Electrify America and 3 year charging help!
 

Hi,

New Taycan owner here. My car came with 3 free years of charging at EA stations, but neither my dealer, Porsche customer service or EA can help me figure out how to activate it and use it.

Can anyone here walk me through what I need to do? I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find assistance.

thank you!!!!

Did you get started with the my Porsche/ Porsche connect activation?

you have to make sure all terms and conditions are accepted and that you have a credit card on file.

I am all set up. I see under my account that I have the Porsche Charging Service and it’s set to go for a year.

Now, what do I do to USE it at an EA station and NOT get charged $$?

Thanks :)

you would search and find a station in your Porsche app NOT the EA app.

it will give you the free 30 minutes no charge

if your dealership cannot assist you I would find a better dealership.
you will need to load onto your phone both the porsche app and the charging NA app. login to your account on porsche connect then login into the charge NA account which should using your porsche connect ID.
once the accounts are established, you arrive at the EA charger, this is how I need to do it because plug and charge does not work on my car, so you arrive at the EA unit, open the charging NA app, locate the EA unit on the app, then note the actual charging unit you want to use, click on that unit, plug the car in and hit start charging on the NA app. with any luck charging will start.
it is imperative that you use the charging NA app for charging and not the porsche connect app.

this is not quite right, you have to use the charging NA app, not the porsche connect app

Thanks everyone. Doing my first test run now. Working well! The EA station was found in the app (although it took some time as no stations were showing up. Don’t know what happened to change that. Maybe Bc I also opened the Porsche Connect app?) but once found, it was as easy as selecting the pump and plugging in.

awesome! Appreciate all of your assistance :)

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/th...e-2#post-57023

post #22 details all the different ways you can activate a EA charging session - only 4 of the 10 methods can/will result in the "free" 30 minute charging session - all other activation methods will result in billing fee's for the charge session

either Porsche Connect app
or
Charging app

can start a "free" 30 minute charging session - it's frustrating because sometimes one or the other or both are working or broken

here are the links to the two porsche apps for the free 30 min session

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/porsch...p/id1027326241
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/charging-na/id1487459638

here are the set of useful apps for owning an EV in North America

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/electr...a/id1458030456
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/plugshare/id421788217
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chargepoint/id356866743
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/evgo-e...s/id1281660968
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/a-bett...p/id1490860521

Does plug-n-charge work yet? And will it be a free session with plug-n-charge?

plug-n-charge from my assessment is "hit-or-miss"…

some people have it working great, other's not so much - a lot depends on MY of your Taycan - and regionally - EA is rolling it out - but it's not something you can rely on - I'd have the various apps at the ready.

NOTE: if you optioned the 19.2 kW AC charger for your North American Taycan plug&charge will NEVER work due to a hardware compatibility/provisioning issue - it apparently should/could/would/will-be fixed for MY'2022 - and MY'2020 Taycan's do NOT support plug&charge

so it's really really a mixed bag.

Just checked my app. $0.00 charged. The “pump” showed $14.90 but before I started charging, it said “Taycan Plan” or whatever, so I knew it would be zero cost.

Thank You all for the help and links. Truly awesome.

I have a MY2021 scheduled for August build. Should I be concerned that plug-n-charge may not work? I was at an EA DCFC station close to my home a couple of months back and met a guy with a brand new Turbo S and he drove quite a few miles there just so he can experience the fast charger. It was funny to see him moving around in the parking lot with his cell phone in hand just so he can activate the charger since that area has really spotty cellular connection. (And I am sure I would not be funny if I am the one trying to charge the car and not able to...)

plug&charge _SHOULD_ work on your Taycan unless you optioned the 19.2 kW home charging option (which I doubt you did) - so that will mean your MY’2021 Taycan _CAN_ plug&charge - the other part of the equation is will it - and that all depends on Electrify America…and frankly it’s sooo variable right now that there is no way to predict if it will or won’t work at any particular EA location…

the only thing I can think of is to either call & ask EA about Plug&Charge status at a particular location - or consult plug-share and see if any ‘check-ins’ report plug&charge working…

as I said it’s really really hit-or-miss so far…have your app’s at the ready.

there are at least 10 ways to activate an EA charging session:

1. Electrify America App
2. Electrify America Account added to your AppleWallet via NFC
   1. wave your phone for account ID in front of the wireless credit card reader for EA account activation
3. Porsche Connect App
4. Charging America App
5. Swiping a physical credit card at the charger using onscreen instruction at the charger
6. using a credit card via NFC at the charger using onscreen instructions
   1. this is distinct from method #2 - NFC credit card vs. NFC account membership card
7. Plug & charge (if station/vehicle support it)
8. Calling the Electrify America customer support
9. having it “just” work because for what ever reason EA has enabled charging at a specific location because of some fault with stations ability to accept payment locally
10. EA RFID card/fob? is this thing?

