Need a Class Action Lawsuit - Porsche Mobile Charger

[bah1590]

just a reminder this problem can be "solved" for as little as $200…

I'd be fine with a return/refund - but that's not really an option - because Standard equipment on the vehicle "includes" an EVSE - I'm thinking we all have to keep it so that it's given away along with the vehicle when it's sold/returned - but I'd be fine with Porsche refunding it's costs where it was a line item on the purchase agreement…

but yeah my approach is:

• the PMC+/PMCC is dead to me - store it and ignore
• purchase an alternate EVSE - I'll need one anyways for my next EV
• attempt to shame Porsche into giving me my money back for their poorly designed/implemented unit - to help defray the cost of the new EVSE which I'll get to keep

Honestly these things are like USB chargers - they are not vendor specific and will/should with any EV/Hybrid you bring home in the future.

I'd also be fine with an alternate EVSE provided by Porsche that can perform at the expected rate.

but it's pretty clear this one is not up to the task and its also pretty clear Porsche seems to now acknowledge what we've all known for at least 2 years.

What is the $200 fix?

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[daveo4EV]

What is the $200 fix?

https://shop.tesla.com/product/corded-mobile-connector

$200 40 amp 9.6 kW charger - but you'll need a TeslaTap (extra) but it's useful to have independent of your home EVSE

it lighter than the PMCC
it's smaller than the PMCC
it's more mobile than the PMCC
it's more rugged than the PMCC
and it won't overheat in normal use
and it's $200 when its in stock on the Tesla Site.

but it's a fixed 14-50 supply cord - and not adjustable amps - it can be made to work with a 6-50 plug if you get the adatper/pig-tail from amazon for $40 or less.

 

[daveo4EV]

this is also $200 - but it's only 32 amps - but it has the advantage of having swappable power supply cables for any/all NEMA supply cables - so it's very very flexible in terms of being able to charge most anywhere if you have the available adapters…

for less than $450 you can have a 32 amp EVSE (7.68 kW charge rate) and compatibility with 8 NEMA plug types…not necessary but nice if you want a road warrior kit.

NEMA 5-15, 5-20, 6-15, 6-20, 10-30, 14-30, 14-50, 6-50…
TT-30 available from non-Tesla site (RV parks 30 amps @ 120 volts)

https://shop.tesla.com/product/mobile-connector?sku=1763817-00-A
https://shop.tesla.com/product/nema-adapter-bundle

probably the best 32 amp mobile EVSE available today on the market.

 

[4thPcar]

I am a helpless idiot when it comes to this topic and wonder if someone can dumb it down for me. I didn't buy an upgraded charger for my Taycan, just what was included. And I only charge the vehicle at night on a program that starts at midnight when rates are lowest.

How will this change affect me?

 

[daveo4EV]

I am a helpless idiot when it comes to this topic and wonder if someone can dumb it down for me. I didn't buy an upgraded charger for my Taycan, just what was included. And I only charge the vehicle at night on a program that starts at midnight when rates are lowest.

How will this change affect me?

it will take 2x longer to charge your car - this is no problem as long as the 2x time still leaves the car fully charged when you get in it

but in my case for example what used to take 6 hours will now take 12 hours - my off-peak billing rate is only an 8 hour window - so a 12 hour charging session will no longer fully charge my vehicle at PG&E off peak rates - 4 hours of the charging session will be at a higher price for electricity...

generally speaking having your EV take longer to charge is not a customer focused approached to "fixing" this problem

purchasing alternate EV charger from someone other than Porsoche will retain the expected charging time and be more reliable.

if you pulled into your garage at 3% battery and wanted to charge your Taycan to full (100%) prior to this update that charging duration would be 9.5 hour from 3% to 100%

after the update - charging from 3% to 100% will now take 19 hour to fully charge your Taycan.

with the unit running at it full rated/specified capacity it can fully charge yoru Taycan in 9.5 hours - or overnight
with the unit in it's new default 50% setting it will take 19 hours to accomplish the same task.

this change has double your charging times.

