06/02/2024
Just arrived in Lafayette, Indiana for a charge and DING DING DING I've encountered my 2nd infrastructure issue.
Only 2 of the 4 DC fast chargers are working, and there are two people hooked up. Thankfully they're in their cars and not in the Walmart 🤣
***UPDATE***
While typing this out, the one guy finished charging and I am now hooked up. While this is a learning experience, I now realize I could've plugged in on the other side right away with the 2nd cord on that charging station. The layout of this station and parking lot is extremely confusing, so that's on me.
While I'm waiting, I'll share a few items.
1) The first charge stop near O'Hare went absolutely perfectly. Rolled with 39% and charged up to 80% (that's the top of the sweet spot) in about 20 minutes. The chargers were in the parking lot of a strip mall, and right next door was a 7-11 which provided the perfect bathroom break. A quick Facebook post later and I was back on the road.
2) Second stop was *suppsed* to be a quick 15 charge in Fair Oaks, Indiana. When I pulled up, none of the chargers were on. I had plenty of range to make it to Lafayette, so I hopped back on the road. I will say the navigation system with the integrated charge network does adapt to your drive very very well to optimize both travel time and charge time/stops.
KEEP IN MIND, I'm kinda raw do**in this trip without any connected/registered apps (including MyChevrolet) which are supposed to tell you the availability status of the chargers. I have a feeling I could've avoided this issue with those connected services.
3) The current situation where half the chargers are down (for who knows what reason) is definitely annoying. I do understand that I'm not in an area where the charging network is vast such as Florida or the East Coast (from what I've heard), but there is A LOT of catching up to do if they want to push more EVs. Personal opinion here, I don't hate EVs with a burning passion like some, but I am a super fan by any means. Ignoring the underlying issues of how awful the mines are, I think they're a nice option to have for some.
4) About the car itself, it's a wonderful driving car. The comfort of the suspension, steering, etc. rivals that of many luxury cars I've driven. It took me a while to find *the spot* in the seat, but once I got settled in it wasn't bad at all. I do enjoy how the interior looks and feels like a normal car compared to the wacky Tesla and Tesla-inspired interiors. On the negative side of things, there needs to be another software update. The blind spot monitor system was working smoothly, but then went a bit haywire. The orange lights kept coming on and even sometimes just staying on the whole time...man are they BRIGHT. Quite the nuisance especially when it's dark out, and this system will only let you shut them off completely when stopped. Next is the Auto Hold feature keeps coming in and out. This causes the message to come up on the screen CONSTANTLY, and when you do come to a complete stop it emits the most annoying, ear piercing chime warning until you start moving again. The irony of this is that I'm using the One Pedal Drive feature (which I absolutely LOVE), so it stays stopped anyways just like Auto Hold does.
All in all, I'm really enjoying this trip so far, and it's been an incredible learning experience. Everyone at work called me dumb for doing this, but there's no replacement for hands-on learning. I'm looking forward to sharing what I've learned when I get back in a couple of days!
