fell in love and bought a 2016 SE

[syd]

Proud owner of a 2016 SE as of tonight.

After driving the world's most boring car for a couple years (the Prius V) I am so happy to be in this car. I love love love it. We had a 2012 Sportwagen TDI that we loved but had to sell back. It's been reassuring to see VW committing so much energy to electric cars, and I've spent the last couple months researching what would replace our Prius.

I've been keeping my eye on local dealership stock and I think I got a great deal on this - it was about $16.5K OTD with 24K miles.

Which leads me to my few questions:

-we are going to install a wall unit in a few months, but in the meantime we need to use the supplied regular outlet cable. Our car is parked outside. We live in SoCal so it'll be chilly and maybe a little rainy (I hope) but not the east coast winters I grew up with. The owner's manual is a bit heavy-handed about the care of this cable, but do I need to take it inside every day after charging overnight? Is it ok for it to be plugged in in a light rain? I know that seems like a dumb question, but since it's a $500 cable...

-How do I deal with our desire to charge off-peak (this will matter more when it's summer and we have a wall unit) - do I need to contact the electric company? we're solar, how does that change things? What in the world is the car-net app...I have a feeling that's involved...

-when we *do* get a wall unit we're looking at this one - I imagine we'll eventually get another EV which will surely have at least L2 charging - anyway, no pressure, but would love any input on that.

Thanks,
S

 

[cctop]

Hey Syd -- welcome to the club!

Regarding using the Level 1 charger outside, I've been doing it in San Francisco for three years without a problem. You'll want the wall plug to be appropriately shielded from the elements, and the car end of the plug is fine. Though I'm sure the engineers designed the charger to get wet, when it rains I feel more comfortable making sure the boxy part stays dry since it contains all the electronics. I don't leave my L1 charger outside 24/7 mostly because I'm afraid of it getting stolen, so I throw it in my trunk after charging.

Regarding charging off-peak, only the 2015 models need car-net. On your 2016 you can do it from the head unit. Press the Car button to the right of the display, then press E-Manager on the touchscreen and set the departure time to the end of your off-peak hours. See the manual for more.

 

[RonDawg]

-we are going to install a wall unit in a few months, but in the meantime we need to use the supplied regular outlet cable. Our car is parked outside. We live in SoCal so it'll be chilly and maybe a little rainy (I hope) but not the east coast winters I grew up with. The owner's manual is a bit heavy-handed about the care of this cable, but do I need to take it inside every day after charging overnight? Is it ok for it to be plugged in in a light rain? I know that seems like a dumb question, but since it's a $500 cable...

The biggest reason to not leave the EVSE (the part mistakenly called the “charger”) outside when not in use is theft. Otherwise, as long as it’s not kept in standing water (particularly the handle end), it’s OK to use it in the rain.

-How do I deal with our desire to charge off-peak (this will matter more when it's summer and we have a wall unit) - do I need to contact the electric company? we're solar, how does that change things? What in the world is the car-net app...I have a feeling that's involved...

The best thing is to contact your utility, or at least look at their website, to see what kinds of rates they offer. Sometimes a simple off-peak TOU (where you get cheaper electricity at night but more expensive electricity during the day) is all they offer. Some utilities will give a special EV rate even during the daytime, but may require a separate meter so they know what’s being used by the car and what’s not.

As mentioned above, Car Net is only necessary if using timer mode on the 2015 models. If you have a 2016 or newer, or don’t use timer mode, you don’t have to use Car Net.

-when we *do* get a wall unit we're looking at this one - I imagine we'll eventually get another EV which will surely have at least L2 charging

That unit is fine. There are many others that work well, including JuiceBox, Clipper Creek, etc.

Whatever unit you get, make sure that you don’t exceed the available amperage from your existing electric service. The Siemens unit you linked to I believe can have its amperage turned down, but some others like Clipper Creek cannot. Get an electrician’s consultation first before buying an EVSE. Also electrical code requires you abide by the 80% rule, meaning a circuit is not supposed to be continuously loaded to more than 80% of its rated capacity. So a 30 amp EVSE really requires a 40 amp circuit (technically a 37.5 amp circuit, but nobody makes a breaker in that size). You especially don’t want to violate that rule with something like an EV, as you are drawing kW’s for HOURS at a time.

 

[syd]

Thanks so much for this rondawg and cctop. I appreciate it. That all helps a lot. Especially good to know about using the EVSE outside for a few years.

What a car! So happy.

S

 

[miimura]

I don't recommend the Siemens EVSE. There is a 20% Black Friday sale on ChargePoint Home units now. The 32A unit with 18' cable is $519. I know that almost $100 more than the Siemens, but the delay functions on the Siemens don't work with the e-Golf and they are known to have other compatibility issues with other cars. You also can't / shouldn't use the Siemens plug-in unit outdoors. They say you should hard wire it outdoors. Same goes for the ChargePoint.

