Tesla Charging does not work as promised

[SergeyIndy]

Using the Tesla app I can navigate to Tesla SCs and select a pump but my Taycan will not charge. I've tried this at four local Tesla SC (both 3s and 4s), all open to non-Teslas. A few Taycans, including mine using a Porsche adapter, cannot be charged at these stations for reasons unknown. I'm taking my car in for 4-year service this week and will try again to get the dealer to take this issue seriously.

My exact point of disappointment after we waited so long for this to be a reality, now it is a hit and miss and cannot be counted on when long distance traveling. This just means more time planning a trip to make sure you have backup options and not venture into areas where Tesla chargers are located and labeled with support for non-Tesla vehicles. That is why I chickened out of the farm store trip requiring a charge on the way back at what appeared to be a supported Tesla supercharger as only charging option.

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[slothinker]

My exact point of disappointment after we waited so long for this to be a reality, now it is a hit and miss and cannot be counted on when long distance traveling. This just means more time planning a trip to make sure you have backup options and not venture into areas where Tesla chargers are located and labeled with support for non-Tesla vehicles. That is why I chickened out of the farm store trip requiring a charge on the way back at what appeared to be a supported Tesla supercharger as only charging option.

Gee, I think Porsche as the world's premier sports car manufacturer has to do more than shrug off the inability to charge at a Tesla SC as "good luck, it's hit or miss" ... Porsche PR-announced the availability of charging at Tesla SCs as a sales plus and they distributed and sold a Porsche adapter for that exact purpose.

Just like someone finally got the mess that was EA/Porsche under control, Porsche/Tesla needs to pin down this issue and fix the few cars that won't charge properly and reliably at a Tesla SC.

When you have someone reporting a catastrophic electrical failure after trying to use a Tesla SC, it says that this is, at best, a risky and unreliable operation at this point. This unreliability affects the sale and resale value of Taycans and other Porsche EVs. For those few Taycans that simply won't interface with Tesla SCs,, their $100K-plus vehicles have much, much lower resale value.

 

[gtm]

Using the Tesla app I can navigate to Tesla SCs and select a pump but my Taycan will not charge. I've tried this at four local Tesla SC (both 3s and 4s), all open to non-Teslas. A few Taycans, including mine using a Porsche adapter, cannot be charged at these stations for reasons unknown. I'm taking my car in for 4-year service this week and will try again to get the dealer to take this issue seriously.

The problem charging almost has to be a car specific problem. I've been up and down the East coast and charged a 15+ different Tesla SCs without an issue. Your on board charger is having a problem with the 400 volt SCs? A software update that needs to be done? I'd like to think the dealer could find and fix the problem but that might be wishful thinking on my part. Good luck getting it sorted.

 

[slothinker]

The problem charging almost has to be a car specific problem. I've been up and down the East coast and charged a 15+ different Tesla SCs without an issue. Your on board charger is having a problem with the 400 volt SCs? A software update that needs to be done? I'd like to think the dealer could find and fix the problem but that might be wishful thinking on my part. Good luck getting it sorted.

Thanks for the comment. I felt my post was already too long so left out the part that my Porsche dealer has checked the car out twice and told me that a) they can't find a problem and b) they can't charge the car either (there is a nearby 400v SC).

 

[gtm]

Thanks for the comment. I felt my post was already too long so left out the part that my Porsche dealer has checked the car out twice and told me that a) they can't find a problem and b) they can't charge the car either (there is a nearby 400v SC).

Well that's not good. They acknowledge there is a problem yet offer no solution. Elevated to the mother-ship or is the dealer just shrugging their shoulders? It's like the navigation problem in the EU and UK. Zero real help from Porsche. If you are lucky they admit there is a problem but any solutions seem far down the road.

 

[SergeyIndy]

I am done with this Tesla charging nonsense of a rollout. I do not live in a remote area, but in a very advanced Indianapolis USA metro, so today I tried:

#1. Downtown Tesla charging, in a tech park, by our canal, and it failed without even attempting to connect with car not responding to the charger and then just showing Unknown error after 2 stalls with plenty available. What a joke of a design too, cable so short, and the flimsy charging connector has no lights or does not snap well as they are worn out with some wires showing with cable jackets ripped.

#2. Speedway area GetGo station, then was my next a few miles away to test, so I get there and there are only a few chargers, with ever other one taken so I cannot pull up close enough as I need 2 clear spots, I did see a Rivian and a Chevy EV, so I gave up and left. This may have worked but not going to test that one again.

Bottom line - cannot rely on these for long distance travel if they are the only option.

 

[Flying ace]

I am done with this Tesla charging nonsense of a rollout. I do not live in a remote area, but in a very advanced Indianapolis USA metro, so today I tried:

#1. Downtown Tesla charging, in a tech park, by our canal, and it failed without even attempting to connect with car not responding to the charger and then just showing Unknown error after 2 stalls with plenty available. What a joke of a design too, cable so short, and the flimsy charging connector has no lights or does not snap well as they are worn out with some wires showing with cable jackets ripped.

