2016 SE charging times

[JoulesThief]

I'm really confused. Can someone please explain how this works out on an SE model?

I'll get the standard charger. I can purchase a faster charger?

And it's compatible with the super fast chargers on the road?
We have to pick ours up tomorrow and wondering if we will be able to get home (about 200 miles) without having to charge for 10 hours.

If you go to a level 2 charger, you'll add at 3.6kw hr and the charger is estimated at 85% efficient. About 3.06kwh. I'd advise driving 50 mph to extend range as much as possible, with everything off, A/C, etc, practice some hypermiling techniques, and you might get home on just one 7 or 8 hour charge. You'll need to pray you get 100 miles between recharges, and that a recharge spot is right at the 100 mile mark with a level 2 charger available, and that the last leg of your trip is not a gain in elevation from the last charging station. Plan on a 2 day, trip, and plan on lodging somewhere near a dealership that has a level 2 charger available for you exclusively for 8 hours over night.

Please install the Plugshare app on your phone immediately and start studying where you can find a public or private level 2 charger that you can have access to for 7 or 8 hours, as most have time limits of 2 to 4 hours to recharge. I'd try to coordinate an 8 hour charge somewhere where you can overnight, save the last leg of the journey for Sunday, and make it a short drive, and plug in your car as soon as you get home, and overnight charge it until Monday morning.

If you have issues with your car, it is going to be a nightmare being 200 miles away from the services of a VW dealership... for this reason alone, at a minimum, get a 7.2 KW charger pack in the SEL model, with the 20 minute 80% level 3 charge feature with the SAE CCS female receptacle.

You have much to learn, Grasshopper.

 

[bizzle]

The closest dealer is 99 miles away, but that's not where the car is located.

 

[Slomove]

I did buy the 2016 SE two weeks ago. The L1 supplied charger is what it is and given my short commute I could even live with it.

But for versatility reasons mentioned in the other posts I bought and installed the L2 charger (LCS25 by ClipperCreek). I have not run the battery completely down but with 10-20% left I can charge it in 5-6 hours. Since that happens overnight, I don't really care shortening it to 2 or 3 hours.

I really beginning to like that car.

Hi, I have the 2016 SE as well, any particular reason you choose LCS25 (4.8 kWh) instead of LCS20 (3.6 kWh) ? since the charger in SE model anyway limited to 3.6 kW. Any benefit to have the 20Amp in LCS25 compare to 15 Amp in LCS20 as there is $100+ price diff ?

TIA

Since the LCS20 has exactly the rating of the car charge input I did not want it to be the limiting factor. Always good to have some reserve and not to utilize a power supply to its spec limit.
Does it make a difference? I don't know. Since it is now hard wired, I can not hook up my 240V power meter anymore. I think you are probably good with the LCS20 but it was only $100 more (2 tanks full of gas....)

 

[miimura]

I'm really confused. Can someone please explain how this works out on an SE model?

I'll get the standard charger. I can purchase a faster charger?

And it's compatible with the super fast chargers on the road?
We have to pick ours up tomorrow and wondering if we will be able to get home (about 200 miles) without having to charge for 10 hours.

The SE model available today only has a 3.6kW (15 amp) on-board charger. It also does not have the inlet for the SAE Combo fast charger.

Covering 200 miles will take:
100 miles at 50mph = 2 hours
Charging to replace 20kWh at 3kW will take 6.6-7.5 hours
100 miles at 50mph = 2 hours.
Total: 10.6-11.5 hours

That's assuming that it is completely full when you leave the dealership. Make sure as soon as you arrive, just in case they need to put it on the charger to top it off.

If you ever need to do trips like that again, I would back out of the deal and either wait for an SE with the Charging Package or get an SEL.

If OP using the standard charger that came with the car, it can only deliver 15A *120V (I don't think it will work with 240V) = 1.8kW.
so the charging time could be double.

Yes, the included charger is even slower. However, the problem I was trying to highlight is that the best case for the SE is quite painful for any trip beyond its single charge range. When I first heard about the SE I was concerned that people like the OP that were new to EVs would not understand the real world implications of deleting the 7.2kW charger and Fast Charge inlet. VW cheaped out on the 2016 SE in much more significant ways than the 2015 Limited Edition.

 

[JoulesThief]

Well, we haven't signed the papers yet. We still need to drive to the dealership in the morning.

