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Comment by ck2 | Hacker News Reader

Unplugging someone else's car - well that is exactly what I would expect from the American public - actually that is the more mild case.

Can you imagine what would happen in the city?

Kids will be shorting out your car and watching it burn just for fun (or blowing a very expensive fuse).

Since gas caps are (mildly) locked, why aren't charger locked into the cars?

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> Kids will be shorting out your car and watching it burn just for fun (or blowing a very expensive fuse)

Er, what city are you talking about here? Do you even live in the US?

One could relatively easily make a prankster device for screwing with the chargers. That said they are somewhat more than just a dumb extension cord and they require a bit of negotiation (and I assume constant communication) with the car to keep the juice flowing.

The chargers available in our area lock into the charging stations to keep people from messing with them when they are not in use as well.

My gas cap isn't locked in the least. Anyone who walks by has access.

The charging cables do lock on many electric cars: some models unlock when charging is done, others only when the doors are unlocked.

The 2013 and newer Leafs have a variety of options for this. The default "automatic" mode behavior is to lock the plug when charging then unlock when charging is complete. Not totally sure if you can unlock the charger.

That was my though exactly. The Nissan leaf does have a car side lock. Since things are getting heated one should use the lock in a responsible matter.

Also with CarWings, Nissan remote control, I believe you can lock/unlock on the fly without having to go to the car. So pretty much no reason to use it.

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