Zoe Owners Daring Tales/Boring Discussion Thread.......

Zoe Owners Daring Tales/Boring Discussion Thread.......

Author
Discussion

squirejo

794 posts

243 months

Friday 13th February 2015
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Anecdote on London EV use.

I am seeing loads more EVs around and about. It is now very common to be sharing road space with another EV. Which unfortunately means less charge point availability. This evening round the back of Selfridges, charge point full with 1 leaf, 2 i3's. And round the corner other EVs. Teslas now commonplace. Went to 3 chargers the other day 'til I found a free one.

It's good news that they intend to implement a charger reservation system as part of the app, and triple the number available in Central London given the current anecdotal charge point use.

And don't give me the stats about poor use in london. Loads are rubbish 3 pin plug and loads don't work. Those that do and are 7kw are especially in demand!

lost in espace

6,161 posts

207 months

Monday 16th February 2015
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Off to Gatwick for 4am from Welwyn 4 up with luggage. Quickest way at 1am is straight down through central London but lack of rapid chargers is an issue we could get to Gatwick from Potters Bar but there isn't enough charge to get back to Cobham. Planning on a quick top up at Potters Bar, Heston services then Cobham. All rapid, taken some planning to find the ideal route.

Update. What should have been an easy journey was stressful to be honest. Potters Bar, 2 chargers one out of action. The Brent Cross junction was closed so we couldn't get to the north circular, had to hack across London to Heston. 1 rapid charger, which we didn't need but I was worried about Cobham being out of order, so we charged up. About 1 minute after plugging in one of those Chinese taxi's arrived, phew.

Onto Cobham, no issues both chargers working. Having an hour spare, and with the Gatwick junction being closed we had to go down a junction anyway to come back up the other side we thought we would be clever and charge fully at Pease Pottage. Then we could simply cross London when we get back from Tenerife and charge at Potters Bar. Mistake, 12 extra miles and the charger said it had a circuit breaker issue. I have seen this error before so we just drove off to Gatwick. I have 30 miles remaining to make the 23 mile trip to Cobham, if the chargers there are working. I will have to ring ecotricity to make sure before we set off from Gatwick.

My feeling about charging at the moment, 1,200 miles in, is that it's like a game of chess if you have to travel afar. If a charging station is down you are on a truck. As a local car, it is great however.

Edited by lost in espace on Wednesday 18th February 18:00

IN51GHT

Original Poster:

8,779 posts

210 months

Thursday 19th February 2015
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I can't quite believe this, but the HVAC system is playing up....again.

Started making the same noise it did last time, this piss poor reliability is becoming beyond a joke.

dave_s13

13,814 posts

269 months

Thursday 19th February 2015
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Mines currently in with hvac issues too, no nasty noises, it just doesn't seem to work very well.

Also had the charge point replaced to rule out that being the cause of electrical feedback into the house, still does it though. They are scratching their heads over that one too.

I'm just wondering what to do when they come back and say there's no fix though.

BigBen

11,645 posts

230 months

Thursday 19th February 2015
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dave_s13 said:
Mines currently in with hvac issues too, no nasty noises, it just doesn't seem to work very well.

Also had the charge point replaced to rule out that being the cause of electrical feedback into the house, still does it though. They are scratching their heads over that one too.

I'm just wondering what to do when they come back and say there's no fix though.
As my charge point is on a separate feed from the fuse box it is easy to isolate it and see if it causes problems or not. Against my expectations it was not the reason my homeplugs had stopped working, they had just decided not to work at the same time.

Parked in Cambridge last night and opened the door on the Chargemaster post only to find a 13A plug. Rubbish!

Ben

stargazer30

1,596 posts

166 months

Thursday 19th February 2015
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Mines still running good (touch wood), 2000 miles in. Its been back for one minor fix, to replace the blue Renault Logo as the one it came with was peeling off.

I just live with the naff heating, its just a Zoe thing in general

dave_s13

13,814 posts

269 months

Thursday 19th February 2015
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I'll update later but our heating has had a software upgrade and it does appear to be much better. I'll report back when used it a bit more.

lost in espace

6,161 posts

207 months

Thursday 19th February 2015
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dave_s13 said:
I'll update later but our heating has had a software upgrade and it does appear to be much better. I'll report back when used it a bit more.
Thanks for that Dave, mine is all over the place not consistent at all. I may well start negotiations with our local dealer for this fix.

ooo000ooo

2,531 posts

194 months

Sunday 22nd February 2015
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My reversing camera has packed in, seems to have upset the radio if you go from reverse back to drive it doesn't always go back to the home screen.

ooo000ooo

2,531 posts

194 months

Sunday 22nd February 2015
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ooo000ooo said:
My reversing camera has packed in, seems to have upset the radio if you go from reverse back to drive it doesn't always go back to the home screen.
It has started working again, must have just been having a few hours off.

