My first EA charging experience

[Sandvinsd]

Hadn't DCFCed in a while until our trip over the weekend. Charged twice on the EA in Hesperian, CA, once up and once back. They were the new BTC units. Both times worked as advertised. Plugged in, connected and started charging immediately. Was pleasantly surprised as this was easily my best and most trouble free EA visits in the 9 months of ownership - no plugging, unplugging, lifting the handle to get a better connection, opening the Lucid App to connect, calling EA or Lucid, etc.

The stops were quick, just adding a little during a meal stop and the power was about 140 kW on the balanced 350 with cars in the shared stall. Since I was about 50% at the time of charge, that wasn’t bad at all. If driving to Vegas, Mammoth, Death Valley, etc. this stop is great!

 

[CLTGT]

Just completed a round trip drive from Charlotte to Cumming, GA (north of Atlanta) and stopped at EA sites in Commerce, GA and at The Mall of GA. I stopped just to check them out really and to make sure I did not have to charge while in Cumming for a couple days. Both stops went flawlessly. I only stopped in Commerce for 10 minutes on the way home just to give myself a bit of cushion. No problems.

 

[borski]

Electrify America has been around for several years now. The fact that they still can't do something as basic as keep their website and app updated about station status indicates things are still a long way from coming together with that company.

No one should buy an Air or any other CCS EV on the assumption that they can make road trips using Electrify America. And manufacturers should quit teasing buyers with promises of "free" EA charging. It'll will end up infuriating more buyers than enticing them as word spreads.

I hate seeing this said; I know it's how you feel, and that is completely legitimate, of course. It's just painful because I do recommend people buy a CCS EV (in fact, my wife is on a plane to LA right now to pick up her Ioniq 5) but that's because, to date, we've had zero issues with EA. I do always check PlugShare first (reminds me of checking GasBuddy for the cheapest gas, lol) but outside of that it's just...worked fine.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

First "off-the-reservation" trip philly to boston. Topped off night before at home (to 93%) which showed enough range to make it to my destination charger at Seabrook, NH (WallMart), about 360 mi from my start. Had planned a stop at the Manchester, CT WallMart outside Hartford, CT (on I-84) but the place was a nightmare: every slot full with a maelstrom of chaos jostling for position. I took at look at the chargers = screens obliterated like they'd been sandblasted...the chargers looked like they'd been vandalized. They looked like they'd been out in the weather for 100s of years; paint faded / obliterated. I left. {hybrids plugged into 350 kW chargers : ( } . I just buggered out...nice to have such a large battery and massive range. Some people stared as I left like, " how can he go without charging?" Lucid rules, that's how. The Tycan guy seemed miffed. He had raced to get in front of me then ended up in the wait line...guess he did not have the range to skip it.

Drove to Auburn Mall (Worcester) in MA right where I-290 and I-90 meet and picked-up 81 kW. It's another failed mall; with a mostly abandoned Macys and a pretzel place and nail salon, otherwise mostly empty: nothing to eat, but restrooms and a place to walk out of the weather. Has a nice selection of EA 350 + 150 chargers, about 10, all working and available, and another bank of " toy electric car" chargers across the lot (charge point?). Met a local Lucid owner and had a nice chat ... he tells me he bravely took his Lucid, in winter, on 21" summer tires, from Mass to Ocean City MD (and back). Wow. That part of Mass just had a pretty decent snowstorm too. He says his only issue was a missed update which confused the car but was "fixed" by calling for a push.

Seabrook, NH. Another WallMart with a bank of 4 EA chargers. Connected to 350 and pulled ~120 kWh. Took on 67kW. Again no restaurants but it's a huge WallMart so I just bought fixin's and made my own sandwich. Amazing place to watch people ... all WallMarts seem to attract people you don't see anywhere else. Drove over to Walpole, NH (NW of Keene) and had fantastic lunch at "The Restaurant at Burdick's". Highly recommended. Ken Burns (Baseball, Civil war, etc. ) is often seen there.

Topped-off at Seabrook, NH again early in the AM. No issues but the 350kW seems to top out ~120kW (cold but I did condition battery). Stopped again at Auburn Mall to make sure I had enough in case stuck in traffic on way home. Pulled 170kWh at a 150kW charger!

East Brunswick, NJ off the pike in Jersey, another WallMart. This one is tricky to get to and not easy to find in the mess that is North Jersey. A large bank of EA chargers 10 or more? Every one full and a half-dozen cars waiting. Same thing = hybrid cars plugged into 350kW chargers...spots opened-up quickly though and I pulled 270kW ! My best ever.

