[truthseeker]

it's the damn charging port location...

I love the charge port location. It works perfectly in my garage side-by-side with the Model Y, using the same EVSE mounted in the middle.

 

[truthseeker]

However, in the case of the VW, most German ICE cars have the filler access on the right side of the car. That's because the mufflers on most of those cars are on the left side, and for safety, they purposely placed the filler in a location where spilled fuel would not likely come in contact with a hot exhaust system.

That's not why the gas tank opening is located on the rear right. It's so that you could pull over and be able to fill the tank from a jerry can without being hit by a passing car. This goes back to when people carried jerry cans with them because there weren't enough gas stations around. History repeats itself except there are no usable jerry cans filled with electrons.

 

[truthseeker]

Don’t misunderstand me, I am not at all dismissing this complaint. I am only saying that if that is the biggest complaint, then we are doing well.
I happen to agree that the charge port would make more sense near the front of the vehicle.

Please keep the charge port where it is now. It’s the perfect location.

 

[truthseeker]

Next time you will be replacing your Tesla and charge port will be on the opposite side. You will sing a different song then

I will buy a car that has the port where I need it to be. You need the port in the front? There are plenty of EVs with that configuration.

 

[truthseeker]

We are talking about comparable SUV to id.4, in terms of prices/features, none of those options are workable. They are either small and/or no AWD or simply more money.

Sorry, I think VW should change the design so that your particular situation is accommodated. Because, you know, the world revolves around you. Or, at least, it should.

 

[truthseeker]

Sounds like if VW added a charging port on the roof or underneath the car you would find it fine as well because after all they know everything about designing the perfect car and never failed giving terribly implemented features.

Wow. You read my mind!

Why EA has 2 hoses on each distributor?

I charged up at an EA in SoCal this weekend. As an old hand I had to explain over and over (and over) that the second cable was not usable when someone else was charging. I recognize the Engineering desire to have redundancy, but all I see is unneeded complexity leading to enhanced downtime...

www.vwidtalk.com

 

[truthseeker]

If you are in this thread it's "we" are discussing. There are no "plenty" alternatives to id.4 in the same price range and features. MachE was much more expensive with mark ups soltera/bz4x without tax credit as well now but also seemed lesser car to id.4
with wheels falling off and less range.

Your math is off too. It's below 50k with tax credit and it's the cheapest you can buy today. Next year likely not

Back to subject though. This had a poll. Rear right location didn't get much votes

Take Our Poll - What's The Perfect Charge Port Location?

We ask: Where should the charge port be located on plug-in electric cars? Please take our poll so that we can provide feedback to the automakers.

insideevs.com

I’m usually the combative one, but you have well exceeded all of my personal limits for combativeness. I give you an A+ and I block you henceforth. Cheers!

 

[truthseeker]

The way that most EA charging stations are arranged, one can easily reach the charge port on the ID.4 without even having to back into the space. Just grab the handle from the pedestal that’s next to the charge port, walk around the pedestal, and pay there. If someone needs to use the space facing the screen on the pedestal you are using, they can grab a handle from the pedestal that’s next to the front right fender of the ID.4, walk around the pedestal (stand next to the ID.4) and pay from the screen of that pedestal. There is no rule that you have to use the pedestal whose screen faces the side of the DC charger where you pulled up in your EV. At least, I’m unaware of such a rule.

The only time one must back into a space is when the charging pedestals are lined up by the curb or pavement edge like the way ChargePoint pedestals are placed (similar to the way Tesla Superchargers are placed). But even with Tesla Superchargers, the Teslas have to be backed into a charging space because the charging port is on the rear left fender. Obviously, Tesla didn’t think there was a problem placing the charge port on the rear fender and neither did they make their charging stalls to be drive through to preclude having to back onto a place. And no one can question the usability of Tesla superchargers regardless of what one thinks of Tesla cars or Musk.

So, I really don’t understand what the issue is with DC charging and the current charge port location on the ID.4.

As for L2 charging in a garage, the EVSE can be placed in a number of different locations, and there is not one standard placement of the charge port that would dictate where an EVSE should be mounted in a garage. For every location that one will claim to be a perfect placement for an EVSE, I can counter that that location is not going to work well for another person. Unless there is one standard where a charge port should be located on an EV, any place is as good as any other. Additionally, if one owns two EVs and has a two-car garage, then having the charge port located in the same place on both EVs will require that one EV be backed into the garage while the other being pulled in front forward just so that the charge port on both EVs is next to a garage wall where an EVSE is likely to be mounted. So, no matter how you look at it, the charge-port location is in the wrong place some of the time. Would placing the charge port in the area of the EV front bumper work the best? It wouldn’t for me because I have a water heater in the garage next to the front bumper in one of the two parking spots in my two-car garage.

