Electrify America is enraging EV owners

[Coltonw011]

I’ve owned my GT for 16k miles since April of ‘22. I happen to live in a state where there is a surplus of chargers, and EA has only tested my patience a few times. Mostly when the car was new (the typical authentication error). There are a bunch of 350kW chargers around, but the speeds never match. I’ve exceeded 300 maybe one time. I have my favorite charger, an older ABB unit that I use weekly and when I plug in, I get 175kW on a 150 every time, no unplugging and plugging back in. I just drove another 450 mile round trip, plugging in up in eureka while we had breakfast, no problems at all. EA is still not the greatest, but my experience has been overall positive. I wish for faster speeds, and more plugs at the stations. Obviously that isn’t the case everywhere in the country and I hope there is a plan in place for the future!

 

[Halodde]

Just had my 3rd experience with EA. My 1st was shortly after the vehicle arrived, just to insure it worked. Philadelphia Premium Outlets on 422. Just charged for 5 min, pulling 70kw/hr (I forget the charger rating). The second was with my Rivian, after a charging stop at EVGo failed. 150kw charger and managed 70ish. Both times my SOC was midrange. Yesterday, I stopped at the Waterloo Premium Outlets on I-90 in NY. (No, I really don’t have an outlet problem…) SOC was about 70% so I didn’t really need the stop, but what the heck. 350kw charger gave me 50kw. Might have been a long stop if I was actually in need of a big charge. Maybe an emptier battery would have allowed for faster charging speed…

Sooo, EA has worked for me, but hasn’t ever come close to speeds touted to be available.

I've used the Waterloo EA multiple times. In my experience, the 150 is consistently better

 

[joec]

One thing to consider is that there are at least two distinct EA experiences that tend to get conflated into a general “I hate EA” commentary on this forum.

On the one hand, you have the folks who have had honest-to-goodness can’t charge at all, road trip can’t be completed, or at least it charged at such a slow rate (50ish kw) that it took several more hours than we expected type experiences. These folks I truly feel for. EA—and by association Lucid—have let you down no question.

These reports, if you read carefully, happen more often than they should (which is never), but they are relatively rare compared to the second type.

Second are the folks who plugged into a 350 kw charger and “only” pulled 175, or something of that nature. Or they had to plug in three times to get it started. Or, in a truly horrible twist of fate, they had to plunk down a credit card to get the charge going and ask for reimbursement later. Or, because they were so hell bent on getting their “free” charge, they spent twenty minutes on the phone with EA reps instead of just starting the charge with their credit card.

Okay, that’s frustrating for sure. EA is advertising a faster speed than you are getting. Lucid advertised a car that can charge faster, and that’s not quite happening. The software or poor customer service made for a less than stellar experience. But the vast majority of these reports are not a road-trip-ending event. It’s 40 minutes at the charging station when you planned on 25. Life will go on.

Don’t get me wrong. This is still a problem. And the sooner Lucid can disassociate itself from EA the better. But treating these distinct EA scenarios as equals does skew the picture quite a bit.

Heck, if I pull 175-210 from a 350 charger, that’s still faster than any Tesla Supercharger session I ever had when I had my Model 3. And as we all know from reading these posts, Superchargers are the pinnacle of all charging in the universe.

Something to consider when lumping in all these EA reports in your mind, or when deciding whether the Lucid is a good road trip car.

 

[mardin]

I strongly disagree. I do not find your generalization or conclusion to be accurate. I have read hundreds and hundreds of posts here, and 99% talk about the DAILY joy of driving their Lucid every single day, to the store, out to dinner or just for an hour on a winding two lane road. Only a small handful talk about epic road trips.

Every driving statistic, from USDOTs, state dots and insurance companies show 95% of all trips are 40 miles or less. And 99% are 100 or less. I see no evidence in the statistics or none in this forum that "most folks bought this cruiser" for long road trips.

Maybe when I am older and retired, with unlimited time on my hands, I might think about long road trips. But as much as I love my Lucid, I ain’t sitting in no car for 8-10 hours in a day. But I applaud those that want to drive their Lucid cross country to see their grandkids. I wish them fun and godspeed.To each their own.

I bought my Lucid to drive: Every day I can. But the wife and I are flying on the next 500 mile trip we have. Just my opinion, of course.

Some of us are fortunate enough to be able to do both. If you have to jump in your head vehicle for a trip from sf to la you don't think twice about it. Many bought the car for range FREEDOM. Longer trips (i.e. requiring one not at home, en route charge) should not engender massive range anxiety worries due to a poorly designed charging infrastructure. It doesn't matter to the 5 % that want or need to drive more than 40 miles that the proletariat don't mind having a short leash because they stop driving at mile 39. Come on... That is a specious argument to use to justify the EA reality and it's potentially crippling impact they are having on the transition to electric vehicles. It is hurting the long range Lucid reputation as well. Check the stock price trends! Also, 99+% drive carbon polluting ICE cars... So how's the temperature been lately where you live (rehetorical question)? What the (m)asses do is not even relevant to a 150k car touted to have a 500+ range.

 

[Halodde]

One thing to consider is that there are at least two distinct EA experiences that tend to get conflated into a general “I hate EA” commentary on this forum.

