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by michpoch 1252 days ago
What do you do when you arrive at the charger with 6% battery left and the charger doesn’t work? Or if there’s a significant queue?
5 comments

Select charge-locations with 4+ chargers available, and in the larger charge-locations along motorway/freeway intersections, there's usually chargers from multiple networks/suppliers, so even failures on a backend of one provider can be worked around by using another network. Doing 2000km this week, I only encountered 1 case where I had to use the 50kw charger, as it was the only one available (there were 2 300kw chargers, 1 in use and 1 in maintenance-mode). Most charge-locations had 4+ available and unused stalls, with various locations having 10+ 150kw+ stations.

Availability can be seen in many charge-apps miles before you get to the location, so if you see it at 75%+ capacity, select a different location.

This is a very nice theory. Does not work in practice.

Got into France, north of Troyes in Enyaq, last 20km in battery. Only chargers there in 30km perimeter are Freshmile 22kW chargers, which won't charge my car (can't start session, car refuses charger, tested 3 of them). Was able to save myself in local PSA dealership, which got their own charger and gave me 20km more so I can get to Troyes to Ionity charger.

What is extremely annoying is

* This is a large network, yet not compatible and there is no way to figure that out.

* The car was actually trying to lead me on those charger via its own internal navigation, so even somebody who was creating this map believed that those chargers are compatible, yet they aren't.

* I could never get into such situation with gas. In the most extreme case, I could have just use funnel to get the gas into the tank if hose would not be compatible with my car.

So the fact that there are chargers around you means nothing at all if you don't know if they are working and are compatible without your car.

Try the „A better route planner“ app if you haven’t. It should give you routes that have plenty of error margin.
Not OP and drive a Tesla. Charging stations are pretty large at least where I live. 10–15 chargers minimum and the Tesla nav system tells you in advance how many are available to use.
I just don’t. With 6% (sometimes less) I arrive only at home or at sites with multiple chargers. Apps in the EU can show operating status for individual points, but I‘ve stopped looking that up at some point.
Same thing as you do with a gas car and you can't get gas for any reason. Call AAA/roadside services?
What do you do if your gas gauge is on E and the only gas station in the small town you're in is closed?
I take a bus / hitchhike to the next petrol station and come back with a canister of fuel.

It fortunately never happened to me personally.

On top of that, the "E" will mean I still have around 100 kms of range, maybe more if I start driving slowly. 6% on EV is like, 20 kms?