Supercharger - Burbank, CA (Service Center, no longer on nav map)

[Lump]

I was there yesterday for service, when I walked into the customer lounge there was a guy taking a nap while charging...his snoring wasn't too bad .

 

[Cottonwood]

Yes, like SJC, lots of locals charge there. I've been there twice, and both times I've seen people with blinker on, ready to pull in, see it's full and then continue on. Of course both times I was there, all stalls were full.

Do you think my recommendations posted at the link below would help congestion at Burbank?

[Rant] locals clogging the Highland Park, IL supercharger - Page 10

 

[4SUPER9]

Do you think my recommendations posted at the link below would help congestion at Burbank?

[Rant] locals clogging the Highland Park, IL supercharger - Page 10

I love your suggestion. Considering that free supercharging was promised, perhaps 90 minutes would guarantee a full charge. Even that could be a problem. What if someone really needs a range charge, and he/she is last to arrive, and charging is very slow? I don't know. As of now, I have not seen TM do anything about Burbank, SJC or FV. At each of these locations, there have been reports of people leaving their cars there and being driven away. Free SC use was promised. Free parking was not.

 

[emchen]

Surely this problem can be attenuated via the app. Summons now has a reminder to use only on private property, a reminder can pop up on the tesla app charging screen after a 90 minutes reminding the owner to be considerate of others, notices can be pushed to phones and the 17" screen, the possibilities are limitless on making charging at impacted SC locations more efficient with existing tech.

 

[dkonigs]

Everything I've been hearing about locals clogging this supercharger has really gotten me worried. I was originally excited about the prospect of this being a good "final top-off" stop on Disneyland road trips (given the lack of good destination charging at the near-the-park hotels we'd actually stay at in Anaheim). Just really not looking forward to a long sit-around-and-wait-for-someone-to-move after a most-of-the-day road trip, when we'd really want to plug in the car and go get dinner.

 

[Owner]

I did this exact same thing on a recent trip. I think if you are there "off hours" you are much more likely to find a space. From San Jose you can easily get there mid afternoon, where it likely won't be packed with locals.

Everything I've been hearing about locals clogging this supercharger has really gotten me worried. I was originally excited about the prospect of this being a good "final top-off" stop on Disneyland road trips (given the lack of good destination charging at the near-the-park hotels we'd actually stay at in Anaheim). Just really not looking forward to a long sit-around-and-wait-for-someone-to-move after a most-of-the-day road trip, when we'd really want to plug in the car and go get dinner.

 

[Haggy]

As of now, I have not seen TM do anything about Burbank, SJC or FV. At each of these locations, there have been reports of people leaving their cars there and being driven away. Free SC use was promised. Free parking was not.

I have a daughter who lives not far from Fountain Valley. I live 400 miles away. If I visit her, I will likely need a complete charge by the time I get there. I can go grab a bagel at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, but it's not likely to keep me busy until I am fully charged. It might be nice to have somebody come by and pick me up, and drive me back when I'm done charging. If I get there at breakfast time, Costco isn't open yet. Just because somebody gets picked up doesn't mean they are a local who is planning to stay parked there, or that they will even be there more than a few minutes past the time the charge completes.

I recognize the problem, sympathize with it, and would likely be a victim of that problem. But whether or not a person gets driven away has little to do with why they are charging.

 

[Bet TSLA]

... Just because somebody gets picked up doesn't mean they are a local who is planning to stay parked there, ... But whether or not a person gets driven away has little to do with why they are charging.

You're absolutely right. My guess is that if you see somebody being picked up and leaving their car charging that there's only about a 98% chance that they are a local abusing their supercharging privileges.

 

[Haggy]

You're absolutely right. My guess is that if you see somebody being picked up and leaving their car charging that there's only about a 98% chance that they are a local abusing their supercharging privileges.

Based on what information?

 

[4SUPER9]

Based on what information?

Agreed. Until we have actual proof that a car is being left there overnight, or for an extended time, then none of us are qualified to comment on actual percentages and numbers. At the same time, there have been many witnessed reports of cars being left overnight, or for hours at a time, using this drop-off/pick-up method. At the same time, my guess is that Bet TSLA is correct in that most of the time, these are people abusing the SC's by using them as parking spots long after charging. The employees who work at the Burbank Service Center would be best qualified to assess this situation, and when it occurs, could remind those who do so that they must move their vehicles when charging is completed.

 

[Haggy]

Agreed. ... The employees who work at the Burbank Service Center would be best qualified to assess this situation, and when it occurs, could remind those who do so that they must move their vehicles when charging is completed.

