Eastern Canada Superchargers

[RichardC]

Hundreds??I w
Come on down to South Florida - plenty of waiting there too - both Plantation and West Palm can get pretty dicey. I was surprised at Marathon once with all stalls full (only 4 of them there). South Florida has a huge Tesla population and there are real SC issues here. HOWEVER, there are more on the map for 2017. There is a service center under construction in Coral Gables but where there will be SC there is not known. I would be happy with even a 2 stall "temporary - like the one at Bethesda Md" at Woodstock, Moncton and Halifax. Its really a problem. Your problem is waiting, the Maritimes are totally bereft!

Atlanta Georgia can be challenging. The site is at a mall and attracts a lot of shoppers. The location at the dealership is normally not busy but is way off the beaten path. (We pass through on the way from Canada to Florida and back so waiting for Superchargers tends to spoil your day.) The next chargers up and down the road, in Chattanooga and Macon, are also both a fair way off the main highway, so we try to pass them by.

 

[rapoport3a]

Yesterday, a Saturday, at 6 PM, the Toronto Lawrence chargers were a problem. All 8 spots taken (even though not all 8 working), with maybe half the cars in those spots covered in snow, indicating they'd been there quite a while. So this may confirm what someone else wrote 8 days ago.

We were just passing by and drove in from curiosity, not requiring a charge, but another car waiting there probably did. There may be times of day when this is less of a problem, which doesn't much help. Nice to see the parking lot stuffed with new cars, but that may be creating headaches that have not been alleviated.

 

[mknox]

Yesterday, a Saturday, at 6 PM, the Toronto Lawrence chargers were a problem. All 8 spots taken (even though not all 8 working), with maybe half the cars in those spots covered in snow, indicating they'd been there quite a while. So this may confirm what someone else wrote 8 days ago.

Putting Superchargers at Service Centers was, in hindsight, a really stupid idea that I think Tesla now realizes. I guess it was expedient since they owned or controlled the site and didn't have to seek some third party's approval.

 

[Chrisizzle]

Putting Superchargers at Service Centers was, in hindsight, a really stupid idea that I think Tesla now realizes. I guess it was expedient since they owned or controlled the site and didn't have to seek some third party's approval.

I think Superchargers at service centres make complete sense. A Tesla showroom should have the full suite of offerings.

I think the service department using said superchargers is absurd. Any car covered in snow is clearly not an owner's car. I mean, the free hot chocolate is great and all, but you can't kill that much time as a Tesla showroom. Ergo, the 3 or 4 cars always plugged in at Lawrence overnight are from the service department.

The only time service vehicles should be hooked up to the supercharger is to test supercharging... and that should take like 10 minutes. Otherwise, they should be using wall chargers.

Having said that, I rolled into Lawrence at 6am this morning after a drive from Montreal and all 7 functional stalls were empty. Hopefully, the dealership is getting dinged with the idle fee or have finally gotten a directive from head office.

 

[mknox]

I think Superchargers at service centres make complete sense. A Tesla showroom should have the full suite of offerings.

Have to respectfully disagree. One doesn't often see gas pumps at ICE car dealerships. The Superchargers were intended to enable long distance road tripping (not local charging) and were supposed to be placed between major centers, not in them. Service centers are usually in urban centers to support owners' sales and servicing needs. Two completely different things.

 

[RDoc]

IMHO, the more Superchargers the better. I've used two at service centers and they weren't any further off the highway than some of the dedicated Superchargers. Plus, it's got to be a lot cheaper for Tesla to put them at service centers, so why not?

 

[Gen3]

Have to respectfully disagree. One doesn't often see gas pumps at ICE car dealerships. The Superchargers were intended to enable long distance road tripping (not local charging) and were supposed to be placed between major centers, not in them. Service centers are usually in urban centers to support owners' sales and servicing needs. Two completely different things.

I'm not clear on your objection. Is it that Tesla's limited capital should be spent exclusively in rural areas, to enable long distance travel?

I think all tesla locations should have chargers. It just gives more options. And if locals use city charging, I don't care because I'm bypassing it anyways for long distance travel.

 

[Chrisizzle]

Have to respectfully disagree. One doesn't often see gas pumps at ICE car dealerships. The Superchargers were intended to enable long distance road tripping (not local charging) and were supposed to be placed between major centers, not in them. Service centers are usually in urban centers to support owners' sales and servicing needs. Two completely different things.

I understand the purpose of superchargers for long distance driving but I'll ask this one question. What is the downside of having Superchargers at showrooms / service centres? A little extra traffic in the parking lot?

I believe the decision to avoid putting them in cities initially was also substantially motivated to prevent people taking advantage of unlimited free charging. Now that Supercharging is pay per use, the taboo of city placement will probably fade.

Also, regarding the idea of car dealers not having gas pumps... I get your point but it is not quite apples to apples. Gas stations and car dealers are two different businesses. Tesla on the other hand is exclusively responsible for all Superchargers. If Ford sold gas... you could be certain they would be located at Ford dealerships.

Perhaps more relevant, most car dealers that offer EVs do indeed have a token charger per dealership (BMW, Chevy, etc). For Tesla not to offer charging at dealerships is ironic at best.

