[mlsstl]

Halfway through my first road trip in my ID4, running from St. Louis to St. Paul -- about 550 miles. Will be headed back on Monday.

The car? It is a fantastic road trip car. Solid, planted, quiet -- just a true joy for cruising. The "travel assist" feature is also nice, though not perfect, since it can be confused by bad road markings. However, if one is paying attention -- like one is supposed to do when driving -- it is not an issue. The system helps take down the driving stress a notch. Seats are very comfortable, AC (on Eco) was good. I'm still working through the switch from the infotainment system on my Tiguan to the ID4. Frankly, the Tiguan system was a bit easier to use and adjust while driving, but I was generally able to do what I wanted done.

Now the frustrating part -- charging. There is only one EA charger in between the two cities -- in Williamsburg, IA, which is about 20 miles off of my normal route, so that adds some time. My first charge was in Canton, MO, which went fine. Next was the Williamsburg charge, which also went fine. Then the problems started. The charger in Waterloo, IA wasn't working, even after phone calls and a reset. Fortunately, I had just enough juice to make it to the charger at I-35 and Northwood in northern Iowa. This was supposed to be a 125 KW station but I only was getting 26 KW. So, I added enough to get me one more stop north at Albert Lea, MN. That charger started out fine at 125 KW but then shut down. It would run for a few minutes, then crash. Finally after about a dozen stops and replug/restarts, I got up to 65% and was able to finish my trip. It was the only DC charger at that location, so it was frustrating to look across the parking lot at the 6 or 8 Tesla chargers that were apparently working just fine.

I reported my experiences on Plugshare and also called the 800 #s on the chargers to report the problems.

I realize that there is still a long way to go for the EA charging network, but now I'm worried about the trip back. The trip up took an hour and a half longer that it should have, and that was on top of the "expected" charging times. If all the chargers had performed perfectly, I would have been OK. But, when you arrive at a location where something is not working right -- or at all -- your fallback options can be rather limited on some routes. Frankly, this will be my last EV trip up north until the charging options improve significantly. Fortunately we have an ICE car available for this trip until things change.

Will post an update after the trip back.

 

[Tinman]

Thanks for the trip report. I'm reading this as you only charged at one EA (only EA close to your route). Whose chargers gave you trouble? I've had good luck with EVgo, too bad I've never seen one over 50 kW.

 

[mlsstl]

The charger in Waterloo that didn't work at all was a Greenlots location. The slow ones in Northwood were independent ones at a Kum & Go gas station. The one in Albert Lea, MN was a ZEF unit -- the cooling system was very noisy and sounded like it was going out. I think it was shutting down due to overheating. While it's great to have 125KW available, I wouid have been very happy to have the 50KW at these stations.

 

[gorj]

The charger in Waterloo that didn't work at all was a Greenlots location. The slow ones in Northwood were independent ones at a Kum & Go gas station. The one in Albert Lea, MN was a ZEF unit -- the cooling system was very noisy and sounded like it was going out. I think it was shutting down due to overheating. While it's great to have 125KW available, I wouid have been very happy to have the 50KW at these stations.

I have similar experiences with charging. My thought is that the EV auto business needs to address the EV charging infrastructure and make it more reliable or folks are not going to buy EVs! But I am sure they will work it out. Remember how poor the fueling situation was when IC vehicles first hit the road. When ever I experience a bad charger I always let the company know with a phone call.

 

[mochalatte]

Where are folks checking for ground-truth on how well chargers are working? I've been tracking PlugShare check-ins when planning trips and I'll be sure to report any of my own bad experiences. It's really important for planning to know what you have to work with. I'm planning a day-trip to Wilmington, NC tomorrow which is in the middle of a large DCFC desert.

 

[mlsstl]

For my return trip on Monday, I'm going to go though Des Moines. This adds 50 miles to the trip, but hopefully has a few more charger options. As much as I love the car, these additional constraints are frustrating.

 

[gorj]

For my return trip on Monday, I'm going to go though Des Moines. This adds 50 miles to the trip, but hopefully has a few more charger options. As much as I love the car, these additional constraints are frustrating.

I think when Tesla converts to the J1772 connector like in Europe, and opens up their charging stations to all users, the situation will improve. VW really jumped the gun in pushing production of the ID4 without having a good charging infrastructure ready to go. There is an EA less then 10 minutes from me, but there is not another for 90 miles in any direction. The closest VW dealer - 60 miles - only has ONE level two charger, and it is not even out side where it can be used by customers! Progressive towns are installing public level 2 chargers downtown to encourage shoppers away from the malls. A city 20 minutes from me has a hotel with four destination charges (level 2), two Tesla and two J1772. It will be interesting how many hotels, restaurants, etc. will begin installing destination chargers. I few years ago when looking for a hotel, one would choose one with Wi-Fi, now one will might select a hotel that has a charger. 😉

 

[ericy]

For my return trip on Monday, I'm going to go though Des Moines. This adds 50 miles to the trip, but hopefully has a few more charger options. As much as I love the car, these additional constraints are frustrating.

