If anyone needs proof that Westheimer Road in Houston, Texas, is the city's major thoroughfare, one, strangely enough, can count the number of its Tesla Superchargers. Between the Galleria Mall on the east and Highway 6 on the west, a distance of 11 miles, there are three different locations with a combined 40 stalls - easily the highest concentration in the entire Gulf Coast region. That can mean only one thing if a person runs out of charge in West Houston, they should lose their right to operate an ev.
The West Oaks Village is a shopping center situated on the northwest corner of Westheimer Road and Highway 6. Anchored by Best Buy on its southern end and Seismique, an interactive art museum, on the other, the Village is home to the usual cast of characters such as Academy, Five Below, and Ross. In the confines of its vast parking lot, specifically at its extreme northern end, Tesla installed superchargers.
When did they come online? On January 3rd, 2023, looking at my Tesla app, I noticed they were operating. Excited at having one so close to home, I bounced off the couch and made my way over. Because I frequent the West Oaks Village getting to the location was a snap.
It was about 9:30 pm that I arrived with approximately 28% battery life remaining. All eight stalls were available. Without much thought, I reversed into a middle parking spot and connected.
According to the app, these are 250kW chargers, but when I sat inside, the car was charging at 83kW. A notification on the screen stated, "Warming up the battery for faster charging," which surprised me because it was a balmy 60-70 degrees in Houston that night. Indeed, I did not "precondition" the battery - as previously mentioned, I found the West Oaks Village location through the app, not the car's computer screen ( something I'm confident that Tesla will add to the Nearby Chargers list in the next update.) In the meantime, first-timers to the area use your GPS to navigate to 2344 Piping Rock Ln.
Then again, I've charged in the past without preconditioning and have yet to receive that notification. Quien Sabe. I will revisit the location soon to see if it was a fluke.
Other than that detail, it was a typical charging experience. After reaching 90%, at the cost of $8.91, i stopped charging and made my way home.
Details
Hours of Operation: 24 Hours
Address: 2344 Piping Rock Ln, Houston, Texas 77072
Stalls: 8
Max kW: 250
On-Premise Amenities
Automotive: A&R Auto Repair, Auto Zone, Avis Car Rental, Kwik Kar
Banks: Bank of America, Wells Fargo
Food: London Cafe, Subway, Swamp Kings, Wingstop
Museums: Seismique
Shopping: Academy Sports + Outdoors, Best Buy, Exclusive Furniture, Five Below, Ross, pOpshelf
Others: Sports Clips, Camp Run-A-Mutt (across the street)
Adjacent Communities
Addicks, Alief, Bear Creek, Cinco Ranch, Energy Corridor, George Bush Park, Mission Bend