Supercharger - Downey, CA - Lakewood Boulevard (LIVE 25 May 2018, 12 Urban stalls)

[bakerboy]

Just got back from charging and having lunch, when i pulled in there were about 3 other cars charging:

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Ate at Poached, FYI: the Verde chilaquiles with a side of smoked ham was awesome!! LoL

 

[gaswalla]

I haven't used an urban charger, but it seems nice to know exactly what your charging rate (kw) will be... and not dependent on pairing up with someone that isn't pulling in 120kw. (of course, if Tesla had a system that directed you the best pairing, that would be superior)

 

[SR-75]

Supercharger - Downey, CA - Lakewood Boulevard I believe is a better place to stop and charge for us travelers on I-5 then the other Downey location.

Will most likely try it next time I am on the way to San Diego.

 

[thecloud]

This location worked out well as we were heading north on I-5, and Santa Ana and Buena Park were both showing up full. Charge rate topped out around 67 kW but these are urban chargers, and I've seen worse at "regular" superchargers.

Parking lot was busy, and since there were about 3 empty supercharger stalls, it was definitely a temptation for ICE cars. As I sat waiting, a Camaro pulled in. The driver noticed the Tesla sign, hesitated, saw me staring at him, and pulled back out.

 

[David99]

I have never seen this location being busy or even full when I check on the navigation. Well, now I know why.
6 spots ICEed !
A guy can back to his Camaro. I asked to please not park at an EV charging station. He was a dick and said I should take it up with the property manager. I just said ‘ I’m asking you as a person to please not do that. At that point he just said ‘have a nice day’.
The signs say ‘Tesla charging only’ but it really doesn’t matter what they say if no one is around to enforce it.

 

[MP3Mike]

@David99 Did you call Tesla and let them know?

 

[Sharkbait]

Unfortunately, BEV numbers are still to low to bring this up on the radar of people that can stop this nonsense. I'd love to be a fly sitting on the charger on the day when six tow trucks pull up and drag all six out of their stalls. Actually, I would pay top dollar for that show....

 

[thecloud]

@David99 Did you call Tesla and let them know?

You might also take the guy up on his suggestion, sending this picture to the property management company with a letter explaining that you couldn't patronize these businesses since the charging spots you needed to use were inaccessible. If nothing else, reporting it might raise awareness of the problem. But I suspect they might not have any reason to care, since the ICE drivers are also customers whose money is green, and parking is a limited commodity in that lot.

It feels like we're still in the early stages of EV adoption, where public perception is that EVs should not be getting special privileges like reserved stalls, even if they're generally at the back of the lot. There was also resentment over the law requiring handicapped stalls at the front of most lots. However, people generally don't abuse those marked blue spaces because they do get enforced. My feeling is that there will need to be similar enforcement (towing and fines) for marked EV stalls before the problem gets better.

Edit: or the population of Tesla owners could just grow to the point where those chargers reach full utilization and no ICE car ever gets the chance to park there.

 

[David99]

You might also take the guy up on his suggestion, sending this picture to the property management company with a letter explaining that you couldn't patronize these businesses since the charging spots you needed to use were inaccessible.

The area has lots of busy restaurants on the weekend. They don't care if an EV owner or ICE owner comes. The parking lot is very busy on weekends so from a property owner's point of view, they would probably say, first come first serve. They want all parking spots available to everyone.

Tesla can't do anything either unless they exclusively rent the parking spots. I doubt they have there.

 

[SubSolar]

That sucks about the ICEers. Does anyone know if the other Downey location has this issue? Looks like both have open availability during the day. Seems like the least busy OC locations, but that doesn’t mean anything if we can’t park to charge!

 

[Sharkbait]

It feels like we're still in the early stages of EV adoption, where public perception is that EVs should not be getting special privileges like reserved stalls, even if they're generally at the back of the lot.

While Tesla is light years ahead of any other major brand in developing a global charging network specific to their brand, this can hurt as well as benefit Tesla owners. A good number of Teslas manufactured to date have been closing in or exceeded $100K. So are ICErs jealous because they can't afford the brand or think Tesla owners are privileged rich? Maybe. I've actually seen quite a few cars without disability placards or plates parking in disabled parking slots. People just don't care and do what they can to make life miserable for others.

Yes, the stalls are usually well-placed out of general parking. I've never seen ICEing at public charging stations, where one would normally see a Leaf, Volt, or Bolt. Perhaps the Model "Y" or whatever it's called will change the perception, as ICErs see their neighbors start buying BEVs that are truly manufactured for the masses.

 

[calleserra]

Those ICEs must be owned by the same people who follow the same pattern of disrespecting our laws while bypassing the system at the expense of those who follow it. No conscience, guilt or respect for established laws or other individuals.

 

[ctiomico2003]

That sucks about the ICEers. Does anyone know if the other Downey location has this issue? Looks like both have open availability during the day. Seems like the least busy OC locations, but that doesn’t mean anything if we can’t park to charge!

The other Downey location is better located in terms of people parking (because its so far from the mall entrance doors). The reason that this SC gets filled up is because people flock to the Golden Corral and its sooooo busy. I remember charging on a weekend and people just stare at you because they cannot park there. I think they do it because they had hope they could park easy and then they see its for Tesla's only.

The Stonewood Center parking is okay, but people speed around corners looking for parking and I have been in close calls there. A lot of people there just drive around the edge of the parking like they own it.

All in All, I think this location is better (except when Golden Corral is busy) because of the shops there and the fact that there is less of a chance of people driving like they stole it.

 

[David99]

This station needs some attention from Tesla. 3 stalls are broken. At least two others are slow. Some of the cable's insulation is ripped. I tried calling Tesla, but there isn't really an option to report issues with superchargers.

 

[jgrgnt]

This station needs some attention from Tesla. 3 stalls are broken. At least two others are slow. Some of the cable's insulation is ripped. I tried calling Tesla, but there isn't really an option to report issues with superchargers.

Send an email to [email protected]. I did this a few months back when I had issues at the Mojave supercharger, and they forwarded my notes to the supercharging team.

 

[Doug Martoccia]

Supercharger <[email protected]> has worked in the past too.

 

[David99]

After at least 3 weeks of issues today it's maked as 'temporary closure'. I drove by anyways. A Tesla technician is working on the site. The two broken stalls are fixed (charging now) and he is doing more work on others.
I just saw him refill one cabinet with liquid.

 

[Bacalao]

Rolled in this morning about 9 to mostly empty stalls. Walked over to Poached for breakfast. Excellent service and food. Will eat there again.



35 minutes later headed out. Stalls almost full. 2 open plus mine.

 

[Limited]

This location no longer has a pin on the tesla nav. Anyone know what's going on?

 

[gaswalla]

I charged up here fine last night