On the one hand, you have the folks who have had honest-to-goodness can’t charge at all, road trip can’t be completed, or at least it charged at such a slow rate (50ish kw) that it took several more hours than we expected type experiences. These folks I truly feel for. EA—and by association Lucid—have let you down no question.

These reports, if you read carefully, happen more often than they should (which is never), but they are relatively rare compared to the second type.

Second are the folks who plugged into a 350 kw charger and “only” pulled 175, or something of that nature. Or they had to plug in three times to get it started. Or, in a truly horrible twist of fate, they had to plunk down a credit card to get the charge going and ask for reimbursement later. Or, because they were so hell bent on getting their “free” charge, they spent twenty minutes on the phone with EA reps instead of just starting the charge with their credit card.

Okay, that’s frustrating for sure. EA is advertising a faster speed than you are getting. Lucid advertised a car that can charge faster, and that’s not quite happening. The software or poor customer service made for a less than stellar experience. But the vast majority of these reports are not a road-trip-ending event. It’s 40 minutes at the charging station when you planned on 25. Life will go on.

Don’t get me wrong. This is still a problem. And the sooner Lucid can disassociate itself from EA the better. But treating these distinct EA scenarios as equals does skew the picture quite a bit.

Heck, if I pull 175-210 from a 350 charger, that’s still faster than any Tesla Supercharger session I ever had when I had my Model 3. And as we all know from reading these posts, Superchargers are the pinnacle of all charging in the universe.

Something to consider when lumping in all these EA reports in your mind, or when deciding whether the Lucid is a good road trip car.

I'd take 175 all day every day! That's great speed and will basically add 10+ miles/minute to our cars

 

[Thinjake]

This is why I'm consistently shocked at how many posts on this site are complaints about bad charging experiences. Yes, the EA situation is terrible. But I feel like a good number of us are subjecting ourselves to this on a regular basis for no good reason.

It is because if you travel more than 300 miles, you NEED to charge!

Weekend getaway? bad charging experience.

Family vacation? bad charging experience.

Work trip? bad charging experience.

 

[Tesla2.0]

I have overall positive experience at EA stations in I-10 and I-45 corridors. My first 3 months of ownership was strictly EA charging. My rage occurred mostly when EA only has 4 stalls and usually 1 of them is broken and 1 or 2 of them were parked and blocked by Tesla cars not charging. Thus I’ve learned the nomenclature of “Testa Fanboi”. I gave up waiting for release of Lucid Home 80amp Charger seems like eternity and installed WallBox 48amp charger and I couldn’t be more happier for not queuing in line or wait in the car in public. I didn’t mind waiting because massage and Dolby ATMOS symphonic hall experience. But I rather do it at night in my own garage than crowding at EA under Texas sun. The honeymoon period for me was just 3 months.

I did had a scare once at Denton, TX, bricked out at EA station with under 30 miles left. I thought I might need to get it towed back home if out of juice. But like all you guys in this forum, I’ve came to learn EVGo, ChargePoint, PlugShare, AARP. Although not as convenient charging as Tesla I test Turo’d, but the experience was rich. I got to check out many brands EV and talk to different brands owners. Tesla really overstated its range that for 280 miles Houston/Dallas trip distance, I had to charge 80% SOC 3 times in slow long line at TSCN. It was no fun hearing spouse moaning about how BS inconvenient EV is. With AGT, I only need to be prudently charge once on same road trip or simply skip it and just destination charge overnight at hotel. I love that part of Lucid have higher range for that convenience.

 

[hmp10]

With AGT, I only need to be prudently charge once on same road trip or simply skip it and just destination charge overnight at hotel. I love that part of Lucid have higher range for that convenience.

Absolutely. If our Lucid got the same range as our Tesla, we wouldn't even try to drive it across the state on our frequent jaunts to the Florida east coast due to the CCS charging challenges, meaning it would become exclusively a local driver for us.

However, although neither car gets close to its EPA range on 80-mph highway trips, the Lucid still gets more than 100 extra miles on a charge in real-world driving than the Tesla, meaning it can make the round trip on a single charge, whereas the Tesla cannot.

Lucid's range is the only thing that gives it any insulation from the mess that is CCS charging. As much as it may stick in Rawlinson's craw (and mine), he really needs to make sure Lucids can use the Tesla charging network once it opens to CCS cars.

 

[Bobby]

Absolutely. If our Lucid got the same range as our Tesla, we wouldn't even try to drive it across the state on our frequent jaunts to the Florida east coast due to the CCS charging challenges, meaning it would become exclusively a local driver for us.

However, although neither car gets close to its EPA range on 80-mph highway trips, the Lucid still gets more than 100 extra miles on a charge in real-world driving than the Tesla, meaning it can make the round trip on a single charge, whereas the Tesla cannot.

Lucid's range is the only thing that gives it any insulation from the mess that is CCS charging. As much as it may stick in Rawlinson's craw (and mine), he really needs to make sure Lucids can use the Tesla charging network once it opens to CCS cars.

Agree… it’s nice to have options, even if slower (for now).

