Why is the charge port on the left side when we drive on the right side of the road in North America

[smartypnz]

There was a period of time where fuel doors were relocated to the side less likely to sustain a direct side hit. But then it was realized that inconvenience to the driver was more important. Now we have a mixture of those philosophies.

Of course EV side collisions are not as dangerous (less likely to ignite), So driver convenience dictates. Now as to why they didn't follow the driver in those 'right hand' drive countries.... laziness of engineers? Most likely would require two versions of the same spare parts.

 

[brucet999]

Exactly same situation for me.

Front charging plug might be handy for some of the public chargers around town, however it wouldn't work for me at home. I have to park with my car's nose basically touching the garage wall to clear the garage door at the rear - I have almost zero front+back clearance... and no room with the garage door down to walk around the car to the other side either (if the plug were instead on passenger's side)

Leaf is only 14'7" long. You have a 15-foot long garage? Standard in US for at least half a century is 20 feet.

 

[dsnows]

My outlet is on the back wall of my garage slightly left of center to the front of the car when I pull in front first. I have to use all of my portable charger but it reaches the charge port at the back left, with 2 to 3 feet between the front of car and wall . I sometimes pull in backward which makes it any easier reach but then I have to get out against the sidewall of the garage.

 

[deonb]

The one advantage to the Leaf's layout:

You don't get those dirty looks when you are driving in reverse against a 'one way' so that you can back up to a diagonal parking spot with a J1772.

 

[f-stop]

Leaf is only 14'7" long. You have a 15-foot long garage? Standard in US for at least half a century is 20 feet.

Ah, but my house is over 85yrs old! So yeah the detached garage is tiny by modern standards. (BTW I have a 70D, not a Leaf)

The MS is about 16'4" long, and with front bumper touching the wall and garage door closed I maybe have 9" or less to spare, and that excludes sharp brackets/hinges protruding inwards from the door. I envy anyone with 20'+ garages!

 

[wdolson]

Traditionally speaking, American made cars have left fuel doors and European cars are on the right. Just because...no real reason.

Both of my SO's Subarus were on the right. I think Tesla missed a great opportunity not putting the port in the center. My Buick had the fuel port behind the rear license plate and I always thought it was vastly superior placement compared to most other cars. I never had to worry about which side it was on and line up with the pump.

If it was in the nose, superchargers could be nose in from the start which is a big advantage for those who aren't comfortable backing into parking spots, especially between two $100K cars.

 

[Dborn]

I suppose it would be too much to ask that there was an inlet in BOTH rear light fittings? That way we rhd countries would enjoy the same advantage you do in the USA

 

[HX_Guy]

I love that the port is on the left driver's side...especially because I've parked on the left side of the garage, and installed the wall charger on the left wall, would suck if it was on the passenger side and you had to walk around the car every time you wanted to plug in.

 

[CmdrThor]

Clearly there should be 5 charge ports. One in the front middle like the LEAF, one on the driver's side in front of the driver's door like the Ford Focus Electric, one in the same spot on the passenger side, one on the driver's side in the rear like Tesla and one on the passenger side in the rear like the BMW i3.

 

[Julie's MS]

Anyone tried charging @ a DC Charger. This is where the problem becomes apparent. Given DC Chargers are located close to curb so one has to parallel park to use.

This where having the charge port on the right side of the car would seem to be an advantage.

Anyone else run into this problem?

 

[Julie's MS]

Anyone tried charging @ a DC Charger. This is where the problem becomes apparent. Given DC Chargers are located close to curb so one has to parallel park to use.



This where having the charge port on the right side of the car would seem to be an advantage.

Anyone else run into this problem?

 

[sdorn]

I have both a leaf and s and I prefer the leaf design except I love the auto close of the S. Otherwise the leaf is easier.

I've owned both a Leaf and an S. The Leaf charge port location is much easier for public charging, but their charge port cover is huge and a lot less elegant. The S is easier in my garage, but that is because I installed the outlet near the garage door, which is closer to the rear of the vehicle.

 

[JHWJR]

My BMW Roadster has the gas port on the right hand side. BMW explains that, should you need to add gas while stranded roadside, you aren't standing in traffic to do it. OK. But I also learned that that makes it easier to drive away and forget you didn't take the hose out. Ripped the cord out of the pump a few years ago. Fortunately, it was a break-away hose and did no damage.

