Many DC Fast Charging Adapters Are Prohibited By Operators

• Most DC fast-charging operators in the U.S. prohibit non-approved adapters.
• Extension cables and breakaway adapters are also banned.

Using an adapter at a DC fast charging station in the United States is slowly becoming the norm. Whether it’s a Ford Mustang Mach-E charging at a Tesla Supercharger or a NACS-equipped Hyundai Ioniq 5 charging at an Electrify America DC fast charger, an adapter is involved.

So, we thought it would be a good idea to remind everyone that while charging adapters are the hot new thing, not all of them are welcome. We poked around several DC fast charging operators’ terms of use and also asked around, and the gist of it is this: you better have a manufacturer-supplied DC fast charging adapter.

Let’s start with Tesla. The only adapters legally accepted at Superchargers are those sold or provided by Tesla or other automakers. “Tesla prohibits the use of any other device that plugs in between a vehicle and the charging cable such as third-party adapters, extension cords, and breakaway devices,” according to the company’s third-party adapter policy.

In other words, A2Z’s extension cable and EVject’s breakaway connector are not welcome at Supercharger stations in the United States. The same goes for A2Z’s NACS to CCS1 adapter. Meanwhile, the NACS to CCS1 adapters made by Tesla and Lectron should be good, as Lectron is one of the official suppliers for Ford and Mercedes-Benz.

EVgo, which recently updated its terms of service, has the same limitations. It only permits the use of automaker-manufactured charging adapters that are UL2252 certified. EVgo’s DC fast chargers predominantly offer CCS1 connectors, so this mainly applies to Tesla owners who might need to top up in an emergency. In this case, the only approved adapter is Tesla’s CCS1 to NACS unit which retails for $300. The same goes for Electrify America.

ChargePoint goes one step further. “We do not recommend the use of adapters or extension cables in any DC charging application, whether it be with a charger of our own manufacture or that of another OEM, unless there has been extensive testing to validate the combined solution of vehicle, adapter and charger,” a company representative told InsideEVs in an email.

That said, ChargePoint offers a similar solution to Tesla’s Magic Dock. It’s called the OmniPort and it’s essentially a built-in charging adapter that can be added or left in its place, depending on what charging port is on the car. The cable has a CCS1 plug, but if needed, the NACS adapter is right there in the charger.

We asked Ionna about its stance on adapters and extension cables at its Rechargery stations, but the company did not respond to our request.

What happens if you use a non-authorized adapter? Charging operators can’t physically stop someone from doing it, and there is no active communication between the adapter and charger. However, if something goes wrong while using an adapter—like damaging the charger—you could get banned from the charging network and hit with legal action.

There are plenty of cheap adapters out there, but keep in mind that some of them have the potential for disaster. As uncovered by Auto Buyers Guide last year, knockoff adapters can melt because the temperature sensors that should ensure everything goes smoothly are dangling inside the case, nowhere near the DC pins. Meanwhile, the manufacturer-approved adapters are much better built and have all the proper safeguards.