Electrify America Chargers

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You can't limit for DCFC, which is idiotic on Hyundai's part. It would
be SIMPLE to do in firmware; all the BMS has to do is tell the charge
controller "only this much please".

_H*
I doubt Hyundai can fix this issue on existing Konas without BMS replacement or re-writing if possible, but hopefully it can be addressed in future models (if enough owners ask them to)
 
Did you get a response back. Your letter was very well written.

Yes they called me the same day that I contacted them!
Thanks for the compliment on the letter, makes me feel better that I may be able to help someone planning a road trip.

They really didn't address my issue, I was told by them I would be in the first tier pricing.

The charge session receipts have all the details and 4 of my 9 charge sessions were well under the break point into tier 2.

I gave them as much friendly feed back as I could but I don't think it helped.
I told them the trip I planned was going to cost me about $50 US, It ended up costing $144 US.
All my estimated were very close for consumption, distance and time using https://abetterrouteplanner.com/
I even added a 10 mph head wind, OAT of 30 degrees F and 500 extra pound cargo in the user settings.

I told them their pricing should be base on energy supplied not charging time.
I really didn't care if they could give me a credit ($but it would be the right thing to do$), I just want to be able to use their charging infrastructure and know in advance what I will be paying.

EA's last comment was that they may contact me for further feed back.
 
I'm a new Kona owner. Based on what I've read, I'll avoid EA chargers as much as possible. EA should hear from as many of us as possible about this. You can live chat with an agent on the EA website and give feedback anytime. I like the idea of a Kona firmware update to choose an upper limit to the charging speed.
 
Just to be clear, there is a lot to like about EA, I mean other than them nobody has the network of DC fast chargers for travel outside of major metropolitan areas, not on the east coast at least. And it's not even close. I am actually really happy they are here b/c there is no way I could drive to SC in a non-Tesla electric car otherwise.

I just want them to realize their current price structure is not at all customer friendly. Even so, I calculate I'll pay slightly less even at their screw you over rate than I would for gas for the same miles. So.... there is that.

Oh and congrats on the new car! What did you get (year, color, trim)
 
While it would be nice if EA changed to a more fair pricing model I've resigned myself to probably using them on trips south. I did some sample planning Vancouver, BC to Stockton, CA and find that EA stations are most conveniently located and have the most charge power available. While that possibly translates to higher cost using the current pricing structure it possibly means less time charging and that becomes my number 1 priority, most charge in least time. Pure speculation for now as no trip(s) planned until spring :)
 
Yeah I have to agree, to me they are spread out almost perfectly, just like Tesla Superchargers. In some areas it looks like they're targeting chargers about every 40 miles or so.
 
I don't think EA is likely to move on their own regarding this. There's too many regulatory issues from state to state. Perhaps the most effective way to approach it is to write to your congressional representative and explain how completely unfair to consumers to charge by time versus kwh. It's a common sense issue. The government regulates gasoline weights and measures to guarantee that consumers get what they pay for. Electric "fuel" in cars is no different than gasoline when viewed that way. It's time for the federal govt. to define electric "fuel" —which can really only be used by cars since the chargers are on the highways—and regulate the same as they do for gasoline.
 
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I doubt Hyundai can fix this issue on existing Konas without BMS replacement or re-writing if possible, but hopefully it can be addressed in future models (if enough owners ask them to)
I don't believe for a second that they would ship a new car that doesn't have the ability to update software in all the important systems.
 
I don't believe for a second that they would ship a new car that doesn't have the ability to update software in all the important systems.

OTA updates for all systems is unlikely, and may require bringing the vehicle to the dealer to update. Having the ability vs being willing to bear the cost (or risk) of performing upgrades are also two different things. The manufacturer is not incentivized to subsidize warranty shop time to perform an upgrade unless its truly compelling for them to do so.
 
Given the difficulties people keep reporting with bluelink, I'd have
no faith that trying OTA updates would succeed.

Dealer techs are no stranger to reflashing ECUs through the
hardwired diagnostic port, even if there's a "gateway" in the path.

_H*
 
Used one of the rare 50kw Electrify Chargers in Davie, FL this morning and charging cost was very reasonable on Tier 1.. Charged from 22% to 78% for $13. Charging speed peaked at over 48kwh.
210 mile trip with 55 mile if range remaning. 4.2 mi/kwh average.. Averaged about 60 mph.. Drove 65 to 70 mph for most of the trip but had a few traffic lights and towns where I had to slow down.
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A couple things:
Most of the states allow charging by kwh today: electric.co article. I assume it's difficult for EA to switch since the others might not allow it. Although the blink network did exactly that.

One tip: always use the monthly option ($4/month). When I talked to the support line they said you can always switch it off any time. You will save about 19¢ per minute which translates to only 20 minutes of charging and you will start saving money. Actually it's earlier since you also don't have the $1 connection fee.

So always use the plan+!!!

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
 
Letter I sent to EA about my experience using their chargers.

Electrify America:

I have been driving an EV for over seven years. When I found out earlier this year that Electrify America was going to create an infrastructure of charging stations throughout the US I looked into purchasing a new vehicle (HOW EXCITING!).


I purchased a 2019 Hyundai Kona EV anticipating a road trip with it from Long Island New York to St Petersburg Florida. After much planning and consideration, watching many YouTube's and following many forums, a few phone calls to Electrify America to figure out the cost for charging along the way, we left for Florida.


