unfair supercharger idling charga

[SWUtah]

While eating lunch today I charged to 98-99% at the Las Vegas South supercharger. stall 5A. Supercharger is totally occupied plus a couple cars waiting. Stopped charging using the IOS phone app. Charge indicator goes white. While pulling the plug, the indicator goes red & the plug is locked in the charge port. No amount of physical or electronic finagling will release it. Support line puts me on hold. Just so happens I have the direct cell # for a local ranger. He answers, confers with someone & instructs me how to release the plug mechanically from inside the trunk. That works just fine.

Now the catch - a few minutes later I get an email informing me that I have incurred an idling fee of $11! Anybody have any idea who/what phone # to start with to get this charge reversed?

 

[JeffK]

Put in a support email.

Also, out of courtesy, unless you absolutely need to, don't charge that high if people are waiting.

For future reference:
https://www.tesla.com/content/dam/tesla/Ownership/Own/Model 3 Owners Manual.pdf#page=126

 

[David_Cary]

And don't stop charging with your app.
That alone should give you idling charge - IMO. But I suspect there is a grace period.

Probably not a great idea to post something here about supercharging to 98% while people are waiting. I give you a slight pass given that you are a new owner (presumably) and also that maybe you really needed the charge. But you were drawing 5A and blocking someone from possibly drawing 250A.

Tesla should start idling charges at 95% charge.

 

[IgorS]

I had exactly the same problem and had to use the manual release lever. They waved the idling fee since it was my first one....I called them about the locked charge port as it happened several times since and was told that this is a common issue and they are going to fix it soon with a software update.

 

[Garlan Garner]

I had exactly the same problem and had to use the manual release lever. They waved the idling fee since it was my first one....I called them about the locked charge port as it happened several times since and was told that this is a common issue and they are going to fix it soon with a software update.

Same exact thing happened to me. Tesla waived my first offence for the same reason.

Now - I never let the charging complete indication happen at a super charger. As soon as it says 5 or 10 min remaining - I'm outta there. I'm not sitting there for 10 min just to get another 5 miles.

 

[ewoodrick]

Put in a support email.

Also, out of courtesy, unless you absolutely need to, don't charge that high if people are waiting.

For future reference:
https://www.tesla.com/content/dam/tesla/Ownership/Own/Model 3 Owners Manual.pdf#page=126

On the other side of the EV house, many fast chargers limit to 30 minutes and then change for idle

 

[brianmeow]

98-99%, how long does that take?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Tesla should start idling charges at 95% charge.

There are many places out west where a 100% charge is needed to get to one's destination, especially if that area isn't covered by Superchargers. While that may not have been the case for the OP, you can't assume everyone charging over 95% is just doing it because they want to. Sometimes it is required.

 

[Atari2600]

Put in a support email.

Also, out of courtesy, unless you absolutely need to, don't charge that high if people are waiting.

For future reference:
https://www.tesla.com/content/dam/tesla/Ownership/Own/Model 3 Owners Manual.pdf#page=126

So the owners manual is updated again. Is there a changelog for it?

 

[JeffK]

So the owners manual is updated again. Is there a changelog for it?

It's updated pretty regularly, I know at least three times in 2018. Not sure if there's a change log, but the bit about the charging is also in the in-car on screen manual under "charging".

 

[adaptabl]

There are many places out west where a 100% charge is needed to get to one's destination, especially if that area isn't covered by Superchargers. While that may not have been the case for the OP, you can't assume everyone charging over 95% is just doing it because they want to. Sometimes it is required.

If it is that close in range that destination is not available to you. You should never be that close in range as you never know what you may encounter in your travel.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

If it is that close in range that destination is not available to you. You should never be that close in range as you never know what you may encounter in your travel.

Usually in my case, the 100% charge includes a reasonable buffer to account for weather and road conditions. For others, they've found they can get to their destination by using a combination of Superchargers and J1772 or destination charging.

As the Supercharger network expands, it won't be as necessary to charge to the upper 90s or to 100%, but a blanket statement that idle fees should be charged if someone charges over 90% or 95% is just wrong. We have many places out west (and in most of Canada) that have ZERO Superchargers within hundreds of miles. Often, those who condemn high percentage Supercharging are from states where Superchargers are nearly ubiquitous. They don't seem to understand that many areas out west aren't covered sufficiently. Living in Canada, I'd think you'd be more familiar with the lack of coverage in areas.

