12/5/22 Build Week

Okay, the continuation of my delivery journey.....

Yesterday, the dealer contacted me an said they will send a mobile tech to fix my connectivity issues on Wednesday. I responded by saying I just paid $90 for a truck, I want it to work, and could they come today; they said yes.

So the tech came to my work, where I'm parked in a large open air parking lot. He was great; I gave him my phone and my key fob and he fixed it while I was in work. He said the gateway module was the issue which, lol, kept the model from working. Any guesses how he fixed it? You guessed it, he disconnected the 12 volt battery and rebooted the system. I had to admit this was fantastic service from my dealer. I can't say enough about Sioux Falls Ford. They have always been a no nonsense, no negotiation dealer, and they delivered on every level and sold to all at MSRP. (One note, RIP had pointed out how doing this yourself could, worst case, brick the computer; I just don't think it is worth that risk when under warranty.)

Now I have Ford Pass activated......oh wow. I read all these threads and didn't really "get it." So far, the app has work flawlessly for me to set departure times and I even paid for a DC fast charge at a chargepoint last night since it appeared to be same price if I paid chargepoint directly. (Any advantages to using that over chargepoint app? I do know the ins and outs of the EA issues...ie only use for the free charging, then get an EA plan and pay with them.)

I drove about 60 miles last night down to Vermillion, SD to see my daughter at the University of South Dakota. I think my life changed on Intersate-29 when I engaged Blue Cruise. I felt like I was in a science fiction movie. That was absolutely nuts. I was driving at 80 mph with no hands for 50 miles; good grief!

On the way down, I had about a 9 mph NW wind at my back and it was about 29F. Since it was at my back and I had about 81% SOC, I was like WTH, lets go 80 mph (speed limit in SD). I got 1.4 mi/kwh. I was happy with that.

We had a great time with my daughter and boyfriend; I took them out to dinner. I then let my daughter drive back to her apartment. She loved it! Her boyfriend when back to his home then, and I wanted to try out DC fast charging since they have a good 62.5 kW brand new charger in Vermillion. I was going to just hang out as it charged, but my daughter drove her car so we could head back to her place while it charged to watch some hockey on TV. I was then able to watch it charge on my Ford Pass app.

Charger fired up with no problems through Ford network, and said it would take an hour to get to 90%......I knew I only wanted to go to 80%. While at her apartment, when it hit 75%, we headed back to get the truck.

I added 30% SOC in 45 min. It was about 20F at this point. It was just over 44 kwh added. Only cost me $6.81.

I headed home back into that same wind, but now down to 20F. I went 70mph to see if this made a difference. I only got 1.4 mi/kwh again. I suspect must have been combination of wind and little bit colder. I admit i was a little disappointed with that; have to get chargers built I guess as I would never drive slower than that.

All in all, fantastic trip, feeling like I was in a science fiction movie. I never fully grasped just how but a jump in tech these things are. What a great advance; now, let's get those darn chargers built.