FlasherZ
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UPDATE: The masses have spoken. Through a number of thoughtful posts (and a few trolls), this one appears to be an annoyance to only a few, and the majority don't feel it's an annoyance to have to open and close both the "fuel door" and the "DC charging flap" manually (or share the annoyance that the two overlap each other). Fair enough, in my experience it's an extreme convenience, but I'll get used to building some muscle memory for the additional steps. Many felt it was "yet another thing to break", although I do point out that there is a manufacturer out there who has made this work in four-season weather without significant hurdles. There are some concerns about the long-term longevity of the charge door, given that it is plastic versus traditional fuel doors' body metal - time will tell. To those who provided thoughtful comments and didn't just troll, thank you.
First, I'll admit I'm spoiled. I first had Tesla's auto-open charging port on the early cars, and then the auto-open/auto-close charge port on my following cars. It's EXTREMELY convenient. Taking a step back with the Lightning, I'm leaving the charge port door open nearly EVERY TIME I charge, because the engineers just thought of it just like filling a fuel tank (which is a really bad analogy).
But now that I have my FCSP installed, it's even worse. You see, the Charge Station pro has a full CCS connector on it. Ford decided to create a little flap on the Lightning that covers the DC pins of the CCS charging connector when you're only using AC charging. But now - to plug my car in at home, you have to manually open the charge door, then flip down that little "DC charging flap" to plug your connector in. Then, when you unplug, you have to remember to flip up that little flap before you close the charge door or you might damage the charge port door because it won't close.
If you're like me, you'll first forget to close the charge door. You'll get in the truck and see "charge door open", sigh heavily, and get out of the vehicle again. Then you'll try to close the charge door, but it won't - because, you guessed it, you forgot to close the DC charging flap before you tried to close the charging door and the flap was hanging down, preventing it from closing.
It's not difficult to rectify, but it's just annoying and it takes far more steps than it should.
@Ford Motor Company: in an EV, there are a few things you do EVERY SINGLE DAY, like plugging in. And those things need to be made frictionless. It's why Tesla didn't use the J1772 connector (so that it's easier to plug in and that people who have arthritis or lower motor skill function can use it more easily), and why they didn't stop at an auto-open port, adding auto-close capabilities to it. Your engineers need to shake the 100 year mindset and climb into a new mindset to remove this friction.
(No, I haven't developed the bravery to just remove the stupid flap quite yet.)
EDIT: I admit this is very much a "first world problem". But many times, it's the little things - the little frictions - that customers add together.
First, I'll admit I'm spoiled. I first had Tesla's auto-open charging port on the early cars, and then the auto-open/auto-close charge port on my following cars. It's EXTREMELY convenient. Taking a step back with the Lightning, I'm leaving the charge port door open nearly EVERY TIME I charge, because the engineers just thought of it just like filling a fuel tank (which is a really bad analogy).
But now that I have my FCSP installed, it's even worse. You see, the Charge Station pro has a full CCS connector on it. Ford decided to create a little flap on the Lightning that covers the DC pins of the CCS charging connector when you're only using AC charging. But now - to plug my car in at home, you have to manually open the charge door, then flip down that little "DC charging flap" to plug your connector in. Then, when you unplug, you have to remember to flip up that little flap before you close the charge door or you might damage the charge port door because it won't close.
If you're like me, you'll first forget to close the charge door. You'll get in the truck and see "charge door open", sigh heavily, and get out of the vehicle again. Then you'll try to close the charge door, but it won't - because, you guessed it, you forgot to close the DC charging flap before you tried to close the charging door and the flap was hanging down, preventing it from closing.
It's not difficult to rectify, but it's just annoying and it takes far more steps than it should.
@Ford Motor Company: in an EV, there are a few things you do EVERY SINGLE DAY, like plugging in. And those things need to be made frictionless. It's why Tesla didn't use the J1772 connector (so that it's easier to plug in and that people who have arthritis or lower motor skill function can use it more easily), and why they didn't stop at an auto-open port, adding auto-close capabilities to it. Your engineers need to shake the 100 year mindset and climb into a new mindset to remove this friction.
(No, I haven't developed the bravery to just remove the stupid flap quite yet.)
EDIT: I admit this is very much a "first world problem". But many times, it's the little things - the little frictions - that customers add together.
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