For the electric cord, it's probably more important. You don't want folks hooking up and going off to eat while they charge, and then coming back and driving away without thinking to unplug. Having the plug on the driver's side should make that harder to do.

My thoughts anyway.

 

[sdorn]

My BMW Roadster has the gas port on the right hand side. BMW explains that, should you need to add gas while stranded roadside, you aren't standing in traffic to do it. OK. But I also learned that that makes it easier to drive away and forget you didn't take the hose out. Ripped the cord out of the pump a few years ago. Fortunately, it was a break-away hose and did no damage.

For the electric cord, it's probably more important. You don't want folks hooking up and going off to eat while they charge, and then coming back and driving away without thinking to unplug. Having the plug on the driver's side should make that harder to do.

My thoughts anyway.

Can't drive away with Tesla plugged in. Car won't let you. My Leaf worked the same way. I think most EVs work that way.

I don't know that driver's vs passenger's side really matters that much, but having the port close to the front end of the car makes it a lot easier to access public charging spots. You have to back the Tesla in to be able to reach many of them, and it isn't always that easy to do in parking decks with one way traffic and diagonal parking.

 

[cynix]

There was a period of time where fuel doors were relocated to the side less likely to sustain a direct side hit. But then it was realized that inconvenience to the driver was more important. Now we have a mixture of those philosophies.

I always thought auto makers manufacture an equal number of cars with fuel door on left and right, so that both lanes at the petrol station are roughly evenly used.

 

[wdolson]

I love that the port is on the left driver's side...especially because I've parked on the left side of the garage, and installed the wall charger on the left wall, would suck if it was on the passenger side and you had to walk around the car every time you wanted to plug in.

I have to do that because my car parks on the right side of the garage. We have a 3 car garage and the left-most bay is used for storage and other stuff. Changing to put my car on that side of the garage would have been a major project.

I bought the long cord HPWC instead of the short cord to make it easier to plug in. I run the cord under the back of the car to plug it in.

It's a bit annoying, but beats pumping gas.

I've owned both a Leaf and an S. The Leaf charge port location is much easier for public charging, but their charge port cover is huge and a lot less elegant. The S is easier in my garage, but that is because I installed the outlet near the garage door, which is closer to the rear of the vehicle.

Most of us installed charging in the garage when we got the car, if the charger port was in the front somewhere, we would have installed the charging closer to the front of the car. I would have.

If the charge port was in the nose of the Model S, it would be a lot smaller than the Leaf because the plug on the Model S/X is much smaller. I think Teslas have the smallest charge plug of any plug in car.

 

[Jeff4155]

Judging by the number of different opinions I don't think you will ever have a perfect spot for the charge point, then again I would think that the centre rear would be as close to perfect as can be, good for both left and right hand drive vehicles, hidden behind a number plate it should keep most of the dirt away and doesn't interfere with the lines of the car.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Perfect if you live in a country where they drive on the left side of the road.

Doesn't work for me ...

Port is closest to the driver

This.

In the UK the port is on far-side from driver and at Supercharger when finished charging I get out, walk around the back of the car, am confronted by cable, walk back all the way around the front of the car to the back of passenger side, and unplug.

In a driver-side country I would just get out and walk towards the back of the car to unplug.

I have only ever road-charged at Superchargers ... so far ...

 

[cwerdna]

Unfortunately, the inlet placement and setup of some Superchargers causes err.. issues w/the Model X towing a trailer that wishes to Supercharge.

Range and Charging While Towing a Trailer - 2016 Tesla Model X Long-Term Road Test - just looking at the pics is enough

 

[SMAlset]

American car manufacturers of gas powered cars seem to use the right hand side whereas Japanese manufacturers opt for the left. We've only driven Honda's and Toyota's and both have their gas tank on the driver's side on the left. So won't be a change for us to charge on that side. Maybe it's what the designers were accustom to too when deciding where to place the hardware. I think it makes sense really to be located on the driver's side so when you get out of your car to charge it's right there. Also the Tesla has crumple zones in the front and rear so you wouldn't want to locate it there.