Potential Range Issue?

[squinn61853]

I picked up my new R1T Tri on 11/19, and my wife and I took it from central Illinois to the Chicago suburbs for Thanksgiving this past Wednesday. Driving on highways in "Conserve" the whole way, I couldn't get above an average of 1.6 - 1.7 m/kwh. Granted, the temps were pretty much in the 20s the whole trip (up and back), but this still seems very low to me. Thoughts?

Also, on the way back, I started getting messages about the auto high beams not working, and when I got home, the drivers side headlight was only lighting the top half, and when the truck went to sleep, the (half) driver headlight turned off, but the (full) passenger light would not turn off. A soft reset didn't fix it, but a hard reset appears to have done the trick. Anyone else see anything like this?

To be clear, I'm absolutely loving this thing. I'm glad the light thing cleared up (so far), but the range issue is a bit concerning.

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[electrictaco]

What were your cabin climate settings on the drive home? Was the vehicle plugged in to the wall overnight? Was it parked indoors or outside? How fast were you driving on the way home?

 

[squinn61853]

What were your cabin climate settings on the drive home? Was the vehicle plugged in to the wall overnight? Was it parked indoors or outside? How fast were you driving on the way home?

Cabin temps were at 65; was at 75-80% SoC for beginning of both legs of the trip (out an back); was parked outdoors before the trip up, indoors before the trip back; drove 69mph on IL47 (two lane highway) and 79mph on I55 (interstate).

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

If air temp is in the 20s and you are going almost 80, with heat etc on, 1.6-1.7 is pretty much what one can expect. I don’t think you have an issue with the car. It’s expected behavior.

 

[squinn61853]

If air temp is in the 20s and you are going almost 80, with heat etc on, 1.6-1.7 is pretty much what one can expect. I don’t think you have an issue with the car. It’s expected behavior.

OK, thank you! I was hoping that was the case.

 

[Zoidz]

Your efficiency drops waaaay off above 65-70 mph. you were doing 79 mph, increased energy consumption is expected. It's no different than an ICE in this sense - except most people don't pay attention to ICE fuel consumption the way they do with an EV.

Note in the graph below that aerodynamic drag just about DOUBLES from 60 mph to 80 mph.

 

[electrictaco]

One thing that does have an outsized impact on efficiency of road trips is to pre-condition the vehicle while plugged in, not only does this heat the cabin and waste less energy before the trip, but also heats the battery up so it isn't cold when you start driving.

 

[squinn61853]

One thing that does have an outsized impact on efficiency of road trips is to pre-condition the vehicle while plugged in, not only does this heat the cabin and waste less energy before the trip, but also heats the battery up so it isn't cold when you start driving.

Stupid question, but is there a specific way to tell the truck to pre-condition, or does it just do this automatically when plugged in?

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Stupid question, but is there a specific way to tell the truck to pre-condition, or does it just do this automatically when plugged in?

It does it automatically if you have charging site as active navigation destination.

 

[electrictaco]

Stupid question, but is there a specific way to tell the truck to pre-condition, or does it just do this automatically when plugged in?

Climate Schedule is what I’m talking about. Awhile ago I read about that not being available on Gen2 yet, do you see the option in your climate menu?

 

[R1TandMe]

One thing that does have an outsized impact on efficiency of road trips is to pre-condition the vehicle while plugged in, not only does this heat the cabin and waste less energy before the trip, but also heats the battery up so it isn't cold when you start driving.

Now I’m confused. I thought you precondition the battery before fast charging. You’re saying you precondition before you travel in cold weather

 

[electrictaco]

The other commenter was talking about preconditioning before fast charging. That’s not relevant here for you. But if you set a climate schedule for your departure while plugged in, the car should heat the battery up to a good temperature too.

 

[mkg3]

Now I’m confused. I thought you precondition the battery before fast charging. You’re saying you precondition before you travel in cold weather

Correct. Rivian pushed a firmware while ago that allows preconditioning the battery while plugged in at home in the cold weather prior to driving.

There is an optimal operating range temperature for the cells and when sitting in a cold weather (garage or outside), the cells become very inefficient due to the cold soaked condition. By using home electricity to heat the cells prior to driving (and when on the road, using the cells themselves) the actual driving consumption rate is lower than when cold.

When you drive the vehicle with cold cells, the energy source has to heat the cells themselves, the cabin/seats/steering wheel that you may turn on (if you have a heat pump, get 2, its much better but still consumes), and power the motors. By heating them first, even if it's not connected to AC, it will consume less energy than doing so while driving; hence you get a better kW/mile efficiency. By consuming less kW/mile, you also use less energy to cover the same distance.

 

[squinn61853]

Thanks to all for the replies!

 

[Golfer04]

Thanks to all for the replies!

Except the preconditioning recommended earlier is not available in gen 2. Sometimes Rivian can't get out of its own way. Supposedly it is coming soooooon. I just drove 350 miles in (Tri Max) central Illinois today. 72 mph on interstate 25-30 degrees air temperature & got 1.74 in conserve. I had hoped the heat pump would improve winter range some over my quads, but no dice. Bigger disappointment was the dcfc speed. Stopped at two Tesla superchargers at about 15 percent battery (pre conditioned both times). The first one peaked out at 90 kw & I left after 17 minutes. Stopped again in East Peoria and it did better. Peaked at 200, but didn't hold it long. Stayed at about 175. In my quad I drew 215 at the same charger at 45 percent on the battery. Had hoped the Out of Spec guys just had a bad vehicle in their max charging test, but I don't think so. Not sure why a larger pack would charge slower.
I will say in warmer temps earlier this month I made the same trip and got 2.64 efficiency. Much better than both my quads in conserve. They can't seem to solve the cool weather puzzle.

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