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Towed Teslas at SFO, after getting unplugged?
- Thread starter jestipher
- Start date
I travel quite a bit, and haven't had any issue leaving my Model S in the lot at the airport for up to (and slightly over) an entire week. Obviously this depends on how far you need to drive home when you arrive back, but for most people a week or slightly more of vampire drain is workable. There are offsite parking providers at my airport that will charge your car for a fee.
I don't think multiple days in an EV spot should be allowed except for the 120v idea several folks shared above.
I don't think multiple days in an EV spot should be allowed except for the 120v idea several folks shared above.
I guess it depends on your definition of “short term” parking. Most airports I’ve parked at don’t actually have true short term parking; they have economy lots further away (usually with a shuttle bus and no ev acommodations), and they have “premium” garage/lots, usually closer to the terminals, covered and with EV accommodation. The “premium” obviously costs more.
And yes, in these scenarios, it is OK to tie up an L1/L2 airport charger for multiple days on your trip. That’s why they are there.
For the small handful of airports I’ve seen that do have real short term parking, I agree, it wouldn’t be ok to tie chargers there up for more than your charging session. But these usually solve the problem by charging *very* high day rates (denver’s Short term parking, for example, would cost $120/day if you left the car there multiple days...).
The SFO hourly parking lot is practically a Tesla gallery. I park there for trips. Yes, it's expensive, but I'm lazy and like coming home and zipping out of the garage, and the long term lot is $25/day. So the premium is $11/day for no-shuttle walk out service. OK, I'm justifying, but my point is that it appears many other Tesla owners feel the same way.
I have gone on 10-day trips and left my 5-year-old Model S in the lot, having driven all the way from Sonoma. I don't need to plug it in to still easily make it home. So I don't really see the point in plugging into a Chargepoint charger for a long period of time. I personally would feel selfish unless perhaps it's a brief overnight trip. I leave those charging stations for EVs with less range and people who actually need it.
I have gone on 10-day trips and left my 5-year-old Model S in the lot, having driven all the way from Sonoma. I don't need to plug it in to still easily make it home. So I don't really see the point in plugging into a Chargepoint charger for a long period of time. I personally would feel selfish unless perhaps it's a brief overnight trip. I leave those charging stations for EVs with less range and people who actually need it.
Msjulie
Active Member
I posted this elsewhere but I was impressed by the fact that SFO long term parking garage has various standard 110 outlets on each floor marked for EV charging. For the first time, end of last year, I had my Model 3 parked there for a little under 3 days using the mobile charger. I parked next to an S that was already there, also with it's mobile charger plugged in; the S was there when we returned so I don't know how much longer it stayed charging.
I was nervous leaving my charger there, but I hoped things would be ok since I was up a number of levels to find an open spot and the plug + charger wasn't that obvious. No one would be walking behind the car.
I agree more spots would be great; slow charging in long term is very useful. Keeping the car charged and being able to preheat it on our return w/o using battery was pretty cool.
I was nervous leaving my charger there, but I hoped things would be ok since I was up a number of levels to find an open spot and the plug + charger wasn't that obvious. No one would be walking behind the car.
I agree more spots would be great; slow charging in long term is very useful. Keeping the car charged and being able to preheat it on our return w/o using battery was pretty cool.
Shortcomings? I thought ALL EVs were subject to vampire drain in some way or another. My neighbor's leaf loses a lot of battery when the temps drop!
I am a pilot and I park my Model S on my aircraft parking spot (once for two weeks). I put it in sleep mode and lost about 15% over the Christmas holidays. I would love to have it plugged in (just because) but I just make sure to charge it enough for my planned trips. I am spoiled though, I have a supercharger about 3 miles from my airport!
It's a shortcoming even if every current EV has the same problem. I don't think it (vampire drain) is something that the general public will warm up to over time either. There is really no reason an EV should need to burn significant charge amounts while parked. BTW my Model 3 draws around 1% per day when temperatures are moderate, and even that is too high.
My point is that the fact that a given car has vampire drain is not an excuse to lock up a charger for multiple days. You are blocking that charger for what is essentially your problem. It sounds like some of us are willing to do that though. I suggest you be prepared for more cases of missing cables and unplugged cars as you will be annoying other users.
This...
It seems far more likely to me that Chargepoint or the Airport Authority was towing those cars for sitting in the spots than that a bunch of Tesla owners all returned to their cars at once, found they had no charge left, and called for tows.
