The End of our 1,500 Mile Road Trip

Рет қаралды 915

Күн бұрын

We successfully completed our roadtrip from Milwaukee, WI to Detroit, MI to Pittsburgh, PA and back to Milwaukee, WI. Roughly 1,500 miles total! We utilized Electrify America charging stations in 5 different Midwest/East Coast states and were able to charge at each one. Our hope is that through these four videos you feel confident knowing that CCS roadtrips are possible! The infrastructure needs improvement and we are here to hold Electrify America accountable to the promises they made about making these stations more accessible across the United States.
During this particular stretch we encountered slow charging speed messages at the Electrify America charging stations. We recieved fast charging speeds by plugging into a 350KW charger instead of using the 150KW or CHAdeMO chargers. At our last stop in Skokie, IL we encountered the same message and moved to a stall where the message was not displayed. However, after we plugged in we recieved reduced charging speeds and confirmed this with our OBD reader and corresponding app. Eray talks about why he thinks this happened.
We go over the problems that the overall CCS charging network has and discuss the good and bad parts of our 1,500 mile trip.
Thank you all for supporting our channel and interacting with our content! Please let us know if you have any questions or if you are planning a road trip on your own. We love to talk EVs and would love to hear about your experiences.
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Пікірлер: 20

@gerrymackin4231 Жыл бұрын

We missed you guys. Hope all is good. We got our 1st Ed. Id4 in May, 2021 here in Chicago. We were totally thrilled. Even the software glitches didn’t bother us. Until the promised ÔTA updates never happened. Then came the recalls. We now have just gotten the software and new 12 volt battery done. Now I guess we can hope a door doesn’t fall off: the latest recall. We still love this car. But as you discussed, it’s hard to keep up with the recalls and still no plug and charge at EA,their own network. So, reluctantly, we have ordered a Model Y. It’s actually cheaper now than the new id4, which doesn’t qualify for the full tax rebate. It also is $4000 more for 4 wheel drive and doesn’t have a heat pump. When Tesla lowered price, it was hard to resist. We plan on a trade in. So far, they’ve offered $32,500. But we will do the final paperwork next month to see if they can match other estimates. We actually ordered the long range in February, but changed to to the added new version with the cheaper battery. Same car, but $3000 less and slightly lower range. Now delivery is scheduled for June-July, disappointing, but at least we still have our id4. Love your videos, Patti Mackin Chicago

@midwest_ev Жыл бұрын

I hear you. The joys of owning a new car model are apparent with our purchases, it seems. We sure felt like beta testers before then 3.1 software update which have resolved a lot of my complaints. Hoping for OTA in the future, but not holding my breath. Tesla makes sense if you're making lots of road trips and value the higher range. I personally enjoy the comfort and build quality of Volkswagen a lot more. Hoping CCS infrastructure catches up in the future!

@johnb.1712 Жыл бұрын

Agree, EA needs to get their act together. Esp. in the Midwest where the distance between chargers is so great. I recently drove Madison, WI to Indianapolis round trip. Had similar experiences with some EA stations being limited and some at full power. On the way down, temps in 70s and 80s and no problems. On the way back, temps in the 30s (yea Midwest spring weather), rain and head wind. Wasn't able to make the first leg (Indy to Bloomington-Normal) even when leaving at 100% in my '21 ID.4. Had to stop at a Chevy dealer that luckily allowed public use. Then in Rockford, IL I see 2 empty stalls, but still a line to charge. Reportedly, one of the open stalls was only giving 3 kW (!), but I was lucky and when I tried it I got full power. No idea what is going on with EA. Love my ID.4, but hate the SW. I feel your pain Eray! P.S. I'm still stuck with 2.3 SW on mine - I didn't get the update before VW paused the SW upgrades. Still waiting...

@midwest_ev Жыл бұрын

Hi John! We hope you get an appointment set up soon for the newest VW recall. We have continued to see this trend with EA where chargers will be limited in power with no specific reason. Be sure to report any chargers you have problems with so they know about them! Thankfully, EA is adding some new stations between the Madison to Indianapolis route (we heard the installation at Highland Park has begun!) but these stations need to be more reliable so these situations that both of us have continued to experience can be minimal. Thank you for watching!

@johnb.1712 Жыл бұрын

@@midwest_ev Alas, that won't be happening anytime soon. At my 1 yr service visit last week, I asked about the battery recall and SW upgrade. There's only one VW dealership in the Madison area that does it and they are booked up into next year! For a safety recall! So, I'm stuck with SW 2.3 until February of next year. Apparently, many dealerships cannot perform this recall and people are coming to Madison from MN and IA to get it done. The pain of being an early adopter, I guess. Hopefully, VW gets more techs trained ASAP. (sigh)

@joshmatlock1020 Жыл бұрын

I do wish my Tesla NAV had the option to set an arrival % goal...I like to arrive between 5-10%. Hopefully they add that option at some point.

@midwest_ev Жыл бұрын

It has been very helpful to set the arrival charge during this and our most recent road trip (video coming soon of Milwaukee to Nashville!). Overall, the ID.4 navigation works nicely and is a great tool for new EV owners. The software still needs to be improved but it is better than when we got the vehicle two years ago. Thank you for watching!

@ArielBatista Жыл бұрын

I am staying with my ID.4. even with the 32k miles on it. It's a very good road car. In town my wife drives a Leaf.

@midwest_ev Жыл бұрын

We are fairly certain that once the 39 month lease on our ID.4 is up (still over 10 months to go) we will be buying the vehicle. It hasn't been announced on our KZbin channel yet, but Kaitlin recently purchased a Chevy Bolt so we are fully electric! She was considering a used Leaf, but the Bolt was an absolute steal. More videos will be coming soon!

@dmob10 Жыл бұрын

11:58 I live in the Chicagoland area. The Skokie is one of the 3 closest EA chargers. It's about 30 mins from my home. The only other option is to go north to Milwaukee. I ended up getting an EV but went with a Tesla because I would pass 3 super chargers to get to the nearest EA or EVGo. Then going North to Milwaukee It's another 3. There are a number of Level 2 Chargers around with Chargepoint and Volta but its not practical for those without home charging. I have to replace my panel along with another $4k to get my own level 2. Currently, I'm using level 1 then supercharger when I need extra. Until EA, EVGo and Chargepoint expand their DC charging to at least 3-4 times its current capacity most folks will just stick with Tesla like I did. With the NACS adoption it will make things better but unless the expansion happens between now and 2025. The issues with folks hogging a charger will just shift to Tesla superchargers.

@midwest_ev Жыл бұрын

It's still wild to me that there aren't more non-Tesla fast chargers along I-94 between Skokie and Milwaukee. There is a new Electrify America station in Highland Park, IL just off US-41 so hopefully they continue to fill the holes.

@donmunaweera1346 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for making these videos. I love EV road trips

@midwest_ev Жыл бұрын

Don, thank you for letting us know about your love for EV road trips! There are plenty more (including an international trip) coming later this year! We appreciate your support of our channel.