Charging ettiquette - Unplugging another car

[jkoya]

The last time I Supercharged our Tesla at a busy SF Bay Area Supercharger, the idle fee was $1.00 a minute. This was a few years ago now and there was a line to charge. Don't know what the current idle time charge is, as it seems Tesla changes it policies quite often.

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[nickmdp]

Just let idle fees take care of it if need be. I have no idea who's car it is, and what their situation is. Maybe they just recently got fired, didn't notice a scratch on their car that happened a few weeks earlier, and then they accuse me of scratching it because I unplugged it. Heck, maybe I even do scratch it because my watch grazes it as I've never unplugged their model before.

Put more simply, maybe 5% of people are 'unreasonable' that would cause a scene if they saw someone touching their car (probably a low estimate IMO), and I'm not willing to bet that they're not currently walking back to the car as I try to unplug it and have to deal with that.

 

[Replika]

Under 100% - never acceptable

100% charged - always acceptable

If you leave your car connected to a public charger at 100% you are actively blocking others from charging, expect someone to unplug you.

 

[Jhenson29]

So somebody that drops their car off at night and leaves it there at the only working port unattended is acceptable to you when you pull up at 9am? Or even someone perhaps watching a movie or whatever is fully charged, what is the harm in unplugging their car if it is 100% charged?

No, people leaving their vehicles plugged in when it’s not necessary is not acceptable to me. But my original comment doesn’t imply that it is either.

I can think that the original behavior is not acceptable while also thinking that unplugging another person’s car as a response is also not okay.

 

[dutchcourage]

Who said anything about fing with the car or damaging the car? You unplug the charger. I have never heard of any car getting damaged by unplugging the charger. Under your guise, should we not park near your car? It is much more likely to be damaged by a door ding. It is a public parking spot and a public charging station. Therefore you live by the risk of parking there. Same thing applies to a charger.

This is just a totally stupid discussion. Car is locked = unplug is not possible.

 

[satchurator]

This is just a totally stupid discussion. Car is locked = unplug is not possible.

Harsh words not welcome here. Not all EVs have locked charging ports. Some FDC chargers have the ability for others to cancel the current session.

 

[dutchcourage]

Harsh words not welcome here. Not all EVs have locked charging ports. Some FDC chargers have the ability for others to cancel the current session.

It is not my intention to be rude. If it comes across that way... my apologies. What I wanted to say is that it has been stated several times in this discussion by different people that without unlocking the car, you cannot take the charging cable out of the car's charging port.
However, no one comments about this.

I assume that nobody wants to damage someone else's car and that there is therefore no possibility of removing from a charger.
When asked if it is polite to leave your car hanging on a charger unnecessarily and thus to keep it occupied, everyone will agree that this is not polite and that no one will do this on purpose.

 

[Kayone73]

IMHO all EVs should be programmed to automatically unlock the charger plug once battery hits 100% that way if an inattentive car owner doesn't have the consideration to move his car once charged, then at least anther owner can make use of the cable to charge if needed.

 

[Kayone73]

The last time I Supercharged our Tesla at a busy SF Bay Area Supercharger, the idle fee was $1.00 a minute. This was a few years ago now and there was a line to charge. Don't know what the current idle time charge is, as it seems Tesla changes it policies quite often.

Tesla supercharger idle fees are a LOT now. One time we plugged in our car at a mall, I was tied up and couldn't get to the car for maybe 30 min after it was done charging.

Our total charging costs was maybe $15 at the time but the idle fees were another $40 ?

 

[tomdfw1]

This is just a totally stupid discussion. Car is locked = unplug is not possible.

This is true on Porsches... But many makes do not lock the cable. Please don't make rude inflaming comments.

 

[tomdfw1]

Tesla supercharger idle fees are a LOT now. One time we plugged in our car at a mall, I was tied up and couldn't get to the car for maybe 30 min after it was done charging.

Our total charging costs was maybe $15 at the time but the idle fees were another $40 ?

I just searched EA's site. They DO charge an idle fee: " Idle Fee: Once charging stops, you pay $0.40/min after a 10-minute grace period. "

 

[WilderAZ]

Much of this can be addressed through improved infrastructure. Chargers can be designed to alert you shortly before and when charging is complete, an idle fee can be assessed, abusers can be locked out from future use, etc. Car manufacturers can build similar systems into their vehicles including sending alerts and unlocking ports once the vehicle has reached a full charge.

I agree that those who do not disconnect within a short period of reaching a full charge are disrespectful and that it would be acceptable to disconnect their vehicle so that others can charge. I think that this is a scenario the driver implicitly accepts if they leave their vehicle for a lengthy period after charging. HOWEVER, we live in a crazy world. I would rather accept a minor inconvenience than risk a key scratch to my car or gun to face.

 

[tomdfw1]

It is not my intention to be rude. If it comes across that way... my apologies. What I wanted to say is that it has been stated several times in this discussion by different people that without unlocking the car, you cannot take the charging cable out of the car's charging port.
However, no one comments about this.

I assume that nobody wants to damage someone else's car and that there is therefore no possibility of removing from a charger.
When asked if it is polite to leave your car hanging on a charger unnecessarily and thus to keep it occupied, everyone will agree that this is not polite and that no one will do this on purpose.

Unfortunately...MANY people do this on purpose. Think about any hotel charging station...plug in...go to bed. Others do this at public stations as well. If it is free...they will connect and walk away and come back sometimes a full day later. These people are selfish. Idle fees should address this and should be applied to FREE stations as well as "pay" stations.

 

[Deleted member 6348]

The answer is never. It’s also not possible for the majority of modern EVs.

 

[tomdfw1]

The answer is never. It’s also not possible for the majority of modern EVs.

We can agree to disagree on YOUR answer...not THE answer. Also, as stated many times above, MANY models can be unplugged along with any Tesla using an 1772 adapter. (unless they bought the locking adapter for the 1772 adapter)

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