 

[kbecks13]

As the Supercharger network expands, it won't be as necessary to charge to the upper 90s or to 100%, but a blanket statement that idle fees should be charged if someone charges over 90% or 95% is just wrong.

Idk, 95% is pretty much full and getting that last 5% charge takes at least 15 minutes which isn't very efficient. If the last 5% is really a deal breaker to get to the next charger, then just go 5 mph slower as the overall time is basically the same and yet you don't take up a supercharger for longer than necessary.

Also do you have an example of two superchargers that are like 250 miles apart? I don't think i've ever seen that, normally its like 150 or 200 at most.

 

[smartypnz]

I took my Tesla in for a loose trim piece, which they said would take just a few minutes. I waited in the refreshment room they have while it was done. However, after the fix, they plugged it into the Supercharger (which I didn't need) and it stopped charging shortly after - I had the limit set to 90 %. They came and talked to me for a while (discussed Powerwall). I got notified of idling charges..... sigh.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Idk, 95% is pretty much full and getting that last 5% charge takes at least 15 minutes which isn't very efficient. If the last 5% is really a deal breaker to get to the next charger, then just go 5 mph slower?

Also do you have an example of two superchargers that are like 250 miles apart? I don't think i've ever seen that, normally its like 150 or 200 at most.

If you look at the map, you can find plenty of examples outside of California. Say you needed to drive from Murdo, SD to Ogallala, NE. That's a distance of 256 miles. In an S 90D, I can drive that route directly. Alternatively, you could stick to the interstates and Superchargers and not charge to 100%. That would require driving west to Rapid City and increase the distance from 256 miles to 436 miles. I don't mind spending a few more minutes charging to 100% if it means I can save several hours and avoid 180 miles of needless driving.

Oh, and I do decrease speeds and charge to 100% to make it the 250+ miles between Superchargers.

 

[M109Rider]

Idk, 95% is pretty much full and getting that last 5% charge takes at least 15 minutes which isn't very efficient. If the last 5% is really a deal breaker to get to the next charger, then just go 5 mph slower as the overall time is basically the same and yet you don't take up a supercharger for longer than necessary.

Also do you have an example of two superchargers that are like 250 miles apart? I don't think i've ever seen that, normally its like 150 or 200 at most.

I’m support the notion that if people are waiting, you should never charge more than needed for your trip.

That being said, I’ve had to charge to 100% once. Not because I was necessarily that far from another supercharger, but the distance to and back from my destination required that charge.

There are reasons you need to charge to 100%, and locations outside California that don’t have chargers everywhere, but unless it’s necessary, it should never be done while people are waiting.

 

[csdread]

Albuquerque to Farmington New Mexico, it is a common route for getting up to UT, ID and other places that are north west and also how you get to Telluride and Durango CO. This is a reality for us out west. I have to leave ABQ with 100% to account for weather and such on the way to make it.

 

[Baronsmokes]

Idk, 95% is pretty much full and getting that last 5% charge takes at least 15 minutes which isn't very efficient. If the last 5% is really a deal breaker to get to the next charger, then just go 5 mph slower as the overall time is basically the same and yet you don't take up a supercharger for longer than necessary.

Also do you have an example of two superchargers that are like 250 miles apart? I don't think i've ever seen that, normally its like 150 or 200 at most.

The state I live in has no Superchargers.

 

[rdunniii]

Hmm, Mine always says charging complete at XXXX and that is 80% even though I have the limit set to 100% for trips. When I actually get back to the supercharger it's between 84 and 88% depending on how far I have to walk through the parking lots. Ends up being 45 minutes to an hour.

 

[bxr140]

There are many places out west where a 100% charge is needed to get to one's destination, especially if that area isn't covered by Superchargers. While that may not have been the case for the OP, you can't assume everyone charging over 95% is just doing it because they want to. Sometimes it is required.

Few if any of those superchargers ever get enough traffic to warrant idle fees in the first place, so that's kind of an irrelevant point.

And to be honest, if that hypothetical situation DOES come to fruition, idle fees should still be charged starting at some high-but-not-100% SOC. You're still screwing over everyone else charging at L2 speed on a supercharger pedestal that other people are waiting for. Just because there aren't superchargers doesn't mean you can't get a charge. There's campgrounds that can easily supply 10kw in all corners of the country.