I plugged it into ABetterRoutePlanner - there is another option, to swing East through Wisconsin, and down through Illinois. It looks like there are about 6 different EA stations, and according to ABRP, it only adds 39 minutes to the trip.

 

[Magneaus]

Halfway through my first road trip in my ID4, running from St. Louis to St. Paul -- about 550 miles. Will be headed back on Monday.

The car? It is a fantastic road trip car. Solid, planted, quiet -- just a true joy for cruising. The "travel assist" feature is also nice, though not perfect, since it can be confused by bad road markings. However, if one is paying attention -- like one is supposed to do when driving -- it is not an issue. The system helps take down the driving stress a notch. Seats are very comfortable, AC (on Eco) was good. I'm still working through the switch from the infotainment system on my Tiguan to the ID4. Frankly, the Tiguan system was a bit easier to use and adjust while driving, but I was generally able to do what I wanted done.

Now the frustrating part -- charging. There is only one EA charger in between the two cities -- in Williamsburg, IA, which is about 20 miles off of my normal route, so that adds some time. My first charge was in Canton, MO, which went fine. Next was the Williamsburg charge, which also went fine. Then the problems started. The charger in Waterloo, IA wasn't working, even after phone calls and a reset. Fortunately, I had just enough juice to make it to the charger at I-35 and Northwood in northern Iowa. This was supposed to be a 125 KW station but I only was getting 26 KW. So, I added enough to get me one more stop north at Albert Lea, MN. That charger started out fine at 125 KW but then shut down. It would run for a few minutes, then crash. Finally after about a dozen stops and replug/restarts, I got up to 65% and was able to finish my trip. It was the only DC charger at that location, so it was frustrating to look across the parking lot at the 6 or 8 Tesla chargers that were apparently working just fine.

I reported my experiences on Plugshare and also called the 800 #s on the chargers to report the problems.

I realize that there is still a long way to go for the EA charging network, but now I'm worried about the trip back. The trip up took an hour and a half longer that it should have, and that was on top of the "expected" charging times. If all the chargers had performed perfectly, I would have been OK. But, when you arrive at a location where something is not working right -- or at all -- your fallback options can be rather limited on some routes. Frankly, this will be my last EV trip up north until the charging options improve significantly. Fortunately we have an ICE car available for this trip until things change.

Will post an update after the trip back.

Coming from Tesla, this was one of my concerns. In California the EA network is pretty robust. As someone who works with them, I can say give it some time. Their network will get better and their expansion will be accelerating. Additionally, Tesla will be opening their Supercharger network to all automakers later this year.

 

[Nai3t]

In a few days I'll be embarking on a 1700 mile drive across the southwest in a BMW i3, only 150 miles of range, with 17 charging stops. All but one are Electrify America locations. Fingers are crossed -- a few are "make or break" in that if they're out of service, I'm either calling for a flatbed or plugging in to a 120 receptacle. I sure am wishing I had the ID.4's range, but the purpose of this trip IS to retrieve the car.

 

[Huey52]

Unfortunate charging situation and understandable mindset going forward. EA lack of road trip reliability is going to hamper EV sales if they/VW doesn't quickly get a handle on it.
Thanks for the report and PlugShare input.

At least glad to hear you enjoyed the ID.4's drivability attributes.

...
I reported my experiences on Plugshare and also called the 800 #s on the chargers to report the problems.

I realize that there is still a long way to go for the EA charging network, but now I'm worried about the trip back. The trip up took an hour and a half longer that it should have, and that was on top of the "expected" charging times. If all the chargers had performed perfectly, I would have been OK. But, when you arrive at a location where something is not working right -- or at all -- your fallback options can be rather limited on some routes. Frankly, this will be my last EV trip up north until the charging options improve significantly. Fortunately we have an ICE car available for this trip until things change.

Will post an update after the trip back.

 

[stealthg]

It will be interesting how many hotels, restaurants, etc. will begin installing destination chargers. I few years ago when looking for a hotel, one would choose one with Wi-Fi, now one will might select a hotel that has a charger. 😉

I just read an article on how Airbnb now has a filter for ev chargers!

Airbnb now lets you search for accommodations with EV chargers — Electrek

In a summer update from lodging rental marketplace Airbnb, customers can now search for accommodations that include an EV charger in their stay. Airbnb made the search addition after years of EV drivers requesting the option.

apple.news

 

[mlsstl]

The endless road trip continues. Headed back to St. Louis from Minnesota this morning. Charging stops were all fine (other than needing a phone call to get one station working) UNTIL we reached Canton, MO. The Chargepoint station which had been working great on Friday was completely down today. Called Chargepoint and after a 15 minute wait, they could only tell me it was off network and there was nothing they could do -- no ability to reboot it or even see what was wrong. Tried their L2 charger at this location but it was only running at a very slow L1 speed -- 40 hours to charge to 80%! So, we are checked in at a hotel for the evening with my car plugged into a 120 volt circuit at the hotel using the charging cable that came with the car. The goal is to get enough range overnight to get to the next DC charger about 75 miles away.

