Tronification

My first impression of the charging process is that VW/EA have A LOT to learn from Tesla. The UX is as dreadful as some of the MMI interactions.

The first time I charged the car at home, I could not pull the charging cable out when done. It turns out it was user error, one must press the charging door button before pressing the release button on the handle (despite the car already being unlocked). Why? My intention is already clear by virtue of unlocking the car and pressing the release button (and the MMI option "unlock when done charging" having being selected). Oh well, dumb/buggy but no big deal.

Fast forward to tonight, same issue:
I started the charging session (using the energy credits, initiated via the myAudi app). It took a bit, but it eventually started. It charged from 67% to 78% and then the charging stopped on its own. I then proceeded to unplug ... and the port would not unlock (the MMI option "unlock when done charging" was still active). I just did not unlock, no matter what I did. Pressing the charger door button din nothing and the release button on the handle would not move at all as it was clamped tight by the port lock. I made sure the car was unlocked/locked/on/off ... everything. It would just not release. I called EA, looked through the manual for the emergency release procedure, tried that ... nothing. Pulling the emergency release tab did nothing, other than making some horrible "I make have broken it" sounds. After some 15 mins it somehow automagically unlocked by itself. I initiated another session and let it run a little bit. I stopped it from the charger, then tried to unplug. Locked again. Essentially, I pulled a Bjorn (see below, time index 28:30). After a lot of jiggling, clicking, locking/unlocking and all that, it unlocked. This time it did so after some 5 mins.

This is probably a software/electrical bug, as well as a mechanical one. The release tab did absolutely nothing, either because it just doesn't work or possibly because of the layout of the charging spot. The fact that the charger cable's considerable weight pulls sideways on the charge port surely did not help (no other way to position the car to avoid that).

So far ... disappointing.

On a positive note, the charging is FAST. It started at 151kW and stayed around 150 until 80%. That was way faster than what I had previously experienced in the Tesla. With these stations placed in Walmart parking lots, it felt like walking in for a bio break and a coffee or something would give the car enough time to charge close to full. It didn't feel like it will be much of an inconvenience going forward ... provided that it will let me leave after charging.



(forward to time index 28:30)

bugout

This is a known issue and Audi promised a software fix by the end of the year.

Tom-ETRON

I have not had this problem, Bjorn had trouble because he turned the car on during charging for HVAC, which seems to have exposed a bug. I found on the charging port the light has to be white to unplug, mine has worked perfect so far both at home and the 2 sessions on EA. EA chargers have worked great for me too once they are started, charged to 90% with no faults both times. Starting the chargers is another issue entirely, EA will get their system worked out, they are spending too much money not to have a smooth operating system, and I think VW plans to make a profit operating EA eventually, so it will have to work we'll.

Tesla's charging is smoother, but painfully slow, and the new S and X (Raven) are even slower than the old 100D as Bjorn Nyland posted last week.

Tronification

I assume you’re talking about the indicator to the left of the port, not the illuminator above it. I think it turned white as soon as I interrupted charging and then turned itself off within a few seconds, before I had the chance to walk back and pull the plug out.

Is there a known sequence that works without the random locking?



Found some more instances of this behavior, this guy seems to be experiencing the same bug:

MileHigh e-tron

Correct. As explained in this flyer which came with my e-tron.

LavaGrau_A3

I got the impression that he never pressed the charge port button and terminated the charge. He goes to the charger and notes how easy it is to pull the plug trigger and remove it from the holster (?). He eventually, through brute force, got the plug out of the car. He wasn't DC fast charging either (although he seemed clueless as to charge types). The Audi dealership should have provided a little basic knowledge before letting him drive off.

Tronification

Thank you, gentlemen, that bug must be exactly what I experienced. I think Bjorn's releasing after turning off of the aux heater highlights only a corner case of this bug. This must be coming from poor QA, i.e. the lack of consideration given to all the things one might choose to do while waiting for charging. I'm sure there's one sequence that was tested and always works properly (such as standing outside the locked car, followed by unplugging within 5 seconds of the charging being done and other reasonable-to-Germans things like this).

As I was trying to release, I was speculating what might have caused it. My money was on a comm error between the charger and car (where the car and charger know that the charging is done but some handshake has not occurred properly and the lock release actuator was not triggered or such). Looks likely that I was correct.

There may be another contributing factor: The location is laid out such that one must park at an angle and, given the length of the eTron, the cord pulls to the side when plugged. This puts some sideways torque on the port and that may lead to the comm leads not making contact properly at all times (which I guess could be mitigated with some software retries/fallbacks but would be ultimately a hardware problem).

Here's the location and here's the cable tugging while inserted into the car's charging port (I could not pull any farther forward because of the curb and wall):

https://www.plugshare.com/location/169409

theo1000

I tried the EA charger here in the MW and it was an atrocious experience.

As you have pointed out the unplug sequence is completely random. At least once I had to resort to the emergency pull cord under the hood. The cable is incredibly heavy and even for me @ 6'5" it was a challenge to wrestle it into place.

At the Boonville MO EA charger 3 out of 4 chargers did not work! Yes that is correct. Slamming the door interrupted the charge. The plugin connection is that sensitive. So I had to keep the car door open or I would not be able to get in during the charge.

Not ready for primetime, needs lots more work.