A4 Phil

I have not been operating an Etron (SUV) in the US in over a year now and believe it or not, any DC Quick Charging capability you have is miles ahead of the ME charging network. But I have been reading a lot about Audi software issues recently which made me remember one of my software gripes when I was a new US Etron owner. Has Audi and EA worked out Plug and Charge yet? Can you drive your 2019 and newer Etron up to an EA charger, plug in and have the charger simply start charging your vehicle and centrally bill the charging session. This was one of the original 2019 Audi Etron promises that has been reiterated with every new model. Is it up and running yet?

"Following a simple registration, the owners of electric vehicles with ISO 15118 capability will be able to plug into an Electrify America charger and it will automatically start a charge with Plug&Charge handling authentication and billing. A truly customer-focused feature."

Brock Tune

I think we can abandon the hope that there will be any feature upgrades done through software for the 2019s. Maybe the newer models with the updated MIB might get it at some point, but that they still don't have any models with the feature baked in on rollout makes me cynical. The handshake element is simple enough, my totally unfounded suspicion is that there might be some compliance issues with securing payment information that Audi is struggling with, and that its a feature not even discussed with the newer models like the Q4 and GT (which is the same platform as the Taycan, of which the 2021s CAN plug and charge) makes me feel like Audi has kind of given up on the feature.

hrc1079

Was yet another lie in Audi's Press Release when announcing the 2019 e-Tron. No Plug and Charge and no Function on Demand (at least in the US). I don't think Plug and Charge has come to any Audi and with all the issues with getting EA chargers to actually work through the EA App it may be a blessing in disguise that it's actually not on the e-Tron. If the EA App can't get the charger working then I doubt a car would get it working any better so would probably just cause more frustration if the e-Tron failed every time to get it working.

I'm keeping a close on on how Lucid will do it. Fords Plug and Charge seems a little janky \ slow and given Lucid is more aligned with Tesla as a "tech" company i'd like to see if the issue lies with EA chargers just being crap or traditional automakers yet again not able to design software to save themselves. Also, the ID4 was supposed to have Plug and Charge and to date, it still hasn't shown up in the car. It's concerning when VW Group owns EA yet none of the cars they make seem to support Plug and Charge. I think the latest Taycan is the only VW Group car that supports it at the moment.

Bill33525

It’s been said too many cooks spoil the broth, so it is that VW may own E.A. But E.A. Doesn’t build their chargers in fact E.A. Install several brands of chargers. So it seems just too many companies in the mix for “plug & charge”.

hrc1079

Agreed

theo1000

I have both the Etron and the Mach-E.

It is true that early on the Ford Plug and Charge was not reliable. But updates have been made and for the majority now it works with no issue. Plug it in and about 1 minute later the electrons flow with zero other input. A couple of minute after charging you get a email on how many kwh were used. Its really slick and fast. I believe the Taycans also have P&C and are largely working well now.

It is a real shame that Audi let all of us early adopters down. Number #1 reason I won't even look at the Q4....

hrc1079

keyword....... updates! Something Audi doesn't believe in

JNealCox

I don't recall this being promised for the 2019MY. In fact I seem to recall that Audi said this would not be possible for the 2019MY since the charging head did not recognize all the necessary protocols.

hrc1079

"With its first fully electric series production model, Audi has transformed from a classic automobile manufacturer to a system supplier for mobility. Thanks to a comprehensive range of charging options with intelligent solutions for home and on the move, customers can enjoy fully electric driving without having to compromise"

"From 2019 onward, charging will be even more convenient for Audi customers. This is when the Plug & Charge function will be introduced. It enables the Audi e-tron to authenticate itself at charging stations via state-of-the-art cryptographic procedures, after which it is authorized – the card will no longer be necessary. This requires a valid charging contract with the e-tron Charging Service. All Audi e-tron models rolling off the assembly line from mid-2019 will support this function as standard."

https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/...chnology-11094

BimmerCaddyAudi

ISO 15118 standard's white paper that allows plug and charge with CSS was released in 2014.
​​​​The first fast chargers with that standard didn't come out until mid to late 2020.
The fist car with that feature was the 2021 Mach-E. ​
I'm not sure if our cars have the hardware or software to be able to use plug and charge.

https://www.sae.org/news/2020/08/iso...urity-concerns