Rivian R1T charging curve test 20-80% [by TFL]

[moosehead]

I'm good with a bit of advanced planning to increase probability of success, but not interested in folding my clothes before sex.

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[McRat]

Very disappointing results and would have liked to see 0-100%.

Peak speed was 151 kw. Took 41 min from 20-80%. The curve is not very impressive either with a big taper by 80% all the way down to 51 kw.

The Tesla 100 kWh pack in the 2020 MX Long Range Plus takes the same amount of time to go from 20-80% SOC (40 minutes). While peak can hit up to 198 kW, it has little effect on charging time. At 80% it is also crawling in the 50's%. Then if you hit an "urban" charging, it takes about 55 minutes (72kW cap).

So it's about what is expected for a 135kWh pack assuming things are now 35% better than in 2020.

 

[ajdelange]

Approximately 1C

 

[Riventures]

For comparison purposes, here is a charging session of an eTron using EA 150 kWh charger:

The TFL session:

 

[yizzung]

Dumb question for you smart folks:

In the video, the dash alert indicated that the charge was nearly done and that it was slowing. I interpret this as software throttling on the Rivian side.

Since “full” was set at 80%, did the Rivian start throttling only at the very end or did it start throttling much sooner (I.e. when the curve indicated slowing per the graphs?) and do we think that the throttling is hard coded (e.g. always start at 50%) or soft coded (e.g. start throttling when approaching “full” which is some variable set by the user).

Reason I ask: if it’s the latter, seems like you could set “full” at, say, 100%, then just pull the nozzle out of the tank when it gets to 80%. Maybe this is bad because it should always taper no matter where full is because a hard stop hurts battery, but that seems suspect.

 

[Trandall]

Halfway through the 'Should you charge to 100%' portion of this thread I mentally checked out and can't read any more.

I want to say though, with the amazing battery warranty Rivian is offering.... WHO THE HELL CARES. Drive your truck however you want and if your degradation is high enough, get it replaced under warranty. If it's not high enough... what are we really talking about here?

Isn't a 3rd possibility: Rivian notices you have fast and loose charge habits and proactively throttles your DC rate or diminishes your capacity (slowly adding it back to offset losses) to ensure they won't trigger degradation warranty?

 

[branden]

Dumb question for you smart folks:

In the video, the dash alert indicated that the charge was nearly done and that it was slowing. I interpret this as software throttling on the Rivian side.

Since “full” was set at 80%, did the Rivian start throttling only at the very end or did it start throttling much sooner (I.e. when the curve indicated slowing per the graphs?) and do we think that the throttling is hard coded (e.g. always start at 50%) or soft coded (e.g. start throttling when approaching “full” which is some variable set by the user).

Reason I ask: if it’s the latter, seems like you could set “full” at, say, 100%, then just pull the nozzle out of the tank when it gets to 80%. Maybe this is bad because it should always taper no matter where full is because a hard stop hurts battery, but that seems suspect.

I can't see any reason it would throttle sooner based on charge limit and that would be different than the behavior on every other EV on the market. When you have a charge limit set, it just stops charging at the set SoC %.

 

[branden]

Isn't a 3rd possibility: Rivian notices you have fast and loose charge habits and proactively throttles your DC rate or diminishes your capacity (slowly adding it back to offset losses) to ensure they won't trigger degradation warranty?

Highly unlikely on such a new car. That could be a possibility as the battery ages (hopefully not).

 

[yizzung]

I can't see any reason it would throttle sooner based on charge limit and that would be different than the behavior on every other EV on the market. When you have a charge limit set, it just stops charging at the set SoC %.

Seems logical but then why a warning in the dash that tells you it’s almost done and that it’s slowing down? Neither of those things seem particularly helpful.

 

[branden]

Seems logical but then why a warning in the dash that tells you it’s almost done and that it’s slowing down? Neither of those things seem particularly helpful.

Not everyone knows that it's normal for charging to slow as the battery is charged.

 

[Tomgriff]

I appreciate the feedback (i’ve seen lots of it on this forum) and say what you want but we DO have tons of experience in towing and off-road environments.

On our rocky mountain towing test quickest rate was 150kW as well from 15%.

I appreciate the data and was wondering if it would have had a better rate lower in the battery which it doesn't sound like it. I think the thing that gets overlooked for EVs in terms of DC fast charging isn't so much kW and charging curve but it is charging curve vs efficiency. My Chevy Bolt can only charge at 65 kW through somewhere around 60% but gets 3.8 m/kWh so it recovers nearly the same as an E-tron that maintains 140ish kW but only gets in the low/mid 2M/kWh. Both cars will spend roughly the same time at the charger to get the same range back. My concern with the Rivian is that the charge rate is good but with the low efficiency it may not be the best choice if road trips are the primary use (won't be for me, so the few trips I make it won't be a big deal.) BTW, thanks for your videos over the years, I really enjoy your team and when I was starting my move toward EVs, your guys were one of my sources.

 

[slawwach]

Photo of the R1T charging session in case anyone finds that useful. Before anyone asks I don't know anything about circumstances besides the fact it was in one of the southern states, so probably not too cold.

 

[McMoo]

Photo of the R1T charging session in case anyone finds that useful. Before anyone asks I don't know anything about circumstances besides the fact it was in one of the southern states, so probably not too cold.

About 40% in 31 min starting around 45%.

 

[SeaGeo]

About 40% in 31 min starting around 45%.

Yeah. Assuming a linear drop from 50%, it started off lower than what most owners are sharing (180+ at 50%). Maybe a 150kw station. I've heard owners pulling around 120kw at 70%. Still don't have a good handle on how it's tapering from 70 to 85%.

Out of spec reviews mentioned they should have one to test in a few weeks. It will be interesting to see what they can pull from the truck.

 

[slawwach]

About 40% in 31 min starting around 45%.

Start and End SOCs are both visible on the photo. It was 36% in 31 minutes starting at 49%

Maybe a 150kw station

There was also a photo of the truck charging. It was 01 station in Ooltewah, TN. It's a 350 kW charger.

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