NHTSA Complaint #11572031 — 2023 SUBARU SOLTERRA

Slow DC charging of Subaru Solterra 2023 at low temperatures is unsafe for toddlers and babies. The battery pack of Subaru Solterra 2023 has a slow charging rate at DC, and with low temperature( 32 F), it becomes even slower; what makes the matter worse is that if you use air conditioning, the charging rate becomes ten times slower. We were with our toddler driving on the i80 and we had to charge the car to get us to our destination, We have stopped at 50 kw DC charger. The vehicle only pulled 35 kw, the temperature outside was 34 F, and we wanted to keep the air conditioning because our toddler was on board, but the car was taking an insane amount of time to charge, 1000 minutes from 40% to 100%. Toddlers can't stay that long in a car, you can't turn off the AC at the risk of hypothermia, and you can't wait in the nearby building because the DC charger, like most DC chargers, is in the middle of nowhere. We turned off the AC for 10 minutes while sitting in the back with our toddler's body, warming him to get enough charge to reach our next destination. I would expect if the weather was worse, the DC charger would have been slower, and even 10 minutes without AC could have had severe adverse health consequences on the car passengers, kids, and adults. Other EVs have battery conditioning that makes DC chargers faster at low temperatures, thus decreasing the risk of toddler discomfort and hypothermia.