It’s a scenario that potential EV drivers dread. You plug into a and, after a loud bang, your electric vehicle appears dead. According to Car and Driver, at least three owners have endured this experience after going bankrupt. Three failures are a tiny fraction of millions of successful reload attempts. But the stories show what can happen in the worst case scenario.
Three EV owners were left with dead cars after Electrify America’s chargers failed
There are three known cases of public chargers rendering electric vehicles unusable. In separate events, a Ford Lightning, Chevy Bolt and Rivian R1T died while using Electrify America (EA) electric vehicle charging stations. Each instance involved different variables and different outcomes from the others. Car and Driver reports share details of each event as well as responses from EA and automakers.
, the first event occurred on November 27, 2022, involving a Ford Lightning truck. Ford and EA announced in a joint statement that an “isolated event during DC fast charging” tripped one of the Lightning’s internal circuit breakers. This made the truck immobile.
Ford said the switch flip effectively protected the battery and saved the Lightning from destruction. Car and Driver says Ford replaced the circuit breaker and returned the truck to its owner in full operating condition.
Rivian’s situation is similar to Ford’s. Fewer precise details are available, however, according to Car and Driver. In this case, EA says an internal problem with its charging station caused the truck to fail. Like Ford, EA suspects the charging station issue triggered safety mechanisms that saved the Rivian’s core systems but temporarily locked the truck out.
Finally, the Chevy Bolt event involves murkier waters. Unlike the other two, Chevy’s engineers were unable to evaluate the vehicle.
Per Car and Driver, a local Chevrolet dealership decided to replace the Bolt’s battery pack. As a result, the owners insurer stated that Bolt was totaled and now owns the vehicle.
Chevy said that, given the opportunity, it will completely replace any tripped circuit breaker under warranty.
Electrify America offers reassurance after isolated incidents
Electrify America assured the reliability and continued progress of its charging network in a statement sent to Car and Driver:
“We regret that customers have been inconvenienced in each of these instances, as our customers’ well-being and charging experience are of utmost concern. We had over six million charging sessions in 2022 and every situation is unique. Overall, we see very few vehicle downtimes per million sessions. However, these fixes are used to strengthen interoperability testing, component reliability standards, and continued over-the-air network updates.
“As with any technology, these improvements are part of development and innovation, like DC fast charging, during the early stages of its growth trajectory.”
Electrify America
The electric vehicle industry is entering its teenage phase with . With that, we can expect growing pains along with rapid expansion. As more and more drivers choose EV technology, the nation’s public charging network may encounter occasional problems like these.
