I needed to make an unexpected trip to the mall this evening, without any electricity available. There are plug-in stations there, something I wouldn't usually be able to take advantage of living so close. The price had been recently dropped, now $0.49 per kWh. This happenstance was too good to pass up. There at the mall, I went about my business, checking charging status along the way. I suddenly got a text stating: "Your vehicle has stopped charing at ... because the plug has been removed." With so few plug-in vehicles here, especially near closing. That wasn't a good message. Something was wrong. Sure enough, I spotted someone walking away from my Prius then getting into his to sit and observe. Laying down on the ground was the plug. He had absolutely no reason to be touching it. Were his actions just out curiosity or an ill-intent encounter? Needless to say, I silently drove away without doing anything other than returning the plug to its holster. Hopefully, that was a rare situation.
ChargePoint allows you to configure what you are notified about and how. It's really nice... especially when something like this happens.
Chargepoint, the charger provider is set up so you can get a text or email when certain events occur. On star does as well, not sure if Toyota has something like that. John, very sorry to hear that. Hopefully that never happens again to you
I might have tried to take a cell phone photo of their license tag but that could escalate. A better answer might be just pull out the wallet and flash a bunch of bills. While holding the wallet with the prime fingers, hold up the wallet up with the fingers pointed at the jerk. Finally, get in the car and drive by laughin' while shakin' your head. Bob Wilson
You did the right thing. God knows I wouldn't have and one of us would have likely ended up in the hospital or arrested. Good for you John.
Was the suspect in another plugin car or a non-plugin? In almost 2 years of regular public charging station use I've never had my car unplugged or otherwise messed with while charging. On a few occasions I have unplugged other cars that were finished charging when there were no other nearby places to charge and the existing users had a fair chance (15+ minutes) to unplug it themselves. In your case you were still charging so that excuse doesn't apply.
It was an old guzzling coupe. There was another unused charging-station next to it. And he left the plug laying on the ground. Clearly, he should not have touched it under any circumstances. Those courtesies of the past no long apply. With Toyota, Ford, and Honda all joining the mix, change is coming. This is why I tried to ally with GM folks... and was baffled why they chose the "vastly superior" position instead. Knowing traditional vehicles grossly out-number the hybrids & plug-ins, the inevitable backlash would benefit greatly from cooperation across automakers. I know, that's something never possible in the past. But things are different now.
Now it sounds like a dummy hoping to see an electrical fireworks display. Similar "superior" attitudes are (were) found with other advocates and it drives me nuts. A healthy, fuel efficient vehicle market should be like a pallet of colors, filled with options. No one color is the only answer but part of a spectrum. But a 'one trick pony' soon becomes repetitious and worse, leads to 'shaving' the truth. Bob Wilson
I completely agree. We need a variety of different vehicle types, battery sizes, and drivetrain designs so individual consumers have a marketplace from which they can pick what works best for them. For the last decade or so, the Prius Liftback was the obvious choice for a compact/mid-sized highly efficient car. The many advantages of its design were overwhelming. However, it's no longer true that a Prius Liftback with an added 10-15 mile battery pack is the obvious choice when someone begins to consider a new hybrid plugin car. Having two different energy sources, gas/diesel vs. battery electric, makes the choice more complicated and dependent on driving pattern and grid power characteristics. John makes the excellent point that we should be promoting highly efficient cars of all kinds over the vast majority of conventional gas hogs being sold today. There is going to be (has to be) a big transition away from conventional ICE cars during the next decade and if we cooperate and work together we can help that transition happen sooner.
"Please Dont Unplug My Vehicle" EV Sign for Your Charging Cord Volt Prius Leaf | eBay I have a new style sign I am also thinking about making as well. But for now this is what I have to offer.
I suspect it is rare. But when it does happen, especially for people that need the power to get to their next stop, it is a real pain. I am guessing the majority of the time this happens it would be because another EV/PHEV needed the charge and thought yours was done (obviously that isn't what happened in John's case). After the elections hopefully this rare event will get even more rare.
Unfortunately the world doesn't work this way. With politics, women's rights, religion, and terrorists today a minority seems more bent on going backwards and determined to drag the rest of the planet with them--while we just watch. I don't plan to do much charging, if any, outdoors. I wish Toyota had locked the charge door like the fuel door and left its direct appearance more non-descript without the shinny plug icon on it. Heck, I even wonder how well, with the door closed, it is protected from high-pressure car washing? It sure doesn't look like there is a very tight or sealed protection to me.