Charge Assist - overhyped or does it work?

[GDN]

Seems the word is out on this today. First I've heard of it, I've not had it to test. What can you tell us about it? Does it work? Seems Farley had it on his drive a few weeks back.

Sponsored

 

[metroshot]

Yes it works well with non EA chargers and unifies the public chargers near you.

Locates them, shows distance, number of available chargers, and cost.

Unfortunately when I tested it against EVGo (my favorite DCFC), the rate was different than the tiered rate that I normally get.

Tried it 2 times at EVGo - charged using Ford Charge Assist both time charged full price (peak time) even when it was not peak times.

Confirmed when I unplugged at 90% and then reconnected without using Ford Charge Assist.
When using EVGo's prevailing rate (one of three), it correctly charged using the proper rate.

This is something I sent to feedback = hoping it gets fixed.

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

Yes it works well with non EA chargers and unfies the public chargers near you.

Locates them, shows distance, number of available chargers, and cost.

Unfortunately when I tested it against EVGo (my favorite DCFC), the rate was different than the tiered rate that I normally get.

Tried it 2 times at EVGo - charged using Ford Charge Assist both time charged full price (peak time) even when it was not peak times.

Confirmed when I unplugged at 90% and then reconnected without using Ford Charge Assist.
When using EVGo's prevailing rate (one of three), it correctly charged using the proper rate.

This is something I sent to feedback = hoping it gets fixed.

I concur with this. I've been testing this in my Pro and have submitted feedback. Overall it is a huge step forward as far as connectivity and DCFC networks go.

It does work and does a pretty good job unifying all the separate networks into an easy (well, easier at least) to use HMI.

 

[metroshot]

I concur with this. I've been testing this in my Pro and have submitted feedback. Overall it is a huge step forward as far as connectivity and DCFC networks go.

It does work and does a pretty good job unifying all the separate networks into an easy (well, easier at least) to use HMI.

Which network did you try ?

EA, EVGo, Shell, Chargepoint ?

 

[GDN]

So do you enter payment information in the truck or in your app? I think what I heard was it will show all the available chargers, how many stations are working, how many are free, and you pull up and plug in to charge. Does the payment work well without having to do anything at the station to specifically activate it?

Anyone know if Francis Charging is included?

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

Which network did you try ?

EA, EVGo, Shell, Chargepoint ?

EA, EVGo and Chargepoint.

All worked as intended.

I can't compare what I previously paid at EVGo as I hadn't used EVGo previous to the beta.

 

[F150ROD]

My beef with it is you cant use it while driving, it's not in the NAV system as it is its own App.


It should be integrated into the NAV, maybe it's changed since I last used it.

 

[ChrisCon]

Since the confidentiality period is lifted on this, I can say that it definitely works.

I see this product as something not for the forum people, but for the more mainstream user that isn't going to research tiers for pricing or discounts or wants to use A Better Route Planner to calculate multiple options for charging during a road trip.

It worked perfectly for me with EVGO, EA , and correctly finds Tesla stations that have magic dock.

It's "charging for dummies" or "charging for the rest of us" or charging for fleet drivers that have no vested interest in learning all of the granular stuff we've learned like charging curves or pass plus pricing . It also brings ford a small step closer to a Tesla like charging experience.

As EV adoption moves from early adopters like us to the mainstream masses, advances like this will benefit the next generation of EV drivers.

 

[GDN]

My beef with it is you cant use it while driving, it's not in the NAV system as it is its own App.


It should be integrated into the NAV, maybe it's changed since I last used it.

I would have to say what is the point if it isn't built into Navigation. I'll learn more as we go I guess.

 

[F150ROD]

I would have to say what is the point if it isn't built into Navigation. I'll learn more as we go I guess.

That was exactly my feedback……

You also have to go digging for it and it’s not readily accessible. But this is something that could be fixed by allowing us to configure what we want on the main screen

But the most annoying part is having to stop to actually use it. It doesn’t make sense to me.

Other than that

 

[TaxmanHog]

Thread reopened for conversation now that it's clear the feature has been released to all trucks.
Note there is another thread started 9/27 as well.

 

[briankwest]

Yes it works well with non EA chargers and unifies the public chargers near you.

Locates them, shows distance, number of available chargers, and cost.

Unfortunately when I tested it against EVGo (my favorite DCFC), the rate was different than the tiered rate that I normally get.

Tried it 2 times at EVGo - charged using Ford Charge Assist both time charged full price (peak time) even when it was not peak times.

Confirmed when I unplugged at 90% and then reconnected without using Ford Charge Assist.
When using EVGo's prevailing rate (one of three), it correctly charged using the proper rate.

This is something I sent to feedback = hoping it gets fixed.

I suspect this may change soon, I've submitted a request to get clarification on this topic, They did confirm at least on EA you should be getting pass+ rates via FordPass, but I will need to double check this once I'm out of my free kWh

/b

Sponsored