REALLY hot HV battery on road trip

[CO.R1T]

Hey all,
Just wrapped up an amazing ~4k roadtrip (write up to come) on the way back home through Colorado, highway speeds, mid 90s’ air temp, AC set around 73F. The battery could NOT cool down as we headed to a level 3 charger. Needless to say the “fast” charge was anything but. After not getting above a 50kw rate I unplugged and left it sitting while preconditioning the battery. After about 30 minutes it dropped to about 120F and was able to charge. Is this just driving a Rivian on a hot day thing? Gen 2 R1T.
Thanks!

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[PaythePiper]

Welcome to Rivian thermals. Been saying they suck for a year, but the fanboys ignore it

I’m in AZ. Even on 110+ days my battery doesn’t get over 105’ish. Haven’t tried to fast charge though

 

[CO.R1T]

Welcome to Rivian thermals. Been saying they suck for a year, but the fanboys ignore it

I’m in AZ. Even on 110+ days my battery doesn’t get over 105’ish. Haven’t tried to fast charge though

That’s what I thought was strange, I’d driven under all those conditions before and hadn’t had this problem. Thanks for the data point!

 

[mikehmb]

That’s what I thought was strange, I’d driven under all those conditions before and hadn’t had this problem. Thanks for the data point!

There appears to be a subset of vehicles that have major thermal issues. I upgraded from a Gen1 to a Gen2 recently and have experienced insane temperature issues. It goes in for service this weekend.

 

[technerd]

Welcome to Rivian thermals. Been saying they suck for a year, but the fanboys ignore it

I’m in AZ. Even on 110+ days my battery doesn’t get over 105’ish. Haven’t tried to fast charge though

Man I see 110 degrees regularly just from level 2 charging on a 90 degree sunny day here in PA

 

[CharonPDX]

I've never had that problem with my Gen 1, even driving in Arizona 110 F heat while towing a trailer on the freeway (AKA: High motor heat stress to get rid of, too,) I was able to get >200kW when I plugged in. Multiple charge stops in a row in the same conditions. (Recharge in Phoenix, recharge again in Tucson.)

 

[Marchin_MTB]

Hey all,
Just wrapped up an amazing ~4k roadtrip (write up to come) on the way back home through Colorado, highway speeds, mid 90s’ air temp, AC set around 73F. The battery could NOT cool down as we headed to a level 3 charger. Needless to say the “fast” charge was anything but. After not getting above a 50kw rate I unplugged and left it sitting while preconditioning the battery. After about 30 minutes it dropped to about 120F and was able to charge. Is this just driving a Rivian on a hot day thing? Gen 2 R1T.
Thanks!

I have towed in Colorado under the same conditions you describe and never had battery thermal issues. Quad gen 1 R1T.

 

[PaythePiper]

Man I see 110 degrees regularly just from level 2 charging on a 90 degree sunny day here in PA

110 degree battery temp?

 

[PaythePiper]

That’s what I thought was strange, I’d driven under all those conditions before and hadn’t had this problem. Thanks for the data point!

The only fast charging I’ve done this summer was this past weekend. Flagstaff RAN. About 88 degrees out. Car charged great. Then at the hotel, plugged into a L2 destination charger and charged like a champ at 48 amps. Here at home in my hot ass garage, my R1S won’t charge over about 34-36 amps or it will stop after 30 minutes

 

[C12farmer]

The only fast charging I’ve done this summer was this past weekend. Flagstaff RAN. About 88 degrees out. Car charged great. Then at the hotel, plugged into a L2 destination charger and charged like a champ at 48 amps. Here at home in my hot ass garage, my R1S won’t charge over about 34-36 amps or it will stop after 30 minutes

Does your car have a warning saying charging reduced due to high charger temperature or something to that effect? It could be your charger handle have loose contact with the pins on the car. The car should let the handle pins get to ~100C before it start to reduce current to maintain this temperature.

 

[PaythePiper]

Does your car have a warning saying charging reduced due to high charger temperature or something to that effect? It could be your charger handle have loose contact with the pins on the car. The car should let the handle pins get to ~100C before it start to reduce current to maintain this temperature.

No. Tesla charger flashes red. I know it’s not the charger because my model Y charges just fine even in the hot garage at 48amps. Many report the same issue in the Rivian FB

 

[ohseedee]

I have a Gen1 and just completed a ~1,700-mile road trip while towing in 100–120°F heat. My battery was warmer than usual but nowhere near what you’re seeing. Something’s likely wrong…

 

[akc5247]

Is it a Gen2 thing? I recall seeing a few of these in here but all were Gen2

Just finished a road trip upstate NY in our Gen1 R1S and DCFC at Tesla and RAN, and no issues with battery temps.

 

[Dark-Fx]

There appears to be a subset of vehicles that have major thermal issues. I upgraded from a Gen1 to a Gen2 recently and have experienced insane temperature issues. It goes in for service this weekend.

My Gen2 R1S takes way longer to cool down on a 90+ degree day sitting in the sun the whole time vs my Gen1 R1T. I know cabin volume is quite different, but I can get away with not preconditioning in my R1T. If I do that in my R1S, it's a solid 8-10 minutes before the cabin is actually a comfortable temp. I'm not sure it's always been that way, but we have been having warmer temperatures since the last update too, so hard to truly attribute it to that. The AC compressor seems to be running at full speed the whole time.

 

[technerd]

My Gen2 R1S takes way longer to cool down on a 90+ degree day sitting in the sun the whole time vs my Gen1 R1T. I know cabin volume is quite different, but I can get away with not preconditioning in my R1T. If I do that in my R1S, it's a solid 8-10 minutes before the cabin is actually a comfortable temp. I'm not sure it's always been that way, but we have been having warmer temperatures since the last update too, so hard to truly attribute it to that. The AC compressor seems to be running at full speed the whole time.

Having just had a 2023 R1S loaner while my truck was getting fixed, I can confirm that some vehicles have a significantly worse cooling system. It took forever to cool the loaner down, and I assume the battery cooling system is 1 in the same, so it would make sense that the battery cooling would suffer too.

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