#2. Speedway area GetGo station, then was my next a few miles away to test, so I get there and there are only a few chargers, with ever other one taken so I cannot pull up close enough as I need 2 clear spots, I did see a Rivian and a Chevy EV, so I gave up and left. This may have worked but not going to test that one again.

Bottom line - cannot rely on these for long distance travel if they are the only option.

I would try #2 . It's a station validated to work with other cars. If it doesn't then I think it might be an issue with your particular car/VIN.

Now this got me thinking I should test with my car at least once. On roadtrips, while I never plan a SC stop (no 400v booster), my assumption is that SC is always my backup in the most critical situations.

 

[Zcd1]

I am done with this Tesla charging nonsense of a rollout. I do not live in a remote area, but in a very advanced Indianapolis USA metro, so today I tried:

#1. Downtown Tesla charging, in a tech park, by our canal, and it failed without even attempting to connect with car not responding to the charger and then just showing Unknown error after 2 stalls with plenty available. What a joke of a design too, cable so short, and the flimsy charging connector has no lights or does not snap well as they are worn out with some wires showing with cable jackets ripped.

#2. Speedway area GetGo station, then was my next a few miles away to test, so I get there and there are only a few chargers, with ever other one taken so I cannot pull up close enough as I need 2 clear spots, I did see a Rivian and a Chevy EV, so I gave up and left. This may have worked but not going to test that one again.

Bottom line - cannot rely on these for long distance travel if they are the only option.

Which downtown station did you try?

 

[SergeyIndy]

Which downtown station did you try?

This one circled that is by the Canal and then I went to the other one that is to the left near Speedway, but as I mentioned I could not test it as there was no room.

Both in the PCM and Tesla App as supporting non-Tesla vehicles with the adapter.

 

[SergeyIndy]

I would try #2 . It's a station validated to work with other cars. If it doesn't then I think it might be an issue with your particular car/VIN.

Now this got me thinking I should test with my car at least once. On roadtrips, while I never plan a SC stop (no 400v booster), my assumption is that SC is always my backup in the most critical situations.

So far, I got one station to work by using Tesla App, and then trying 2 more that did not work, but labeled to do so. I am just testing as I do not need to charger at them as we have really good EA stations. The point is to get confidence in the SC network that I have really none.

 

[Watchesandburgers]

@SergeyIndy - I got the Porsche NACS adapter and tried it out at my nearest Supercharger. I used the Tesla app to start charging at station 2A (or 3B or whatever it was), plugged the cord into the adapter, then adapter into the car. Worked great. Not sure if plug-and-charge is supposed to work or not, but the Tesla app is reliable and allowed me to start charging without issue. If you're not using the Tesla app, give it a try and see if that makes a difference.

I re-read more of this thread and see that much of what I said was already posted. Oh well. I second what everybody else said. Use the Tesla app and you should be in the right place.

 

[SergeyIndy]

@SergeyIndy - I got the Porsche NACS adapter and tried it out at my nearest Supercharger. I used the Tesla app to start charging at station 2A (or 3B or whatever it was), plugged the cord into the adapter, then adapter into the car. Worked great. Not sure if plug-and-charge is supposed to work or not, but the Tesla app is reliable and allowed me to start charging without issue. If you're not using the Tesla app, give it a try and see if that makes a difference.

I re-read more of this thread and see that much of what I said was already posted. Oh well. I second what everybody else said. Use the Tesla app and you should be in the right place.

Using the Tesla App for sure, the car on both non-working locations just gave the error with no feedback of any kind. The station that worked went into "thinking mode" and then when I said charge on the Tesla App, it charged as expected.

 

[Zcd1]

16 chargers, #1C out of commission (as shown in the app), so maybe that’s the one you tried to connect to?

In any case, with the difficulty you’ve been having connecting to what is by far the most reliable/accessible DCFC network in the US, you’re probably right not to count on using Superchargers...

 

[SergeyIndy]

16 chargers, #1C out of commission (as shown in the app), so maybe that’s the one you tried to connect to?

In any case, with the difficulty you’ve been having connecting to what is by far the most reliable/accessible DCFC network in the US, you’re probably right not to count on using Superchargers...

That is the one and I tried 2C and 2B and then gave up. The expected behavior is for the car to start "thinking" by attempting to connect which may take 2 minutes. During that time on the working location, I waited to see if Plug & Charge would work but when it did not, I unplug/plug back and then initiated charge from the Tesla App. However, on both failed locations, the car did not react when I plugged in at all, no white light blinking, nothing inside the car, until it said, Charging Not Possible and Unknown Error.

 

[lcarron]

My first attempts were not that great, but today it started at 122KW up to 133KW. Not bad at all as an alternate solution. Just very expensive at 73 cents vs 12 cents at home per KW.

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