Should the location of the charge port be standardized and dictated by a national standard? Until such a standard is enacted, for every person who claims that the charge port on a particular EV is in the wrong place, I can find another person who will say it’s exactly where it should be. For me, the current location of the charge port on the ID.4 is perfect; it couldn’t be in a better place.

 

[truthseeker]

I have a 2021 id.4 and charge it at home in my garage with a 40KW Level 2 Charger. I have a 3-car garage and my Level 2 charger is placed where I can charge ANY of the 3 bays from the current charger location, with the 25 ft. cable provided.

Picture required.

 

[truthseeker]

When I stopped past the charging spot to back into it, a line of cars pulled up right behind me, blocking me from backing up into the spot until I got them all to back up to make room. I'd much rather pull into a charging spot that is by definition narrow and then back out into the lane which is much wider.

Why do you have to back into a charging spot to begin with? Just because the charging port is in the back doesn’t mean you have to back into the charging space in the EA station configuration.

 

[truthseeker]

Uh, yeah, it does for 90+% of the EA charger configurations I've been to - and pretty much every other brand's chargers. Most configurations have the charger sitting at the end of a parking spot, not in a pull alongside configuration like most gas stations. In fact, I can only think of 2 or 3 of the 50 or so EA stations I've been to that have the pull alongside configuration. Most of the EA cables are very short and barely make it to the charging port even if you back in. The first stations had curbs that were intended to keep you from hitting the chargers but they had to move them back because only cars with front charging ports could be reached.

It’s interesting because I’ve only seen EA chargers sitting at the edge of the pavement in one location: Florida Mall in Orlando. All other EA DC chargers I’ve ever used have the pull-alongside configuration. None of them are drive-through kind, so you still have to back out of the charging spaces, though. I guess it depends on a region.

Other DC chargers (non—EA) are, in fact, the kind that you have to back into a charging space.

The other day I was at the Atlanta Gladiators hockey game, and the arena has special parking spaces for EVs with free L2 chargers placed at the edge of the pavement. I had to back into the charging place to take advantage of free L2 charging. It was not a big deal, and it allowed me to leave faster by not having to back out of the parking space when the game was over, while crowds of people were walking through that area. An interesting observation I had was that both a Hyundai IONIQ5 and a Tesla Model Y charging on both sides of my ID.4 also had to back into their respective charging space because their charging port is also on a rear fender in both vehicles. The IONIQ 5 has the charging port in the same exact place as the ID.4. That night, there was no EV parked there that had a charging port in the front.

 

[truthseeker]

I did an actual count last night. I've been to 56 EA stations and only 4 were the type where you could pull alongside. None were an actual pull-through. The other 52 (and at least 50 non-EA stations I've been to) required you to back into the spot for the ID.4. (Most of those I went to with my Chevy Bolt EV, so I had to pull into them to reach the front driver side panel charging port.) The states I've travelled in by EV are UT, CO, NM, TX, WY, ID, MT, KS, MO, NE, IA, IL, IN, OH, PA, WV and NY. The only states I did not charge in were MT and WV. WY only just got an EA station, so I used Charge Point or L2 stations there. The 4 stations with pull alongs were in Pueblo, CO; Albuquerque, NM; Green River, UT and Washington, UT.

I know that Teslas and other EVs (like Ioniq 5 and KIA EV6 and BMW EQS) have charge ports in the rear. I still think it's a big problem, especially if you are carrying bikes on a back rack and especially for EA which still has very short cables in most locations. I get that leaving by driving out is easier than backing out, especially in a crowded lot with lots of traffic. But, having had both a charge port in the rear (ID.4) and one in the front (Bolt), the latter is definitely easier, IMO.

The real solution here is for charging stations to be pull through, like gas stations. We've had 100+ years of experience with designing gas stations and they are almost all pull-through now. Why didn't the designers of EV charging stations figure that out?

Because they are not dedicated EV charging stations. They have to take into account the traffic flows at the properties that they place their stations at.

I haven’t traveled in my ID.4 through any states that you listed yet, but I will next summer.

 

[truthseeker]

How about a sign? “Non electric cars will be towed, violators will be violated”

How about, “Non-electric cars will be electrified at owners expense.”