 

[rapoport3a]

Couple of additional points. The store/retailer/service centre sometimes needs to charge a lot of cars. What about L3 chargers, although they were uncommon until recently --- and many would be needed. Or are high-amp L2s sufficient? Again, many.

The second question is: how should the Lawrence Superchargers be managed? I don't think anyone is suggesting they be removed. Should the store make an effort to make them available? I don't live in Toronto, and there have been and will be times I need to charge there, unless there's ample L3 charging at close to 50 kW (or much higher, when that's a reality) in a reasonable area (e.g. not the corner of Bloor and Yonge).

 

[hingisfan]

Couple of additional points. The store/retailer/service centre sometimes needs to charge a lot of cars. What about L3 chargers, although they were uncommon until recently --- and many would be needed. Or are high-amp L2s sufficient? Again, many.

The second question is: how should the Lawrence Superchargers be managed? I don't think anyone is suggesting they be removed. Should the store make an effort to make them available? I don't live in Toronto, and there have been and will be times I need to charge there, unless there's ample L3 charging at close to 50 kW (or much higher, when that's a reality) in a reasonable area (e.g. not the corner of Bloor and Yonge).

I don't think service should be using more than 2 of the 8 stalls.

 

[Doug_G]

Superchargers at service centers increase customer traffic at the SC, resulting in more distractions for the staff. There is naturally some competition between service center and customer usage. Service centers aren't necessarily handy to facilities (try Lawrence at night... can quite the cold, wet walk over to the Tim Horton's). And such.

 

[RiverBrick]

For locations that are two years overdue (QC City/Levis) or have mysteriously disappeared from the map (Woodstock, NB) we would settle for 2-stall units at the end of dirt roads at this point.

 

[mknox]

I'm not clear on your objection. Is it that Tesla's limited capital should be spent exclusively in rural areas, to enable long distance travel?

Essentially, yes. That was the stated purpose of the Supercharger network.

I understand the purpose of superchargers for long distance driving but I'll ask this one question. What is the downside of having Superchargers at showrooms / service centres? A little extra traffic in the parking lot?.

As @Gen3 eludes to above, Tesla has a finite number of dollars to put towards Supercharger stations. I simply believe that judicious allocation of these funds to locations that make more sense and support Tesla's stated objectives for the network is how they should proceed. In other words, for every Supercharger installation in a non-ideal area, that means one less to support long distance travel.

When all of the primary travel routes are fully covered, then start looking at sites of secondary importance.

 

[Drone Flyer]

Montreal SC at Place Vertu is pathetically slow.
163 km/hr and only one other car here occupying the 12 slots.
I'm not on the same circuit.

 

[Jeeps17]

Montreal SC at Place Vertu is pathetically slow.
163 km/hr and only one other car here occupying the 12 slots.
I'm not on the same circuit.

Did you advise Tesla ?

 

[Drone Flyer]

I think Superchargers at service centres make complete sense. A Tesla showroom should have the full suite of offerings.

I think the service department using said superchargers is absurd. Any car covered in snow is clearly not an owner's car. I mean, the free hot chocolate is great and all, but you can't kill that much time as a Tesla showroom. Ergo, the 3 or 4 cars always plugged in at Lawrence overnight are from the service department.

The only time service vehicles should be hooked up to the supercharger is to test supercharging... and that should take like 10 minutes. Otherwise, they should be using wall chargers.

Having said that, I rolled into Lawrence at 6am this morning after a drive from Montreal and all 7 functional stalls were empty. Hopefully, the dealership is getting dinged with the idle fee or have finally gotten a directive from head office.

They were empty because the shop hasn't opened yet. Once it opened, I'm pretty sure service cars would have filled them up quickly.
This has to stop. Why can't Tesla put SC's inside the service area so only service personnel can use them thus freeing up the regular ones outside?

 

[Drone Flyer]

Did you advise Tesla ?

Yes. They're blaming it on the cold.
Not what I was expecting to hear. The battery was warm from driving. Sounds like the power at this dilapidated Place Vertu mall was probably set to minimum.
I still don't know why they were put there. The mall is already 15 years past it's best days and I wouldn't be surprised if it is knocked down soon. Horrible place. Plus, no amenities after hours there.
I think Tesla picked this spot because it was dirt cheap!

 

[mknox]

Why can't Tesla put SC's inside the service area so only service personnel can use them thus freeing up the regular ones outside?

From what I understand, they actually do this in some Service Centers.

 

[Peter_M]

Yes. They're blaming it on the cold.
Not what I was expecting to hear. The battery was warm from driving. Sounds like the power at this dilapidated Place Vertu mall was probably set to minimum.
I still don't know why they were put there. The mall is already 15 years past it's best days and I wouldn't be surprised if it is knocked down soon. Horrible place. Plus, no amenities after hours there.
I think Tesla picked this spot because it was dirt cheap!

What was the temperature and your battery level when you saw 163 km/h charge rate? I have seen supercharging rates ramp up for a while before tapering down, when I arrived after a 2 hour drive on a cold day, because the battery was cold. The airflow under the pack can keep it fairly cold even after a long drive.

 

[RiverBrick]

There have been multiple reports of 60 kW max at Montreal Cote Vertu this Winter, including instances where it can't be explained by cold batteries or paired stalls. There is definitely an issue there. The outage a week or two ago is probably related.