At the first stop to charge in New Castle Delaware, I was quite surprised and VERY disappointed to find out, after calling your support team that your tier selection for my vehicle had changed. I understood it is based on the highest negotiated expectable Kw’s the Kona would accept at the time based on many variables like SOC, OAT and other contributing factors at the handshake to the charge station. Somehow when communicating with my Kona, it automatically puts me in the next tier pricing.


Prior to the trip I called customer support and specifically asked them if I would be in the 1-75 kilowatt range anticipating 15 to 18 cents per minute. They confirmed that it would be at that rate based on my Kona. I mentioned to them my upcoming road trip and they said that I would not have any issues at that tier pricing as a Pass+ member and if I did to just give them a call.


Your courteous customer support team does a GREAT job answering questions every time I call with accurate information. Unfortunately, it has been very difficult to recommend using your stations under the circumstances. Many people stopped by to ask questions while we were charging, and we had to honestly give them the facts.

When they heard the fees, they wondered why we would spend so much more for electric, rather than owning a gas vehicle.


It is just sad that we had anticipated advocating EA and their Kw tier basis pricing structure and were very disappointed with the outcome! I certainly did NOT get what I paid for using your services! It should be more accurate pricing for Kw supplied rather than minutes connected and charging! (I do like the idle fee for staying at the station more than 10 minutes after the charge is complete, keeps people moving on).


If you look at my account and can make ANY price adjustment at stations where I was below the 75Kw threshold, as I was expecting, please do so and let me know.


Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions regarding this situation or want more feedback about my charging experience with EA.

So after contacting Hyundai explaining my charging experience with Electrify America here is their response:

"Thank you for contacting Hyundai Motor America. We understand you're concerned with the prices of your recent trip while charging your vehicle, and appreciate the opportunity to address your concern.

Hyundai values your opinions and we appreciate your taking the time to contact us with your comments and suggestions regarding the design of your vehicle. We try to design and equip all of our models with materials and features that will appeal to our current and potential customers. Some of the factors that are evaluated during vehicle design and production include demand, safety, durability, efficiency, comfort, convenience and aesthetics. We are sometimes unable to produce an automobile with the features and materials that will satisfy or appeal to all of our customers. We have documented your input."

It does not sound very promising that they can or want to do anything about making any changes at this time.
Maybe If more EV owners contact Hyundai they may want to address this issue to satisfy their loyal customers.
Please consider contacting Hyundai and Electrify America and letting them know WE NEED A FIX for this issue.
 
Just sent the following to EA:

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
I own a 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric which in ideal conditions can charge up to 77 kwh. At your current pricing structure, it will cost me about $35 to $40 to charge my car from 10 to 80 percent which will get me about 180 miles of range. This is more expensive than driving my wife's minivan on a road trip as for $45 in gas, I can travel over 360 miles. At the same time, a Chevy Bolt driver is being charged $15 for the same amount of charge that Kona and eNiro owners are charged for marginally faster speeds. Most of the time, our cars will not exceed 75 kwh charging speed and even if they do, they will only charge above 75kwh for 2 to 3 minutes maximum.
I know that EA is aware of this issue since at least May or June this year and so far, there has been no update on this issue in half a year. I understand ther there are only a few thousand Konas and Niros in the US but considering that there are not many long range EV's in the US, Kona's will have a sizable share of Charger use compared to short range EV's.
I wonder if it would be possible to allow customers to restrict charge rate at the charger or maybe limit one charger at every location to 75 kw. As EV's are not yet that widely used, i doubt that limiting one charger per location to tier 1 speeds will prevent faster charging cars from charging at one of the faster chargers at the same location. I'm aware that EA has the ability to limit the output of their chargers as I have seen reduced power at some locations, so why can't you limit one of your units at each location to Tier 1 speeds? Regards.


Let's see if they will get back to me..
 
But does the car really charges fast? It took an hour for me to charge from 18%-43%. I don’t mind paying if in fact you get real fast charge!


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Got a call from Electrify America. Basically, all they told me was that they appreciated my feedback and that it was forwarded to management. Not really anything specific and no timeline..
 
I drive a Niro and also contacted EA about this about 2 months ago. I basically told them that I felt like their pricing structure was specifically designed to punish people who buy Hyundai/Kia EV's. They gave me a call and acted like my feedback was really important to them, but it's obvious it isn't. If they really were that concerned, they could just shift the tier 2 cutoff from 75 to 80 kW.

I also told the woman who called me that I will never drive EA as long as this pricing scheme is in place. I avoid their chargers like the plague and stick to the EVGo ones instead, even though they are not the fastest.
 
Last time I used an EA charger it was a 350kW charger (all bays were empty and I happened to pull up in from of a 350kW, which I didn't see from the car). It only charged at around 30kW! We just had driven for more than 2 hrs, so battery was warm. We continued on and I stopped at an EVgo 40kW charger and got the full 40 kW for less than half the price.

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My first and last time as well, I was driving my car prior to pull up to the 150kW and It only charged at about 28kW, I paid 30
Bucks for about 20% charge which is ridiculous. Costumer Service was blaming the Kona Battery management it seems like I should’ve gone to the EVgo chargers


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
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