[Chuck]

I have completed my own reporting of this issue to VW. To recap, I first reported it to VWCustomerCARE@vw.com. They opened a case and had me take it to my dealer's service department twice, with the dealer communicating to VWoA the second time. Here is the status per the invoice from the dealer, as reported by the tech who worked on my car:
"Called techline and was advised that the issue is under investigation by engineering and no further repair attempts should be made... Will monitor ElsaPro for further update. Will notify customer when there is a solution to this issue."

My regional case manager called this morning and did not know when the fix would be done, whether it would be packaged with other improvements, or whether it would require a dealer visit or would be done OTA.

I also explained why this was a big deal as it could cost an extra $1000/yr in charging costs (12,000 mi per year using peak and off-peak PG&E EV2-A electricity rates).

Thanks to everybody for your help in chasing this down, reporting it, and finding a workaround!

 

[Chuck]

We take ours into the dealership this week. Expecting similar results.

 

[Astros]

Thanks for the tip about checking that the charging cable is inserted all the way. I checked our electricity usage last night when my wife plugged in (at 2%!), and it was drawing only 3.8kW. I unplugged the car and plugged it back in, ma sure that the connector was well seated, and it promptly drew 7.6kW, which is the maximum my charger can provide.

 

[TPG]

Thanks for the tip about checking that the charging cable is inserted all the way. I checked our electricity usage last night when my wife plugged in (at 2%!), and it was drawing only 3.8kW. I unplugged the car and plugged it back in, ma sure that the connector was well seated, and it promptly drew 7.6kW, which is the maximum my charger can provide.

Thanks for that info. Was that with a delayed charge (set departure time) or was it charging immediately with no departure or preferred charge time set?

 

[kakesson]

A workaround, that has worked for me at least, is to create multiple preferred charging time periods, of one hour each, that follow each other. Thus I have one period from 1 AM-2 AM, another one from 2 AM-3 AM, and the third one from 3 AM-4 AM.

This way I am able to charge up to 80% every night. In addition, I have the departure time set so the car is preheated before I use it in the morning.

At first, I had one long preferred charging time (for 6 hours), and then the car charged for an hour or so and then charged with a very low charging rate, consequently, I ended up with less than 80% in the morning. On a typical day, I use less than 30% of the energy and it will take me around two hours to charge it back to 80%. I do not know if the above solution will work if you need to charge for longer than three hours (with three preferred charging periods).

 

[estebin]

Question for those who use the Electricify American chargers: today I speed charged my Pro S for the first time. The start up process was quick and trouble free. After charging to 80% I wasn’t sure on how to disconnect the plug. I remember reading somewhere on here to press the unlock on the fob or double press on the fob. Neither worked. I went in to see the screen, cause I also remember reading there is a Stop button and that unlocks it, but the screen was glitching. The info was upside down and a little scrambled. I had to reboot the screen with the power button. We not sure how or what I did but it eventually released. What is the normal method for cable release?
Also sorry to read all the charging scheduling issues people are having. So far I have only charged my car twice, have had it for less than a week. The first charge was over night with my Wallbox Pulsar Plus, I use the schedule on the smart charger to control over night charging. Have not used the schedule in the car system. Had no issues charging that first time.

 

[chrischu5]

Question for those who use the Electricify American chargers: today I speed charged my Pro S for the first time. The start up process was quick and trouble free. After charging to 80% I wasn’t sure on how to disconnect the plug. I remember reading somewhere on here to press the unlock on the fob or double press on the fob. Neither worked. I went in to see the screen, cause I also remember reading there is a Stop button and that unlocks it, but the screen was glitching. The info was upside down and a little scrambled. I had to reboot the screen with the power button. We not sure how or what I did but it eventually released. What is the normal method for cable release?
Also sorry to read all the charging scheduling issues people are having. So far I have only charged my car twice, have had it for less than a week. The first charge was over night with my Wallbox Pulsar Plus, I use the schedule on the smart charger to control over night charging. Have not used the schedule in the car system. Had no issues charging that first time.

