[Paladin1]

80% unless otherwise needed.

[Pictor]

depending on the situation and where I'm charging, 60-80%. Maybe monthly to 100% for a long road trip.

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by Kennethjk

A lot of talk on other forums to do away with free charging. Their contention is that it takes up slots that other people need.

Of course not everyone has a private home to charge anytime they wish.

An interesting point, and it seems BMW has changed the free charging EA offer for 2025 models. It's no longer limited by time but rather by kWh:

As a 2025 BMW iX driver, you’ll also enjoy complimentary charging with Electrify America for 2 years or 1,000 kWh whichever comes first. 1,000 kWh is an estimated 3,000 miles of driving based on average EPA values of i4, i5, and iX model variants. Miles may vary due to model configuration, driving style and conditions.

[Kennethjk]

Originally Posted by LVBMW

An interesting point, and it seems BMW has changed the free charging EA offer for 2025 models. It's no longer limited by time but rather by kWh:

As a 2025 BMW iX driver, you’ll also enjoy complimentary charging with Electrify America for 2 years or 1,000 kWh whichever comes first. 1,000 kWh is an estimated 3,000 miles of driving based on average EPA values of i4, i5, and iX model variants. Miles may vary due to model configuration, driving style and conditions.

Ford gave me 250 free kWh
Interesting that BMW changed it but I get it, at some stations there are people waiting to charge who need it

I am at an EA station right now and an ID4 charged to 100 % yet someone was waiting

Now maybe the id4 needed to go to 100%, I didn’t ask , who knows

Edit: another id4! was there for about an 1 charging , at least an hour when I left and he was still charging past 90%

[darylp310]

Originally Posted by LVBMW

An interesting point, and it seems BMW has changed the free charging EA offer for 2025 models. It's no longer limited by time but rather by kWh:

As a 2025 BMW iX driver, you’ll also enjoy complimentary charging with Electrify America for 2 years or 1,000 kWh whichever comes first. 1,000 kWh is an estimated 3,000 miles of driving based on average EPA values of i4, i5, and iX model variants. Miles may vary due to model configuration, driving style and conditions.

Wow! That's a big change. For me that's only 3 months free! That changes the cost of ownership drastically over 36 months for those who live in cities with expensive electricity like Los Angeles. It'll add $6-7K.

[Pictor]

I'm actually happy to see that change. I'm not a fan of the unlimited free charging that VW does. BMW's 30 minute session limit seems a good compromise but given the increasingly busy DCFC stations I think it's also unnecessary and even counterproductive. I'll charge and home or when I go into the office since my company offers free 4-hour charging at work. But other than road trips, I'll opportunistically use local EA DCFC stations just because I have the free charging benefit and some part of me justifies saving a few dollars that it would otherwise cost me to charge at home. Using April data, that meant I did 66% of my charging at home or work at a cost of $28. The other 34% was mostly at EA. Offering some free charging will entice folks new to EV to try out public charging to increase their comfort on road trips.

Side note, I also pay for a Pass+ membership that I will use with another EV we have in the house and for when I'm away from home on a trip with a rental.

[ix50si]

Originally Posted by javapro

ix50si, just as an FYI - you can include a poll in your thread where people can vote.

I thought I did but something happened and it posted the question without the poll.

[drbluedevil]

Originally Posted by Pictor

I'm actually happy to see that change. I'm not a fan of the unlimited free charging that VW does. BMW's 30 minute session limit seems a good compromise but given the increasingly busy DCFC stations I think it's also unnecessary and even counterproductive. I'll charge and home or when I go into the office since my company offers free 4-hour charging at work. But other than road trips, I'll opportunistically use local EA DCFC stations just because I have the free charging benefit and some part of me justifies saving a few dollars that it would otherwise cost me to charge at home. Using April data, that meant I did 66% of my charging at home or work at a cost of $28. The other 34% was mostly at EA. Offering some free charging will entice folks new to EV to try out public charging to increase their comfort on road trips.

Side note, I also pay for a Pass+ membership that I will use with another EV we have in the house and for when I'm away from home on a trip with a rental.

man that's a VERY few dollars...you're saving around $20/month going to EA. Gotta ask yourself if it's really worth your time to do that! The real value is in what you mentioned: practice for when you really NEED it.

[Bmwno6]

80

[Bevforme]

80% week by week but 100% for road trips

[Pictor]

Originally Posted by drbluedevil

man that's a VERY few dollars...you're saving around $20/month going to EA. Gotta ask yourself if it's really worth your time to do that! The real value is in what you mentioned: practice for when you really NEED it.

Precisely. I don't go out of the way to use EA to charge. But if I'm at a low SoC and doing errands at one of the shopping centers with an EA station I will stop for quick charge. Otherwise, it's just used for road trips.

