I got myself in a jam today, left the house with low SoC and needed to get a little charge to get back home. My Taycan's PCM suggested a nearby 7-Eleven, rated at 90kW, and I gave it a shot. There was good signage pointing out where the chargers were, and I was able to pull 90kW easily (even while sharing a unit with a Kia.) No problems whatsoever getting it started and paying (I used Apple Pay.) Happy to see good reliable charging like this.
I have used two different 7Charge locations along I-75 in Sarasota and Temple Terrace, Florida, both very convenient to the interchange. There is a third location in St. Petersburg that I have not needed to use yet. All three locations were built with state grant funds from the VW 'dieselgate' settlement. Good ABB units and successful charges 3 of 3 times. I am looking froward to the day when convenience stores routinely include DCFC in their new site constructions. Also dreaming of the day when the charging dispensers are located similar to most gas pumps, under canopy and designed so that vehicles can pull-through.
They also bailed me out by having a site right across the interstate from where an entire EA installation was down for upgrades [and I think, not flagged in Plugshare other than a couple of "oops" check-ins]. Pulled up, shoved a chip-card in, no problem. _H*
How quickly I've forgotten: My former wife has the BMW i3-REx (her choice) which as long as the REx works, she is insulated from the CCS-1 experience in the video. I had gotten the BMW for the REx but my testing showed how important the REx is to a happy EV life. Bob Wilson
With 1-3/4 EVs at home, you must have one or more EVSEs to insulate your wife from the CCS-1 experience, right? I don't know anyone who takes long trips in a BMW i3 when they have a Tesla sharing the garage. How often does your wife's i3 visit a gas station? Did you use Bimmercode to "expand" your gas tank from the software-limited 1.9 gallons to its full 2.4-gallon usable capacity? Our Honda Clarity PHEV offers about half the EV range of an i3 REx, but it's been to a gas station just once in the past year. The ICE has been waiting patiently for the day when we feel comfortable taking long trips again. I felt so silly taking our Clarity PHEV in for its yearly oil change last week.
Yes, the BMW is coded for more gas, manual enable REx at 75%, and key fob roll windows. She has gone to Panama Beach and I used it to visit Mom in Stillwater OK. Coded, the BMW i3 REx is a fine cross country car. Just the 50 kW, CCS-1 plug is a joke. Bob Wilson .
Did you code the AM radio, too? That's the only change I coded on my MINI Cooper SE so I can hear more sports.
The AM radio has no appeal since FM adopted AM radio programming practices. A cell phone full of podcasts and music makes travel a lot easier. Bob Wilson
Every morning it bugged the heck out of me that after decades, I couldn't listen to the local college sports recruiting roundup anymore. Then I discovered I just had to click my heels together 3 times (Bimmercode), and I no longer had to bring a portable AM/FM radio into my car to listen to what I was wanted. To me it seems criminal that BMW would include the AM hardware and then turn it off with software. Hail, hail, to Bimmercode! This is more difficult to defend, but I like the sound of baseball games over AM more than hearing the same announcers on FM. It's two old-fashioned things that go together.
I totally agree! I'm on the cusp of deciding to code AM on my SE as well. Plus you can't hear the bridge and road condition alerts on FM as you drive through states, particularly ones like Oklahoma. Or am I the only one who likes to tune into those short-range AM stations when I see a sign during my travels?
I've moved on to: 5G mobile hotspot Waze traffic map Includes road work area and detours Built in car browser Bob Wilson
You're a truly modern man. I'm so old-fashioned that in the car I use my phone only as a phone and as a music box.
My phone is the car key and car remote control. I love to summon the car and see the dogs jump up on the driver seat to look for me ... Bob Wilson