In summary: Every bank of EA chargers had working chargers. Only had to unplug/ replug once otherwise plug & go. Pulled 170kW at a 150kW charger and 270kW at a 350kW charger so pretty happy with my first foray out into the unknown. Still seems like most people have no idea what they are doing. I arrived at once spot with three geezers standing in the spot that would not move as I tried to pull in. I got out to see why nobody was using the spot (people were waiting) and was told confidently that " you can only use one charger at a time " Decided the stupidity level "was too damned high" and moved on. Overall lesson learned is avoid mid-day charging, and you can't explain to a WallMart customer why filling a dixie cup with a fire hose is dumb. "See, you are pulling 32kW from a 350kW charger?" Can you see the numbers? " But this one goes to Eleven!"

Had planned to use cruze control and stay in right lane but that didn't last. Ended up driving between 75 - 80 most of the time, with bursts higher. Lots of cops but they did not "see" my disguised vehicle ( the Cosmic Silver paint makes a Lucid invisible ).

Only saw one Lucid on the trip: at the Auburn, MA charger. Quantum Gray.

 

[Canyonero!]

Overall, I had a positive EA charging experience

Just remember that you need the negative among with the positive for current to flow!


(I'll see myself out)

 

[Canyonero!]

So I asked about the other EA charging station - the one 30 miles south of Pittsburgh. Oh, that one is being refurbished as well. Super. any details about that one ? Yes, construction started in late January. And it is still closed. Expected to open in June 2023. So - it takes 5 months (?) to swap out the chargers, in an existing setting. OK. So why does she think the Cranberry location will be open in a month ? (rhetorical).

Do you mean the one at the Sheetz on 51 in Belle Vernon?

That one was scheduled to open in December 22. My EA app shows that it is in operation (One 350 kW station in use, one OOS and the two 350 kWs available).

I've been keeping an eye on that one because it will be the station I charge at when travelling to Port Vue for the holidays.

Was thinking about taking the GV-60 last Christmas, but it was too small for the whole family and a week's gear w/o my rooftop cargo carrier (didn't have the crossbars yet for the GV-60).

Should (maybe, hopefully, PLEASE?) have the Rivian for the trip this year.

It the Belle Vernon charger is out, the next one is off the turnpike near Bedford, about 100 miles away.

 

[victoryroad]

I drove from Keene NH to Denver CO. Departed on March 11 and arrived on the morning of March 15. Took the northern route and charged at EA stations with no problems. The total distance was 1982 miles. HA worked well. The temperature averaged 32 degrees until the last 75 miles when it rose to 70. Most EA stations were 350 kWh. I tended to go from ~90% SOC to ~25% and was not in a hurry so found the charging stops about every four hours a good break for me and my dog. I stayed at about the speed limit, especially in NY, PA, and IN. Most EA stations were at Walmarts near the interstates and stalls were always open with the occasional Kia. I had to use the EA app to locate stations, as the Lucid nav system assumed a much longer range so did not always show intermediate EA stations. FWIW I saw almost no EV's on the interstates except for just south of Chicago. One interstate rest stop in IN had four EA stalls and eight Tesla stalls that at 6:30 on a Sunday night were empty. Charging was slower than I initially expected, compared to the EA stations in MA that I had used before moving to CO, but the temperature rarely went above 35 degrees for the trip. I kept tire pressure on my 19s at 49 psi that even in freezing weather averaged about 51 psi on the road. I have Pireli Sotto Zeros, which I needed in IN, so the rolling resistance was probably greater than on the AS tires. Efficiency was below what I averaged from Oct to early Dec in NH when the temperature was generally above freezing.

I would not hesitate to do other road trips, although I have no 2,000-mile trips in my plans for now. The stability and safety of the AGT are ideal for highway work, as well as for twisty mountain roads that I drove on a lot in NH and VT in my first few months of ownership.

Just read Cosmo's review. I am grateful for Walmart because that is where most of the EA stations were in the Midwest. Yes, Burdick's in Walpole, NH is very good. Went there often when I lived in Keene.

 

[DeaneG]

Love to hear these road trip stories. We had a good 1300-mile trip to the southern CA desert last month. Of seven charges, only one worked first time at the expected power level. That single success was at a Chargepoint 62.5kW stall in Twentynine Palms. Other stops, all at EA, furnished lower power than expected. To get around this, I moved to another stall until the power level was OK - had to try four stalls at Kettleman to find one that would provide more than 60kW. Called EA at two other locations to get a charge started, and was successful at only one of the two. Mojave CA was the worst location with only one stall out of four that would provide any power to my car - and only 60kW at that.

But I expected all this, had backup charging locations in mind, and only needed one of them. Even though road-trip charging would've been easier in a Tesla, I'm still very glad I sold mine and am enjoying the Air.

