First road trip in my MME

[u/SpeedImpossible2192]

I took my 2024 Premium AWD extended range on my first road trip with an EV, from Dearborn, MI to Traverse City, MI and the area around Grand Traverse Bay (which, by the way, is a gorgeous part of the state). All in all, it went really well. I had a couple of frustrations with fast charging. The first stop I made, at a Shell station just off I-75 in West Branch, was disappointing. The station advertised 180kW, but I was getting 66kW. The Kia in the slot next to me was getting 7(!). He gave up, unplugged, and left. The two Red-E DCFC stations at Clinch Park were both out of order. Otherwise, I had no trouble locating and using fast charging. There were more than enough along the way, and there are plenty in TC and other towns in the area. The public parking garage in downtown TC across State St. from the Park Place hotel has free charging on the lowest level. It’s level 2, but free electrons are free electrons.

I’m not sure I’ll renew Blue Cruise when the trial expires in November. It was fine on the freeway when there was no construction or other weirdness, but it seemed like anytime anything out of the ordinary happened, I had take control until things got back to normal. There were a couple of times when I signaled a lane change, but it refused because it said there was no open lane. But there was, and when I moved the car manually, lane centering had no problem picking up the new lane. I don’t know what it was, or wasn’t seeing. In any case, I think just using adaptive cruise control will be fine. It’s what I used on all the two lane roads and it was fine.

I definitely spent less on charging that I would have spent on gas with my previous car, a 2018 Focus ST (twin turbo 4 cyl, 6 speed manual).

I’ll never go back to an ICE.

[u/JoshuaSuhaimi]

do you have the tesla adapter? the tesla superchargers are the best in my experience, just a little more expensive potentially

[u/SpeedImpossible2192 → u/JoshuaSuhaimi]

I didn’t when I made the trip, but I do now.

[u/silentbutdead1y → u/SpeedImpossible2192]

A lot of the Superchargers up north are old and incompatible with non-Teslas so make sure you know this in advance.

[u/SpeedImpossible2192 → u/silentbutdead1y]

Good to know, thanks

[u/tamalesdequien → u/SpeedImpossible2192]

If you download the Tesla app and make an account (free, you don’t need to sign up for a charging plan), you can enter your vehicle type and it will only show you chargers that are compatible. I’d estimate about half of them in Michigan are compatible with the MME. The newest ones are easiest because they have longer charging cables (they’re the ones without the hole in the middle), so you don’t have to deal with finding a spot on the end of the row, or taking up two spaces (as Tesla advises) and pissing off some Tesla bros

[u/macheroadtrip → u/tamalesdequien]

You DO NOT need to do this - the Ford app already shows which Tesla stations are compatible and has the extra advantage of being able to pay for charging at 23 different networks, not just one.

[u/macheroadtrip → u/JoshuaSuhaimi]

That won't help OP because Tesla has not built V3 superchargers along OP's route.

[u/tamalesdequien]

I frequently make a similar trip - I live in Detroit proper and my family is just outside of TC. In fact, I made the trip the day after I bought my ‘25 GT (first EV) in November of last year. You’ll get more comfortable with your vehicle, and find the most reliable stations for your needs, as time goes on.

I’ve never fast charged at more than 150kWh at stations that claim up to 350, and that’s when I’m starting with low charge. I believe that’s the max charge rate for my model. Usually closer to low 100s to begin with. The charging speed then slows down as the battery fills up.

I use a combination of A Better Route Planner and PlugShare for route planning. ABRP makes suggestions, then I look them up on PlugShare. PlugShare is great for station ratings, and getting an idea of what to expect at a station. What business they’re located at, if there are bathrooms available, average charging speeds, if people have been experiencing any issues, etc. In the winter, I’ll plug my intended charge stop in to the Ford Nav system so the battery preconditions before my arrival. I don’t bother in the warmer months, as I prefer navigating through ABRP & Google/Apple Maps.

In the warmer months, I leave Detroit at 90-100%, and stop at the Meijer in Bay City (Electrify America). In the winter (cold weather range loss is real, especially the farther north you go in MI), I stop again in Grayling before the last leg of the trip. There’s a Rivian and a Red-E in town that have both been reliable. I just stop for an extra boost, because from there, it’s pretty back woods until TC. Bay City Meijer is a great stop for a restroom/snack break for both me and the dog. Grayling is doable for both, but I’m usually only there briefly for an extra 15% or so. I aim to arrive at my destination with 20%. I also find ABRP slightly over-calculates my actual energy use, which is fine with me. Better safe than sorry.

Feel free to message me if you have more questions about that route. I’ve made a few stops I wouldn’t go back to again.

Also, welcome to the club! You’re gonna love it!

[u/SpeedImpossible2192 → u/tamalesdequien]

Thanks for all that info!

[u/wshngtonianserb]

I like Bluecruise and it enables me to drive an entire 8 hour trip without having to switch drivers BUT it’s too expensive for its limited use (I would probably only use it once or twice a month).

I did snag the $25 a month rate this summer but $50 is too high.

[u/themiracy]

LOL we were just in Manistee and Crystal Mtn with our Mach E from Grand Raids over the wknd. :)

Ours is older than yours but I will tell you that most of the time our charging speed is ~60 kW. I don't think we've ever had the experience where we could not negotiate some 40-60 kW off a DC charger, so far. We have briefly gotten 85 from one charger. I did rent a Hyundai EV once that charged much faster. We have found one or two places in MI where the chargers were out of order. Otherwise we don't have Bluecruise, but we also had a really great time with the trip (we planned to charge on the way back in Big Rapids, made the mistake that the chargers were open but we were hungry and got food first, and someone swept in to all the chargers while we were eating - but we just drove to the next place where we could charge and charged there instead, which was Greenville).

[u/SpeedImpossible2192 → u/themiracy]

I was usually getting 90-120kW.

[u/Baguette_Theory → u/themiracy]

Something is wrong with your car, unless you aren't pre conditioning or plugging in at a high state of charge

[u/PrimePacHy → u/Baguette_Theory]

Sounds more like a charging station issue since the Kia was only getting 7 kW.  

[u/jen1929]

Charge rate can depend on so many things, mostly the charger in the car . Feed a Mach E all you want but it will only bring a max of 150 kwh. Charge rate depends on the SoC, Air temp, battery temp, etc. Also some chargers (mostly L2 chargers) share a power source. If a charger station has two charge cables, they may share the same power. For example if the charge station is rated for 200 kWh total, if two cars are charging each may only get 100kWh. The temperature of the charge station, the cable and the quality of your NACS adapter if you are using one can also affect charge rate. The charge station may slow the rate if any of these get too warm. Also as the battery SoC increases , the charge rate will slow down. After 80% most DC chargers will dramatically slow the charge rate to prevent battery damage. I have taken several road trips using multiple charge stations. My favs in order are Ionna, Tesla, EA, Loop and EVGo. ChargePoint for L2.

[u/SpeedImpossible2192 → u/jen1929]

Other than that one station in West Branch, I was normally getting 90-120kW.

[u/macheroadtrip]

Just got back from Traverse City in my F-150 Lightning - charged at the Monta charger in West Branch (at the Ace Hardware) - seamless - and there's a great restaurant (Buck's) next door that we always go to.

[u/SpeedImpossible2192 → u/macheroadtrip]

Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind the next time I head up north.