When the charging package becomes available is it going to be something that we can install afterwards?
We don't have a choice in the distance...this is one of two closest dealerships.

There is no ability to fast charge the SE?

That is correct, there is no ability to fast charge the SE with a level 3 charger. If you live in the desert and you're here in So CA, you will loose about 10 miles of range also per 1000 feet of elevation climbed, so it will take you two charges, at least, to get home, unless you are buying from Antelope Valley VW, at 2500 feet in Elevation.

There are VERY, VERY VERY few SAE CCS chargers here in Southern California, certainly none for your car, out in the desert. An e-Golf serves better as an urban vehicle, not a long haul desert destination model. Take a map, center where you live on the map, and draw a 40 mile radius around where you live, and that's your approximate range at any time on a full charge in your e-golf. 3.2kw is a slow boat to China recharging, if you don't have overnight to do so.

I'd suggest you step up and spring for the SEL and the 7.2kwh charger pack on that version. much more efficient LED headlights also, not dragging the battery and the range of the car down.

 

[JoulesThief]

So, now the question is, what is bizzle slowly laboriously driving home in, the 3.6kw 2016SE, or something with 7.2 kwh that he gets home in sometime on Saturday night, late.

 

[bizzle]

SE is charging at the El Cajon dealership. We'll finish the trip tomorrow morning. We won't have to make this trip again for three years. If it breaks down and needs to go to a dealership, it'll go on a tow truck.

Maybe we should have sprung for the LED lights but it didn't sound like a significant hit to the range from what I read. Rarely driven in the dark, no trips over 20 miles, and we still have our TDI regardless.

Even with a faster charge capability we wouldn't be able to use the car to go back and forth to San Diego or loss Angeles.

 

[JoulesThief]

SE is charging at the El Cajon dealership. We'll finish the trip tomorrow morning. We won't have to make this trip again for three years. If it breaks down and needs to go to a dealership, it'll go on a tow truck.

Maybe we should have sprung for the LED lights but it didn't sound like a significant hit to the range from what I read. Rarely driven in the dark, no trips over 20 miles, and we still have our TDI regardless.

Even with a faster charge capability we wouldn't be able to use the car to go back and forth to San Diego or loss Angeles.

You might have been able to tow it back with the TDI, and the ignition on, in regen mode number 1, to recharge the battery, for extended range. What did you find on Plugshare, for places to recharge? Or did you even research that?

If you are headed for around El Centro, I would make beeline for Sycuan Bingo Palace parking lot, 2nd floor, where there are some level 2 chargers, with those free Chargepoint cards VW gave you in the glove box, and activate one of them so you can have some juice left after climbing the grade. Rogers, and Rogers Nissan should be able to get you recharged a bit near El Centro, you might get 15-16 miles per hour charge rate there. Your stock Delphi on 120V should add about 5 miles per hour.

With the 7.2kwh charger package, 2 hours on 240V at 30 amps from a Level 2 charger should get you 12 to 13kwh in an hour, good for about 65 - 70 miles range for me when getting 5.5 miles per kwh average. The electric fuel tank needle on this vehicle, going up grades, drops remarkably, disturbingly fast. It has 1/10th the tank and 1/10th the range of my 2014 Passat TDI SE with DSG. I easily get 50 mpg in the Passat. It takes a major adjustment of expectations, going from the TDI to the e-Golf.

 

[bizzle]

I checked plugshare. There are normal outlets available along the way but they'd probably take the afternoon for a dozen miles.

We came down from Murrieta VW.
We live in El Centro. I grew up in SD. We're spending the night with family friend who only live 3 miles from the dealership in El Cajon. My wife didn't feel like driving any further anyway.

We ended up going with the base model with extended coverage and signed for 215 per month with nothing out of pocket. They didn't charge it's for the first aid kit, Mossy has a white one with LED lights that was another grand. I was getting quotes over the phone from a northern California dealership for 158 and zero down but I didn't have it in writing yet and we would have had to ship it down for around 900. I'm not sure if the price would have gone up when we signed but Murrieta had already gotten the white for us from another dealer and was expecting us to come in so my wife and I didn't feel like screwing someone over 750-1000 savings if it was even legitimate. Murietta said they couldn't budge anymore and we've had all our tdi service done there for years. When the TDI incentives roll in we'll see how we're treated.


How much can I expect to regen from the backside of the mountains?
Is there any downside to driving in B the entire trip?

Thanks for the tips!

