Electrify America Issues

[MoniputerLM]

I was at EA today. There were two brand spanking new cars: an i4 and a EQS. Both were paying for the EA. VW owns EA.

The EQS gets two years free, I think.

 

[EVCar]

The EQS gets two years free, I think.

Yes, that was the incentive when you and I bought the EQS.
I could be wrong here but I inferred that Bobby meant they had problem with EA and had to pay.

 

[MoniputerLM]

Yes, that was the incentive when you and I bought the EQS.

Has it changed?

 

[EVCar]

Has it changed?

Don’t know.
They recently had a press release about building their own network so I wouldn’t be surprised if they make some change.

 

[WildRide47]

I was at EA today. There were two brand spanking new cars: an i4 and a EQS. Both were paying for the EA. VW owns EA.

My wife's new i4 comes with 2 years free charging from BMW?

 

[Bobby]

My wife's new i4 comes with 2 years free charging from BMW?

I guess that guy didn’t realize that!

 

[Bobby]

Yes, that was the incentive when you and I bought the EQS.
I could be wrong here but I inferred that Bobby meant they had problem with EA and had to pay.

No, he just paid. Not sure if he was aware he had free charging or even if he did.

 

[EVCar]

No, he just paid. Not sure if he was aware he had free charging or even if he did.

Who knows why the guy just paid, but to be fair to EA, I have to say that while I’ve had issues with them periodically, I haven’t had to pay out of pocket.

 

[Sandvinsd]

He could have bought the EQS used so doesn’t have the free charging.

 

[Lucken]

My wife's new i4 comes with 2 years free charging from BMW?

Yup, I haven't had to pay a penny since I got my i4. Strange that the guy paying that Bobby mentioned didn't realize the charging was free.

 

[Bobby]

Yup, I haven't had to pay a penny since I got my i4. Strange that the guy paying that Bobby mentioned didn't realize the charging was free.

I actually asked him about it. He said no.

 

[Lucken]

I actually asked him about it. He said no.

No matter the brand, some owners can be clueless.

 

[Bobby]

No matter the brand, some owners can be clueless.

There was a woman there charging her ID4 to 100%. No other spots were available; usually there are at this location. She had her windows open so I politely asked (when she hit 90% at 21Kw) if she was aware that it slows down considerably after 80. She said that she charges all the time and this doesn’t happen in her car. I had to wait it out.

 

[DeaneG]

If paying were the only issue, no problem, I'd pay. The EA symptom I had in Tahoe was repeated charging errors after a few seconds, with both the car and the station saying to unplug. This went on for about an hour on the phone with EA, with my phone calls dropping around ten times, the car taking over the phone connection while I'm outside, reboots of car and charger not helping, the car's charge port door automatically closing just as EA is telling me to plug in, and other brands of EVs coming, charging, and going from the same stations I'd failed at.

After talking to several other owners yesterday, I realized that my experience was probably an exception rather than a typical occurrence. So I'll try another road trip soon, and hope for better.

 

[HC_79]

There was a woman there charging her ID4 to 100%. No other spots were available; usually there are at this location. She had her windows open so I politely asked (when she hit 90% at 21Kw) if she was aware that it slows down considerably after 80. She said that she charges all the time and this doesn’t happen in her car. I had to wait it out.

This infuriates me to no end. At 80% they need to double the charging fee and at 90% triple it. Something needs to be done in order to get people to move on.

 

[HariK]

I think it takes time for people to get into the proper etiquette in using the charging stations. I see the same behavior. They keep charging past 80%. I wonder if that is because they are in an apartment and the work place does not have L2 nearby or in the parking lot.

 

[MikeTz]

Yes. See Volkswagen civil penalty for defrauding planet earth. There is zero incentive to maintain these chargers.
This is a penalty, not a profit source.

Yes.. one of the biggest scams in the Industry. 1. Cheat, 2. Cut a deal with the US Gov. 3. Create a new Company (EA). 4. Spend 2BB building a charging Infrastructure. 5. Recover most of the investment by selling shares of the company.

 

[HC_79]

Yes.. one of the biggest scams in the Industry. 1. Cheat, 2. Cut a deal with the US Gov. 3. Create a new Company (EA). 4. Spend 2BB building a charging Infrastructure. 5. Recover most of the investment by selling shares of the company.

Given why the network was built it could be argued that they really didn't take it seriously and the government should look into what's going on. Might not make a blind bit of difference but maybe bombarding government officials with the issues and that VW needs to be investigated on what they've delivered. Heck, they launch investigations on the most minuscule things, surely this issue is big enough to at least warrant a re-visit given how this network \ company was founded.

Lucid, Mercedes, BMW, etc. need to come out and say something as well. Them staying quiet publicly on the issues when its someone they've partnered with for what was supposed to be a "seamless & reliable" charging experience is just as bad as EA's silence at this point.

 

[HariK]

Given why the network was built it could be argued that they really didn't take it seriously and the government should look into what's going on. Might not make a blind bit of difference but maybe bombarding government officials with the issues and that VW needs to be investigated on what they've delivered. Heck, they launch investigations on the most minuscule things, surely this issue is big enough to at least warrant a re-visit given how this network \ company was founded.

Lucid, Mercedes, BMW, etc. need to come out and say something as well. Them staying quiet publicly on the issues when its someone they've partnered with for what was supposed to be a "seamless & reliable" charging experience is just as bad as EA's silence at this point.

Perhaps we should start writing to our senators house reps to go back back to the diesel gate deal and review the status.

 

[EVCar]

All those journalists writing about Lucid should take a hint here and write about EA. You’ll get a lot of clicks.
Many moons ago, I also suggested in this forum that if the brilliant legal minds in the forum’s brain trust could throw out a template letter, I’d send it to my legislators.