EA v Supercharger Network

[borski]

I’m not sure if this has been asked and answered, if it has, I’m sorry, but , Can anyone tell clear up something for me, can we use Tesla supercharger network? I’ve heard it’s going to be available soon and I’m confused about yes, no, waiting for a missing part? Anyone have knowledge or details?

Not yet. They claim they will be opening it up though, presumably to get that sweet sweet federal money.

I’m heartened by the fact that they released a home EVSE with a CCS plug, so it’s looking promising.

 

[dnb]

I grew up in Brooklyn so don’t really mind SF, and I actually like a lot of the culture feel, but tbh I prefer Oakland as it reminds me more of Brooklyn.

That said, vehicle crime in SF is just way too high (and it obviously has other issues too); it’s definitely gotten worse in the last decade or so.

The South Bay is spectacular though.

Yes, agree with you. Love the South Bay and peninsula. Work required so no choice. Yes NYC is awesome, love Forest hill, Manhattan, and flushing, Great neighborhood character.

 

[BS8899]

Just want to get everyone's thoughts on superchargers versus EA. We all know a huge selling point of Tesla's is their Supercharger network, which has many locations as well as stalls (which actually work). I wanted to ask how has your EA experience? Were you able to find a charger here and then? How does the increased range of the Air compare to the reliability Supercharger network when you need it?

Bonus if you have experience in bay area, and trips down to LA & SD as I'm looking to make that trip too

My experience with EA and Lucid charging is generally poor. I had my Lucid AGT for 6 weeks now. It spend 2 weeks back at the Lucid shop because of a charging problem. I've been to EA chargers 5 times. Two times, it worked. The other 3 times, EA did not recognize my car and would not charge (for free). When I called EA HELP, they said it is a Lucid problem because the car isn't properly registered/updated by Lucid. I called Lucid, but have not heard back.

Another point, many EA chargers are broken/non-functional/offline.

Overall, a poor experience with EA and Lucid.

 

[Tesla2.0]

My experience with EA and Lucid charging is generally poor. I had my Lucid AGT for 6 weeks now. It spend 2 weeks back at the Lucid shop because of a charging problem. I've been to EA chargers 5 times. Two times, it worked. The other 3 times, EA did not recognize my car and would not charge (for free). When I called EA HELP, they said it is a Lucid problem because the car isn't properly registered/updated by Lucid. I called Lucid, but have not heard back.

Another point, many EA chargers are broken/non-functional/offline.

Overall, a poor experience with EA and Lucid.

I guess EA experience varies by region, here in Greater Houston, I had ZERO EA issue connecting to my AGT, 20+/20+ tripps with 100% success rate. However, going to rest of Texas, I encountered many issues.

There is newer OTA update supposely improving charging experience. I hope it fixed the problem you had with EA.

 

[Tesla2.0]

Just want to get everyone's thoughts on superchargers versus EA. We all know a huge selling point of Tesla's is their Supercharger network, which has many locations as well as stalls (which actually work). I wanted to ask how has your EA experience? Were you able to find a charger here and then? How does the increased range of the Air compare to the reliability Supercharger network when you need it?

Bonus if you have experience in bay area, and trips down to LA & SD as I'm looking to make that trip too

In my area of Greater Houston, Google shows this

Tesla Supercharger station: 13

CCS DC Fast-charging stations
EVGo: 20
Electrify America: 7
ChargePoint: 11

***If you download PlugShare, you will find there are 18 other unknown small brands out there I don’t even bother to enumerate.

Fact:
- There are more CCS Fast-charging stations than Tesla Supercharging stations
- There are more Tesla Supercharging stalls than CCS stalls
- There are many times more J-1772 chargers than Tesla Destination chargers.

With the current infrastructure subsidies, CCS and J-1772 are going to be a lot built more Tesla stations. And EA is in progress of transforming to newer generation. Tesla is losing overall US EV market share from 71% in 2021 to 65% in 2022 and projected to go below 50% in a few years.

 

[hmp10]

I guess EA experience varies by region . . . .

It does seem so. While other posters (mainly in California) have reported few EA problems, on our recent road trip we (or other drivers of different brands) encountered EA charging issues at:

North Charleston, SC
Pooler, GA
Brunswick, GA
Bushnell, FL
Port St. Lucie, FL
Naples, FL

Traveling the I-95 and I-75 interstate corridors in the South is a dicey proposition if you're depending on EA chargers.

And EA is in progress of transforming to newer generation.

Kyle Conner of "Out of Spec Motoring" recently took his Rivian R1T pickup on a winter tour of EA locations to try out the new-generation chargers. NONE of them would connect to his vehicle in severe cold weather, although the older ABB chargers at those locations would connect.

