3 ms·

I have been to electrify america stations twice. One had a broken charger at once of the two super fast stalls. The second time I had to wait in line because

I have been to electrify america stations twice. One had a broken charger at once of the two super fast stalls. The second time I had to wait in line because it was full, and then when I got in the card reader wasn't working. I had to install the app to be able to pay and get electricity. It was very stressful as we thought we might be totally effed. Compared to Tesla, where you just pull up and plug in. No app, no card reader. It just works. I've encountered 1 bad stall out of like 50 visits to superchargers, and since there are typically 10 to 20 stalls it wasn't a big deal.

steveBK123 3y ago
Yep, I switched from Tesla to BMW EV and am happy, but I don't road-trip much & can charge at home. The problem with EA (and CCS networks in US in general) - 10x more likely to encounter a broken stall, and that stall will be at a station with 1/2 to 1/3 the stalls of a typical Tesla station, and if the whole station is out.. the next station is probably 2-3x as far as the next Tesla station would have been. I find EA roadtrip planning to be more nerve wracking than Tesla was 5 years ago, and Tesla continues to build more stations at a rapid pace... so the lead is not closing.
vel0city 3y ago
> Compared to Tesla, where you just pull up and plug in. No app, no card reader. It just works. This has been 100% of my Electrify America experiences as well, along with a few other brands. Some have been able to take payment by tap to pay credit card as well without an app.
- borski 3y ago
  Same. It just… works.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  Tesla lacks the need to tap card and you just plug in. Supposedly that tech is coming to CCS EVs someday.
  - vel0city 3y ago
    As I mentioned in my comment, this tech exists for CCS today already. That's my experience with many public CCS DCFC.
    - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
      What car? What provider? You mentioned taping a card, not just plugging in. Definitely not EA.
      - vel0city 3y ago
        Mach E. I've had plug and charge work every time I've used an EA charger on the first try. I've never failed to charge on an EA charger nor have I ever had to use an app to pay for it. Most EVgo charging experiences have been plug and charge. I did have one experience a while ago that needed an app but that was one of their older chargers which even still had their old logo on it. All their newer chargers have successfully done plug and charge. I've had tap to pay work with Google Wallet at Road Ranger (Freewire) and Francis Energy chargers. > You mentioned taping a card, not just plugging in That's why I included the language "as well". I've used a number of different brands of EV chargers. Out of all the times I've used a public DCFC, I had to use an app maybe 10% of the time. And of that, it was only earlier into my ownership, I haven't had to use an app in about a year. Every charger I've used in the last year has been either plug and charge or supported credit cards directly.
        seanmcdirmid 3y ago
        Huh, ok, it seems like the Mach E is special in this regard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_15118 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_15118 Now if they could just support it for my i4...
        borski 3y ago
        Nope. Both my Lucid and my Ioniq 5 just plug and charge at EA, and I’ve never had an issue with either. Other stations require payment, but EVGo plug and charge works too if you’ve set it up ahead of time.

steveBK123 3y ago

Yep, I switched from Tesla to BMW EV and am happy, but I don't road-trip much & can charge at home. The problem with EA (and CCS networks in US in general) - 10x more likely to encounter a broken stall, and that stall will be at a station with 1/2 to 1/3 the stalls of a typical Tesla station, and if the whole station is out.. the next station is probably 2-3x as far as the next Tesla station would have been. I find EA roadtrip planning to be more nerve wracking than Tesla was 5 years ago, and Tesla continues to build more stations at a rapid pace... so the lead is not closing.

vel0city 3y ago

> Compared to Tesla, where you just pull up and plug in. No app, no card reader. It just works. This has been 100% of my Electrify America experiences as well, along with a few other brands. Some have been able to take payment by tap to pay credit card as well without an app.

borski 3y ago
Same. It just… works.
seanmcdirmid 3y ago
Tesla lacks the need to tap card and you just plug in. Supposedly that tech is coming to CCS EVs someday.
- vel0city 3y ago
  As I mentioned in my comment, this tech exists for CCS today already. That's my experience with many public CCS DCFC.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    What car? What provider? You mentioned taping a card, not just plugging in. Definitely not EA.
    - vel0city 3y ago
      Mach E. I've had plug and charge work every time I've used an EA charger on the first try. I've never failed to charge on an EA charger nor have I ever had to use an app to pay for it. Most EVgo charging experiences have been plug and charge. I did have one experience a while ago that needed an app but that was one of their older chargers which even still had their old logo on it. All their newer chargers have successfully done plug and charge. I've had tap to pay work with Google Wallet at Road Ranger (Freewire) and Francis Energy chargers. > You mentioned taping a card, not just plugging in That's why I included the language "as well". I've used a number of different brands of EV chargers. Out of all the times I've used a public DCFC, I had to use an app maybe 10% of the time. And of that, it was only earlier into my ownership, I haven't had to use an app in about a year. Every charger I've used in the last year has been either plug and charge or supported credit cards directly.
      - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
        Huh, ok, it seems like the Mach E is special in this regard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_15118 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_15118 Now if they could just support it for my i4...
        borski 3y ago
        Nope. Both my Lucid and my Ioniq 5 just plug and charge at EA, and I’ve never had an issue with either. Other stations require payment, but EVGo plug and charge works too if you’ve set it up ahead of time.