The sad state of L3 charging stations in SoCal

Michael Bornstein · Jul 29, 2014

I am all excited that Tony is now accepting reservations for a JdeMO port for the Rav4 :lol: . I had dreams of driving to LA, not a care in the world, and charging wherever I pleased

. Then reality hit when I looked at the PlugShare map for LA. It almost made me wish I had bought a Leaf (not really...just kidding...well maybe!!!) :twisted: . 90% of the stations have the word "Nissan" in their name. I can find no non-Nissan stations along the I-405 corridor. Non of the Fairfield Malls have any stations to speak of (except for Century City, but those are for Tesla). One promising location mentioned that a homeless dude was using the station as his personal bathroom with human urine and feces all around :!: . NRG EVgo may be our salvation, but at a price. As an occasional user, I would have to pay the $4.95 monthly fee + the $4.95/session fee + $.20/minute charging fee, each time I drive to LA (about once a month), and so far they are not located anywhere I want to go.

I know that there are some L2 stations around, but none are near where I want to go, and who wants to spend 6 hours waiting to charge if its not where you want to be? That is the purpose of the L3 station.

Hopefully we'll be able to use the Chargepoint L3's at Nissan dealers, and hopefully other stations will open. The main question is how do we organize to get Fairfield and other mall operators to see the light :shock: (well heeled customers who come to their malls to get a little juice and spend the time shopping)?

Don't read me wrong. I am not asking for a free lunch, I am only asking to be able to buy my lunch. With Panasonic investing in Tesla's Gigafactory, there are projections of 500,000 EV's on the road within 10 years. Where will all those cars go? Well they probably wont be planning 50-100 mile trips to a regional shopping center if there is no way to recharge there. How can a center th size of Del Amo, Century City, or any of the Fairfield malls not have a single charging station? They should have dozens. Imagine a mall that size without a parking lot. I don't mind paying $10 +/- for a 30 kWh L3 charge or the equivalent for an L2. I just can't drive to some of these large malls if they don't provide a means of recharging my car AND THEY SHOULD REALIZE THAT!!.

What I am hoping to get from this post are some ideas as to how to approach the mall operators, and to let them see into the future so they can plan today.

jimbo69ny · Jul 30, 2014

I dont want to hear it! You guys have it made out there in Cali with all of your charging stations. Here in NY we barely have any.

Wanna talk about mall charging stations, go to plugshare.com and search for "Destiny usa syracuse ny" and read the comments. They have 3 Blink charging areas that rarely work, are filled with ICE's, and are really expensive. (NYSEG is the local provider and electricity is only around $.11 per kwh)

Michael Bornstein · Jul 30, 2014

Jimbo:

I feel your pain :twisted:

While you are Plugshare, look up Bakersfield, CA. The only stations are at the car dealers and the local blood bank (you literally have to pay with blood

) Then look in a 50 mile circle - Nothing!! (except for a Tesla Supercharger).

Obviously this is a nationwide problem. There is a movement here in California to recommend the placement of chargers in various points of interest where people spend time (malls, theaters, hospitals, office buildings), but that will apply to new construction only. We have to get support from major players (Nissan, BMW, ?others) to get chargers in older malls etc. The purpose of this post is to see if anyone has a 3rd cousin in a position that can help with this crusade.

pchilds · Jul 30, 2014

In 2011 there were 4 charging locations in Temecula, CA. 2014 there are 7, luckily the Nissan dealer put in a DCFC. None if the locations have shopping or food, unless you count a casino as food.

Michael Bornstein · Jul 30, 2014

If Nissan and BMW allowed other brands to use their chargers, the world would definitely be a better place. Leaf owners are getting free CHARGE cards, but as a lowly Toyota owner I would be willing to pay. Unfortunately, my experience is that I was allowed to use a L2 charger at a Nissan dealer by the repair techs, but was kicked out by the GM from sales. I have also been refused a charge by Toyota and Chevy dealers. Toyota hides their chargers in the repair bay which gives you an insight into their thought process. With the increase in popularity of the Leaf (due to low prices) and the coming on board of BMW and MB, we are at the cusp where EV's might actually take off. Right now, one of the main things holding them back is the lack of infrastructure especially for the weekend getaway or shopping trip. Hopefully Nissan will relax its rules and allow other brands to use their DCFC system. I will test that out as soon as Tony energizes my RAV.

jimbo69ny · Jul 30, 2014

That's so true about Toyota. I was at my local dealer today and drove around back to ask one of the recon guys if they wanted to clean my car and there it was, their Evse hidden all the way around back where no customers go.

Michael Bornstein · Jul 30, 2014

Of course, a notable exception to this is Carson Toyota. I can't say enough good things about Dianne. I wish I had bought my RAV4 there. They not only have a charger in the repair bays, they have a 2nd charger right up front. When I was there and service was closing, she had them move a PIP away from the front Leviton so that I could get an additional charge there.