 

[JoulesThief]

I checked plugshare. There are normal outlets available along the way but they'd probably take the afternoon for a dozen miles.

We came down from Murrieta VW.
We live in El Centro. I grew up in SD. We're spending the night with family friend who only live 3 miles from the dealership in El Cajon. My wife didn't feel like driving any further anyway.

We ended up going with the base model with extended coverage and signed for 215 per month with nothing out of pocket. They didn't charge it's for the first aid kit, Mossy has a white one with LED lights that was another grand. I was getting quotes over the phone from a northern California dealership for 158 and zero down but I didn't have it in writing yet and we would have had to ship it down for around 900. I'm not sure if the price would have gone up when we signed but Murrieta had already gotten the white for us from another dealer and was expecting us to come in so my wife and I didn't feel like screwing someone over 750-1000 savings if it was even legitimate. Murietta said they couldn't budge anymore and we've had all our tdi service done there for years. When the TDI incentives roll in we'll see how we're treated.


How much can I expect to regen from the backside of the mountains?
Is there any downside to driving in B the entire trip?

Thanks for the tips!

I don't ever drive in "B" mode... instead, I use it like an emergency brake, any time I want to slow down, or stop, but I always try to save momentum if at all possible.

Best suggestion is don't push hard and fast going up hill... 45 mph tops. Going down hill, slap the stick, once or twice or three times to the left, and note the "battery fill" icon appear in the dash, to check your speed. Your brake lights will go on in modes 2 and 3, BTW, as well as in "B" mode.

Pay attention to changes in elevation... if you are on gradual downhill grades, in "D", take your foot off the accelerator, and let the car freewheel coast.

You just have to slow down and play with it, and use "B" mode like a brake, and use the foot brake pedal as little as possible. It will take some driver modifications of your expectations from the car, but driving it like a fragile old man will definitely increase your range. Always do what you can to conserve energy... Windows down at 45 saves more battery than rolled up and the AC running... AC whacks your extended range hard and fast... 20 to 25%.... turn the AC on and watch remaining miles left on a full battery recalculate in a heart beat... and you know how hard it is on the battery. You'll need to take it super easy, use as much regen as possible going down the east side of I-8, and plan on coasting in to the Nissan dealership early tomorrow. Call them first, number is on PlugShare, or show up late evening after dark on a Sunday for what will probably be a free charge, on a level 2 charger.

I would get at least something, probably 50 60 miles, minimum showing in range,or 2/3 full fuel tank, into that battery, as soon as you get into El Centro. Storing it low like that is very hard on the Li Ion battery pack.

 

[bizzle]

The manual says that regenerative braking occurs when the pedal is depressed, but it sounds like you're suggesting it's not as good?

Sycuan is 10 miles east of the dealership it's charging at currently, but it's off the 8 so it seems like it wouldn't really help. We were planning on making it to Alpine or Acorn, which will be molasses charging but I can do some work for a few hours and my wife can sleep and hopefully that will get us home. We'll make it to our house before Nissan but if we can make it then it'd be nice to charge it overnight there.

 

[JoulesThief]

The manual says that regenerative braking occurs when the pedal is depressed, but it sounds like you're suggesting it's not as good?

Sycuan is 10 miles east of the dealership it's charging at currently, but it's off the 8 so it seems like it wouldn't really help. We were planning on making it to Alpine or Acorn, which will be molasses charging but I can do some work for a few hours and my wife can sleep and hopefully that will get us home. We'll make it to our house before Nissan but if we can make it then it'd be nice to charge it overnight there.

FRiction of brake pad on rotors is lost recharging... drive it using "B" mode far enough in advance so that you don't lose energy unneccesarily to friction from brake pads on rotors. It takes planning in advance, putting in "B" mode on and off as you slow down and reach a near complete stop for a stop sign... Patience, Grasshopper, patience. To conserve battery charge is never a race, it is instead an exercise in patience and priorities. Recharging takes priority over value of time, if you have to get 100 miles range out of your new 1x fully charged battery. Hit the bingo palace, get the 10 miles quick charge safety margin in about 40 minutes of charging there on their level 2 charger. You don't know how to get 100 miles out of a recharge yet, so going the last 90 miles instead is buying you a little bit of peace of mind for range anxiety.

Drive through Sequan and keep heading east by north east, until you run in to I-8 again, at Alpine. Study the map, study the country roads to get there.

 

[bizzle]

That sounds good.