If your screen was glitching (I think you can fix it by holding the power button for like 20 seconds to restart it?), you needa stop the charge from the screen or from CarNet, and then double tap the unlock on your key fob, and you should be able to unlock it. That's how I've been doing it (and I've done it 4 times so far)

 

[theboomr]

Question for those who use the Electricify American chargers: today I speed charged my Pro S for the first time. The start up process was quick and trouble free. After charging to 80% I wasn’t sure on how to disconnect the plug. I remember reading somewhere on here to press the unlock on the fob or double press on the fob. Neither worked. I went in to see the screen, cause I also remember reading there is a Stop button and that unlocks it, but the screen was glitching. The info was upside down and a little scrambled. I had to reboot the screen with the power button. We not sure how or what I did but it eventually released. What is the normal method for cable release?
Also sorry to read all the charging scheduling issues people are having. So far I have only charged my car twice, have had it for less than a week. The first charge was over night with my Wallbox Pulsar Plus, I use the schedule on the smart charger to control over night charging. Have not used the schedule in the car system. Had no issues charging that first time.

For me, I set the charge limit I want in the car's charging screen while fast charging. Charging will stop automatically once it reaches that specified percentage. I then get out of the car, and the plug is already unlocked and I can push the button on the handle and pull it out without any fuss. This has been the case at all 3 of my fast charging sessions so far. I suspect if you want to stop before reaching your set charge limit you just need to tap that Stop Charging button on the car's charging screen, and then the handle should be removable without using the fob or anything, but you just unfortunately ran into the infotainment glitch where the screen flips and/or freezes. I've seen a few people mention that glitch now, though I haven't seen it personally.

 

[chrischu5]

Just tried scheduled charging again tonight based on some recommendations and it worked!

I set departure times in 3 slots at 1am, 3am, and 5am, and I set preferred charging from 11:55pm - 6:05am. I was at 39% SOC and my charging started around 12:17am. When I woke up at 6am, it was still charging and at 79%. It kept charging till 6:07am, where it stopped once I hit 80%.

Wonder if the departure times kept waking up the car so the charge would start and not cut off. I'm going to check my power usage and see what it looked like.

 

[TPG]

Just tried scheduled charging again tonight based on some recommendations and it worked!

I set departure times in 3 slots at 1am, 3am, and 5am, and I set preferred charging from 11:55pm - 6:05am. I was at 39% SOC and my charging started around 12:17am. When I woke up at 6am, it was still charging and at 79%. It kept charging till 6:07am, where it stopped once I hit 80%.

Wonder if the departure times kept waking up the car so the charge would start and not cut off. I'm going to check my power usage and see what it looked like.

Wow - congrats on getting it to work and thanks for reporting this.
It is interesting that charging continued past your final departure time, but at least it was within your preferred charging window, more or less.

Please do update if your power consumption data reveal anything interesting.

 

[Astros]

Thanks for that info. Was that with a delayed charge (set departure time) or was it charging immediately with no departure or preferred charge time set?

No, we just let the car charge immediately when it's plugged in, since we don't have a TOU electricity plan. Now I just wait a moment after plugging in and make sure that I can see the charging speed on the dash is at least 20 mph, and that's good enough for us.

 

[ChristophW]

I have been working my way into scheduling very slowly. To set the stage, we don’t drive all that much and follow ABC (always be charging), and hence plug in at between 60% and 75% typically. Our charger is a Mustart Travelmate plugged into a 10-30 dryer outlet and therefore sets itself to 24A.

Initially I did not set any locations and preferred charge time and just plugged in. Worked great of course.

Then I set our home location and two schedules with departure time at 6am (no cabin AC) for weekdays and weekends. I have no precise data for that - our solar reporting tool was glitching at the time and the charger is dumb - but I found the car charged to 80% as expected every time.

After a few successful charge sessions with departure time set, I added a preferred starting time of midnight, the time when my time if use rate drops lowest. I also set a minimum initial charge of 20% while I was at it, we live in wildfire country after all. The first night the car started charging shortly before 5 am, drained the house battery, and then drew from the grid at about the expected 5.6 kW and tapered off until shortly after 7 am when it reached 80%. This is precisely as others have found where on the first try the car starts too late, as if expecting the full 11 kW it can take and then learning through trial and error what it can get. Last night I saw a low peak at 4am and a second peak at 5 am which finished at about 6:30 am. Only 30min late this time. I should note that there are other items drawing power at this time on weeknights, notably an under sink water heater that kicks in at 5:30am and the hot water recirculating pump at 6:45am. But the biggest consumer by far is the car.