 

[syd]

Thanks for the advice on the wall unit.

I think the thing that matters most to us is that whatever we install will work for that future Tesla model3 or equivalent long range EV that we eventually end up with. So something that will bring our slowest L1 up to a slow L2 charge for now but will eventually be capable of doing more.

Even as I say that I realize that If we go all EV we’ll probably need two chargers anyway....

 

[johnnylingo]

There is a 20% Black Friday sale on ChargePoint Home units now. The 32A unit with 18' cable is $519.

Similar deal for the JuiceBox - it's down to $450 for the 32a version or $550 for the 40a. Price is the same for hardwired or plug-in.

https://electrek.co/2018/11/22/electric-car-charging-station-accessory-black-friday-deals/

 

[syd]

Ok - thanks for those links. I think we might hold off the hardwired charger for a while but when we do get one I’ll make sure to consult an electrician since a 30a box requires a 40a service as pointed out above. But how many amps can this car take? It’s the SE without quick charge.

Finally - seeing a LOT of info about the battery, how to keep it healthy etc. Since I bought this used, I can’t say how the previous owner took care of battery but I want to start doing whatever I can to preserve it now that I have it.

Do I really only want to charge to 80-90% each night? How would I do that? Or do I need a wall unit to program to do that?

I’ll be trying to figure out how much capacity this battery actually has at some point, and any tips on that are welcome. I’m slightly concerned because I’m seeing range estimated at 75mi range when the battery is fully charged. But could that be because it’s using the previous owners driving habits? How do I reset that?

Thanks!

 

[Snoopy]

I've been keeping my eye on local dealership stock and I think I got a great deal on this - it was about $16.5K OTD with 24K miles.

Interesting, I'm leasing a 2016 SE, and my lease ends in January. My buy-out price is about $13k, and I only have 13k miles on the car, but I still think I will be turning it in. Somebody is going to be getting a great car! I'm not keeping it because I need car with longer range, 85 miles just ain't enough. The tech is moving so fast, and we're on the cusp of a world with many options getting 200-300 miles.

 

[miimura]

Ok - thanks for those links. I think we might hold off the hardwired charger for a while but when we do get one I’ll make sure to consult an electrician since a 30a box requires a 40a service as pointed out above. But how many amps can this car take? It’s the SE without quick charge.

SE without quick charge can only take 15 amps. However, if you're going to spend money to install a new circuit and you have the capacity in your electrical panel, I would put a bigger circuit - either 40 or 50 amps - so you can charge at up to 32 or 40 amps with a different vehicle. That way it will be ready for a longer range car like a Bolt or Model 3.

Finally - seeing a LOT of info about the battery, how to keep it healthy etc. Since I bought this used, I can’t say how the previous owner took care of battery but I want to start doing whatever I can to preserve it now that I have it.

Do I really only want to charge to 80-90% each night? How would I do that? Or do I need a wall unit to program to do that?

You can program the car to charge to 80% or 90% on the center screen under e-Manager. It's not that obvious how to set it up, but it's there for 2016 and later US models. I never bothered with our 2015 because my wife was the primary driver and she was always nervous about running out of charge. Also, we knew we were going to return it at the end of the 3 year lease.

I’ll be trying to figure out how much capacity this battery actually has at some point, and any tips on that are welcome. I’m slightly concerned because I’m seeing range estimated at 75mi range when the battery is fully charged. But could that be because it’s using the previous owners driving habits? How do I reset that?

I don't know how to reset the GOM (Guess-O-Meter). You just have to get used to how much range you get for how and where you typically drive.

 

[johnnylingo]

However, if you're going to spend money to install a new circuit and you have the capacity in your electrical panel, I would put a bigger circuit - either 40 or 50 amps

Yep, this is what I did. ChargePoint did at the time have a 16a version for $100 less, but since the electrician's time wast going to cost more than that, I went with a 32a charger and 40a breaker since I had the capacity on the panel. Worked out well since I now have the i3, and charging at 16a would go beyond the 8 hour limit of non-peak power my current PG&E plan provides.

To be clear, charging rates are backwards compatible since the car and charger will auto-negotiate the highest supported current. So my 2016 SE charges at 15a/3.6kW on a 32a charger no problem.

 

[johnnylingo]

Interesting, I'm leasing a 2016 SE, and my lease ends in January. My buy-out price is about $13k, and I only have 13k miles on the car, but I still think I will be turning it in.

This is why I decided to buy out my 2016 SE and hold on to it for a bit. As a bonus, it was eligible for red HOV stickers, which just arrived yesterday. Paid about $15k after taxes and fees, but am fairly certain it will sell for more than that.

