LoL-Gas
Member
16 degrees is not 'frigid weather'; that's just a little chilly. Do you use plugshare? Seems this would have been a good idea at the time; for sure use it in the future.
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No supercharge in bitter cold
- Thread starter Rusty1
- Start date
LoL-Gas
Member
Not sure where you are getting that information from; the cars precondition below 20%... Today, I had an arrival of 4% and the car preconditioned on the drive to the charger. Pulled max speed when plugged in.
I think the confusion may be precondition before leaving on a trip and preheating while driving to a supercharger.
Model Y Owner's Manual | Tesla
Model Y Owner's Manual | Tesla
srs5694
Active Member
One problem with this advice, which was established earlier in this thread, is that PlugShare reviewers are being too lenient. The site at which @Rusty1 had problems was the Brentwood Supercharger in Nashville. It currently has a rating of 10, and during the period in question, there were numerous check-ins that gave the station a positive rating but that noted that many stalls were non-functional. A driver who just looks at the overall rating would think the station was fine; you'd really need to dig in and read the reviews to see that there were problems. It looks like @Rusty1 gave a retroactive negative review, but it didn't budge the overall rating. I tend to agree with the following advice:
Rating in this way will make it more obvious when a station has problems that affect some, but not all, stalls. That last sentence presumably explains why that site still has a rating of 10, despite @Rusty1's retroactive negative review.
Another option, which we as ordinary people can't implement, would be for PlugShare to change its rating system -- say, to provide an option that charging was possible, but that one or more stalls was non-functional. This could then be factored into the overall rating.
Driving an electric vehicle (EV) is not the same as driving a traditional gasoline-powered car. It's important for EV owners to be aware of the unique considerations that come with driving an EV, such as pre-heating the battery before charging in cold temperatures. This can help prevent issues like slower charging times.
Many new EV owners are experienced drivers, but they may be new to driving an EV. This can lead to unrealistic expectations about the ease and seamless nature of driving an EV. However, as more information becomes available and the requirements for optimal use become better known, these kinds of issues will likely become less common.
Early adopters of EVs may have had to do more research and planning before embarking on long trips, as information about EVs was not as readily available as it is now. However, with the growing popularity of EVs, it's becoming easier for new owners to find the information and resources they need to fully understand and effectively use their EVs.
Many new EV owners are experienced drivers, but they may be new to driving an EV. This can lead to unrealistic expectations about the ease and seamless nature of driving an EV. However, as more information becomes available and the requirements for optimal use become better known, these kinds of issues will likely become less common.
Early adopters of EVs may have had to do more research and planning before embarking on long trips, as information about EVs was not as readily available as it is now. However, with the growing popularity of EVs, it's becoming easier for new owners to find the information and resources they need to fully understand and effectively use their EVs.
LoL-Gas
Member
I've been watching that whole 'rating score' debacle on YouTube. Seems a little overdone. I've used plugshare for years and never even noticed the rating score. I just read the comments of recent plug ins. Pull up plugshare, read the comments to see if things are working, etc.. Leave a comment on my experience, and move on.
LoL-Gas
Member
The context of their post is related to the battery conditioning itself for faster charging. This does occur below 20%. No discussion about preconditioning the interior for comfort.
You probably are correct but I have read some other threads and youtuber witnessed not pre-conditioning below 20 %, context is deep minus temperature, it may be related to the SOC , temperature, how far away from SC, and whether the software decided to preserve the battery in power saving mode. I suspect there is intelligence there where it will not waste the energy to warm up the battery if it deems unsafe before reaching the SC.
You're fortunate, this is hardly ever an issue for Tesla Superchargers. If you had a DCFC EV, you would be intimately familiar with and frustrated by the lack of reliability of the chargers. Things are better now, but not very long ago you wouldn't have even had bail-out options for a non-working charger.
As I was plugging in for a supercharge today on a 300 mile trip, I was just thinking about the same trip in a Chevy Bolt EV in years past. There were times I spent 30 minutes or more on the phone with Electrify America just to try and get any one of their stations at a given site working. It wasn't always a guarantee. Today I plugged in and things just worked on the Tesla. No outside interaction, just 15 seconds later and charging speeds ramping up to normal. I was off to my final destination with 70% battery in under 20 minutes and didn't think twice about it.
Its very difficult to understand the frustration when you don't have the experience. This infrastructure problem could very well set back the progress of EV's by years. It sucks that Plugshare (EVGo) might be complicit in making the situation appear better than it is.
LoL-Gas
Member
I primarily use plugshare for J1772 and wall outlet locations and info. Can't think of a time I used it for a Tesla supercharger
It’s been frigid (below 0F for the past 24 hrs) in Chicago, and several area Supercharger stations are down completely, and the almost all of the rest show 2-6 of their stalls as out of order. It even got on the local news.
