A/C Performance

[ajdelange]

The ultimate question is whether the A/C can keep the cabin comfortable while driving very fast uphil throgh the desert on a hot day with a headwind. If it can handle that it can handle anything.

Sponsored

 

[ATL_Canes]

Pre conditioning the cabin works great for me. But the air vents never seems to be pointed at the right location. I'm constantly adjusting them. Moving them in the screen has a noticeable delay a lot of the time too. Sometimes adjusting them does nothing at all and I have to turn off the zone and turn it back on before I see the louvers move.

I'm kind of sick of submitting service tickets because they never seem to do anything after the initial call. Everything is just software bugs apparently

I'm often hot in the R1T driving around SoCal but the truck does cool down eventually. Pre-conditioning via the app helps a lot.

I’m with you on the vents moving. I don’t understand why I constantly have to realign them to hit me in the driver’s seat. Shouldn’t the location just stay the same when I get in/out of the truck? Also an issue with the vent closest to the door on the passenger side - it doesn’t seem to blow air unless we turn it off and then back on from the screen. So every time my wife gets out and back in, the air isn’t working on her side.

I’m firmly in the camp that the screen controlled AC is over engineered. Tesla started this nonsense, and unfortunately Rivian followed suit. Just let me manually adjust it! But it is what it is at this point.

I hope a software update corrects some of these issues, and also adds functionality to control it a bit more from the app for preconditioning. I find myself cranking the AC before getting out of the truck on hot days, so when I turn on the preconditioning it cranks also (I think the preconditioning just turns on to whatever settings were present when exiting).

EDIT - I just had a though… if I leave it on “Auto” I wonder if the preconditioning works better so I don’t have to remember to crank it before getting out.

 

[BuzzL8ghtYears]

My experience with AC on the Rivian (in Texas heat). So I'll tell you what I've told other people, I don't know what Ford has done but they have top notch AC in their vehicles. I traded in my Mach E for the Rivian and its kind of between the Tesla Model 3 and Ford when it comes to their AC quality.

I loved how the Mach E had AC at speed 1 or 2 and I always felt great in the TX heat. In the Rivian, I find the re-adjusting of the fans annoying. However, it doesn't bother me too much but the left and right side fans are definitely minimal for me at best. Its the center ones that are the real powerhouse. Majority of the time i have to have the setting at 2 or 3 fan speed. Adding ceramic tint to the front windshield has helped a lot. Overall I would say the AC in the Rivian does a good job of keeping me cool (but not great). Pre-cooling the cabin is definitely the best thing to do when its super hot outside and the truck has been sitting for a while.

For the ventilated seats, are y'all getting air blown up from it or is it more like a cooling sensation? I remember turning it on like a week ago and almost felt like air was being blown into me from below. However, i tried it recently and felt very tiny cooling feeling (may have to service ticket that one).

 

[R1Tom]

Been in 90's and fairly high humidity. I can hear compressor working, but it is all working very well. Interior fan noise, even at high load, is very reasonable.

 

[Deleted member 7086]

I hope the software fix comes soon. The hottest part of the summer is coming and I am really tired of resetting the AC all the time.

 

[njech7]

Doesn't everyone just leave it in Auto? And adjust temp when needed? It's a thermostat....

 

[bigtex]

I'm in Texas. At work I leave the windows cracked an inch, which helps get the initial cool down faster. A/C cools just fine. Vented seats are nice. And yes, the vent location isn't optimal.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Doesn't everyone just leave it in Auto? And adjust temp when needed? It's a thermostat....

That's what I do. But my wife always sets to HI/LO and does it manually. I don't understand why. She doesn't understand why it bothers me. The circle of life.

 

[astonius]

That's what I do. But my wife always sets to HI/LO and does it manually. I don't understand why. She doesn't understand why it bothers me. The circle of life.

Oh man, I empathize so hard with this. My wife says it’s because she wants to be “in control” which is ironic because I’m typically the control freak.

 

[BuzzL8ghtYears]

I'm in Texas. At work I leave the windows cracked an inch, which helps get the initial cool down faster. A/C cools just fine. Vented seats are nice. And yes, the vent location isn't optimal.

do the seats blow air up or is it more like a cooling sensation? trying to figure out if mine are working correctly.

 

[bigtex]

The system blows air through the perforated sections of the seat. You do have to hit the button on the display to activate them. From my experience, it usually takes 15 seconds before I can feel the seats bblowing cool air.

 

[drstancpa]

Doesn't everyone just leave it in Auto? And adjust temp when needed? It's a thermostat....

Well, my wife sure won't, so no.

 

[therealhoff]

Mine has been decent in 85-90 degree heat here in the East. I'm pretty tall and it can get a little toasty up top by my head and the center vents don't do a great job of cooling the tip top of the cabin as well as center body when angled all the way up. There is no control I can find for the defroster vent in the center of the dash up by the windshield. This is annoying for two reasons. One, I'd like to blast some cool air along the windshield to get to my head in the heat like I used to do with my Tacoma. Two, when it's still warm out in the evening and the humidity is like swimming through the air, condensation starts to form on the outside of the windshield from the AC blowing through the defroster vent and obscure vision to the point I have to poke the windshield wiper every once in awhile to clean the moisture on the outside center of the windshield off. Under those conditions I'd like to be able to reduce/stop the airflow from the defroster vent. Otherwise, seems to work well enough for me.

 

[paul_rivianlife]

Being that it is the first very hot day in MI with heat index around 98 degrees, I noticed a new level of noise the compressor makes. I did notice the compressor in the past (I think it is the compressor) in the middle area of the hood near the windshield/hood seam is where the noise seemed to originate. When you now unlock the truck and stand outside while the truck cools it is a significant spool up of the compressor and quite loud. Quieter on the inside but still noticeable over the blowing air. Normal? Maybe I am just hyper conscious of new noises, etc.

 

[NoICE]

Agree with loud AC compressor noise. Also in MI for first hot day (97F) and the AC was the loudest I've ever heard. OK at cooling (not great), but OK. Vent position and adjustment are the worst part of the vehicle (for me). Very annoying to try to position the vents, only for some computer to change the air direction for the next drive. It's the classic example of a solution in search of a problem.

Sponsored