 

[RedinNC]

Just want to get everyone's thoughts on superchargers versus EA. We all know a huge selling point of Tesla's is their Supercharger network, which has many locations as well as stalls (which actually work). I wanted to ask how has your EA experience? Were you able to find a charger here and then? How does the increased range of the Air compare to the reliability Supercharger network when you need it?

Bonus if you have experience in bay area, and trips down to LA & SD as I'm looking to make that trip too

Tried an EA station today to make sure that it was reliable, worked, etc. Long story short, it didn't. Tried two different 350 KW chargers, two 150 KW chargers. Most times, the charging commenced and shut down within a minute. Got on phone with EA customer assistance. She reset the station, no change. Glad I gave it a try since I now know as things stand, I can't rely on the EA network. Don't yet know if issue is with Lucid or with EA.

 

[CLTGT]

Tried an EA station today to make sure that it was reliable, worked, etc. Long story short, it didn't. Tried two different 350 KW chargers, two 150 KW chargers. Most times, the charging commenced and shut down within a minute. Got on phone with EA customer assistance. She reset the station, no change. Glad I gave it a try since I now know as things stand, I can't rely on the EA network. Don't yet know if issue is with Lucid or with EA.

Where was the station you tried? I have only used one EA station, the one just south of Greensboro. It worked for me. The closest one to me in Charlotte in an unknown for me as I don't see any need for it based on the fact it is in a not-so-great part of town that I never find myself.

 

[DeaneG]

Tried an EA station today to make sure that it was reliable, worked, etc. Long story short, it didn't. Tried two different 350 KW chargers, two 150 KW chargers. Most times, the charging commenced and shut down within a minute. Got on phone with EA customer assistance. She reset the station, no change. Glad I gave it a try since I now know as things stand, I can't rely on the EA network. Don't yet know if issue is with Lucid or with EA.

If you stay there long enough, you can see if the charger works for other cars.

 

[Negan1000]

If you stay there long enough, you can see if the charger works for other cars.

My local EA station in Yorba Linda, CA does NOT plug and charge. Today, the connection failed on 1st try. The connection was good on the 2nd try but I had to use the Lucid app to initiate the charge. At the completion of the charge, I could not unplug. The car was not locked. Locked/unlocked car - still stuck. Had to open the frunk to pull the manual release. I also had to do the manual release on my previous charging session at the same location. I reported this issue to Lucid customer care via email. I also reported this problem to EA. EA did open a trouble ticket after they tried to blame it as a Lucid problem. I did notice an ID4 use the next charger without any issues.

 

[abbas2099]

My local EA station in Yorba Linda, CA does NOT plug and charge. Today, the connection failed on 1st try. The connection was good on the 2nd try but I had to use the Lucid app to initiate the charge. At the completion of the charge, I could not unplug. The car was not locked. Locked/unlocked car - still stuck. Had to open the frunk to pull the manual release. I also had to do the manual release on my previous charging session at the same location. I reported this issue to Lucid customer care via email. I also reported this problem to EA. EA did open a trouble ticket after they tried to blame it as a Lucid problem. I did notice an ID4 use the next charger without any issues.

press 3 times on the FOB and it will unlock the EA (or any charger) plug.

 

[pam4_AGT]

press 3 times on the FOB and it will unlock the EA (or any charger) plug.

Not sure if that is a tounge-in-cheek comment or something that is accurate. Never heard about this but if it's true, good to know.

 

[borski]

Not sure if that is a tounge-in-cheek comment or something that is accurate. Never heard about this but if it's true, good to know.

Accurate. Surprised me too.

 

[pam4_AGT]

Accurate. Surprised me too.

@borski, did you check that yourself or did one of the service techs tell you about this? Is it three short presses? I thought I had read every thread on this forum. Guess not.

 

[borski]

@borski, did you check that yourself or did one of the service techs tell you about this? Is it three short presses? I thought I had read every thread on this forum. Guess not.

@abbas2099 told a few of us about it and he got it from EA directly. Apparently it works for VW/Audi too.

I haven’t actually tested it directly as mine has never gotten stuck, but it worked for @abbas2099

 

[HariK]

Not yet. They claim they will be opening it up though, presumably to get that sweet sweet federal money.

I’m heartened by the fact that they released a home EVSE with a CCS plug, so it’s looking promising.

I hope lucid releases tesla to Ccs which detects connection to supercharger and gives a warning as well.

 

[HariK]

Accurate. Surprised me too.

I guess I better carry the key fob when I go to a charger.

 

[HC_79]

I guess I better carry the key fob when I go to a charger.

Or just open the frunk and do the manual release method

 

[HariK]

Or just open the frunk and do the manual release method

I know. I did already once. Now I leave the key fob home but carry the valet card as a backup.

 

[HariK]

Yes, agree with you. Love the South Bay and peninsula. Work required so no choice. Yes NYC is awesome, love Forest hill, Manhattan, and flushing, Great neighborhood character.

SF has become notorious for blatant car breakins.