 

[syd]

Two quick questions in my first week of ownership.

1. I have minimum charge set to 60% and departure time at 8am.
Each morning the battery hasn’t been quite full at 8am - like 80-90% but not higher. What’s that about?

2. Today we had 60% left and we had a trip to do so I wanted to get it up to 100% to override both the schedule and the minimum charge level. Pressing what I take to be the “charge now” button would just put a little charge in and then stop charging. I couldn’t figure out how to get it to fill up all the way so I turned up the minimum battery level to 100%. That can’t be the solution can it?

Thanks!

 

[manybees]

2. Today we had 60% left and we had a trip to do so I wanted to get it up to 100% to override both the schedule and the minimum charge level. Pressing what I take to be the “charge now” button would just put a little charge in and then stop charging. I couldn’t figure out how to get it to fill up all the way so I turned up the minimum battery level to 100%. That can’t be the solution can it?

I'm new to this, too (just got delivery of my 2018 e-Golf 10 days ago), but my impression of the e-manager scheduling feature of the e-Golf is that it needs a major redesign. It's very kludgy and unintuitive and way more complex than it needs to be (or at least it doesn't do a very good job of hiding its complexity beneath a veneer of simplicity). I've been confused, too, about how to get it working the way I expect it to work.

Anyway, I don't know the answer to your first question, but the answer to the second, I think, is to just turn off all the schedules and plug in. That way, it just starts charging when you plug it in and goes till it's done. More experienced owners out there can correct me if I'm mistaken about this.

My car also has two buttons next to the charging receptacle, and the top one of the two (according to the manual) is the "Charge Now" button. Just plug in, wait for the car to recognize that there's power, press that button, and it overrides any schedule settings and starts charging immediately. A green light flashes continuously indicating that it's charging.

The minimum battery setting simply works like this: if your charge is less than the minimum, then when first plugged in, the battery will override any schedule settings and immediately start charging to the minimum level and then stop there and follow the e-manager schedule. The feature exists to keep the battery level from dropping too low.

If you want a 100% charge, then you need to set the maximum level to 100%, not the minimum level. This setting is in charging profiles in the e-manager.

Clear as mud, eh?

 

[Sparklebeard]

You can program the car to charge to 80% or 90% on the center screen under e-Manager. It's not that obvious how to set it up, but it's there for 2016 and later US models. I never bothered with our 2015 because my wife was the primary driver and she was always nervous about running out of charge. Also, we knew we were going to return it at the end of the 3 year lease.

Unfortunately not, at least with the 2016. I mean, you kind of can, but it doesn't work like a simple charge limit. You have to futz around with the charge timer, and tell it to aim for whatever charge percentage by a specific time. But in my experience, if I tell it to be 80% charged by 5pm or whatever, and I get delayed and end up getting to it at 6pm, it will be at 100% SOC because the charge maximum isn't actually a maximum. It keeps charging after it hits that point. At least for me. If that's not how its supposed to work id love to know so I can take it to the dealership for service!

 

[JoulesThief]

Two quick questions in my first week of ownership.

1. I have minimum charge set to 60% and departure time at 8am.
Each morning the battery hasn’t been quite full at 8am - like 80-90% but not higher. What’s that about?

2. Today we had 60% left and we had a trip to do so I wanted to get it up to 100% to override both the schedule and the minimum charge level. Pressing what I take to be the “charge now” button would just put a little charge in and then stop charging. I couldn’t figure out how to get it to fill up all the way so I turned up the minimum battery level to 100%. That can’t be the solution can it?

Thanks!

Turning minimum charging to 0% on a JuiceBox40 pro EVSE

 

[Verkehr]

You can program the car to charge to 80% or 90% on the center screen under e-Manager. It's not that obvious how to set it up, but it's there for 2016 and later US models. I never bothered with our 2015 because my wife was the primary driver and she was always nervous about running out of charge. Also, we knew we were going to return it at the end of the 3 year lease.

Unfortunately not, at least with the 2016. I mean, you kind of can, but it doesn't work like a simple charge limit. You have to futz around with the charge timer, and tell it to aim for whatever charge percentage by a specific time. But in my experience, if I tell it to be 80% charged by 5pm or whatever, and I get delayed and end up getting to it at 6pm, it will be at 100% SOC because the charge maximum isn't actually a maximum. It keeps charging after it hits that point. At least for me. If that's not how its supposed to work id love to know so I can take it to the dealership for service!

Just set a charge timer for some arbitrary low value (50% or whatever) and set minimum charge to 80 or 90%. That way it always charges to 80 or 90% immediately when plugged in and stops, waiting for a charge timer which never comes into play.