I think overall I can say that timed charging with location, departure time and preferred start time seems to work here and is getting settled in.

 

[chrischu5]

I have been working my way into scheduling very slowly. To set the stage, we don’t drive all that much and follow ABC (always be charging), and hence plug in at between 60% and 75% typically. Our charger is a Mustart Travelmate plugged into a 10-30 dryer outlet and therefore sets itself to 24A.

Initially I did not set any locations and preferred charge time and just plugged in. Worked great of course.
Then I set our home location and two schedules with departure time at 6am (no cabin AC) for weekdays and weekends. I have no precise data for that - our solar reporting tool was glitching at the time and the charger is dumb - but I found the car charged to 80% as expected every time.
After a few successful charge sessions with departure time set, I added a preferred starting time of midnight, the time when my time if use rates drops lowest. I also set a minimum initial charge of 20% while I was at it, we live in wildfire country after all. The first night the car started charging shortly before 5 am, drained the house battery and then drew from the grid at about the expected 5.6 kW and tapered off until shortly after 7 am when it reached 80%. This is precisely as others have found where on the first try the car starts too late, as if expecting the full 11 kW it can take and then learning through trial and error what it can get. Last night I saw a low peak at 4am and a second peak at 5 am which finished at about 6:30 am. Only 30min late this time. I should note that there are other items drawing power at this time on week nights, notably an under sink water heater that kicks in at 5:30am and the hot water recirculating pump at 6:45am. But the biggest consumer by far is the car.


I think overall I can say that timed charging with location, departure time and preferred start time seems to work here and is getting settled in.
View attachment 3369 View attachment 3370

So I wonder if the car is actually learning and if that's a feature of the car. The instructions and any guide videos on this subject matter hasn't been super helpful. Maybe it's just a question of VW's documentation to make it work for users. My car's at the dealership (massage feature turns on by itself and can't turn off if that happens, and checking why my charging doesn't start sometimes when I use the preferred charge time) but I'll try out how you did it once I get it back to see if your method works! (Would be nice to not have to depend on my current work-around)

 

[TPG]

I have been working my way into scheduling very slowly. To set the stage, we don’t drive all that much and follow ABC (always be charging), and hence plug in at between 60% and 75% typically. Our charger is a Mustart Travelmate plugged into a 10-30 dryer outlet and therefore sets itself to 24A.

Initially I did not set any locations and preferred charge time and just plugged in. Worked great of course.
Then I set our home location and two schedules with departure time at 6am (no cabin AC) for weekdays and weekends. I have no precise data for that - our solar reporting tool was glitching at the time and the charger is dumb - but I found the car charged to 80% as expected every time.
After a few successful charge sessions with departure time set, I added a preferred starting time of midnight, the time when my time if use rates drops lowest. I also set a minimum initial charge of 20% while I was at it, we live in wildfire country after all. The first night the car started charging shortly before 5 am, drained the house battery and then drew from the grid at about the expected 5.6 kW and tapered off until shortly after 7 am when it reached 80%. This is precisely as others have found where on the first try the car starts too late, as if expecting the full 11 kW it can take and then learning through trial and error what it can get. Last night I saw a low peak at 4am and a second peak at 5 am which finished at about 6:30 am. Only 30min late this time. I should note that there are other items drawing power at this time on week nights, notably an under sink water heater that kicks in at 5:30am and the hot water recirculating pump at 6:45am. But the biggest consumer by far is the car.


I think overall I can say that timed charging with location, departure time and preferred start time seems to work here and is getting settled in.
View attachment 3369 View attachment 3370

Interesting, and thanks for reporting this.

So your starting SOC was always in the 60% to 75% range? I could imagine that you could get to 80% with most of the departure time charging failures that have been reported - starting too late, or starting early enough but ending prematurely.

I have only tried starting in the 30 - 40% SOC range and have never made it to 80%. I have also never seen it charge past my set departure time (even when it started late), although I haven't done many tests with preferred charging times set too.

