Pay" notification.
I'm a techie, I get the APP out and check SoC etc. but for ordinary mortals the notifications will need to be informative rather than just scatter-gun (which was the point you made in your O/P)
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