I am frustrated beyond belief. That's the problem with the non-Tesla charging network -- often if the DC station you need is down, there are simply no alternatives. You are screwed. Heck, every podunk town of 1,000 or more I pass though has multiple gas stations. If you have problems at one, you have a lot of options nearby.

So, we are crossing our fingers that we can make it home tomorrow. So near, yet so far. And, unless I see a LOT of charging options on our next trip, this is our last road trip in an EV. I love the car, and most of my annual driving is local, but I am really disappointed with the way things worked on this trip.

 

[ChristophW]

Dang, that sounds like a terrible experience! Sorry that you had to endure this.

I see two important distinctions between fast chargers and gas stations:
Almost all gas stations I have seen have an attendant during business hours, however lazy or incompetent. They can call in issues, and normally do.
Gas stations are generally not network-owned, but local franchises. There is some profit that stays right there, which adds a built-in incentive to be operational and serve clients reasonably well.
Fast charger networks do not have these two factors working in our favor, and there are quite a few stories on this site to illustrate the results. I am not sure how the EA's of the world want to solve that or make it better.

Personally, I am looking forward to the opening of the Tesla superchargers to the rest of us, and will likely purchase an adapter quickly, even though I live in charger-rich California.

 

[Spin]

So sorry to hear this. I hope you have better luck for the rest of your trip. I will be driving from NY to FL this winter and it looks like I will be able to use EA the whole way down I-95. It will be nice to have the Tesla Superchargers as a backup if they are open to us by then.

 

[mlsstl]

Most of the charging stations I stopped at on this trip were at gas stations! That seems to be a thing in the rural areas of MO, IA and MN. And, while these gas stations are staffed, they are clueless about the chargers. The charging stations are usually at the far end of the lot, and the people at the Canton station didn't even know the chargers were broken until I asked if they could do something.

I certainly understand that things break from time to time, but that's the problem I see with the charging network. In Canton, MO, there is one station with 2 DC units. If that one is broken, the next nearest one is almost 75 miles away. The motel I'm in right now proudly offers EV charging, but what it consists of is a 120 volt electrical outlet on the light pole in the parking lot where they let you plug in your own charger. That's it.

 

[TPG]

We each need to be pushing our home states to invest in DC charging infrastructure.

The California Energy Commission eventually called for proposals to install the DCFCs along major highway routes (101, I5, etc.) in 2015 and 2016 using funds from our carbon emissions cap and trade. They were pretty slow though - I led a petition and other EV activists also pushed them.

Write and call your state legislators if they have not yet funded DCFC programs.

 

[ericy]

Most of the charging stations I stopped at on this trip were at gas stations! That seems to be a thing in the rural areas of MO, IA and MN. And, while these gas stations are staffed, they are clueless about the chargers. The charging stations are usually at the far end of the lot, and the people at the Canton station didn't even know the chargers were broken until I asked if they could do something.

I certainly understand that things break from time to time, but that's the problem I see with the charging network. In Canton, MO, there is one station with 2 DC units. If that one is broken, the next nearest one is almost 75 miles away. The motel I'm in right now proudly offers EV charging, but what it consists of is a 120 volt electrical outlet on the light pole in the parking lot where they let you plug in your own charger. That's it.

For all their faults, EA tends to be better, only because each location has more than one charger, and always >50kW. At least 4 chargers, sometimes 8 or more. If one is down, you can switch to a different one, so it is a minor inconvenience instead of a forced stay in a motel.

 

[Huey52]

I've had to switch EA EVSE's a couple times but yes at least there are typically four and I'm typically alone at my "local" EA.

For all their faults, EA tends to be better, only because each location has more than one charger, and always >50kW. At least 4 chargers, sometimes 8 or more. If one is down, you can switch to a different one, so it is a minor inconvenience instead of a forced stay in a motel.

 

[mlsstl]

For all their faults, EA tends to be better, only because each location has more than one charger, and always >50kW. At least 4 chargers, sometimes 8 or more. If one is down, you can switch to a different one, so it is a minor inconvenience instead of a forced stay in a motel.

I think the problem at the station that got me stuck overnight was that the power supply to the units is down, which affects all the chargers. While the touch screens were running, the only available function was to show you the price per KW. Even their L2 charger, which should have been 48 amps, was limited to adding 1.4 miles per hour, ther 120 volt speed. It was not a general power outage as the gas station, hotel and restaurant, and apparently the rest of the town, were all running just fine. That circles back to the fatal flaw for EVs at the present -- a problem at a single charging location can shut you down hard.