It’s gotta be related to the temperature, or ice in the connectors, or something like that.
Anybody know if it’s ever been confirmed/explained by Tesla exactly what cause stall/station outages in extreme cold?
teslamotorsclub.com
And anecdotally, the only time I ever had problems Supercharging was Xmas 2022 in frigid cold in central IL. I tried 2 different plugs without success and was starting to freak out before the third one worked, thank god. Otherwise I would’ve had to abandon my car there.
It’s gotta be related to the temperature, or ice in the connectors, or something like that.
Anybody know if it’s ever been confirmed/explained by Tesla exactly what cause stall/station outages in extreme cold?
Chicago area superchargers failing in cold
News story Seems like they can't handle the -15 fahrenheit temperatures. I had no problem the day before across the Wisconsin border when it was -7. Lucky I'm not traveling now. Anyone have details why they are failing?
teslamotorsclub.com
And anecdotally, the only time I ever had problems Supercharging was Xmas 2022 in frigid cold in central IL. I tried 2 different plugs without success and was starting to freak out before the third one worked, thank god. Otherwise I would’ve had to abandon my car there.
tesla needs to do some kind of media release when they figure it out. the media is having a field day with it.It’s been frigid (below 0F for the past 24 hrs) in Chicago, and several area Supercharger stations are down completely, and the almost all of the rest show 2-6 of their stalls as out of order. It even got on the local news.
It’s gotta be related to the temperature, or ice in the connectors, or something like that.
Anybody know if it’s ever been confirmed/explained by Tesla exactly what cause stall/station outages in extreme cold?
Chicago area superchargers failing in cold
News story Seems like they can't handle the -15 fahrenheit temperatures. I had no problem the day before across the Wisconsin border when it was -7. Lucky I'm not traveling now. Anyone have details why they are failing?
And anecdotally, the only time I ever had problems Supercharging was Xmas 2022 in frigid cold in central IL. I tried 2 different plugs without success and was starting to freak out before the third one worked, thank god. Otherwise I would’ve had to abandon my car there.
I call anything below 20F frigid. I’m from TN. I do use PlugShare. I just expect Tesla Superchargers to work. I have had good experiences with them until this happened. We have cold weather coming this week and I plan to try Supercharging just to check my car again.
I only recently came across https://help.plugshare.com/hc/en-us/articles/6327300783507-Station-PlugScores which says "Note: To preserve the integrity of the PlugScore, please only contribute one (1) check-in per visit to a charging location", so his recommendation would violate Plugshare's guidelines.
I didn't know until now and in the past, if I really had a problem w/broken stations that kept me from charging, I would check in twice: once about the broken ones and another for being able to check in. Other times, I might say, I'm charging now/charged fine but n number of stations is broken.
I am glad you posted this. I was planning to. I think this is similar to my problems from 2022. I hope Tesla comes clean on why some chargers don’t work when it is extremely cold.It’s been frigid (below 0F for the past 24 hrs) in Chicago, and several area Supercharger stations are down completely, and the almost all of the rest show 2-6 of their stalls as out of order. It even got on the local news.
It’s gotta be related to the temperature, or ice in the connectors, or something like that.
Anybody know if it’s ever been confirmed/explained by Tesla exactly what cause stall/station outages in extreme cold?
Chicago area superchargers failing in cold
News story Seems like they can't handle the -15 fahrenheit temperatures. I had no problem the day before across the Wisconsin border when it was -7. Lucky I'm not traveling now. Anyone have details why they are failing?
And anecdotally, the only time I ever had problems Supercharging was Xmas 2022 in frigid cold in central IL. I tried 2 different plugs without success and was starting to freak out before the third one worked, thank god. Otherwise I would’ve had to abandon my car there.
When you are parked at your apartment and not plugged in, the way to pre-condition the battery is to turn on HVAC in the app. The 3 mile drive to the supercharger will not be sufficient to warm up the battery.
GSP
TomServo
Active Member
And I woke up this morning and Fox News is running this story about every 20 minutes. This will be the gift that keeps giving the anti-EV folks all the ammo they need.
Tesla needs to respond ASAP whatever the answer is.
Tesla needs to respond ASAP whatever the answer is.
If a pack is super cold, it won't charge. Plugging into a Supercharger will start it warming, but it will take a while. A bunch of Level 2 would be handy in this situation.
If possible, drivers should try charging at the end of trip, not the beginning, and set the Supercharger as the destination.
V4 posts with liquid immersed cables will likely stay warmer and more flexible between charges.
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