I've been long-time hypermiler (came from a Geo Metro before graduating into the TDI) so I already know some techniques that will translate well to the golf. I already was stopping without using any brake. I was mainly curious whether just driving in B was worse than slapping it into B when I want to stop and when to use the regen modes. I drove 70 from dealer to dealer and the gauge still estimated I had 25 miles left. I'm not sure how accurate that was but that's a pretty good first shot if it was. I tried driving in Eco and Eco+ so I have a feel for those. I drove with A/C off and windows up, but I'll have to play with it in the morning to make sure I can turn the vents on without turning the climate control on.

Sycuan sounds like a good plan. I'd like to keep it under 55 for as long as possible. If we can skip charging it with a level 1 that'll be well worth the 40 minutes.

I just had to run down to the dealer because I think they unplugged it when they left for the night. Good thing I checked the car-net!

Even though we don't get cruise control, it seems like something car-net could implement or VCDS. The code has to be in there somewhere.

 

[JoulesThief]

That sounds good.

I've been long-time hypermiler (came from a Geo Metro before graduating into the TDI) so I already know some techniques that will translate well to the golf. I already was stopping without using any brake. I was mainly curious whether just driving in B was worse than slapping it into B when I want to stop and when to use the regen modes. I drove 70 from dealer to dealer and the gauge still estimated I had 25 miles left. I'm not sure how accurate that was but that's a pretty good first shot if it was. I tried driving in Eco and Eco+ so I have a feel for those. I drove with A/C off and windows up, but I'll have to play with it in the morning to make sure I can turn the vents on without turning the climate control on.

Sycuan sounds like a good plan. I'd like to keep it under 55 for as long as possible. If we can skip charging it with a level 1 that'll be well worth the 40 minutes.

I just had to run down to the dealer because I think they unplugged it when they left for the night. Good thing I checked the car-net!

Even though we don't get cruise control, it seems like something car-net could implement or VCDS. The code has to be in there somewhere.

How quickly you accelerate, vs accelerating slowly, off of every stop, affects how far you go on a battery charge, big time. Elevation affect is huge, also... El Cajon is 400 above sea level, El Centro is -39, or below sea level.

You will need to look for a phone number on that charger to call Charge Point to activate it for you, it may very well be free, or a very nominal charge. The Nissan dealership is probably free, but I'd offer to pay them for electricity if you charge at Nissan, probably $3 or $4 worth, for the convenience and time saved, until you wire in some 240V in your garage, and a EVSE machine.

About the only things I can suggest is accelerate gently, go slowly up the grade and down it, speed kills the range on these battery powered cars very, very quickly, and pray for a tail wind. The car will act wonky on power the last 20 miles of range, it goes into self preservation mode, because you didn't, for the whole charge of the battery. It's up to you to drive responsibly for the whole mission, the last leg home, if you are going to make it on one charge.

I don't drive it in "B" ever, I slap it in "B" like a hand brake on a manual transmission, like you are down shifting, only when I need to slow down. Slap it again and it's in Drive, or put it in neutral, then back into D if you want the car to start rolling when you release the foot brake. Otherwise acceleration can be jerky from a start in "B", driving in "D" all the time, the car will not start rolling like in an automatic transmission after being in "B" mode.

 

[TwoCarsAWeek]

Without doing all the homework about charging time on the 2016 SE E-Golf, I just leased one since I have a very short commute and there are L2 charging stations at work.

It is a fantastic lease deal!

Initially, I initially was already surprised that it is going to take 6-8 hrs to charge the SE at the L2 charger, at around adding 11 miles of capacity per hour.

Then I ran it down to 15 miles left and plugged in the standard cable to a 20A 110 outlet, the the computers indicates 18 hrs to top up!!

I was expecting 8-9 hrs to top up at home without any additional equipment, and around 4 hrs at the L2 stations or adding the 240 v charger at home

It is a great car otherwise for the 2 days that I had it so far, but I am very shocked that VW put out such a barely useable car in the name of bringing the price down. I was very enthusiastically recommending the lease to my friends before knowing the true story about the "crippled" on board charger for the SE!

My opinion on VW just took another nose down after their cheating on the diesel cheating.

:x

 

[JoulesThief]

Without doing all the homework about charging time on the 2016 SE E-Golf, I just leased one since I have a very short commute and there are L2 charging stations at work.

It is a fantastic lease deal!