 

[hmp10]

I hate seeing this said; I know it's how you feel, and that is completely legitimate, of course. It's just painful because I do recommend people buy a CCS EV . . . .

And I hate feeling compelled to say it, as I absolutely love the Lucid Air. (I got word today that the insurer totaled our Air Dream, and I'm already in negotiations to replace it with an identical model.)

However, I do not come to this discussion as an EV neophyte dealing with the typical range anxieties. I have owned Teslas since 2015 and long ago learned that, even with their considerably shorter range than a Lucid, road trips simply were not a problem with reliable DC fast charging available.

I know that other CCS charging enterprises can be used if you're willing to load multiple apps on your phone . . . and set up multiple accounts . . . and try to make it to another one if your first choice was a bust, and I know that various route planning sites can assist travel plans. However, Lucid's fate depends, in part, on drawing new buyers into the EV fold with promises of easy and reliable charging.

From Lucid's early marketing days in which its association with Electrify America was proudly announced, to the offer of 2-3 years of free Electrify America charging, to the integration of Electrify America sites into the Lucid's navigation route planner, Lucid has invited its buyers to think of Electrify America as the "go to" vendor for charging their Lucids.

I honestly think Lucid would be well served by backing away from this close association of its brand with Electrify America's. Lucid wants to convince EV newcomers that its cars banish all concerns with long-distance travel. Passing out shovels for Electrify America's sandbox ain't the way to do that.

I do always check PlugShare first . . . .

The fact that one would do better to check PlugShare to find out whether Electrify America stations are working rather than Electrify America's own website or app says it all.

 

[borski]

And I hate feeling compelled to say it, as I absolutely love the Lucid Air. (I got word today that the insurer totaled our Air Dream, and I'm already in negotiations to replace it with an identical model.)

However, I do not come to this discussion as an EV neophyte dealing with the typical range anxieties. I have owned Teslas since 2015 and long ago learned that, even with their considerably shorter range than a Lucid, road trips simply were not a problem with reliable DC fast charging available.

I know that other CCS charging enterprises can be used if you're willing to load multiple apps on your phone . . . and set up multiple accounts . . . and try to make it to another one if your first choice was a bust, and I know that various route planning sites can assist travel plans. However, Lucid's fate depends, in part, on drawing new buyers into the EV fold with promises of easy and reliable charging.

From Lucid's early marketing days in which its association with Electrify America was proudly announced, to the offer of 2-3 years of free Electrify America charging, to the integration of Electrify America sites into the Lucid's navigation route planner, Lucid has invited its buyers to think of Electrify America as the "go to" vendor for charging their Lucids.

I honestly think Lucid would be well served by backing away from this close association of its brand with Electrify America's. Lucid wants to convince EV newcomers that its cars banish all concerns with long-distance travel. Passing out shovels for Electrify America's sandbox ain't the way to do that.




The fact that one would do better to check PlugShare to find out whether Electrify America stations are working rather than Electrify America's own website or app says it all.

For what it’s worth, my wife just drove her brand new Ioniq 5 from LA to SF today, with flawless charging, all EA. We’re taking the Lucid on a road trip down to San Diego in a few weeks, and I expect no issues charging; I really wonder why I’ve managed, so far, to come out unscathed? I don’t find myself worrying about it at all, and that is the reason I still recommend CCS EVs.

 

[sk8ndad]

On Sunday, my wife and I drove from Santa Clara to Redding and back (~500 miles). Used the Lucid App to find EA stations at lunch and dinner. Worked like a champ. At lunch there was a bit of a wait(maybe 5 minutes). Later this month we’re off to AZ.

 

[hmp10]

For what it’s worth, my wife just drove her brand new Ioniq 5 from LA to SF today, with flawless charging, all EA. We’re taking the Lucid on a road trip down to San Diego in a few weeks, and I expect no issues charging; I really wonder why I’ve managed, so far, to come out unscathed? I don’t find myself worrying about it at all, and that is the reason I still recommend CCS EVs.

It seems a pattern has emerged in these posts and in what I've seen elsewhere on the internet: people on the West Coast are finding far fewer problems with EA than people on the Eastern Seaboard and at points in between.

I'm wondering if the fact that California has, by far, the highest number of EVs means that EA is focusing its maintenance investment more there right now. Florida is the number 2 state in terms of EV registrations. Fortunately, the Air has enough range to take us back and forth across the state on a single home charge. But taking the car out of Florida -- something we've done on two longer road trips -- has been plagued by issues. And not just with the Air, but with others brands we find having problems.

 

[hydbob]

It seems a pattern has emerged in these posts and in what I've seen elsewhere on the internet: people on the West Coast are finding far fewer problems with EA than people on the Eastern Seaboard and at points in between.

