12 Common EV Charging Mistakes New Owners Make (and How to Avoid Them)

1. Charging to 100% every day. It is unnecessary for most driving and stresses the battery. Set an 80% limit and use 100% for trips.
2. Running the battery down to near zero before charging. There is no 'memory effect' to worry about; plug in whenever convenient.
3. Driving to a charger without checking it is working. Dead and occupied chargers are the biggest source of frustration. Check live status and reviews in the map first.
4. Assuming the charger's rated power is what you will get. Your car's limit, the battery's temperature and charge level all matter. A 350 kW charger will not make a 50 kW car charge faster.
5. Not preconditioning before a fast charge in cold weather. A cold battery charges painfully slowly. Navigate to the charger in the car's system so it warms the pack on the way.
6. Fast charging to 100% on a road trip. The last 20% is slow and expensive. Charge to 70–80% and stop again if needed.
7. Using an extension lead or multi-plug at home. A real fire risk. Get a dedicated socket or wallbox installed.
8. Forgetting the connector type. Not every charger fits every car. Filter by your car's connector — CCS, Type 2, CHAdeMO — before setting off.
9. Not having a backup charging app or card. Chargers and apps fail. Carry a second network's app or an RFID card, and a contactless card.
10. Ignoring the tariff. Charging at peak times or on the most expensive network can cost as much as petrol. Use off-peak home charging and compare public prices.
11. Leaving the car at 100% or 0% for weeks. Both are hard on the battery. For storage, aim for around 50%.
12. Hogging a fast charger. Moving on when you reach 80% keeps the network working for everyone — and some networks charge idle fees.

The one habit that fixes most of these

Plan, then plug in. Check where you will charge, whether it is working, what plug it has and what it costs — the live map does all four — and then charge to what you need, not to full. Everything else follows.