I do find that my car does a handshake with the EVSE when I plug it in with a departure time set, as I see the charge light come on the EVSE briefly and hear relays in the car and EVSE click. The car should use this to determine the max power that the EVSE can supply, but maybe it forgets that or else it forgets when to start charging.

 

[ChristophW]

So I wonder if the car is actually learning and if that's a feature of the car. The instructions and any guide videos on this subject matter hasn't been super helpful. Maybe it's just a question of VW's documentation to make it work for users.

If you read through this thread and others about charging, I would say our collective observations support "learning" although that word might be overstating it. It may be a very pedestrian optimization algorithm for all we know. The fact that scheduled charging consistently starts late for folks' first attempt, and then starts earlier each time definitely points to learning.

I have only tried starting in the 30 - 40% SOC range and have never made it to 80%. I have also never seen it charge past my set departure time (even when it started late), although I haven't done many tests with preferred charging times set too.

I do find that my car does a handshake with the EVSE when I plug it in with a departure time set, as I see the charge light come on the EVSE briefly and hear relays in the car and EVSE click. The car should use this to determine the max power that the EVSE can supply, but maybe it forgets that or else it forgets when to start charging.

Yes, I saw and heard the handshake too. The light goes from white to green on/off blinking, as opposed to green pulsing when the car charges.
I think I should let the car go down to 40% to see how that compares to your experience. I believe my lowest was 57% so far. That said, my money is currently on incomplete software subsystem install, similar to the nav system issue ErickF encountered. Pure conjecture, I know.

 

[TPG]

If you read through this thread and others about charging, I would say our collective observations support "learning" although that word might be overstating it. It may be a very pedestrian optimization algorithm for all we know. The fact that scheduled charging consistently starts late for folks' first attempt, and then starts earlier each time definitely points to learning.


Yes, I saw and heard the handshake too. The light goes from white to green on/off blinking, as opposed to green pulsing when the car charges.
I think I should let the car go down to 40% to see how that compares to your experience. I believe my lowest was 57% so far. That said, my money is currently on incomplete software subsystem install, similar to the nav system issue ErickF encountered. Pure conjecture, I know.

Please do that, and I'm looking forward to your report.

Re. the software install, my dealer "reconfigured" (per the invoice) the software on at least the charging module, and they confirmed that it still would not charge from a starting SOC of about 35% to near the set 80% with a single departure time selected.

 

[Quentin]

I am looking for a very simple option - my electricity is half price from midnight to 9.00am. I don't care how much charge I have, but I want my charger to start at midnight. On my other EVs, I could just set a timer on the supply and the charger came on when the timer switched in the AC. My ID4 doesn't self-start charging when the power comes on.

I don't want an end time - I need a start and finish time, or at least a start time. Anyone got any ideas?

This whole system seems to be unnecessariy complicated, like a lot of the "features" of the ID4.

 

[terasain]

If we set the charging to start immediately, what does the setting the departure time do? Does it just preconditions the cabin?

 

[TPG]

I am looking for a very simple option - my electricity is half price from midnight to 9.00am. I don't care how much charge I have, but I want my charger to start at midnight. On my other EVs, I could just set a timer on the supply and the charger came on when the timer switched in the AC. My ID4 doesn't self-start charging when the power comes on.

I don't want an end time - I need a start and finish time, or at least a start time. Anyone got any ideas?

This whole system seems to be unnecessariy complicated, like a lot of the "features" of the ID4.

The system is flexible, and that can make it look complicated if you do not want to use all of its features.

However, it's biggest problem is that it cannot reliably complete a charge to a specified level by the specified departure time. This is due to known bugs in the current software, per VW. This might not be a big problem for you if you don't care if it reaches the set charge level, and see posts #85 and 89 above how to get around that.

You first need to set a charging location as described in the owner's manual. Then select that location and set the preferred charging time to start and midnight and to finish some time before 9am and to see if that works.

 

[ericy]

There was also the workaround where you just leave a weight in the driver's seat while charging. Both of these together sort of suggest that the car is going into a deep sleep and there is a malfunctioning trigger that would keep it awake during charging.