Why is the charge port in the back?

[sleepydoc]

Tesla puts the charge ports in the back of the car, similar to where you would put a fuel cap for an ICE car. The problem is, while gas pumps are designed for short, drive through stops and let you pull up beside them, virtually all charging stations I’ve seen are designed as parking spaces, meaning you have to back into them to get the cord to reach. For a 2 car garage, only one stall will let you conveniently place a wall connector. For the other you would either need to back in run the cable from the front of the car or run it across the back of the car.

It would seem to make much more sense to place the charge port at the front of the car like the Leaf. Does anyone know why Tesla puts it at the rear?

 

[jstjohnz]

The electronics that controls charging is under the back seat (M3 and MY at least) so having the charge port where it is results in the shortest wire run.

I mounted my wall connector inside the front wall of my garage between the 2 bays. That way it's accessible to a vehicle pulled forward into either bay, or a vehicle backed up outside the garage in front of either
bay.

A bit off your topic, but the charge port is something that Tesla has really done right. Invisible when closed, compact plug, easy plug/unplug.

Most charge ports on other EVs are primitive looking by comparison. I can't believe how big and bulky those CCS connectors are.

 

[NCC81701]

The electronics that controls charging is under the back seat (M3 and MY at least) so having the charge port where it is results in the shortest wire run.

To add to this, the shorter wire run means lower resistance, heat, and losses when the electrons go between the plug and the battery of the car when charging. Also reduce the weight of the car and the cost to manufacture the car.

 

[sleepydoc]

The electronics that controls charging is under the back seat (M3 and MY at least) so having the charge port where it is results in the shortest wire run.

That's exactly my point/question. You're essentially saying 'the charge port's in the back because they put the electronics back there," but there's no reason they couldn't put the charging electronics at the front of the car rather than the back.

I agree that the design of the charge port and cable is well done it's just in a very inconvenient spot for what appears to be no good reason.

 

[boulder.dude]

Now if only new Supercharger stations cools be built with pull-through stalls…

 

[jcanoe]

Tesla vehicles have no blind spot warning system with cross-traffic alert. Backing into a parking space or garage overcomes the need for a cross-traffic alert warning capability when exiting. Tesla could have placed the charging port on the right side instead of the left (US driver side) of the rear of the Tesla vehicle. (Does anyone know, for UK Tesla vehicles with right hand drive, did Tesla move the charge port to the right side of the Tesla vehicle?)

It can be argued that having the charge port on the right side of the vehicle would be safer when plugging in to charge when parked in a parallel parking space. The distance from the charging port to the on-board charger would not appreciably change (might even be slightly shorter.) (Admittedly parallel parking is not the norm in most urban settings anymore. Nose in parking has replaced parallel parking in many locations.)

 

[bhzmark]

the rear left side was confirmed with the 2012 Model S. Don’t think cross traffic rear warning was an offering by anyone back then.

The reason to put in on the rear is to require people to back into charging spaces which is safer than pulling in forwards which requires backing out into a traffic lane (even if a parking lot lane) which is the place with a high percentage of, low speed but still damaging, accidents.

Valet car parkers are told to back in to spaces because their managers know that that results in fewer accidents than pulling in and backing out into a traffic lane.

Tesla is the only one to own its charging infrastructure and apparently the only one to put the charge port in the right place that minimizes accidents at charging stations.

 

[jcanoe]

the rear left side was confirmed with the 2012 Model S. Don’t think cross traffic rear warning was an offering by anyone back then.

The reason to put in on the rear is to require people to back into charging spaces which is safer than pulling in forwards which requires backing out into a traffic lane (even if a parking lot lane) which is the place with a high percentage of, low speed but still damaging, accidents.

Valet car parkers are told to back in to spaces because their managers know that that results in fewer accidents than pulling in and backing out into a traffic lane.

Tesla is the only one to own its charging infrastructure and apparently the only one to put the charge port in the right place that minimizes accidents at charging stations.

Blind spot warning with cross traffic alert was available in 2012. I had this feature on my 2011 Ford Fusion.

Requiring drivers to back into a charging space or a parking space is not necessarily safer. In some jurisdictions nose in parking is required. Only police and emergency vehicles are able to park facing out.

I worked as a parking valet one summer. If it was a expensive vehicle, i.e. a RR, the vehicle was parked up front where it could be monitored. I actually got to park a RR because the boss knew I would be extremely careful when parking such an expensive ride. It was many years ago but I don't believe that I backed into the space (there were no backup cameras back then.) For the other vehicles that needed to be parked, we did it as quickly as possible without taking any extra care. We did not have time to back into the parking spaces.

I question your claim that backing in to charge minimizes accidents at a charging station. I am sure that Tesla Supercharging equipment gets hit frequently while the Tesla owner is backing in while trying to get close due to the short length Supercharger charging cord.

 

[Pianewman]

That's exactly my point/question. You're essentially saying 'the charge port's in the back because they put the electronics back there," but there's no reason they couldn't put the charging electronics at the front of the car rather than the back.

I agree that the design of the charge port and cable is well done it's just in a very inconvenient spot for what appears to be no good reason.

Uhh...seriously? Do you (or any of us?) have enough engineering/design experience to question an engineering/design choice? For sure, there are many reasons for this decision, but the ones stated above make the most sense. And, they DO make a lot of sense, for all the reasons stated.

 

[Pianewman]

Having the charging towers in a row, behind a curb, is probably safer than having them standing individually, close to the traffic movement.