Even if folks on this forum think that multi-day plug-ins at these sorts of chargers is OK, it sounds like someone in charge of those spaces thinks otherwise.
Side Note: my guess is that the folks set the Airport Authority have no strong notion of whet those chargers are or aren't there for. They were likely installed a long time ago for the purpose of enabling the Airport to tout it's green-ness during some construction or renovation program.
There is a huge new long term parking structure close to opening at SFO. It will be interesting to see what they have put in there.
I parked in long term this morning and most of the charging stations at least on higher levels are empty. I don’t need to plug in even for long stays, but it’s interesting to see how many are in use.
I parked in long term this morning and most of the charging stations at least on higher levels are empty. I don’t need to plug in even for long stays, but it’s interesting to see how many are in use.
My Bolt does not any have noticeable vampire drain. I am somehow quite frustrated by my Tesla X however as I believe it is related to Tesla collecting data among other things. Sometimes I loose 1 percent sometimes 3 a day.
Incredulocious
LEAF → RAV4EV → Model 3 → Model Y
No, not all EV’s. I don’t recall losing charge level in my old LEAF when left parked (maybe your neighbor means loss of range in the cold as opposed to loss of charge from just sitting?) or maybe things changed with later year models. However, I’m certain that my RAV4 EV (with Tesla battery/drivetrain) would not lose noticeable charge over a week or two. And the RAV4 EV also responds to cellular messages and stays awake enough to detect the approach of the fob. Significant vampire drain is not a given. You can read about discussions about what other EV’s don’t have significant vampire drain in other threads on this topic.
Hopefully Tesla can get better at this.
seattlite2004
Active Member
I have ZERO vampire drain with the 2018 Bolt. I had several 2+ week trips last year and left the car garaged in PNW Spring, Summer and Fall and when i got back from the trips, my battery/range were the same as when I left. I don't think I'm the only Bolt owner that experienced zero vampire drain.....so not all EVs have vampire drain.
whitex
Well-Known Member
Seattle airport has 42 "EV charging spots" with 120V wall plugs. For airports, that is what is ideal for multi-day parking. A few fast chargers could be useful for those who couldn't find parking at EV spot and need a boost to get home, but those should be limited to cars while charging only.
PS> Personally I never use them, I figure I got enough juice to park for a week and get back home with 60+ miles left (depending on weather). There are other EV's which can't make it without being plugged at the airport and I wouldn't want to be the reason why they couldn't find an open spot. Teslas do make up a large % of the occupied spots whenever I've driven by them, I always wondered how many actually need it, vs. it's just convenient to come back to a fully charged car (with free electrons).
PS> Personally I never use them, I figure I got enough juice to park for a week and get back home with 60+ miles left (depending on weather). There are other EV's which can't make it without being plugged at the airport and I wouldn't want to be the reason why they couldn't find an open spot. Teslas do make up a large % of the occupied spots whenever I've driven by them, I always wondered how many actually need it, vs. it's just convenient to come back to a fully charged car (with free electrons).
whitex
Well-Known Member
Why tow, just charge the customer idle fees. They could base them on Tesla supercharger idle charges. At $5K per week, Chargepoint will be happy, and the customer will only do it once.
Ah, maybe that was what he was referring to as he specifically told me it happened when the temperature dropped.
I guess that is the price we pay (vampire drain) for all of the onboard systems and top of the line tech in our cars. FWIW I don't think 1% a day is that bad.
Given that any mobile phone can respond to messages and "stay awake" using a power level that is microscopic compared to a Tesla battery, it is frustrating to see vampire levels still as high as they are. The 3 seems a bit better but is still not where it should be. It makes me think that vampire drain is more about the battery technology and self-discharge then it is about poor management of peripheral power. In either case though, this is one of those things that makes ICE users say WTF when they learn about it.
Sharpgt
Member
Personally although I own 2 Tesla’s I either Uber to the airport, ask a friend for a ride or use another of my ICE vehicles. I realize many have less limited options. Currently I do not feel most airports are yet EV friendly but it will change as the markets shift. Tesla needs to develop a portable cell that could be placed in the trunk or frunk with enough electrons to make it to the nearest charging station.
I've parked my '13 P85 for a week+ and maybe see 1% loss per day, so don't generally worry about that.
For SFO, I use one of the off-site places that offers EV charging. Its cheaper and I come home to a fully charged car.
For SFO, I use one of the off-site places that offers EV charging. Its cheaper and I come home to a fully charged car.
RED MDL3
Member
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