Electrify America Issues

[HC_79]

Well I stopped at an EA station today, spent 2 hours 20 minutes there. Left in a Lyft. during that 2 hours 20 minutes, I tried multiple chargers, talked by phone to 3 separate Luci people, and eventually agreed for Lucid to order my a Lyft ride home. I also lost 40 minutes on hold with EA.

Car would not charge AND would not allow for me to pay via credit card or EA app. It recognized my car just enough to prevent me from paying via credit card or EA app but not so much that it would charge via Lucid. Very frustrating.

At this point, I’ve owned the car for 3 weeks and 1 day. Trim is still being held on with Duct tape, sound system does not work, and car literally will not charge. The most expensive 230 miles I have ever travelled! A true lemon!

The car has never charged or this ONE experience at EA has warranted such a broad statement? Did you accept the car with duct tape or Lucid duct taped the trim after delivery?

 

[larry]

Do you know if the EA stations in Bloomsburg, Scranton, or East Stroudsburg are reliable? The one in Bloomsburg gets a high rating on PlugShare but the other two seem meh or worse.

I charged at Bloomsburg once. Slightly older Sheetz, a few miles off I-80. IIRC 4 stations. I stopped there mid-afternoon on a weekday and was the only one using it.

I'm pretty sure I was below 40% SOC and had preconditioned the battery but only pulled ~80kw on a 350kw station. So it was slower than preferred but otherwise fine. Also it's the only EA within an hour+ in any direction so...

Have a great trip!

 

[Dortreo]

Thanks! That’s the charger I’m most concerned about, as it’s the one closest to Williamsport. It’s supposed to be an older EA charger model.

 

[HC_79]

Thanks! That’s the charger I’m most concerned about, as it’s the one closest to Williamsport. It’s supposed to be an older EA charger model.

If it's an older charger you may have better luck on the reliability. Surprisingly the least of my issues have been on the ABB units with both the Lucid and the e-Tron. The Signets have been hit an miss with me. They've always worked but have often been power limited vs if the ABB is working i've generally gotten the full speed.

 

[larry]

If it's an older charger you may have better luck on the reliability. Surprisingly the least of my issues have been on the ABB units with both the Lucid and the e-Tron. The Signets have been hit an miss with me. They've always worked but have often been power limited vs if the ABB is working i've generally gotten the full speed.

Yeah, yeah. I have a vague theory that it might be better to use the 150s (which are really 175s) instead of the 350s (which are double 175s). I thiiiiink all my failure to charge problems have been on 350s. And while a 350 may provide 200+ for a few minutes, they pretty quickly get down to 150 in my experience.

 

[hmp10]

Yet another review reporting a mess with Electrify America [Canada, in this case] charging:

2023 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance Review

Tesla-fighting super EV sedan brings massive performance and a luxurious cabin.

www.wheels.ca

 

[hanuser]

I was trying to charge my lucid air touring today and the EA charge goes from:
Connecting to vehicle
Initiating charging
Reconnecting to vehicle

At this point when I look at my lucid charging screen, it says "charging stopped, ready to unplug", but no charging happened.

I do not think it is a EA station issue due to the fact that the 4 chargers at this location all had the exact same issue, and while I was trying to charge, other EVs at the other chargers were able to charge. Anyone else encounter this frustrating issue, and if so, did you find a fix for it?

 

[Bobby]

I was trying to charge my lucid air touring today and the EA charge goes from:
Connecting to vehicle
Initiating charging
Reconnecting to vehicle

At this point when I look at my lucid charging screen, it says "charging stopped, ready to unplug", but no charging happened.

I do not think it is a EA station issue due to the fact that the 4 chargers at this location all had the exact same issue, and while I was trying to charge, other EVs at the other chargers were able to charge. Anyone else encounter this frustrating issue, and if so, did you find a fix for it?

Are you able to properly charge at a different EA location? Or is it all locations affecting you?

 

[hanuser]

I did not try a different EA location, however multiple chargers at this location which worked for other vehicles all did not work for me and had the same issue.

I just fixed the issue too. Turns out, battery preconditioning was not working right, it keep preconditioning and never turned off, or whatever sensor is relevant for detecting when the batteries are sufficiently preconditioned did not work, and basically the vehicle never could accept any charging due to it being stuck in the preconditioning state. After turning off preconditioning, and power cycling the car, it was able to charge. Lucid support did not appear aware of this issue. I was actually advised to drive home and wait for tech support to come out and examine my vehicle another day.

 

[Adnillien]

I did not try a different EA location, however multiple chargers at this location which worked for other vehicles all did not work for me and had the same issue.