IN51GHT

Original Poster:

8,779 posts

210 months

Sunday 22nd February 2015
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My heating has given up the ghost completely now, still makes the noise, but just blows cold air. what a croc of st. Wondering what my next step should be.

Edited by IN51GHT on Monday 23 February 06:37

lost in espace

6,161 posts

207 months

Sunday 22nd February 2015
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ooo000ooo said:
It has started working again, must have just been having a few hours off.
Mine stays on until about 3mph.

ooo000ooo

2,531 posts

194 months

Monday 23rd February 2015
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I was just getting a black screen with the coloured lines on it. As I drove down the street the reverse camera screen was still on but the steering lines were moving. Seems to have sorted itself out now. Renault electronics lol

lost in espace

6,161 posts

207 months

Wednesday 25th February 2015
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Scraped into Cobham from Gatwick at 1am having asked ecotricity if the charger was working. Got there and had to ring them to reset it, we had no problems on the way down but he said it is an issue. From there we made it to Welwyn, 48 miles, drafting behind trucks at 55mph, with 20 miles to spare.

bennno

11,655 posts

269 months

Friday 27th February 2015
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I am a bit concerned that the state of this thread is reflective of the (lack) of excitement associated with owning a Zoe, or any EV. All sounds a bit open toe sandal with socks wearer type debate.

In truth I got my 2015 Zoe in January and beyond the fact that it makes my wife's VW UP feel like victorian engineering as it silently whooshes along, that there is heart in the mouth moments when reliant on the public charging points, that I have a glovebox of RF cards, that the EV charging point locator doesn't appear to work properly in the UK, plus that the range is about half what its advertised to be, plus that the public chargers seem to have a multitude of ports and leads but will only support one in use - then there isn't a vast amount to comment on.

My ask is whether there is a way to rewire the annoying sound button so the default is off and the option is to turn it on.

Oh forgot to add I have had mine chipped and it now does 150mph and goes for 200 miles, plus on a twisty road the other day I left an M5 for dust.

smn159

12,672 posts

217 months

Friday 27th February 2015
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bennno said:
I am a bit concerned that the state of this thread is reflective of the (lack) of excitement associated with owning a Zoe, or any EV. All sounds a bit open toe sandal with socks wearer type debate.

In truth I got my 2015 Zoe in January and beyond the fact that it makes my wife's VW UP feel like victorian engineering as it silently whooshes along, that there is heart in the mouth moments when reliant on the public charging points, that I have a glovebox of RF cards, that the EV charging point locator doesn't appear to work properly in the UK, plus that the range is about half what its advertised to be, plus that the public chargers seem to have a multitude of ports and leads but will only support one in use - then there isn't a vast amount to comment on.

My ask is whether there is a way to rewire the annoying sound button so the default is off and the option is to turn it on.

Oh forgot to add I have had mine chipped and it now does 150mph and goes for 200 miles, plus on a twisty road the other day I left an M5 for dust.
Just so that I'm clear, you've leased a shopping car and you're complaining of a lack of excitement, right?
hehe

Love my Zoe by the way smile

JonnyVTEC

3,005 posts

175 months

Friday 27th February 2015
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bennno said:
I am a bit concerned that the state of this thread is reflective of the (lack) of excitement associated with owning a Zoe, or any EV. All sounds a bit open toe sandal with socks wearer type debate.
Yeah the diesel Polo driver discussions are far more lively arn't they?

DSLiverpool

14,751 posts

202 months

Friday 27th February 2015
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bennno said:
Oh forgot to add I have had mine chipped and it now does 150mph and goes for 200 miles, plus on a twisty road the other day I left an M5 for dust.
I had a lovely thought of wiring a PP3 battery into the cig lighter and getting extra mileage - Musk eat your heart out!

bennno

11,655 posts

269 months

Friday 27th February 2015
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smn159 said:
Just so that I'm clear, you've leased a shopping car and you're complaining of a lack of excitement, right?
hehe

Love my Zoe by the way smile
Agreed, mine is good also. however I am still waiting for the daring tales to go with the boring discussion - for example an attempt to lap of the M25 at 117 miles on a single charge, that would be a daring tale

DSLiverpool

14,751 posts

202 months

Friday 27th February 2015
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bennno said:
Agreed, mine is good also. however I am still waiting for the daring tales to go with the boring discussion - for example an attempt to lap of the M25 at 117 miles on a single charge, that would be a daring tale
Top gear challenge ?