I agree with that too. Somebody who leaves a car parked in a SC spot long past when it's charged should not be doing that. Tesla should be able to tell when that happens without intervention. There might be extreme cases, such as a person plugging in at 2AM when all spots are empty, getting a few hours' sleep at a nearby motel, and hitting the road before there's anything close to a wait, but in general there's no justification for leaving a car parked when you don't expect to get back when it's done. Even if you are the only one there when you arrive, and are the only one there when you get back, it doesn't mean you were the only one there while your car was parked.

 

[doofenshmirtz]

I agree with that too. Somebody who leaves a car parked in a SC spot long past when it's charged should not be doing that. Tesla should be able to tell when that happens without intervention. There might be extreme cases, such as a person plugging in at 2AM when all spots are empty, getting a few hours' sleep at a nearby motel, and hitting the road before there's anything close to a wait, but in general there's no justification for leaving a car parked when you don't expect to get back when it's done. Even if you are the only one there when you arrive, and are the only one there when you get back, it doesn't mean you were the only one there while your car was parked.

Tesla is putting together the pieces in place to automatically solve this; remove the charging cable (pending), summon (done) to move it out of charging stall, re park in perpendicular parking spot (done) at Burbank SC. Maybe an employee can unplug for now...:smile:

 

[napabill]

I printed this and had it laminated at Kinkos and put it in the rear window if I charge and leave the car unattended.

 

[emchen]

Not to worry, if they ever put the long-rumored station (gah...link was to teslamotors forum that is currently down) in Valencia, Burbank will be decompressed like Hawthorne was when San Juan Capistrano (SJC) and FV (Fountain Valley) were put in further South. Valencia will end up being the goto station for long-distance I-5 travellers...

Please, people of the Valley, lobby for one at the Valencia Westfield Mall out behind Sears where there is plenty of room.

 

[ecarfan]

Stopped in Burbank tonight on my way home to the SF Bay Area. My wife and I decided to stay in the Springhill Suites which is two blocks away from the Supercharger. I was planning on using it to charge of course, but on the way there my wife had called and asked the hotel if they had any EV charging available. We do that everywhere we stay when we travel in our car because we want destinations to hear from EV owners that they need to start installing charging. Of course the person she spoke to at the hotel didn't really understand what the phrase "EV charging" meant and she then explained that was "electric car charging". The person she was speaking to said she would have to check, put her on hold for 5 minutes, and came back on to say that they "did have charging" but could not answer any questions about what type of plug it was, amperage of the outlet, nothing, only that it was "first come first served" and it was in the lower level of the parking garage. So when we got to the hotel I drove down the ramp into the underground parking and discovered exactly one parking space with an orange construction "cone" at the front of the space and a paper sign on the wall saying something about electric vehicle charging only. There were no plugs on the concrete wall at the back of the space. There was a concrete wall on the left side of the space, and at the front corner of that wall there was a standard 110V household dual receptacle. That was all I could find in the parking garage. Almost useless.
So I went to the Supercharger two blocks away and charged up. The only other car that was there at 6PM on Sunday was a Titanium Metallic Model X P90D. Very nice.
Don't count on charging at the SpringHill Suites at 549 South San Fernando Blvd. I posted it on Plugshare mainly to warn people that the hotel is telling guests that they have EV charging but it is only 110V. While that might be useful for some EV owners, it is close to useless for Tesla owners, and there is no reason to use it since you can walk to the Burbank Supercharger in 5 minutes from the hotel.

 

[4SUPER9]

Thanks ecarfan. 6pm on a Sunday evening is a busy travel time for this area. I find it interesting that there was only 1 other vehicle charging at that time. The fact that this site is completely packed on weekdays makes me more suspicious of opportunity chargers who work in the area. I really hope that the employees at the service center there are monitoring for abusers. Again, what I mean by abusers are people who park there car there after charging has been completed.

 

[TTT]

Is there a better way to get to the Supercharger rather than making a U-turn on San Fernando from Alameda?

 

[jerjozwik]

Is there a better way to get to the Supercharger rather than making a U-turn n San Fernando?

no. ive driven by 3 times now in hopes of looking at my pre delivery car. coming from alameda is a pain in the but, olive... forgetaboutit.

 

[Elon'sCousin]

Is there a better way to get to the Supercharger rather than making a U-turn on San Fernando from Alameda?

TTT, I found that taking the Olive exit (if you are coming from south of Burbank) is much easier than the Alameda exit option. Having to do the U-Turn in that area is a hassle!

 

[tezzla]

TTT, I found that taking the Olive exit (if you are coming from south of Burbank) is much easier than the Alameda exit option. Having to do the U-Turn in that area is a hassle!

I do the same thing.