Any forum members have extensive experience using Electrify America?

[Matty J]

While I'm excited for the RAN to be built out for adventure travel, previously unattainable for most EV's, I will most likely have my R1S for a year or two before the RAN is built out to any noticeable degree.

I have experience with long distance travel with Tesla, but not EA's network. When I use a better route planner, and estimate several trips in the R1S, it looks as though we can pretty much go anywhere without issue. From Los Angeles, to Mammoth, Tahoe, Zion, Bend, Denver, even as far as Manhattan etc...

Over the past few months, I've read, watched and heard various issues with people using EA with their Mustang, Taycan, and i-Pace. Chargers not working, being slow, disconnecting etc...

So, I wanted to reach out to you forum members to get some real-world perspective from those that have used the EA network for long distance travel.

Does it work and perform well? Any issues, any praises? Any comparison to the Tesla network experience, and charge speeds?

Thank you!

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[kanundrum]

I would Say of all the providers they are the main ones of 150kw+ charging across the USA. I have used them on several occasions and their stations work well probably about 75% of the time, if you check out insideev Kyle/Out of Spec motoring you will see his road trip videos and how he try and uses EA chargers with a somewhat successful luck. Most of the time the vehicles charging curve is what is the issue and the vehicle plug and charge (Mach E) has become an issue lately as it doesnt work well with EA fast charging for some odd reason.

To answer your question, it works, mostly well, most of the time. It would save lots of time if you had a EA account + their NFC pass and or their app which I would only buy when road tripping really.

 

[Matty J]

I would Say of all the providers they are the main ones of 150kw+ charging across the USA. I have used them on several occasions and their stations work well probably about 75% of the time, if you check out insideev Kyle/Out of Spec motoring you will see his road trip videos and how he try and uses EA chargers with a somewhat successful luck. Most of the time the vehicles charging curve is what is the issue and the vehicle plug and charge (Mach E) has become an issue lately as it doesnt work well with EA fast charging for some odd reason.

To answer your question, it works, mostly well, most of the time. It would save lots of time if you had a EA account + their NFC pass and or their app which I would only buy when road tripping really.

Thank you. I did watch the videos you mentioned, and also deduced about a 75% rate of success... I was hoping for some better feedback from users on here!

 

[kanundrum]

Thank you. I did watch the videos you mentioned, and also deduced about a 75% rate of success... I was hoping for some better feedback from users on here!

I mean I have never had any issues with their stations when I needed them but I speak of the 75% number from a few folks I know who have teslas who tried to use them which arguably a tesla thing. In any case I think they are probably one of the best and only providers of 150+kw charging so not really going to complain even if it doesnt work all the time, just need to plan accordingly I say!

 

[Dark-Fx]

I only had issues when stations were new to an area. Though I really haven't used them much in the past year, I did do a day round trip from north of Detroit to Cleveland last year with no problems in my Bolt. It was a bit over 400 miles.

 

[DuckTruck]

When you say it works 75% of the time, it takes me back to the video that talked about how E.A. uses four different EVSE suppliers because, in part, with their rapid build out, no one manufacturer could supply everything. Is there any way to tell which given EVSE manufacturer's equipment is used at a given station? I seem to remember that the majority of the problems related to either a vehicle recognition issue and/or a credit card/payment issue associated with one of those four vendors.

Am I remembering that correctly, or is the 25% failure rate about something else?

 

[jjwolf120]

E.A. uses four different EVSE suppliers because,

Not that it's a tremendous difference, but they are done to three suppliers now (As I recall hearing from Kyle Conner on one of his videos), although they may still have some units in the field from the discontinued supplier.

 

[jcook01]

After watching a few videos on problems with early MACH-E Electrify America (EA) scenarios we questioned whether the MACH-E was right for her. At the same time our Volt was in for maintenance and we were provided a BOLT-EV as a courtesy car.

We decided to try DCFC at a local EA. Our first attempt using a 350kw charger failed to handshake, our second attempt using the adjacent 150kw charger was flawless.

A few days later I was thinking back on our EA experience and I realized that EA charges by the minute, not by the kilowatt. Despite the larger battery our MACH-E (yeah we eventually bought one) could charge 0-80% for less money than a Bolt-EV driver.

Some how ? that just doesn't seem right.

I hope EA changes their business model prior to the arrival of our R1S!

 

[jjwolf120]

A few days later I was thinking back on our EA experience and I realized that EA charges by the minute,

The by the minute charging is mostly an issue with state laws. Below is a link to EA about their pricing policies.

https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/111

 

[Matty J]

After watching a few videos on problems with early MACH-E Electrify America (EA) scenarios we questioned whether the MACH-E was right for her. At the same time our Volt was in for maintenance and we were provided a BOLT-EV as a courtesy car.

We decided to try DCFC at a local EA. Our first attempt using a 350kw charger failed to handshake, our second attempt using the adjacent 150kw charger was flawless.

A few days later I was thinking back on our EA experience and I realized that EA charges by the minute, not by the kilowatt. Despite the larger battery our MACH-E (yeah we eventually bought one) could charge 0-80% for less money than a Bolt-EV driver.

Some how ? that just doesn't seem right.

I hope EA changes their business model prior to the arrival of our R1S!

Yes, it looks like you're in Nebraska, which is a charge per minute state. Most of my travel will be on the West Coast, and we now pay per kWh.

 

[Matty J]

When you say it works 75% of the time, it takes me back to the video that talked about how E.A. uses four different EVSE suppliers because, in part, with their rapid build out, no one manufacturer could supply everything. Is there any way to tell which given EVSE manufacturer's equipment is used at a given station? I seem to remember that the majority of the problems related to either a vehicle recognition issue and/or a credit card/payment issue associated with one of those four vendors.

Am I remembering that correctly, or is the 25% failure rate about something else?

Yes. Most of the videos I watched, had the majority of the problems related to either a vehicle recognition issue and/or a credit card/payment issue.

 

[DuckTruck]

Yes. Most of the videos I watched, had the majority of the problems related to either a vehicle recognition issue and/or a credit card/payment issue.

Thanks for that update. They said one of those four suppliers was where the issue came from. Hopefully, that gets ironed out soon. People aren't going to be happy if they can't rely on an uninterrupted charging session. It really should be very seamless.

 

[azbill]

The first year they were in business, and relied on credit cards, there were a lot of issues. Once they came out with the App, it has worked very well. I have had a few times when a specific charger would not work and moved to another one, and it worked fine. So for me, the real success rate is 100%. But if you have a Tesla or a Leaf and rely on Chademo, then they only have one of those per site, so if it fails, you are out of luck. All of the sites have at least 4 CCS dispensers.

 

[n8dgr8]

Thanks for that update. They said one of those four suppliers was where the issue came from. Hopefully, that gets ironed out soon. People aren't going to be happy if they can't rely on an uninterrupted charging session. It really should be very seamless.

Even the Tesla Superchargers are not as easy as a gas pump. I have had faults that take multiple attempts. It takes about 20-30 seconds to fully engage while the light blinks blue. I always cross my fingers that the light is going to turn green. Sometimes it doesn't and you are really in trouble being 100+ miles from home.

 

[Matty J]

Even the Tesla Superchargers are not as easy as a gas pump. I have had faults that take multiple attempts. It takes about 20-30 seconds to fully engage while the light blinks blue. I always cross my fingers that the light is going to turn green. Sometimes it doesn't and you are really in trouble being 100+ miles from home.

I had similar issues with my 2016 Model S before I turned it in on lease, but my wife's 2018 Model 3 has been much better at Superchargers.

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