How reliable is DC fast charging on a long road trip?
Did 2,900 miles CA to NYC in my Ioniq 5 last summer. 29 Electrify America sessions, zero failures. A couple of stalls were slower than the posted rate but nothing that changed the plan. I'd say plan for a backup charger within range and you'll be fine.
Taycan owner here, and my experience on the Atlanta to Pensacola run was a lot worse than most of the replies. Two separate Electrify America sites in Alabama (Montgomery and Auburn) had two 350s and a 150 down. At Auburn the one working 150 crashed twice mid-session. Pensacola only has the one fast charger site in town, and when I left both 350s were out. I made it, but only because I started each leg with plenty of buffer. Check PlugShare for recent check-ins on the specific stalls, not just whether a site exists. Several stops on that route only had one working unit.
Same kind of wait on the I-15 to Vegas in my Bolt. The Baker EA had about 8 cars waiting for 12 stalls, and the Walmart sites on the way showed in use all day. Coming home, every charger I tried was occupied even though I had plenty of range. What saved me was a Rivian charger that was open and let me charge to 100%. It also ramped to about 43 kW, and the EA stalls never got me past 33. I'd treat a holiday-ish weekend on that corridor as a day when the backup plan really matters. The charging and searching added 2-3 hours to each leg for me.
Slower than expected was my version too, on a first long trip in my 2016 Model S, Tampa to Boone. Supercharging wasn't broken anywhere, just uneven. Asheville gave me about 32 kW for 30 minutes, while Lake City was closer to 65. I'd budgeted for a steady fast rate and that was the mistake. Now I plan on the average, not the peak number.
Similar for me with Superchargers in a Model 3 Performance. At Tucumcari, NM a stall rated 150 kW gave me about 70, and I was the only one there. It was cold, so I figured that was the cause. It didn't wreck anything, but I'd stopped trusting the rated number. Crossville, TN was the opposite, a 250 kW stall that peaked at 263.
Same here with my Bolt. It peaks around 27-28 kW even on the 150 and 350 kW units, and I've watched other Bolts next to me pull close to 49. A stop I'd figured at 40 minutes has been running closer to 80 for me. Most of my tests were at low state of charge too, so I'm not sure what's going on.
Same on my Mach-E trip from Virginia to Maine. I used 8 different networks and each had its own way in: an app, a QR code, the Ford network, or a card tap. Two of them had broken card readers. I never got stuck, but I'd have been in trouble without the apps already installed. I'd set up the accounts for every network on your route before you leave.