 

[4thPcar]

it will take 2x longer to charge your car - this is no problem as long as the 2x time still leaves the car fully charged when you get in it

but in my case for example what used to take 6 hours will now take 12 hours - my off-peak billing rate is only an 8 hour window - so a 12 hour charging session will no longer fully charge my vehicle at PG&E off peak rates - 4 hours of the charging session will be at a higher price for electricity...

generally speaking having your EV take longer to charge is not a customer focused approached to "fixing" this problem

purchasing alternate EV charger from someone other than Porsoche will retain the expected charging time and be more reliable.

Thank you, I guess I am not as dumb as I thought as I came to same conclusion. I guess I'll just have to see how it impacts my daily routine. And whatever other good ideas come from this great group of owners.

 

[Stoneageman]

So, rather than just spend $650 for a different charger, you’d spend time pursuing a lawsuit? Is your time really of that little value to you? I’d pay $650 just to not see anymore threads about this issue on this forum.

I disagree only because I hate that companies do this kind of BS because they think they can get away with it. Eventually, more issues will surface and our beloved brand will be one we hate. I know I am being dramatic but you can't let companies get away with this kind of thing because it is not how you treat your consumer. IDC if the car is 100k, 200k, 300k, or even 10k, you don't pull this kind of shit. I am also very biased because I have to constantly handle client relationships and it irritates me, this kind of crap.

 

[TDinDC]

I disagree only because I hate that companies do this kind of BS because they think they can get away with it. Eventually, more issues will surface and our beloved brand will be one we hate. I know I am being dramatic but you can't let companies get away with this kind of thing because it is not how you treat your consumer. IDC if the car is 100k, 200k, 300k, or even 10k, you don't pull this kind of shit. I am also very biased because I have to constantly handle client relationships and it irritates me, this kind of crap.

I understand why you feel this way, but I'm going to shamelessly draft off of your efforts and those of others. I'm just not in that place to lead this fight right now.

 

[Stoneageman]

I understand why you feel this way, but I'm going to shamelessly draft off of your efforts and those of others. I'm just not in that place to lead this fight right now.

lol me too, I don't have the time to sue them and tbh, I am more than okay with buying cars from another brand if Porsche wants to drag their reputation down and keep doing things like this.

 

[Archimedes]

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…

 

[whitex]

I disagree only because I hate that companies do this kind of BS because they think they can get away with it. Eventually, more issues will surface and our beloved brand will be one we hate. I know I am being dramatic but you can't let companies get away with this kind of thing because it is not how you treat your consumer. IDC if the car is 100k, 200k, 300k, or even 10k, you don't pull this kind of shit. I am also very biased because I have to constantly handle client relationships and it irritates me, this kind of crap.

If you have ever gone through a lawsuit, you'd realize how much of a time and money drain it usually is. Would you spend $15K+ and spend months preparing materials, collecting depositions, responding to emails, etc, just to try to win a $400 charger from Porsche to make a point? Yes, you can sue them again for the costs, another 2 years later and another $10K later you might win your $15K costs, perhaps only a portion of it. I have sued in a slam dunk type cases, collecting from clients on clear contractual obligations, and believe me, it's not a pleasant nor cheap experience, so it better be for some large sum of money. Oh, and winning it doesn't mean you get your money right away either, you may have to further then try to collect on the judgement which could be subject to appeals or the defendant simply not paying.

 

[4thPcar]

If you have ever gone through a lawsuit, you'd realize how much of a time and money drain it usually is. Would you spend $15K+ and spend months preparing materials, collecting depositions, responding to emails, etc, just to try to win a $400 charger from Porsche to make a point? Yes, you can sue them again for the costs, another 2 years later and another $10K later you might win your $15K costs, perhaps only a portion of it. I have sued in a slam dunk type cases, collecting from clients on clear contractual obligations, and believe me, it's not a pleasant nor cheap experience, so it better be for some large sum of money. Oh, and winning it doesn't mean you get your money right away either, you may have to further then try to collect on the judgement which could be subject to appeals or the defendant simply not paying.