Initially, I initially was already surprised that it is going to take 6-8 hrs to charge the SE at the L2 charger, at around adding 11 miles of capacity per hour.

Then I ran it down to 15 miles left and plugged in the standard cable to a 20A 110 outlet, the the computers indicates 18 hrs to top up!!

I was expecting 8-9 hrs to top up at home without any additional equipment, and around 4 hrs at the L2 stations or adding the 240 v charger at home

It is a great car otherwise for the 2 days that I had it so far, but I am very shocked that VW put out such a barely useable car in the name of bringing the price down. I was very enthusiastically recommending the lease to my friends before knowing the true story about the "crippled" on board charger for the SE!

My opinion on VW just took another nose down after their cheating on the diesel cheating.

:x

Do your due diligence first before writing the check.

You've been "tethered", just like all those iPhone owners always hunting for a power outlet, while the Samsung Galaxy S X Android crowd with extended batteries run 3 or 4 days between recharges.

Even with a 7.2 kwh charger on board, the stock EVSE at 12 amps and 120V is 17-20 hours. The limit there is the EVSE device itself.

A 240V 15Amp EVSE will charge you up in 7 hours, with a 3.6kwh charger on the car.

You need to buy the car with a 7.2KWH charger pack on board to get it down to 3 to 4 hours, and a 40 amp dedicated circuit with a 32 Amp/hr EVSE that you can pull 30-32 amps from continuously to get it down to 3- 4 hours of charging time.

http://www.myvwegolf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=557&p=4167#p4167

 

[bizzle]

Without doing all the homework about charging time on the 2016 SE E-Golf, I just leased one since I have a very short commute and there are L2 charging stations at work.

It is a fantastic lease deal!

Initially, I initially was already surprised that it is going to take 6-8 hrs to charge the SE at the L2 charger, at around adding 11 miles of capacity per hour.

Then I ran it down to 15 miles left and plugged in the standard cable to a 20A 110 outlet, the the computers indicates 18 hrs to top up!!

I was expecting 8-9 hrs to top up at home without any additional equipment, and around 4 hrs at the L2 stations or adding the 240 v charger at home

It is a great car otherwise for the 2 days that I had it so far, but I am very shocked that VW put out such a barely useable car in the name of bringing the price down. I was very enthusiastically recommending the lease to my friends before knowing the true story about the "crippled" on board charger for the SE!

My opinion on VW just took another nose down after their cheating on the diesel cheating.

:x

How is it barely usable? A 240v charger will cost you around $400 bucks. Isn't it over a $6,000 dollar difference between the SE and the SEL?
In three years we will have longer ranges, more charging options, more features, and cheaper prices. This is a stop-gap that doesn't meet everyone's needs; but for people like you and me with relatively short in-town commutes it should do exactly what we need it to do. Maybe not much more, but consumers have a tendency to buy more than we need...supersizing everything to our detriment.

I've got one long trip ahead of me and then one long trip ahead of me in three years. I expect everything in between to be a wonderful learning experience. That said, my wife and I also have a 2012 TDI, a 1998 TDI, and a garaged E30 ('89 BMW) so we can "afford" down time if anything goes wrong. I know this isn't everyone's experience. If it's your only car that might be too bleeding edge and I can understand some anxiety.

 

[bizzle]

I made that 100 mile hop in one shot with 26 miles range top spare! 5.3 mile/kwh

Rogers and Rogers doesn't have a charge station.

 

[JoulesThief]

I made that 100 mile hop in one shot with 26 miles range top spare! 5.3 mile/kwh

Rogers and Rogers doesn't have a charge station.

http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/1462

http://carstations.com/2763

They do, you just need to find it, maybe it's not visible if they are closed on Sundays?

Either way, get that beast plugged in ASAP, at home. Do NOT use extension cords with that Delphi EVSE unit, and do try to plug it into a 20 amp outlet, probably the washer and dryer outlet in the garage is a 20 amp outlet, without the washer or dryer running while charging.

18.9Kwh is cutting it a little close on it's second drive, that's pretty deep into the reserves of the battery. Was your needle just into the Reserve red section, at that point? Did you have a tailwind most of the way?

 

[bizzle]

They don't have one. They're open until 9pm. I talked with the manager and I walked around the lot.

This is what it looked like coming in the home stretch about 15 miles from home

Speed limit is 70 so I went ahead and finished that last stretch with the flow of traffic
(it wasn't even close to the red)