• I have personally used/experienced EA and gotten a charging session to work with 9 of the 10 methods listed above…
• this is too many methods and each trial via each method can take some time
• the method required will vary by station and current conditions
  • the method required may vary by stall at a given site
  • the method required will vary by the hour at the same station on the same day
    • see @chrisk recent experience at the belmont, ca station
• only method’s 3, 4, 7, and 8 are potentially able to utilize the “free” included North American Taycan charging billing for the 30 min “free” session
• sometimes all 10 methods will fail to initiate a session
  • this is the nightmare scenario and why EA still sucks sometimes
• my hope is that #7 becomes the primary method over time and the failure rate drops
• if you are not prepared to try each of the 10 methods to start a session then EA/Taycan is not the vehicle for you at this point in it’s life cycle - that’s a personal decision
• Porsche and their dealership’s are cluelss as to the real status of the EA network and challenges in actually attempting to travel with this vehicle with the EA network
  • they are sales/marketing people - they will claim the best possible outcomes in all circumstances blissfully unaware that EA at this point in time is a work in progress and some of that work is substandard with substandard results
  • prosche’s legal department is at least as good as their mechanical engineering department - attempting to get them to legally respond to mispresentaiton on this topic will at least be an expensive excercise taking time and money if you feel you’ve been mislead - I would doubt you can return the vehicle based on your personal feeling of misrepresentation on this topic.
    • at a minimum we’ll be onto the Taycan .2 or beyond if VW/Audi/Porsche were to ever “cop” to this via legal action
• my experience since July 2020 is that EA is getting better slowly - but it is still less than 100% reliable
• it has also been my experience that sometimes activating the session takes longer than the actual charging session - undermining the charging speed advantages of the Taycan
• when you can successfully activate an EA station w/350 kW charging and get 150kW or more charging rate - the Taycan is the fastest charging EV currently available in production for normal purchase - hands down the fastest network and fastest charging EV.
• there is a possibility EA station activation is failing due to hardware faults with
  • a) the vehicle - only your dealer can diagnose this
  • b) the actual physical station you are using
  • it is true neither the vehicle or the station will provide enough diagnostic information for you as a normal consumer to know the difference as to why you can not activate a charging session at a given stall
  • EA customer support MIGHT be able to suggest it’s not their station’s fault - but I would not trust their diagnosis 100%
  • your dealership is clueless - repeat this - a lot - but they will try
• Rebooting EA stations takes time, but it may resolve the issue
  • like all good computers they sometimes magically work after a good swift kick in the powersupply…
  • if you must charge at a given location - make the EA agent reboot each and every station in a vain atttempt to get at least one to work
  • this will take time…but it’s better than being stranded
• if you haven’t baked in extra time due to the incomplete list of possible failures listed above then you’re doing it wrong
  • or the Taycan is the wrong EV for your roadtripping plans and needs
• The Tesla supercharger network is in fact better and much more reliable - this is an indisputable fact at this point in EV development
  • tesla fan boy’s are sometimes right - this is frustrating - but on this topic - leave them alone - Elon is winning here for now…
  • it’s not flawless, but it is greatly better from a reliability and usability point of view
  • if this is important to you purchase your EV with this in mind.
• All of these issues occur at varing degrees of probabilility across the current and future CCS based EV fleet…
  • the grass is not greener with another CCS based EV.

As with all things YMMV - and the reasons it may vary are innumerable - this can lead to extreme frustration - back up charging plans are a way of life with a Taycan at this point in it’s life cycle - and you may lose vast amounts of time fiddling with an EA station attempting to get it to work.

spouse/travel companion approval will be very very low if you encounter any of these problems while traveling - it’s best to have your travel companions “buy in to” this as the current state of affairs before choosing your vehicle for that next trip - if they are un-amused by debugging new technology - they will be grumpy during the trip at some EA sites…find a new EV or a new Travel companion - but one will have to be swapped for the other - cost to swap one or the other will vary greatly…

the current state of affairs is unacceptable and I‘m hoping/trusting it will improve over time - having a high failure rate and many many different methods for charger activation is not sustainable over time - it will ether get better or this whole EV thing will stall because of this and other factors - I’m optimistic that over time things will get better and we’ll increasingly rely on and be successful with method #7 - and all the other “methods“ will fade into low utilization scenarios - but for now this is the state of affairs - and it’s likely to be this way for at least another 12-24 months…

we’ll all check in constantly on this topic - hey - it’s an internet forum - but if this goes like it has to this topic will fade because if it doesn’t - well then we have bigger problems for an EV transition.

EA expansion plan states big updates and increase in charging stations from now through 2023. Will be interesting to see how it turns out especially with Rivian, Bollinger, and other EVs coming to market that will utilize this network.

Hi. What exactly is the 19.2kW AC and where do I find it on the build sheet? I'm looking at one from the dealer and there is the 400amp/150kwh thing on board..is that it? this is for a 2021 T4S..tia

I believe the 19.2 kW AC charging has been removed as an option in NA because of the plug-n-charge “bug” with the 19.2 kW hardware. If it’s not listed in eMobility then don’t worry about it. It is a separate option from the 150 kW/400V option.