I'm wondering if the fact that California has, by far, the highest number of EVs means that EA is focusing its maintenance investment more there right now. Florida is the number 2 state in terms of EV registrations. Fortunately, the Air has enough range to take us back and forth across the state on a single home charge. But taking the car out of Florida -- something we've done on two longer road trips -- has been plagued by issues. And not just with the Air, but with others brands we find having problems.

West coast best coast, but seriously probably due to nicer less harsh weather conditions.

 

[CLTGT]

West coast best coast, but seriously probably due to nicer less harsh weather conditions.

Yes, and they grow alot of "nuts" there. I am allergic to nuts. Just kidding, but couldn't resist.

 

[hmp10]

West coast best coast, but seriously probably due to nicer less harsh weather conditions.

Given the high failure rates of air conditioners, car batteries, pool equipment, and exterior home electronics in Florida, I have wondered whether the EA equipment is not robust enough to handle our climate. Interestingly, though, we have never come across a non-operating Tesla Supercharger in eight years down here. I don't know whether that's because of better equipment or better maintenance, or both.

Having lived in Studio City when I was at NBC, I have to admit that I miss a lot about California. If so much of our retiring friends and family had not been heading to Florida, I may well have landed in Los Angeles for retirement.

 

[MorganB]

In Texas EA is basically the only game in town for DC fast charging. EVGo is extremely limited.

 

[Tesla2.0]

Here hearing all the EA bad experiences, I just want to give Air owners encouragement on EA charging. Here is what I got

24% to 87% in 46 minutes
75.856 kWh / (46/60) = 98.95 kW average delivery speed

Not too Shabby!
(If I didn’t spend too long in the mall to go pass slow 80%, average speed is quite good!)

Just switch stall when it is too slow to you.

 

[DeaneG]

That's pretty good!
The average charge rate measured by InsideEVs over an SOC range of 25% to 90% was about 150kW. I wonder if Lucid may have changed their charging curve since InsideEVs first measured it on a Dream Edition. Or maybe the later cars have s different charging curve due to different battery chemistry.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

My first trip I used the "quick fill" technique as I had plenty of chargers near the interstates I was traveling. I planned my trip out and listed all the chargers near my route, then used the Lucid route planner to add stops. The dialogue box blocking the map is annoying... worse on the EA app. though. So I'd roll in to a convenient charger stop and check it out if I needed a piss stop, and take on 15 minutes of charge at whatever SOC I was in...not filling up just adding a margin for my next stop.

I found getting up early and going to the local charger for a top-off worked best for getting a fill, then I'd come back to the motel for coffee and getting sorted. While in-route I did not bother to go to full charge...just unplugged when I had a nice margin for the next ~2hrs.

We all grew accustomed to topping off our ICE cars every fill but we don't need to do this anymore. Use the awesome range of your Lucid to skip over stops if they are fraught. At one point I was caught short after an unplanned long jaunt up into the hills with 4 passengers and cold ... got to charger with < 10% SOC and pulled 322 kW at a 350kW machine (Seabrook, NH). Did not precondition because I was turning everything off (heat) and driving slow and steady to save electrons just in case. Passengers were pretty quiet when I told them how it was good we had so many to push such a heavy car.

Side note. When we got home I went to my local EA for a fill-up. Two guys had a charger open and working on it. There was more inside the box than I imagined, but still pretty simple (a gerbil, a Humbucker, and a tuna fish can, with a big fat wire going nowhere). Can't wait to see if their work made any difference. They are all 150 EAs and I've averaged ~ 100-110 kW on them at best. I was able to get 173kW pull from a 150 on this trip (Auburn Mall, MA) ... should have snapped a photo.

Only had two "incidents". Had to unplug / re-plug after two minutes, then everything fine. Had one that would not release. Took some struggling could not press button to release even with jiggling. Tried unlocking / locking car .... don't know if that's what did the trick.

 

[Tesla2.0]

The dialogue box blocking the map is annoying... worse on the EA app. though.

You can minimize those dialogue box by either press bar line at edge of box in right cockpit screen or click on the same navigation menu icon in pilot panel

[QUOTE="Cosmo Cruz, post: 128249, member: 3684"]
We all grew accustomed to topping off our ICE cars every fill but we don't need to do this anymore. [/QUOTE]

In the past, I was told by mechanic shop not to let gas tank go below 25% tank mark before filling up as it is not healthy for engine. So I practice that by heart, I do let it get lower occasionally, but rarely have “gas needed light” comes up. Now come to Electric world, I do the same for EV, but opposite at 80% top up instead, and rarely to have “regenerative braking” nullified because of too much electrons.