I've visited a Supercharger (can't remember where. Jackson? Pearl MS?), on my trips from Fort Worth to FL, that has pull-in spaces, with the charging towers exposed. Based on the narrowness of the parking slots, it's kind of a pain pulling in and out. I was aware how easy it would be to strike one of the charging towers.

I much prefer the back-in spaces.

 

[Zoomit]

apparently the only one to put the charge port in the right place that minimizes accidents at charging stations.

This is from a few years back, but might be helpful here:

 

[sleepydoc]

Except for many/most people, backing out of a parking spot is much easier than backing in. Our driveway is sloped upwards and backing into the garage is definitely more difficult and dangerous than driving straight in, especially in the winter. Arguing that backing out causes accidents seems rather silly when virtually every parking lot in the US has only spaces designed to back out of. Also, many stores that have EV charging spaces have them in angled drive-in spots. If you want to back in you need to drive the wrong way down the parking row.

You can argue that the rear camera makes backing in easier, but it also makes backing out easier and safer, so that’s really a wash.

I’d also note that having the charge port in the back means more people are likely to need a longer charging cable which has its own disadvantages.


Thanks for the diagram, @Zoomit - I note that the Kona and Ioniq have there charge ports in different places. Since Hyundai and Kia are sister companies I would have expected them to be in the same place.

 

[yepeekai]

The current Tesla wall connector has 24' cable which should be enough for different parking configurations. There are also other chargers available with long cable. I think it is the charger setup that should accommodate your needs and not the car. The car doesn't know about your specific driveway and/or preferences. If the port is in the front of the car, it means there is an ugly trap to open and close like ICE car gas trap door. Having it hidden in the rear light is way more beautiful. We park in our garage and we place the charger right next to the charge port and we drive in our garage moving forward. We choose the charger location according to our first EV needs. Also, it would have been difficult to put the charger in the back of the garage because of all the stuff that's there, so having a front charge port would result in the opposite of your situation: a front port location would have made it difficult/awkward for our garage situation.

When parking in public tight spaces, it is often only doable (or easier) to go back into it.

Also Tesla sell a wall connector pedestal that can be located anywhere next to your driveway, you just need to have a cable buried between your house and the pedestal.

So it is a case by case thing, but my point stand: it should be the charger responsibility to fit the car needs.

 

[jcanoe]

This is from a few years back, but might be helpful here:
View attachment 718044

The Taycan has charge ports in the two front side sections of the body. The vehicle can be charged on both sides using alternating current (in most markets), on the right-hand side it can also be charged using direct current.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

...and I was just going to ask - why not have two charge ports?


Personally I'd prefer the front, not because I can't handle a car in reverse, but because I have to get into my driveway from the alleyway and doing that in reverse is more difficult because the front will swing in the opposite direction

 

[EVer Hopeful]

In some jurisdictions nose in parking is required. Only police and emergency vehicles are able to park facing out.

Well that would be a bit of a bugger - if you drove a rear wheel drive car

I heard that it was an added security measure to reverse a Camero into the slot so it couldn't easily be towed away like it could if it was nose in

 

[jcanoe]

Well that would be a bit of a bugger - if you drove a rear wheel drive car

I heard that it was an added security measure to reverse a Camero into the slot so it couldn't easily be towed away like it could if it was nose in

I don't think that the nose in parking rule is enforced in most cases. Originally intended to discourage aggressive peel outs, also slow down the perps after they rob a bank or a liquor store. I doubt that any robbers have been caught because they were slowed down by having to back out of a parking space.

 

[PDX-Y]

So... car snobs will tell you that backing into a parking space is undeniably the best way to do it. Parking nose in means that the end of the car that actually has directional control is trapped between two other vehicles and has no place to move. Cars can be backed-in and pulled out in less space with fewer three-point adjustments needed. It's just true, you can practice for yourself with a toy car and verify.

That said, it takes practice and feels awkward to those who aren't used to it. Which means that car snobs don't care (frankly they like having the opportunity to show off), but average drivers do. I actually agree that Tesla made the wrong choice here. Pulling into a supercharger should be a smooth an easy experience for a first timer, to better sell the product, and they optimized for the already-converted instead.

But it's not a big deal. All drivers will get this down after the first three road trips or whatever. It's easy once you know how to do it.

 

[bhzmark]

backing into the garage is definitely more difficult and dangerous than driving straight in,

When you back out of your garage you usually have an open driveway that you own and no traffic to worry about.

Those with garages that open directly on to a street find that it is definitely more difficult and dangerous to back into a street with traffic from their garage and thus prefer to drive straight out of their garage into the traffic street.

Cars can be backed-in and pulled out in less space with fewer three-point adjustments needed.

Exactly.

GTS

You should always reverse into a parking space - and here's why

Parking like a boss.

www.thejournal.ie

It’s much safer to back into parking spaces. Why don’t we do it?

There is hope for people with bad spatial skills: rear-view cameras.

www.vox.com

And especially “Results show that there is a strong positive relationship between back-in parking and labor productivity gains, which is a main engine of economic development.”. Predicting Productivity Gains from Parking Behavior

 

[angus[Y]oung]

Originally intended to discourage aggressive peel outs, also slow down the perps after they rob a bank or a liquor store.

@jcanoe interesting. I see signs not to back in in some private parking lot stalls, and always assumed it was because they didn't want the car's exhaust discoloring the wall of the building (same reason we never backed our ICE vehicles into our own private garages).