PlugShare tips and route planning

We planned a cross the USA trip and have some helpful hints and tips to plan an extended (more than navigating to one point or address). A limitation of PlugShare route planning is 25 destination or charging points. This turned out to be slightly less than what we needed for the East to West coast route, so we broke up the total trip into a route for each day.

Create and edit routes with a computer and not the app

Use the same login for the phone app and accessing www.PlugShare.com to transfer route data seamlessly from the computer to the app. The web site has lots of functionality to filter charging points, add addresses, and view the route.

Add a location within an existing route

When creating a route the stops are added as you go. However, when a route is being edited, you may wish to add a stop somewhere specifically in the route and not at the end.

To add a stop in Bakersfield for this trip from the Bay Area to San Clemente, click to "Add a stop" after the location before. Refer to the red box on the right side of the picture (this is after the first charging stop but before the second charging stop:

A new line is added at this point in the route. Now, an address may be entered, a pin placed on the map, or charging location selected from the map.

Saving a route

Routes are not automatically saved and you must click to save the route. Find the save button in the right side route overview form:

Navigate to the route in the car

The route created and edited on the computer is automatically transferred to the app on your phone. Open the app and find the route, then select a point to navigate to from the map or click into the list and select one. Clicking the destination point opens the PlugShare description that includes a map to generate the driving directions. Last, decide whether to use Apple or Google maps to display in the car:

Point to consider: currently Plugshare does not enable driving directions to a street address, only charging points. This issue has been raised to PlugShare and a solution should be developed.

ID.4 charge cord release tips

My ID.4 was setup to automatically unlock the charging cable when a charging is complete. This means you are able to press the unlock button on the cable to disconnect. If the automatic unlock is set to No, then the cable cannot be disconnected by pressing the button without taking an action to unlock.

There are options available in the Infotainment system and on the VW ID.4 app to change this behavior. In the infotainment system the automatic release may be changed between Yes and No (find this in the Charging section by clicking the Settings "gear"):

This setting may also be changed in the ID.4 application under the Battery option:

My experience is changing the cable release with the app results in the Infotainment cable release option being removed:

If the automatic unlock is Off, then there are two ways to remove the cable:

1. Click the Unlock button on the FOB
2. Use the emergency cable release in the trunk

So, I recommend to use the Infotainment to change the automatic unlock if desired.

Electrify America grace period count down issue

In late July 2023 I started experiencing an issue with the Electrify America iPhone app after a charging session was completed. This issue has been reported to EA and as of this date no resolution is available.

When a charging session is completed, EA (like most other EV charging companies) gives you a grace period before making you pay for taking up space at a charger with no charging. 

This counter should only occur if the cord is still plugged into your car. I get this message after the session is ended and have left the station.

Tips:

1. Always click to "Finish" the session on the charger station.
2. If this message appears, check that you are not be charged by EA. If charges are posted to your account, contact EA.
3. I have not successfully removed these messages. They disappear over time, typically after another charging session.

Electrify America wallet and activation tips

Using Electrify America has been easy and reliable from my experience. The chargers are operating and I rarely wait for an open charging station.

As I have talked with other drivers at charging stations, there are several tips I have made:

Add EA to your phone wallet. The ID in the wallet can then be used to initiate a charging session without a connection to the internet. For my iPhone, open the EA application and select the Account option, then Payment. Scroll to the bottom of the payment screen and select Add to Apple Wallet (or Google should you have an Android):

The screen shows how you can then tap to activate on the EA charging station. Scroll to the bottom and click to add to your wallet, then you are prompted to add to your wallet:

Another tip for activation is when the station display is off or cannot be read. If the screen cannot be used to activate, then open the app, select the station number and then swipe the station number to initiate charging.

VW ID.4 key fob covers

 My wife and I both drive the ID.4 and have seat settings saved, so knowing which FOB is yours is helpful.

We purchased covers for our key FOB in different colors so it is easy to tell them apart (we do not have other keys or key rings on our keys). We bought the Tukellen FOB covers:

These covers fit well and come in 5 colors.

Some of the other people i have spoken to desire a cover to make triggering the panic button harder. I have accidently triggered panic when the FOB was in my pocket, so with these I would say accidental triggering is still possible.

VW ID.4 home and work addresses

 If your dealer setup your home and work address for Navigation and you need to edit them, finding that setting may be a challenge. I will show you where those settings may be edited.

From the Main menu, select Settings (you may need to swipe to the right), then Configuration:

Now the guided setup menu is displayed, which is intended to setup multiple options, so just select the navigation address settings:

Now the home or work address may be selected and edited using the current location or by entering an address:

Done!

ID.4 Setup automatic door unlock

 Approaching the locked car, the lights flash showing that a key is in the vicinity (if you have this setup). If you want the doors to automatically unlock there is a setting to select from a couple options. You may wish to see where this setting is.

With the car on, select the main menu by touching the 8 dots at left:

 

The main menu is presented, select Vehicle, then Settings:

Now that you are in the vehicle settings, select Exterior and Central Locking (you may need to swipe right or left to find this screen...refer to the dots at the bottom of the screen):

In the central locking menu the options may be selected for the unlocking behavior to have all doors unlock, just the one door or the door on the side you are on:

For automatic unlocking to be active, the Keyless access option must be selected first.

Enjoy!