I just fixed the issue too. Turns out, battery preconditioning was not working right, it keep preconditioning and never turned off, or whatever sensor is relevant for detecting when the batteries are sufficiently preconditioned did not work, and basically the vehicle never could accept any charging due to it being stuck in the preconditioning state. After turning off preconditioning, and power cycling the car, it was able to charge. Lucid support did not appear aware of this issue. I was actually advised to drive home and wait for tech support to come out and examine my vehicle another day.

This is very interesting because I would not expect that we should have to turn off preconditioning. Thank you for letting us know to look for this.

 

[borski]

This is very interesting because I would not expect that we should have to turn off preconditioning. Thank you for letting us know to look for this.

You normally do not have to turn off preconditioning. I have charged without turning it off in the past, actually every time I’m at EA.

My suspicion is the reset was the fix, not the turning off of preconditioning.

 

[Emgee]

And here we go, I was one of those who thought EA is not so bad after all. So far have charged about 7 times, every time I had to plug in twice to get it to recognize the car but I knew on the second try and pressing the EA in the lucid app got the job done.

Just got to EA station at Garden state plaza Westfield mall, have been here many times, no problem. There is a total of 6 stalls here, 2 have a black screen, the other seem to be working, got here with 2%, turns out there are already 3 cars ahead of me and only one stall is actually working. I called EA the rep said they got a ton of reports today and hope to have it fixed by the end of month. This is going to be a disaster this is a very busy location, the worse thing is that the app shows 4/6 availible. They should at least turn off all of the ones that are not working so people keep trying them.

After a very long hour and half and my battery going to 0% i am finally charging now.

If the infrastructure doesn’t get better any time soon I will be selling the car and go back to an old fashion ice. What a shame…

What do you guys think, 7 series or S class ?

 

[SDHacker]

You normally do not have to turn off preconditioning. I have charged without turning it off in the past, actually every time I’m at EA.

My suspicion is the reset was the fix, not the turning off of preconditioning.

Yes. I never turn off preconditioning

 

[borski]

And here we go, I was one of those who thought EA is not so bad after all. So far have charged about 7 times, every time I had to plug in twice to get it to recognize the car but I knew on the second try and pressing the EA in the lucid app got the job done.

Just got to EA station at Garden state plaza Westfield mall, have been here many times, no problem. There is a total of 6 stalls here, 2 have a black screen, the other seem to be working, got here with 2%, turns out there are already 3 cars ahead of me and only one stall is actually working. I called EA the rep said they got a ton of reports today and hope to have it fixed by the end of month. This is going to be a disaster this is a very busy location, the worse thing is that the app shows 4/6 availible. They should at least turn off all of the ones that are not working so people keep trying them.

After a very long hour and half and my battery going to 0% i am finally charging now.

If the infrastructure doesn’t get better any time soon I will be selling the car and go back to an old fashion ice. What a shame…

What do you guys think, 7 series or S class ?

Just a thought, but perhaps don’t wait until you’re at 2% to charge? Do you normally drive into gas stations running on fumes?

 

[MoniputerLM]

Just a thought, but perhaps don’t wait until you’re at 2% to charge? Do you normally drive into gas stations running on fumes?

I would never let an EV get down to 2% but have often stopped at a gas station with under 50 miles left knowing that I will get gas.

 

[borski]

I would never let an EV get down to 2% but have often stopped at a gas station with under 50 miles left knowing that I will get gas.

Sure, I’ve done the same. 50 miles is about 13.2% of my old Mazda 3 range (which was about 370 miles, though actually a bit less than that since the efficiency never matched the EPA ratings).

I’ve definitely rolled into a gas station with 0 miles left, but I knew the risk of getting stranded on my way there and having to call a tow or call someone to get me some gas.

With an EV, I definitely wouldn’t risk getting down to 2%

 

[Bobby]

With an EV, I definitely wouldn’t risk getting down to 2%

I’d be so anxious!

 

[Emgee]

Just a thought, but perhaps don’t wait until you’re at 2% to charge? Do you normally drive into gas stations running on fumes?

I parked early morning with about 6%. The station is right next to my office, figured I’d go after work. I guess due to the cold weather I must have lost some energy. In any case, if EA would be even somewhat predictable this would be a none story. Their unreliability is a big problem for me and a lot of other folks. I can’t see myself keeping the car if it doesn’t get better soon.

I have done 0% on gas a lot, never got stuck. Always had a gas station when I needed. (Btw gas cars can probably go another 30-40 miles before it’s really empty)

 

[EVCar]

An Orange County guy told me his GT could go 30 miles on 0%.

 

[Emgee]

An Orange County guy told me his GT could go 30 miles on 0%.

I believe that. I have done it with my Tesla several times.

The problem is , this is only true with a warm battery. With a cold battery your not getting anything near that.