The apartment issue is real. This is where I think we need more L2 EVSE's in apartments and businesses where folks work. I would go as far as to say those places need at least 9kW or 11kW EVSE without 4 hour time limits. But I would also like to see 25kW-50kW units at malls, movie theaters, and restaurants or anywhere someone might spend two hours at. This would help reduce congestion at corridors charging. T* and EA started going down that path but seemingly stopped. ChargePoint went the other direction starting with slow 6kW EVSE and attempted to get into HPC (62kW) in corridors but those dispensers would have been better served in those two-hour locations like movie theaters or malls. Perhaps part of the problem is also public education but I see none of the CPO trying to address that.

[drbluedevil]

Originally Posted by Pictor

Precisely. I don't go out of the way to use EA to charge. But if I'm at a low SoC and doing errands at one of the shopping centers with an EA station I will stop for quick charge. Otherwise, it's just used for road trips.

The apartment issue is real. This is where I think we need more L2 EVSE's in apartments and businesses where folks work. I would go as far as to say those places need at least 9kW or 11kW EVSE without 4 hour time limits. But I would also like to see 25kW-50kW units at malls, movie theaters, and restaurants or anywhere someone might spend two hours at. This would help reduce congestion at corridors charging. T* and EA started going down that path but seemingly stopped. ChargePoint went the other direction starting with slow 6kW EVSE and attempted to get into HPC (62kW) in corridors but those dispensers would have been better served in those two-hour locations like movie theaters or malls. Perhaps part of the problem is also public education but I see none of the CPO trying to address that.

Agree. If I didn’t have a house and enclosed garage, I simply wouldn’t have an EV.

[johnwc723]

75-80% winter, 70% summer. The best for battery / performance / range is about 50% and cold temperatures. I own my iX.

Here is a great reference chart I've found regarding this from back when I had my Tesla...

[NomoTesla]

1,000 kWh at EA is equivalent to about $450. That's nothing. I'd much rather have the 2 years of free charging and drive as much as I want. That's the point of it.

[JSTARR]

85%.

95% if I'm ready to jump in it for a trip.

My house is on a mountain.
Sometimes when I head down toward the flatlands SOC will go up 2-3%.
I suspect it's good to leave some headroom.

[ricerboi]

Originally Posted by LVBMW

An interesting point, and it seems BMW has changed the free charging EA offer for 2025 models. It's no longer limited by time but rather by kWh:

As a 2025 BMW iX driver, you’ll also enjoy complimentary charging with Electrify America for 2 years or 1,000 kWh whichever comes first. 1,000 kWh is an estimated 3,000 miles of driving based on average EPA values of i4, i5, and iX model variants. Miles may vary due to model configuration, driving style and conditions.

Good to know. Yikes I do 1000kW in 3-4 weeks 😅

[LuisBoston]

Originally Posted by Kennethjk

Now maybe the id4 needed to go to 100%, I didn’t ask , who knows

Edit: another id4! was there for about an 1 charging , at least an hour when I left and he was still charging past 90%

An id4 should never charge to 100% at a DC fast charger (really no car should). It’s a waste of time - much more time efficient to charge to 80 or even less and stop later on the trip due to the declining charging curve. Many peopke don’t understand that at all.

[NomoTesla]

Originally Posted by LuisBoston

An id4 should never charge to 100% at a DC fast charger (really no car should). It’s a waste of time - much more time efficient to charge to 80 or even less and stop later on the trip due to the declining charging curve. Many peopke don’t understand that at all.

I call those people gasholes. They bring their gas/ICE mentality to EVs. It's not their fault, though. Nobody taught them any better. Dealership sales staff are woefully uneducated, ignorant, and lazy to learn new things. Everyone who buys an EV should go to some kind of "EV School" where they learn the important things.

[drbluedevil]

Originally Posted by NomoTesla

I call those people gasholes. They bring their gas/ICE mentality to EVs. It's not their fault, though. Nobody taught them any better. Dealership sales staff are woefully uneducated, ignorant, and lazy to learn new things. Everyone who buys an EV should go to some kind of "EV School" where they learn the important things.

One option to fix this is to markedly increase the price/kwh once the battery is over 80%. Say to $5/kwh. That’ll curb that behavior immediately.

[NomoTesla]

Originally Posted by drbluedevil

One option to fix this is to markedly increase the price/kwh once the battery is over 80%. Say to $5/kwh. That’ll curb that behavior immediately.

Agreed. Also, there should be a penalty for Chevy Bolts taking up a 350 kW spot.

[LuisBoston]

Originally Posted by NomoTesla

Agreed. Also, there should be a penalty for Chevy Bolts taking up a 350 kW spot.

Agree to both points. Higher rates once 90% is exceeded and for lower rate vehicles particularly when there are slower chargers available (ie a Bolt should not be in a 350kw charger when a 150kw is available).

[copebmw]

I’m probably the exception, but as this is my first electric vehicle, after I got it home, I did a Google search for “EV Etiquette” and found several good articles and videos that really helped me learn about these things. It sure would have been nice to have some of this provided by the dealer, though.

There are a lot of habits from my ICE days that will take time to fade away and be replaced with the new way to think about “fuel” and “stations” and planning, but I’m all in. This forum has been a great resource as well!