..and then there's this: 42 people have died (so far) from Hurricane Ian. A little perspective can go a long way.

 

[TDinDC]

If you have ever gone through a lawsuit, you'd realize how much of a time and money drain it usually is. Would you spend $15K+ and spend months preparing materials, collecting depositions, responding to emails, etc, just to try to win a $400 charger from Porsche to make a point? Yes, you can sue them again for the costs, another 2 years later and another $10K later you might win your $15K costs, perhaps only a portion of it. I have sued in a slam dunk type cases, collecting from clients on clear contractual obligations, and believe me, it's not a pleasant nor cheap experience, so it better be for some large sum of money. Oh, and winning it doesn't mean you get your money right away either, you may have to further then try to collect on the judgement which could be subject to appeals or the defendant simply not paying.

That’s why I’m ok with just drafting here . . .

 

[maudasilva]

Hey Everyone
I think you might be overreacting. I received the notification today. It says: ...Dealer will limit the default setting to 50%...
The keywords here are "default setting." It doesn't say they will limit the maximum charge current by 50%. You can change it from the default value in settings.
Porsche is being very cautious and passing the responsibility to the car owner, which is fine because any high-power "appliance" connected to a bad/loose NEMA socket can cause the charger plug to heat up and actually melt. It is a common interoperability issue.
If you change the setting to more than 50%, you should monitor the plug/socket for high temps while charging.

 

[daveo4EV]

Hey Everyone
I think you might be overreacting. I received the notification today. It says: ...Dealer will limit the default setting to 50%...
The keywords here are "default setting." It doesn't say they will limit the maximum charge current by 50%. You can change it from the default value in settings.
Porsche is being very cautious and passing the responsibility to the car owner, which is fine because any high-power "appliance" connected to a bad/loose NEMA socket can cause the charger plug to heat up and actually melt. It is a common interoperability issue.
If you change the setting to more than 50%, you should monitor the plug/socket for high temps while charging.

the OTA software update for the PMCC "forces" the 50% setting each time the unit starts up (so you'll need to remember to do this override each time you prior to charging your vehicle.

if you:

1. plug your vehicle in
2. set the AMP's above the default 50%
3. walk away
4. the car waits to start charging until enough time before departure time
5. loses power durinng the charging cycle (power blip - 30 seconds - happens alot to me)
6. when power is restored there will not be enough time for the vehicle to be properly charged.

it's a bad "fix" - and the OTA update enforced a new default that effectively renders the unit as a 4.8 kW unit vs. 9.6 unit - given the latest software update the ONLY way the unit behaves in a predictable manner is to leave it as a 4.8 kW unit - otherwise the vehicle can not properly begin a charging session beause of the default restoration across a power-blip or the unit going to sleep.

there are numerous scenarios in which this is no longer a reliable EVSE when used in combination with charge scheduling - because charge scheduling requires predictive ability with regards to the unit's charge rate -l the charge rate is no longer predictable unless you accept the unit's default of 50%...which doubles you charge rate.

quit apologizing for Porsche - the unit is labled and sold as a 9.6 kW unit - we all paid for a 50 amp 9.6 kW electrical circuit to be installed - and Porsche has now unilaterally made a change to the unit such that it will no longer automatically provide that charge rate and in fact defaults everytime it's power on back to 4.8 kW…adjustint the unit to higher amp setting is NOT a one time thing - it's an EVERYTIME thing, and I can't do it while I'm away from the unit during an over night charging session if the unit goes to sleep on it's own or loses external power briefly - at home or away…

couple this with Porsche's departure time scheduling for charging - and you can no longer reliablty use the unit at 9.6 kW with departure time scheduling because if you lose power even briefly while using a departure schedule - the unit will revert to 50% power leaving you with inadequite charge overnigth due to a brief power outages.

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