Quick Charge L3 in LA, San Bernardino, Riverside Counties

[KeiJidosha]

^^^ What are the smoking? Whoever really needs QC will use it regardless of the price model. The closest Blink QC is like 20 miles from me and I'm rarely in that area. I'm not going to drive there just to show my interest.

I agree, QC is not an elective activity for most. I'm hoping this is just cover for graceful exit from $5 plan toward something more rational.

 

[TonyWilliams]

From http://www.Plugshare.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; on Thousand Oaks DC CHAdeMO:

"WOOHOO! DC L3 is online. I got 2KW in 4 minutes. I didn't even have time to finish my burger! Looks to be free for the moment. Thank you City of TO!!!"

 

[timhebb]

LADWP has just installed the first of a number of planned QC units at a downtown DWP facility (not the main HQ location) near Bixel on west 3rd Street, just west of the Harbor freeway. It is tucked away in a quiet corner of the building's outdoor parking area, behind security gates that normally remain open (at least in the daytime).

The unit was not operational yesterday, but I was told it should be working very soon. Access hours and policies are not yet clear, but it is expected to be free for use. It appears DWP is using Nissan's Sumitomo QC unit for all their QC installations; the same units Nissan installs at their dealerships.

16 more QC stations will be coming from DWP, several expected to appear this summer, at selected locations near freeways, LAX, etc. All will be free of charge for an introductory period said to be a couple of years.

 

[timhebb]

Just had it confirmed that a QC unit is being installed within the next few days at Universal City Nissan (CA), in the same two-car outdoor parking "bay" that up to now has hosted two side by side L2 charging stations (within a few steps of Ventura Blvd.).

I stopped at the dealership to ask about it when I drove by today and noticed the area cordoned off and the beginnings of construction underway. The salesperson I spoke with did not know whether the existing L2 stations would remain in place, be relocated, or what. It would not be advisable to leave more than one of them installed there, though, because there are only two parking spaces with access to the charging units.

In any case, this adds an excellent quick charging location just off the 101 freeway for travelers or locals.

 

[tbleakne]

Just had it confirmed that a QC unit is being installed within the next few days at Universal City Nissan (CA), in the same two-car outdoor parking "bay" that up to now has hosted two side by side L2 charging stations (within a few steps of Ventura Blvd.).

I stopped at the dealership to ask about it when I drove by today and noticed the area cordoned off and the beginnings of construction underway. The salesperson I spoke with did not know whether the existing L2 stations would remain in place, be relocated, or what. It would not be advisable to leave more than one of them installed there, though, because there are only two parking spaces with access to the charging units.

Unfortunately all the Nissan Dealership QC locations I have used (Glendale, Cerritos, Fontana) have just doubled up on the same two parking spaces used by their L2, so I would not expect any different at Universal City. These 3 dealerships are all quite crowded. Other dealerships that I have visited, Mission Hills and Thousand Oaks, who have more room, are not getting QC.

 

[Valdemar]

^^^Nice. I stopped by a couple weeks ago and was told they had no info on when the install was going to take place.

 

[tbleakne]

^^^ Isn't it $5 a pop now?

Yesterday I confirmed that Azusa Blink DCQC is charging $5 a session, regardless of time. Not smart. I cancelled the charge. I suggest others who do not really need the charge do the same, presenting their Blink member card and then cancelling the session. A per-minute fee with a small minimum, say $2, would seem more reasonable for me, even if that meant that a full charge was more than $5.

 

[Valdemar]

I tend to spend more than 20 minutes every time I use QC, with that $5 per charge doesn't look like a very bad deal to me. This may well change in the future if my commute will be difficult to cover with a degraded battery and there is a Blink QC on my way (there is none at the moment), but as of today all my QC usage was during during extended trips so I had to get as much charge as possible.

 

[z0ner]

Their business model is horrible. $5 for 5% or 80% isn't agreeable to me. Pay for usage, not per session.

Since I visit the area frequently, I'll be doing the swipe/cancel often.

 

[GregH]

^^^ Isn't it $5 a pop now?

A per-minute fee with a small minimum, say $2, would seem more reasonable for me, even if that meant that a full charge was more than $5.

+1 !!!!!
That would also discourage folks from squatting on a DCQC waiting for a 90%+ charge...

 

[Alexcuse]

Used Blink QC on Mateo in downtown LA this afternoon. Easy access, 2 Leafs on the L2 Blinks and a Tesla S came up and plugged in L2 before we left.
My problem: the Blink card I had used successfully at Ikea last year wouldn't activate the units - as if either the RFID scanner or my card were on the blink (sorry :roll: ). Had to charge as "Guest", which meant scanning a QR and entering my credit card and email on my cell to get a Code, even though the fee was $0.00 for this site. Probably took 10 minutes to get a 12-min charge started.
Have read concerns about Blink reliability, but not about the cards/readers before.

