My Rivian completely dead from ~40% vampire drain after a month long vacation

[Grabs10]

Like we use on our boats...

Yep. Wire it so it disconnects the 12 volt completely. At least a person would then potentially be able to at least get in the vehicle and possibly charge the HV battery back up after sitting for a few weeks.

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[Baumer]

Is there an EV on the market that wouldn’t drain from 40% to 0 after sitting stationary for 4 weeks straight? Serious question.

Possibly the only thing my XC40 recharge does well is that it loses almost nothing when left alone for days and weeks. Even my Model Y is conserving better with recent updates. I’m north of Boston.

It can be done, just a matter of Rivian catching up.

 

[pjzabo]

Weird, I left my R1t (Nov 22 build) in my friend's driveway while we were away on vacation for a week and was worried about the drain, but lost next to nothing over that week (charged it to 85% the night before parking it for 7 days) Does everyone have this problem? Was i just fortunate? It was not a bad (overstated) range reading either as I drove the truck for a few days after returning and it seemed to wind down the range normally over that period based on use.

 

[jconway]

The service center told me to put the truck in transportation mode to slow the battery drain. I have not tried this yet. Hope it helps.

 

[RoverZac]

This is where some sort of solar tonneau would shine...

Transportation mode can't be the answer. What, then, is the point of the gear guard?

 

[riviancanucknb]

Why don't you just go buy a 12V battery and set of jumper cables from Costco or Walmart?

 

[SlaterGS]

I'm going to be an asshole and say if you parked it for 30 days and made no provisions for even a 120v trickle charge, you got what you set out to get. I'm not using the I word, but come on.

At least have it at 100% charge or as best as you can. Have it in the transport mode or whatever that is.

When you call for service, tell them the 12 volt died not that you parked it outside for a month and it wasn't fully charged....

No offense.

Or...hear me out. Rivian gets a handle on their vampire drain?

IF transport mode did anything then that helps solve longer term storage, but many have shown that it does not reduce the usage.

I also see a continued focus on the percentage loss to compare different vehicle drain rather than the kwH. 1-2% on a Tesla with a much smaller battery is not the same as 1-2% on a Rivian in terms of energy consumption.

In the end, while Rivian needs to figure out how to not be wasting the amount of kwH they are in general, there needs to be a solution to pretty much eliminate drain over a long period, even if that requires some simple action from the operator.

 

[TheCaDean]

I took off an vacation parking my Rivian R1T in my apartment parking complex and came back to a completely dead battery. The 12V battery looks to be dead as well completely. The car wouldn't unlock any doors or ports and nothing seems to work at all. It completely drained the full 40% to 0% within a month (FYI, I live in Bay Area where the winter is not too bad)

I have to access to a charging point in my parking spot and I've underestimated the much dreaded vampire drain that's plaguing the Rivians. I know I should have done something about it while I was away but I had to extend my trip for a week longer than what I have planned for due to some last minute family emergency and couldn't make any arrangement.

I'm kinda bummed to see this happen although I know about the vampire drain. Did any one have any similar experience happen to them?

I've reached out to service center and they suggested the easiest option is to tow the vehicle to them for them to work on it. The estimate for the service given as $1270 . Price have to pay for bad software optimization and vampire drain!

Please suggest if you have any comments and suggestions on this!

Battery drain is a huge no go. I have 2 KIA EV6's not even one KW of drain in a week..

 

[stimpy]

The longest I left my Model S was 17 days, it lost around 13 KW.

I believe this is about right. I lose ~1% per day when parked at the airport without sentry mode on. I could easily lose 30-40% over a month because it periodically wakes up from sleep to ping the servers and see if there are any waiting commands.

A deep sleep mode for long term storage would be useful for these situations.

 

[Craigins]

Serious question... How is it possible you consistently go so long without driving your cars? Do you intentionally buy EVs just to let them collect dust?

In my case, before the Rivian, I had a Prius c for summer driving and a RAM Rebel for winter driving. I'd drive the truck usually November to March exclusively.

It killed the 12v battery in the Prius after a month of sitting idle. After 2 winters of doing that I made sure to drive the prius every few weeks during winter.

 

[gingerjet]

I’m watching my new R1T drop 1 to 2% a day from 5,500 miles away. When I pick it up in a few days it will have dropped ~15% except the garage I parked it in will charge it before I pick it up. I see this as a problem. But one that can be managed in the short term.

Long term - Rivian needs to resolve this. This is unacceptable for any vehicle released today. And no - Rivian isn’t “special”. This is simply optimizing systems management.

 

[downranger12]

I'm no expert, and Rivian battery architecture not withstanding, this problem probably could have been prevented by simply plugging the charging cord included with the vehicle into 110
just about anywhere with a friend or a rented storage facility.
Uber to the airport then and have no problems. I welcome anyone with experience to comment where I could be wrong.

 

[Birdowin]

I would never leave my truck on only 40% charge and leave it for any long period of time. The option if you could not leave it plugged in would be to charge it to 100% and then leave it in shipping mode.
Before I left on my 2 week trip I called my Rivian guide and he said that would work but it was much healthier for battery life to keep it plugged in the whole time. I took it to my brothers house and left it plugged into a 120v outlet at 70% charge rate. It’s been fine so far and he is having a blast driving it. I highly recommend consulting your Rivian guide prior to leaving your truck for extended periods. They are very knowledgeable and accessible. Sorry you had such a bad experience.

 

[SherpaDog]

I had a scary situation at Christmas, but fortunately didn't totally drain ... was down in the dingle digits. Since then, I turn off Gear Guard, and close the app on my phone so I am not pinging the vehicle - possibly coincidence, but both appear to take a significant hit on the battery. When traveling, I leave it plugged in at home ... or make sure the hotel/etc have chargers. I wouldn't think of leaving it at the airport - fearful of returning to a dead truck

 

[PappaBolt]

Weird, I left my R1t (Nov 22 build) in my friend's driveway while we were away on vacation for a week and was worried about the drain, but lost next to nothing over that week (charged it to 85% the night before parking it for 7 days) Does everyone have this problem? Was i just fortunate? It was not a bad (overstated) range reading either as I drove the truck for a few days after returning and it seemed to wind down the range normally over that period based on use.

I left my R1S for 9 days at 63%. When I returned it was at 53%. So just over 1% per day. Seemed pretty decent. Could it be better? Yes but this gives me hope the parasitic drain is improving.

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