 

[joec]

It is because if you travel more than 300 miles, you NEED to charge!

Weekend getaway? bad charging experience.

Family vacation? bad charging experience.

Work trip? bad charging experience.

I've done all of those things and never had a bad charging experience. I've had less than ideal charging experienecs, sure. But I have yet to experience anything that cost me more than an extra ten minutes of time.

Obviously, others have experienced worse. But the impression that EA charging is always a fatally flawed thing for everyone is in conflict with reality.

 

[joec]

Absolutely. If our Lucid got the same range as our Tesla, we wouldn't even try to drive it across the state on our frequent jaunts to the Florida east coast due to the CCS charging challenges, meaning it would become exclusively a local driver for us.

However, although neither car gets close to its EPA range on 80-mph highway trips, the Lucid still gets more than 100 extra miles on a charge in real-world driving than the Tesla, meaning it can make the round trip on a single charge, whereas the Tesla cannot.

Lucid's range is the only thing that gives it any insulation from the mess that is CCS charging. As much as it may stick in Rawlinson's craw (and mine), he really needs to make sure Lucids can use the Tesla charging network once it opens to CCS cars.

My guess is we'll be out of luck with our current cars. But I'd be shocked if Lucid doesn't make changes to the Wunderbox to allow faster charging from these outdated low voltage Superchargers in future models. It'll be interesting to see what they ship with Gravity. Could be too late in the development process to make such a change. But I hope not.

 

[hmp10]

My guess is we'll be out of luck with our current cars. But I'd be shocked if Lucid doesn't make changes to the Wunderbox to allow faster charging from these outdated low voltage Superchargers in future models. It'll be interesting to see what they ship with Gravity. Could be too late in the development process to make such a change. But I hope not.

I wonder if at least some adjustments to adapt the Wunderbox to Tesla chargers could be done via software?

 

[Bobby]

It is because if you travel more than 300 miles, you NEED to charge!

Weekend getaway? bad charging experience.

Family vacation? bad charging experience.

Work trip? bad charging experience.

This will all solve itself. As early adopters, we will experience frustration. It will take a few years. Enjoy the ride, life is short.

 

[DeaneG]

I wonder if at least some adjustments to adapt the Wunderbox to Tesla chargers could be done via software?

It's very unlikely.

 

[Thinjake]

This will all solve itself. As early adopters, we will experience frustration. It will take a few years. Enjoy the ride, life is short.

We are LUCID early adopters....not EV early adopters.

I was at an EA station in Newburgh, NY this past weekend. Along with a MB, BMW, Hyundai, Chevy and two others I cannot remember. ALL of them had the same issues I have. It's not a Lucid issue....it's a charging infrastructure and company issue.

 

[Rogue]

My reviews single handedly drove this station from an 8ish to low 4. Greenville, Alabama EA. However, you get a bunch of people where the station does supply as advertised reporting as working to drive the score back up...

The next closest station there or back is Montgomery, AL for our trip to Atmore, AL. That one will quickly show the same problems... A fellow Lucid owner unknowingly driving the location score up.

The next closest station after that is Birmingham, AL. There are two options that appear to work just okay. At that point, you are too far even charging 100% to drive around during the weekend or *gasp* a week.

There are no Level 1 or Level 2 in Atmore, AL. EA Is the only non-Tesla charging location for all of Alabama.

To be fair, we knew the stations would be limited. For stations not to work (broken or not advertised rates due to Signet Surge), the result is practically the same as we had to hit up the same broken, Signet Surge location twice totaling over 2 hours of additional travel time. Total time should have been no more than 30 minutes (two 15 minute stops).

Perhaps we are the minority in using the car for long road trips that have totalled well over 8k miles in 7-8 months and soon to be 10k miles in 10 months. Daily driving accounts for less than 2-3k miles each year.

Broken or not advertised rates still means broken. In some cases, that means having to really scramble upon reaching your destination to figure out charging options.

 

[Bobby]

We are LUCID early adopters....not EV early adopters.

I was at an EA station in Newburgh, NY this past weekend. Along with a MB, BMW, Hyundai, Chevy and two others I cannot remember. ALL of them had the same issues I have. It's not a Lucid issue....it's a charging infrastructure and company issue.

EV charging infrastructure is still in its infancy compared to other utilities. Give it time… as more and more homes are built with the appropriate charging wiring, free charging incentives go away, and infrastructure grows, this problem will solve itself.

 

[xponents]

EV charging infrastructure is still in its infancy compared to other utilities. Give it time… as more and more homes are built with the appropriate charging wiring, free charging incentives go away, and infrastructure grows, this problem will solve itself.

But what will happen for the people who live in the city? Unless they put EV chargers on parking meters, which I think is a great idea.

 

[Rogue]

Just got off the phone with EA because the thread reminded me to call about the Greenville, AL location. The individual noted most people do not call and simply switch stations. Therefore, they have no idea (blows my mind nothing notifies but here we are).

The answer from EA is to call. They will send out technicians to triage and fix.

 

[efesese]

Summer 2024 the new network by the 7 auto giants will start opening stations so help is on the way. EA is absolute garbage and everyone knows it so we're just repeating ourselves