Thanks! I was confusing myself with that :)

Tesla to allow supercharger to other EVs
 

Good news
https://electrek.co/2021/06/24/tesla...ers-next-year/

you’ll need the 400V/150 kW charging option otherwise you’ll be limited to 50 kW - and I also am dubious this will happen in North America - need an adapter or another type of cable - and the cables are not long enough to reach charge port locations on most non-Tesla’s - there is a LOT of physical obsticles to this functioning in North America - they can be overcome - but it will take time and physical changes to the stalls and new equipment (extra cords or adapters).

I read this as Tesla promising to open up the 5 stations being expanded (maybe even just the portions actually expanded with the public funds?) . Seems like a big leap to suggest this will apply to all of Norway, let alone beyond.

"Tesla applied for benefits to expand 5 fast-charging stations. Tesla's charging stations today are just available for Tesla cars. That type of infrastructure is then only open for use by one group and not for the general public otherwise. In the application, Tesla describes the relevant charging stations will nevertheless be publicly available from the third quarter of 2022. "

don't hold your breath waiting on this, it is almost not going to happen in the US.

I'm sorry, but I find this incredibly hard to believe.

Your My Porsche account needs to be activated in your car.

I believe the dealers are clueless and will remain so - we are in a transition period and like all things digital inefficiencies in the system will come to light and be eliminated - the dealership network as we know it sucks and it needs to change - the fact that they are incapable of providing even the most rudimentary EV support simply disgusts me - but no longer surprises me. It’s a new world and some are going to get left behind and others are going to pick up the new torch and blaze forward

Tesla has it’s pro’s and con’s -o but for the most part their service/dealer network doesn’t fall down on their understanding of EV’s

I agree, I'm not surprised the dealer doesn't. Quite literally I have never shopped for a car where I didn't know more about the car than the salesperson. However, Porsche Corporate has to know, and I would think EA.

direct sales is inevitable - just a matter of time - dealers will become service & delivery hubs and lose the sales role due to progress and the fact that they are pointless.

No, it should work fine.

You do have to turn on plug-and-charge (it's hidden under one of those ... menus on the PCM, and off by default.)

My first charging experience was confusing. I tried to use the EA app, then found out about "Charging NA" and used that. Later I found out about the plug-and-charge checkbox, enabled it, and from there it has been smooth. Roll up and plug in, simple as that.

your experience highlights a major fail on your salesman and dealership. all those things should have been explained to you on delivery.

Looks to be true to include the US also. Glad to hear..hope it is better as my Taycan CT 4 arrives early next year! :)

​​​​​​https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/t...ork-elon-musk/

I decided to try EA charger for the first time yesterday just to see how they worked and find out if me or my 4S was set up properly! I looked for the plug and charge menu on my PCM but couldn’t find it! So I just opened the Charge NA app and selected the location at the Walmart near my home and pulled into one of 4 charging spaces. The first attempt to charge would not work and the pump kept asking me for a credit card. Then I noticed that the charging cable I selected didn’t have a green dot next to it in my app but the other cable did have a green light in the app, so I changed cables selected the other pump in the app and boom she started charging! After a coke and an order of nachos at Del Taco, about 15 mins my car went from 65% to 92% easy peasy. I don’t know if the plug and charge feature on my car is selected or not since I can’t seem to find it! Overall for me once I figured out that some stations may be inop or not compatible and use the app to select the right station it worked well!

This helps some people:

https://your-digital-co-pilot.com/

Plug and charge is in the "3 dot" charging menu. Press charge/charging button on home screen then press the 3 dots in the lower left of the screen.

Has anyone used the 350kw station? How quick is it? Some articles suggest it may peak around 270kw but avg is 150kw.

I have an Electrify America App
The App has my login info and Taycan info

Can I launch a "Free" charging session with this Electrify America App?

Does the Electrify America App allow a "Free" plug and charge experience?

I don’t think you can do it free. The app I used works by signing in with your Porsche Connect user name and password. Then it knows your eligible for free service!
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...064333a38.jpeg

read this post (#14) that is part of this thread - the methods listed in “green” are the only methods I’m aware of that will start the included 30 minute sessions - all other methods you will be billed for session use

https://rennlist.com/forums/taycan/1...l#post17505364

Plug and Charge!

Upon plugging my Taycan into The EA 350 KW station, I was greeted by a "Initializing a free session" message !

Could not have been any friendlier or easier !

157 miles in 31 minutes

Leisurely Sunday morning grocery shopping at my local Stop and Shop- Stamford CT

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...8c89762d88.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...45bd080c02.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...7c51d19cec.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...9930805d20.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...34d8b286b6.jpg

I went to three different 350kw EA stations today. The car was about 15-25% at the beginning of each charging session, None went above 139kwh?

what are you guys getting at the standard 150kwh stations? I’m wondering if it makes a difference which one to go to.

other than my many issues with charging I seem to have better luck getting the 150 units to charge, I will see anywhere north of 80kw depending on SOC. I had one up to 130 KW on sunday in VA.