Floridian with a support issue

[rjtopper]

So, I bought my eGolf used from a non-Volkswagen dealer in Jacksonville Florida. now that it is time for my 20,000 check up, I'm finding out that nobody in Jacksonville is certified to work on the high-voltage system (because they weren't meant to be sold here). The closest dealer is 30+ miles away. Now if you're an eGolf owner, you know these things on the interstate, get about 55 miles provided you can keep it steady, on Eco+(under 60 MPH) and don't use the A/C (I live in Florida right?). So I guess I can take the side roads to conserve energy. The biggest pain is this Volkswagen dealer doesn't have a fast charger. So if I do drain my battery, they're going to have to plug it into the wall (which takes forever to charge). And I'll probably have to leave it there overnight.

There is 1 possible charger in between. But the reviews on it go like this....."it's broke", "we fixed it", "it's broke", "we fixed it", etc., etc. so my odds of it working are (I guess) 50/50. There are various other slow chargers around, but I would have to expend energy to get there.

I've spoken to VW Customer service twice now to see what they can do for me. Nothing.

Now, I love this car, but, I have a car with a warranty, but no place to service it to keep the warranty valid. Right?

Any thoughts out there?

 

[f1geek]

It stinks, I agree. On the highway I typically drive at 62 mph and on flat roads, I can usually drive about 80 miles before I need to recharge, using Eco mode and no A/C or heat. In ~50 F weather with the heat minimally on, I have gotten closer to 70 miles. 55 miles seems really low, especially since your battery should be in pretty good shape with less than 20,000 miles on the odometer. Have you driven on the highway and recorded what efficiency you can achieve? I think at 55 mph with heat and A/C off, you should be able to get around 4 miles/kWh. Assuming 20 kWh of usable battery energy, that's 80 miles. Of course, with 18 miles to go, the low battery warning will come on. Once you see the warning light, try to charge it as soon as you can.

Is there no other dealer in the area with an L2 station? Look for a Nissan or Chevy dealer - maybe one of them can help.

Best of luck.

 

[JoulesThief]

Turn off everything, drive with the windows on drivers and passenger sides cracked 1 inch down, and set the cruise control to 55 mph. You should see close to 95-100 miles of range, max, on a freshly fully charged car.

Option 2 is https://www.plugshare.com/

I can't think of anything that needs checking/servicing at 20k miles on an electric 2015 e-Golf. Rotate the tires, stay off of the DC quick rechargers as much as possible, recharge as much as possible at home over night, and keep driving it until you have problems.

 

[forbin404]

Buy AAA Premier and get free 100+ mile towing.

 

[JoulesThief]

Buy AAA Premier and get free 100+ mile towing.

Good suggestion, and request a flat bed truck. Or stay off the interstate, drive highway or surface streets to the dealership, and get 80 or 90 miles or more on a recharge. Drive earlier when it's cool and you don't need the AC. Speed and the interstate are your enemy for decent range on a charge in an e-Golf. Stay away from them, modify your driving habits, use cruise control, or choose different routes.