New Charge Assist App Function / Feature is Out!

[thunderbayterry]

What drives me NUTS about Charge Assist is that it won't work if the vehicle is in motion. My wife and I take road trips in my Lightning. While I'm driving, SHE uses the Navigation screen to look ahead, find charging stations, TAP THEM, and find out how many kw they are and whats around. We cannot use Charge Assist this way because it always gives that message about "Some things are disabled while vehicle is in motion because we don't trust you - you stupid driver - to keep your eyes on the road" (some of those words are mine - LOL) - THIS DRIVES ME NUTS!!! And I'm not going to pull over just to USE Charge Assist!

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[4Reeley]

Furthermore, I can see Tesla SC’s in charge assist, but they don’t show up in native Ford nav. Hopefully a map update is coming? Anyone else see Tesla chargers in Ford nav yet?? So, if you’re moving in the vehicle you can only search for charging options that include Tesla SC in FordPass, not built in nav or charge assist.

 

[LUXMAN]

Furthermore, I can see Tesla SC’s in charge assist, but they don’t show up in native Ford nav. Hopefully a map update is coming? Anyone else see Tesla chargers in Ford nav yet?? So, if you’re moving in the vehicle you can only search for charging options that include Tesla SC in FordPass, not built in nav or charge assist.

That is what I am seeing too

 

[RickLightning]

Some facts about Charge Assist:

It is a server app. Often slow.

If you find a charger and then click on directions to navigate to it, it will NOT precondition the battery.

It often displays incorrect charge speed, pricing, and status - it will say charger is unavailable as you are using it via Plug and Charge or swipe.

 

[bydabeach]

Some facts about Charge Assist:

It is a server app. Often slow.

If you find a charger and then click on directions to navigate to it, it will NOT precondition the battery.

It often displays incorrect charge speed, pricing, and status - it will say charger is unavailable as you are using it via Plug and Charge or swipe.

Always value your posts.

I've lived a simple charging life - drive from home to work, and charge at both places. Have yet to use a true public charger.

Planning for a road trip. The comment you made and the one above about being restricted from using charge assist while the vehicle is moving are major limitations (I well understand the purpose of the latter one).

On road trips, do you use another app (either on the screen or on your phone)? Some like PlugShare. I have played around on ABRP, but not sure if it is better or worse than others.

Thanks.

 

[Maquis]

Always value your posts.

I've lived a simple charging life - drive from home to work, and charge at both places. Have yet to use a true public charger.

Planning for a road trip. The comment you made and the one above about being restricted from using charge assist while the vehicle is moving are major limitations (I well understand the purpose of the latter one).

On road trips, do you use another app (either on the screen or on your phone)? Some like PlugShare. I have played around on ABRP, but not sure if it is better or worse than others.

Thanks.

I don’t road trip often, but here is my routine:

1. Plan the route with ABRP. Decide where I’m going to charge.
2. Check my selected charge locations in PlugShare. Adjust stops, if necessary.
3. Enter the first charge stop as the destination in the Ford nav.
4. Repeat 3 for each subsequent charge stop while charging, verifying again the charger status in PlugShare.

 

[Pioneer74]

I don’t road trip often, but here is my routine:

1. Plan the route with ABRP. Decide where I’m going to charge.
2. Check my selected charge locations in PlugShare. Adjust stops, if necessary.
3. Enter the first charge stop as the destination in the Ford nav.
4. Repeat 3 for each subsequent charge stop while charging, verifying again the charger status in PlugShare.

This is the way.

 

[bydabeach]

I don’t road trip often, but here is my routine:

1. Plan the route with ABRP. Decide where I’m going to charge.
2. Check my selected charge locations in PlugShare. Adjust stops, if necessary.
3. Enter the first charge stop as the destination in the Ford nav.
4. Repeat 3 for each subsequent charge stop while charging, verifying again the charger status in PlugShare.

This is the way.

