how do I charge my rental EV
June 5, 2024 11:59 PM Subscribe
I've got a rental EV - a Hyunai. I've never used an EV before. I need to return it tomorrow morning, and need to find a place to charge it quickly I think. (I could charge it overnight at my hotel, but the charger here is broken). How do I find a place to charge it? I'm in Healdsburg, CA, and driving down to San Francisco tomorrow...
Most rental agencies charge a flat fee of $35 to charge the vehicle upon return. It might be worth paying the fee if finding an available charging station ends up being more hassle than it's worth.
posted by wile e at 2:41 AM on June 6 [2 favorites]
posted by wile e at 2:41 AM on June 6 [2 favorites]
The Charge Point app will give you the locations of available chargers that will work with your car model. Many similar apps will do the same. Google maps will show you charger locations though I don’t think it knows about car model compatibility.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 4:22 AM on June 6
posted by Winnie the Proust at 4:22 AM on June 6
I guess it's too late now, but my advice is that if you've got enough juice in the tank to make it back to the rental shop just eat the cost of a recharge fee and enjoy your evening instead of stressing about this.
posted by mhoye at 5:04 AM on June 6 [1 favorite]
posted by mhoye at 5:04 AM on June 6 [1 favorite]
Google maps does a pretty good job without having to add another app.
The Hyundais and Kias currently use the CCS port, so look for a place with a few currently open CCS ports. Most of these chargers will expect you to use their app, so you might want to download and set that up before you get there.
Chargers can charge at different wattages, and the higher the wattage, the faster, but most stations slow down if there are more cars at them and divide the overall wattage, so a busy 200W station might only give you 50W.
Plan to spend about 30 minutes to get up to 80% if you are low on charge. After 80% the charge slows way down, so when renting I usually expect to have to pay the $25 to return it less than full. (Hertz Gold member rate, $35 if you didn't join the free reward program)
posted by advicepig at 6:44 AM on June 6 [3 favorites]
The Hyundais and Kias currently use the CCS port, so look for a place with a few currently open CCS ports. Most of these chargers will expect you to use their app, so you might want to download and set that up before you get there.
Chargers can charge at different wattages, and the higher the wattage, the faster, but most stations slow down if there are more cars at them and divide the overall wattage, so a busy 200W station might only give you 50W.
Plan to spend about 30 minutes to get up to 80% if you are low on charge. After 80% the charge slows way down, so when renting I usually expect to have to pay the $25 to return it less than full. (Hertz Gold member rate, $35 if you didn't join the free reward program)
posted by advicepig at 6:44 AM on June 6 [3 favorites]
I'm in the same position at this very moment, having never rented (or driven) an electric car before, so I appreciate the answers that have chimed in with the how-tos of charging. I would like to add that your rental agency should have specific terms about state of charge on return, so that you have the full picture of what the expectations are. For example, I'm renting from Avis, and they specify that they'll charge $35 if the vehicle's returned with a state of charge less than 70% and $70 for less than 10%.
posted by Aleyn at 11:20 AM on June 6
posted by Aleyn at 11:20 AM on June 6
+1 for the Plugshare app. The crowdsourced database is pretty up-to-date and, generally speaking, the users are good at posting reviews if there are issues with a particular charging station.
posted by jquinby at 12:14 PM on June 6 [1 favorite]
posted by jquinby at 12:14 PM on June 6 [1 favorite]
The problem is you will need an account for any charger you use. So your options are to either return the car and eat the fee, find a charger, download the app, open an account and charge, or go to the hotel and see if they'll let you charge somewhere with a plug - you should have a level one charger/cord in the trunk of your car that you can plug into a regular plug. If your car needs an adapter, it should also be in the trunk of your car.
posted by Toddles at 4:42 PM on June 6
posted by Toddles at 4:42 PM on June 6
Nthing the plugshare app. It's essential for anyone with an EV. Also the rental companies who are renting EVs to people without any guidance is really doing an injustice to their customers and to EVS.
posted by bluesky43 at 5:33 PM on June 6
posted by bluesky43 at 5:33 PM on June 6
Advice: pay the fee that lets you return it with a low charge. Having to charge it up before you return it is quite a bit harder than fueling up a gas car.
Plugshare is GREAT (I'm a top user there) but you still need some experience to avoid pitfalls. For example, the app will show charging stations at car dealership, but those often don't work, or the dealer is hostile, or they are slow and there are zero amenities onsite. Steer towards Electrify America, Chargepoint and any gas station site. (Yes, gas stations are putting them in now.)
posted by intermod at 8:11 PM on June 6 [1 favorite]
Plugshare is GREAT (I'm a top user there) but you still need some experience to avoid pitfalls. For example, the app will show charging stations at car dealership, but those often don't work, or the dealer is hostile, or they are slow and there are zero amenities onsite. Steer towards Electrify America, Chargepoint and any gas station site. (Yes, gas stations are putting them in now.)
posted by intermod at 8:11 PM on June 6 [1 favorite]
Upthread, I said that Hertz charges $25 (or $35 if you didn't join Hertz Gold) if you return a car at a charge lower than what you started with. They now make that more like their fuel charges, where you can buy the charge when you start your trip (usually around that same $35 depending on location), or pay a service fee and the amount of charge on your return. Or at least that's what my pre-rental email said and what the contract said for my rental in Orlando in the middle of June 2024. I opted to prepay the charge, but my receipt has neither that charge or the other charge shown. Feels like they were still figuring out how the new system works.
posted by advicepig at 8:40 AM on June 18
posted by advicepig at 8:40 AM on June 18
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posted by meemzi at 12:12 AM on June 6