This one now costs $5/charge unfortunately, even though a week ago it was free to charge. I ended up driving 3 miles further for free QC at Downton Nissan.

 

[GregH]

Used the DCQC at Tustin Nissan today.. hung out as a stream of other patrons came in one by one to use the free charger. Poor girl had to come out every 25-30 minutes and wave the FOB in front of the thing. Not sure if it's the car or DCQC but all sessions I saw stopped at 80% (I stopped mine at 77%)

 

[Valdemar]

Used the DCQC at Tustin Nissan today.. hung out as a stream of other patrons came in one by one to use the free charger. Poor girl had to come out every 25-30 minutes and wave the FOB in front of the thing. Not sure if it's the car or DCQC but all sessions I saw stopped at 80% (I stopped mine at 77%)

They have their charger pre-set to 80%, same is Downtown LA. 80% on charger display results in 8 bars only on my '11. Charger in Carson was not set for 80% last time I used it and it stopped at 90% on charger display and 10 bars on the dash.

 

[TomT]

The FOB thing simply seems like a bad idea that is only going to become more cumbersome with time. They need a mechanism to allow the dealer to decide whether or not they want to require its use or not... If a dealer is not going to be charging for a charge, what is the point of the FOB?...

Poor girl had to come out every 25-30 minutes and wave the FOB in front of the thing.

 

[mwalsh]

If it could be done, it would be better to integrate the Nissan One-To-One rewards program. Then we could activate charging on our One-To-One cards and a billing system using the same accounts could be rolled out (if necessary).

 

[timhebb]

The Sumitomo QC unit installed by LADWP at its west 3rd Street building downtown between Bixel and Beaudry is now operational.

I stopped by today and noticed the display on the unit was illuminated for the first time, inviting me for "Quick Charging." Both adjacent parking spots were ICE'd, but one of the cars, belonging to DWP, was occupied by its driver, who leaned out his window and asked if I wanted to charge. He gladly moved and I pulled in, connected, pressed the start button and started charging. It charged to 86% before I pressed stop, so the unit is not programmed to stop at 80%, like some Nissan dealer QC's.

The DWP QC's, of which this is the first, are open to the public, free to use and require no attendant other than the driver - just push the start button to operate. No signage at this time to limit parking to EV's, but I expect there will be in the near future. My experience suggests this facility, while gated, will be open and accessible seven days a week until at least 8:00 or 9:00 pm. It is a good location, just a block or so west of the Harbor freeway downtown, so it can serve as a vital range extender for travelers en route through downtown Los Angeles.

 

[tbleakne]

The Sumitomo QC unit installed by LADWP at its west 3rd Street building downtown between Bixel and Beaudry is now operational.

Thank you for your report. I would like to put this site on Plugshare, but more precise location information would be helpful. I could not find an address on DWP websites. On Google Maps I see a substantial parking lot on the south side of 3rd street, W. of Boylston, bordered by some trees on 3rd street and a 4-story building on the West. Is this the correct location?

 

[GregH]

The FOB thing simply seems like a bad idea that is only going to become more cumbersome with time. They need a mechanism to allow the dealer to decide whether or not they want to require its use or not... If a dealer is not going to be charging for a charge, what is the point of the FOB?...

Poor girl had to come out every 25-30 minutes and wave the FOB in front of the thing.

Gotta keep all those non Leaf EVs from using our chargers.. uhm.. oh, wait..
Since 99.9% of the EVs that CAN use Chademo at the moment are Leafs it seems the only reason for the FOB is to keep Leafs from other dealerships from slurping free electrons (a thoroughly lame idea). Nobody asked to see my Proof of Tustin Purchase to let me charge. Just a waste of time. The Sumitomo has to authorize with the mother ship anyway so it's not like they need the gal at the front desk to keep track.

 

[Alexcuse]

The Sumitomo QC unit installed by LADWP at its west 3rd Street building downtown between Bixel and Beaudry is now operational.

Thank you for your report. I would like to put this site on Plugshare, but more precise location information would be helpful. I could not find an address on DWP websites. On Google Maps I see a substantial parking lot on the south side of 3rd street, W. of Boylston, bordered by some trees on 3rd street and a 4-story building on the West. Is this the correct location?

Here right now, yes next to 4 story building , the parking lot is accessible from both 3rd or 4th Street, east of bixel, through the gates

also it stopped charging by itself at 97%

 

[TomT]

One of the problems is that I have rewards accounts with three different dealers and the Nissan system simply can not deal with that.

If it could be done, it would be better to integrate the Nissan One-To-One rewards program. Then we could activate charging on our One-To-One cards and a billing system using the same accounts could be rolled out (if necessary).