twitte

Yes, I really like the NX 450h+ and I'm still using the ChargePoint charge station. 2 1/2 hours to charge (using 240V socket). It is averaging about $1.21 total cost to charge the battery at night. It was one of the stations recommended by Lexus. It uses the same connector as the charge cable that came with my car so no need to get any other adapters (unless you are charging a Tesla). I have photos of it above.

See attached FAQ's from Lexus for the NX 450h+

toy4speed

Our house has a 240volt outlet in garage from previous owner. It is a 40 amp circuit. I bought a Chargepoint wall charger, nice, easy to use. I set the Chargepoint setting to 40 amp per instructions. What I am curious about is our 450h+ when charging from empty seems to take about 4 hrs or so. Everyone talks about a 2.5 hr charge time with Level 2 wall chargers, but I seem not to be getting that charge speed. We have the optional 6.6 kw on-board charger with the car. Do I need a 50 amp circuit to get the 2.5 hr charge time? I am ok with the 4+ hr charge times, just wanted to make sure I'm not missing something here. Thanks for any advice!

ct6978

At 6.6 KWh you're using a little less than 30 amps (240V x 30A = 7,200W = 7.2kW). Your circuit should allow for 32A of draw (rating of charger) which ends up being a 40A breaker on your panel due to code requiring an extra 25% higher for the breaker. You should take something less than 3 hours, although if you look at your charging profile (assuming Charepoint lets you) you'll likely see dips where the car briefly halts charging) if you have the 6.6kWh charger installed.

Check your vehicle settings, when the car is on, but not plugged in, and look for the charging option. There's a charging rate that you can set to 8A, 16A, and max. I believe those are the choices, I keep mine on 8A for overnight charging as I want the least amount of stress on the battery. Setting it to max will set it to 32A, but the car always draws slightly less than the option selected. It is possible you're set at 16A, that's about 3.8kWh and that would take about 4 hours. It is also possible that your charger is limited for some reason, I have a different brand, but I can set the car type, charging rate, etc. at the charger as well. I can also see the charging rate on my app which includes the kWh rate, amps, volts, temp, etc....I'm assuming Chargepoint has the same.

In the car's charging options, you should also have options to automatically lock/unlock the port, and perhaps more importantly, options to cool and warm the battery while charging. Make sure those are on, if not it could slow down charging. I'm writing this from memory, so may have missed something in the menu options. Finally, if the temp is above or below what the battery wants (including if its been used heavily recently) it will slow itself down.

450hinLA

I just got my ChargePoint charger installed, and am curious about this. So you are saying that it is bad for the battery to charge at the highest rate it is capable of? Is this documented somewhere so I can read more about it? Thanks!

ct6978

The faster you charge the more heat builds up, heat isn't good for the battery and will shorten its life over time. This is particularly true as you approach full charge. The car regulates the heat, and ends the cycle with lower amperage, but if you have a choice, slower is better for most batteries. Too many variables and unknown to know exactly what impact it will have on these batteries and I don't know how long you'll keep the car, but if you aren't in a hurry (small battery, overnight is more than enough time even at 8A) then why not go slower. Another way to prolong it is to avoid 100% or at least not hit 100% and hold that for long. You can set your 'departure time' to minimize this.

Google "Slow charging vs fast charging battery life" and you'll find no end of articles, studies, and other info about this.

You can also see the impact if you run a 32A cycle vs. a 8A cycle and report out on the charging rate. I suspect (temp, timing, and other variables being the same) you'll see what I saw on my charger's graphs, more stopping temporarily for longer to let things cool down, then starting up again. You'll also hear the fans on the car go on to cool things.

Everything in life is a tradeoff, and its up to everyone to decide how important this is...especially since you may or may not notice a difference. Lexus gives us 150K/10 year warranty on the battery, but I haven't checked the details to see what constitutes failure, I think some mfg allow for 20% loss in storage and still call that good. Also, if you don't keep the car for long you may care less. My wife gets in, drives....I try to maximize everything, your mileage may vary.

450hinLA

Sure, if I'm charging overnight I won't be in a hurry. But I'd like to do my morning commute, charge (quickly), and then have it all ready to do the afternoon school pickup. I suppose I could change to the lower rate when I'm not in a hurry. Thanks for the info!

twitte

Yes, I'm very pleased with the car and the ChargePoint Home Flex Charge station. I noticed that Lexus has now teamed up with ChargePoint too. You don't need to buy any adapters, it plugs right into your Lexus NX450h+. It is a very simple installation, you can do it yourself in a few minutes. The only thing you need to do is make sure you get a plug that matches your 240V wall socket in your garage/house. There are only a few options so it shouldn't be hard to make sure you get the one with the right pin configuration. They offer a NEMA 6-50 plug and 14-50 plug (assuming you aren't going to have it hard wired and just use the plug in options).

rlee131

Thanks for your post I have one arriving in 30-45 days. I have an unrelated question maybe you can answer. The tires coming with the car according to the spec sheet are AS (All season). 235/50R20 AS, Some tire manufacturers have a stamp on the side of those tires saying M&S ( mud and snow). Some don’t have that. I live in California and to be able to drive on the highway in snow without chains on a AWD vehicle the tires must have that stamp. My dealer does not know and they don’t have any vehicles to check. Can you tell me if your tires have that stamp?
thanks
Russ

Jggy993

hi, thanks for this information. Currently in process to get the 240volt wall socket outlet build. When you are referring to the different plug options, is that specific to the plug for the Chargepoint that needs to be ordered? Just wanted to get a little more information before ordering a level 2 charger.

edgeucated

iTrader: (4)

Yes it is specific to your chargepoint. When you order your ChargePoint you'll have to select which plug it comes with, either NEMA 14-50 or 6-50. This will have to match with what receptacle you are installing for your 240v

englandsf

Been using the Tesla charger with adapter for a few days - working well taking about 2 hrs to charge to 100%. No heat or issues so far

troba2k

yes, it is

kindofblue

Thanks. That's most helpful. We're considering getting a 450h+ and were wondering what the $800 (!) option was for a charger.

darkloki

So I have a dilema or not really a dilema but like some options to think about. Currently my home is 110 in the garage and yea will take like 10-11 hours to charge my NX450+. It seems to me that on average the cost to do a good job on 220 in my garage would be around $1200 dollars. I don't think I want to take the Adapter route, I think I want the chargepoint route if I were to go 220 in the garage.

So the dilema is that based on where I currently live there is a Chargepoint Charger in the park (5 of them) that are .25 miles from me. No exageration here it's .25 miles so that's like such a simple walk and they charge .29 kwh if I park after 11PM it's $1 an hour for parking otherwise free parking. These 5 chargers for the last week have never had more then 1 car at them. Because of this convience it's been hard for me to justify spending the money to install 220 in my house because well I'll never recoup that, lol and I suppose it's healthier for me to walk the .25 miles and even walk the dog sometimes while I'm at it.

ct6978

Have you looked into rebates for installing the charger? Also, it might be cheaper than you estimate to install the charger in your garage. If you have an electrical panel/sub-panel there you might have enough space (or be able to make space) for less than that and then it should just be a breaker, the wire, and the outlet..it is possible an electrician quote may end up being less than you expect. Also, Costco sells the Juicebox charger I bought for less than regular retail..and I've seen them on sale occasionally. Still won't be free, but parking in the garage vs. the park is worth something.

Finally, I believe you can still get the 30% federal tax credit on the charger and electrical work ($1k credit limit, I think)