Supercharger Idle Fee

[PaulW]

Wondering if anyone else has been hit with a fee for over staying at a Supercharger?
Good idea to penalise over staying, but wonder if they have a "grace period"?

 

[Shock-On-T]

You get 5 minutes grace time to get your car disconnected once it's finished charging.
If you're later than 5 minutes you get charged for every minute since charging finished (not since the 5 minutes ended).

 

[Oz Will]

And when the chargers are in demand, that seems fair enough. When all were empty when you arrive and all are empty when you leave (eg in a place like Ballarat every time I've been there), it seems totally unreasonable. Telsa would earn a lot of goodwill by waiving them where there was at least one charger available at all times while you were charging (as clearly then no one has missed out).

 

[Blue heaven]

And when the chargers are in demand, that seems fair enough. When all were empty when you arrive and all are empty when you leave (eg in a place like Ballarat every time I've been there), it seems totally unreasonable. Telsa would earn a lot of goodwill by waiving them where there was at least one charger available at all times while you were charging (as clearly then no one has missed out).

I understand the fee only applies when more than 50% of plugs are connected.

 

[ZTrekus]

Actually it is 50% or more. And you get a warning on the app as well.

But that means that when you go to a place that only has 2 chargers for example (Horscham I think?) then even if you are the only car there at all times, you will always get a notification that the chargers are 'busy' and that you will be charged idle fees if you don't hightail it back in time and move your ass...

 

[Shock-On-T]

Yep, also risky when it’s a 4 stall SC like Cooma.
If a single car arrives it takes it to 50%.

 

[Mark E]

In most cases with lots of superchargers you are most likely settling the car to 90%. When you get the notification via the App that the car is nearly done, increase the limit and start making your way back to the car. That way it will not have finished charging before you get there and no idle fees apply...

 

[FlatSix911]

Idle fees just went up... Tesla increases Supercharger idle fees to decrease wait times

The automaker has now updated it to make it both more lenient when the stations are not seeing high usage and more aggressive if they are full. Starting now, the fee is going up to $0.50 per minute if a station is at least 50% full. If the station is 100% full, the fee goes up to US$1 per minute: Country Currency Idle fee (per minute) Idle fee (per minute) when the station is 100% occupied

• United States $0.50 / $1.00
• Canada CAD $0.65 / $1.30

As first announced with the original Supercharger idle fee, if the owner unplugs the vehicle within 5 minutes after the car is full, the fee is waived. To be clear, this fee is completely separate from the Supercharger paid model, which charges by the kWh or minute of charging for vehicles without the free unlimited Supercharging program.

 

[Miggy]

Country Currency Idle fee (per minute) Idle fee (per minute) when the station is 100% occupied
United States USD $0.50 $1.00
Australia AUD $0.65 $1.30
New Zealand NZD $0.70 $1.40

 

[ARMARM]

Yep, also risky when it’s a 4 stall SC like Cooma.
If a single car arrives it takes it to 50%.

or the 2 stall sled at Bathurst, where I was slugged for over-staying by 25 mins (I was in the middle of lunch)

 

[Murbs]

So if you were filling up an ICE car with dinosaur juice, would you just leave the nozzle attached to your car after it was full and go and enjoy a relaxing dinner somewhere nearby???

Thought not.

Superchargers are no different to petrol bowsers, so the same etiquette should apply.

 

[Shock-On-T]

So if you were filling up an ICE car with dinosaur juice, would you just leave the nozzle attached to your car after it was full and go and enjoy a relaxing dinner somewhere nearby???

Thought not.

Superchargers are no different to petrol bowsers, so the same etiquette should apply.

Actually they are very different.
- they take much, much longer than a bowser
- you can check status with your phone
- there’s no danger of spillage if unattended

Doing something useful like eating is an excellent way to pass the time while waiting for the car to charge.

You just need to make sure you’ll be back before it finishes.

 

[mike_j]

I think the formula needs a bit of tweaking to allow better for 2 and 4 bay chargers - if the formula kicked in at 51% rather than 50% things would be much less of a problem.

The only AU sites that seem to be a problem are the ones at the Tesla service centres, and IMO that's mainly caused by Tesla cars - often not even plugged in. I think Tesla should be setting a better example of good etiquette.

 

[Dborn]

In Sydney, often non ev customer cars will ICE a supercharger spot. In busy periods there are not enough ordinary parking spots.

 

[Zoltrix77]

What happens if you set the charge to 100%?

Wouldn’t that take forever to reach idle?

 

[paulp]

I think the formula needs a bit of tweaking to allow better for 2 and 4 bay chargers - if the formula kicked in at 51% rather than 50% things would be much less of a problem.

The only AU sites that seem to be a problem are the ones at the Tesla service centres, and IMO that's mainly caused by Tesla cars - often not even plugged in. I think Tesla should be setting a better example of good etiquette.

It should kick in when there is one bay remaining, regardless of the number of bays

 

[paulp]

What happens if you set the charge to 100%?

Wouldn’t that take forever to reach idle?

Nope, it gets to 100% quickly as well. For memory 20 mins from 90 to 100 at the slow adelaide supercharger.