Superchargers Don't Always Appear on Map - Why?

[JLC13]

I've noticed this for some time but haven't had the time to research it until now and I haven't found anything. What determines when the map will display supercharger locations as you drive by? I've seen it show them when I'm just driving around not using navigation, but not always. I've seen it show them while I am using navigation, but again, not always.

We did a trip over Thanksgiving that required enroute charging and for the first leg of the trip, it didn't show any of the superchargers I know we passed. After we did stop to charge, it started showing the others we passed as we completed our trip. Once visiting family in the DMV and out doing things for the weekend, it sometimes showed the local chargers but not always.

Is there anyway to control this behavior or is it some type of data issue or other random factor from Tesla?

 

[SilverGS]

Never experienced this in the 4 years I've had my 2016 MS

 

[bmah]

As of a few years ago (depending on which software version you have, which in turn depends on what model and version of car you have), the map screen generally doesn't show Superchargers by default. If you want to see a display of the chargers around you, tap the CID to bring up some of the map controls. There's one with a lightning bolt...tap that to show the closest chargers (along with a list of their locations). There might be some third-party Superchargers on the list (i.e. non-Superchargers). There are several lightning bolt icons to enable/disable displaying chargers by their maximum power. Select one to navigate to it. You need to exit this mode (x on the list of chargers) to get normal map functionality back.

My personal opinion is that Tesla is trying to declutter the map in Supercharger-heavy areas, also they're trying to encourage people to just let the car select which charger(s) to use on the way to the ultimate destination (rather than making the driver pick). I'm not really in favor of this dumbing down of the car, but where I live, the map would be pretty hard to use if it showed all Superchargers all the time.

Bruce.

 

[DerbyDave]

I assume you have the lightning bolt icon pressed on the right side of the screen to display Superchargers, and that all supercharger types have been selected?

 

[bmah]

I assume you have the lightning bolt icon pressed on the right side of the screen to display Superchargers, and that all supercharger types have been selected?

The lightning bolt is (annoyingly) in different place depending on what version of the Model S you have. Could be in the upper right or the lower left. OP didn’t say what they have (well ideally it wouldn’t matter, but…).

Bruce.

 

[HitchHiker71]

As of a few years ago (depending on which software version you have, which in turn depends on what model and version of car you have), the map screen generally doesn't show Superchargers by default. If you want to see a display of the chargers around you, tap the CID to bring up some of the map controls. There's one with a lightning bolt...tap that to show the closest chargers (along with a list of their locations). There might be some third-party Superchargers on the list (i.e. non-Superchargers). There are several lightning bolt icons to enable/disable displaying chargers by their maximum power. Select one to navigate to it. You need to exit this mode (x on the list of chargers) to get normal map functionality back.

My personal opinion is that Tesla is trying to declutter the map in Supercharger-heavy areas, also they're trying to encourage people to just let the car select which charger(s) to use on the way to the ultimate destination (rather than making the driver pick). I'm not really in favor of this dumbing down of the car, but where I live, the map would be pretty hard to use if it showed all Superchargers all the time.

Bruce.

I noticed this dumbing down BS while driving around on Black Friday. We went down to a mall a couple hours from our home to see the CT (Montgomery Mall in the Bethesda area). I knew we could likely make it back home without charging but the nav was indicating 2% and having to stay under 65mph which was too close for my wife's comfort - so I picked Home and the nav picked a SC station I had zero interest in using (central Baltimore - no thanks), and that's when the fun started. Changing the SC location is somewhat of a PITA honestly. I tried adding a stop - and despite clicking on another SC station it simply sat there and wouldn't allow me select any SC station as another stop. So I canceled the entire nav - and just clicked on the Lightning bolt - but when I do that - it automatically switches the nav view to N which then required me to rotate the entire map repeatedly since I despise the N type nav view - but for some reason that's all the LIghtning bolt nav option seems to default to? Really strange. I finally found a charger only a few minutes away from the Montgomery Mall - however it turns out it's in a parking garage - hard pass - so I cancel the nav again and choose Home - only now it's autoselecting the same SC station in the parking garage. Sigh. So I just canceled the charging entirely and drove about halfway home before re-attempting - at which point it could no longer auto-select a SC station I had zero interest in using in the first place. I really think there should be an option to remove SC stations that are in parking garages from displaying if you don't want to put up with the hassle of entering and exiting a paid parking garage in the first place. Is this an option somewhere and I'm just missing where to select it? Is there a way to not have the Lightning bolt default to displaying the results using N if you're not using that on the current nav settings? Little stuff like this drives me nuts LOL.

 

[tonglaji]

I have the same issue here in SF. I frequently use the supercharger in South SF close to the airport. Normally from within the city, if I just click to show all chargers, all but the one in South SF would show up. But I want the car to pre-heat the battery on my way. So I have to route to somewhere close to the charger, and then it will show up. I will then add the charger to the route.

Would love to figure out why the charger would not show up in the first place. I've also paid attention and it is not because of the current usage of the charger.

 

[EVRider-FL]

I definitely see the same issue. I recently completed a 5200-mile road trip in my 2023, and while superchargers along my route were shown most of the time, there were definitely times when they weren’t. I saw the same issue in my previous 2018 S. I’m not changing settings on the map, so it a bug.

 

[Tronguy]

FWIW, when on trips, the SO or I (whoever's not driving) hauls out a cell phone and navigates, using the web browser, to supercharge.info and selects the Map option. It's easy to pick out Superchargers that one is getting near and, more importantly, by zooming in, one gets a quick scan of the eating establishments and what-all in the immediate area. It's actually easier to use this dumbed-down tool than the usual collection of we-can-show-you-places apps like Plugshare, ChargePoint, and ABRP. Waze has recently started (or has claimed to start) showing Superchargers for EVs, but the time or two I tried playing with it it did a substandard job.

The other option, when trying to figure out where to go, is to hit the screen, then the lightning bolt icon. Tapping on an SC thus displayed will pop up a window with some info about whether there's food about, but not much more than that.

 

[JLC13]

Thanks for all the input! I should stress that my issue is mostly curiosity as I've never had any issue with the car's ability to calculate the needed charging stops nor to change those calculations based on changes in my driving or how busy the superchargers are. I just have found it strange that when driving I-95 in MD - which we do quite regularly - sometimes it will display a SC icon at Maryland House and Chesapeake House where we all know there are chargers and sometimes it won't. The only time where this has a practical implication is if we decide we want to stop prior to the car's need to charge, like for a bathroom break, and would like to find a stop where we can charge as well to then avoid the next calculated charging stop (or at least to move it further down the road).

As a couple of commenters have noted, when it does display an icon, it doesn't always show the number of available chargers - just a lightening bolt instead. This I've read and somewhat believe may be due to occasional lapses in available data or bandwidth.