Can one view Plugshare on the big screen while moving in case a redirect is needed? It appears PlugShare is a free app, is this correct? And do you pay directly through PlugShare?

Sorry for the newbie questions, as I said, I have lived a very uncomplicated charging life, using my Lightning as a daily driver.

As noted, I get the safety issue in fumbling with the screen while driving, but when going on long trips, many people have someone in the passenger seat. But the same logic applies when using ITunes or whatever music library, the constant nanny-induced pauses by the software is a little frustrating.

 

[Pioneer74]

Can one view Plugshare on the big screen while moving in case a redirect is needed? It appears PlugShare is a free app, is this correct? And do you pay directly through PlugShare?

Sorry for the newbie questions, as I said, I have lived a very uncomplicated charging life, using my Lightning as a daily driver.

As noted, I get the safety issue in fumbling with the screen while driving, but when going on long trips, many people have someone in the passenger seat. But the same logic applies when using ITunes or whatever music library, the constant nanny-induced pauses by the software is a little frustrating.

I don't know if Plugshare is available on the truck screen. We use it on our phones or laptop. We usually check before we leave, not while on a trip.

 

[bydabeach]

I don't know if Plugshare is available on the truck screen. We use it on our phones or laptop. We usually check before we leave, not while on a trip.

Yeah, and the info at the beginning of the trip should be good 2-3 hours later after one has been driving. Thanks for the tips, and this will be the way.

Do you pay through PlugShare, and is there an advantage to paying through them vs. ChargeAssist?

 

[Maquis]

Yeah, and the info at the beginning of the trip should be good 2-3 hours later after one has been driving. Thanks for the tips, and this will be the way.

Do you pay through PlugShare, and is there an advantage to paying through them vs. ChargeAssist?

If you do a lot of public charging, look into the charging company’s subscription plans. For a monthly fee, you get a fairly substantial discount but in order to get it, you have to pay using their app. I don’t do enough public charging to make the subscriptions worthwhile, so I normally pay thru Ford. Either FordPass or ChargeAssist. There’s no advantage to pay using PlugShare that I’m aware of.

 

[Pioneer74]

Yeah, and the info at the beginning of the trip should be good 2-3 hours later after one has been driving. Thanks for the tips, and this will be the way.

Do you pay through PlugShare, and is there an advantage to paying through them vs. ChargeAssist?

Like Maquis, I use Plug and Charge through Ford unless I'm on an extended trip. With EA, I would pay the monthly fee and initiate charging through the app. I will also do that with Tesla on my upcoming trip in April.

 

[bydabeach]

If you do a lot of public charging, look into the charging company’s subscription plans. For a monthly fee, you get a fairly substantial discount but in order to get it, you have to pay using their app. I don’t do enough public charging to make the subscriptions worthwhile, so I normally pay thru Ford. Either FordPass or ChargeAssist. There’s no advantage to pay using PlugShare that I’m aware of.

My public charging needs will be rare. IIRC, Tesla has a $12.99/month (or something like that) subscription plan.

IDK the charge per kWh of charge without a subscription, and I am not really concerned. I think I have seen around $0.50- which seems on par with cost of filling up on gasoline. Even if it is more, I'm good with that. Articles have said not to compare to the cost of driving an ICE vehicle, but I like that comparison, and I can live with it being more expensive, because 98% of my "fuel" is virtually free on my solar-powered home charger.

https://www.motortrend.com/features/how-much-does-it-cost-to-charge-a-tesla/

 

[LUXMAN]

I gotta say it. Sorry, but I have found ABRP to be unusable for my '22s.
It works great for my Model 3 but their numbers are off for the Lightning, IMO.

I may look at it, but now I just use plugshare. If I go from 100-10%, I plan on 180 miles max and if 80-10%, 140 miles.
I use their trip planner and set the range to the desired setting and pick my chargers and just nav to them and try to get 2 miles -ish per kW.
But I just pick something in the ring, along the route.

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