Can someone explain…..

[e4gaa1104]

I’m lucky enough to charge at home but today I needed to fast charge to 100% as we were taking our daughter to college and I forgot to plug it in last night (doh). There are a bunch of EVgo DC fast chargers close to me so I thought I’d give them a go. I had to swallow the 69c/kWh as I needed a fast charge. I preconditioned the battery by navigating to the charger. It started well, 217kW speed but immediately dropped and ended up at 55kW with an 81% battery. I appreciate charge speed drops as the battery nears a full charge but seeing as the EVgo charger had a top speed of 350kW why did it drop off so much and so quickly??

Sponsored

 

[mpshizzle]

Unfortunately that's fairly normal - Best charging speeds are always near the "bottom" of the battery. Part of that is the natural charge curve of the battery, part of that is your Rivian trying to keep the battery temperature under control.

When road tripping it's often better to do more frequent shorter stops with high charging speeds as opposed to fewer longer stops

 

[GANTZ]

69¢/kWh nuff said. Plus I’ve seen this happen on the chargers I’ve used EA, Tesla.

 

[NY_Rob]

If you only received 47kWh of energy to get to full charge, that means you were already at almost 66% SOC when you arrived at the charging station.
That high arriving state of charge explains why the current tapered down as soon as it did.

 

[SANZC02]

Just the nature of the curve.

First, Rivian maxes out at around 217 kWh in the best cases, you will never see higher than that so using a 350 kWh charger is no real benefit. As a matter of fact the difference between charging at an EA 150 verses an EA 350 might be a couple of minutes as I see in the 170s frequently on the EA 150 chargers.

As the percentage fills up it will slow down, especially once you get over 80%, I never got to 100% as the miles I get from 95% to 100% just is not worth the time it takes. There are many articles out there on charging curves both in general and Rivian specific, I suggest tracking one down just to better understand the challenges for charging EV batteries.

 

[Tango45]

Probably too many variables to diagnose behavior that, at a glance, seems in keeping with my experience. Between the vehicle, the weather, the charger, the phase of the moon, and the current geo-political environment in the southeast corner of the Congo, there's so much that impacts charging behavior that, unless it's a complete fail, is within reason. That being said, can I ask what your starting percentage was? Looking at my DC fast charging history I see the following:

26%-79%: 32 minutes
38%-93%: 30 minutes
12%-66%: 30 minutes
58%-90%: 31 minutes
29%-64%: 28 minutes
43%-94%: 24 minutes

Just a sample...

 

[e4gaa1104]

Probably too many variables to diagnose behavior that, at a glance, seems in keeping with my experience. Between the vehicle, the weather, the charger, the phase of the moon, and the current geo-political environment in the southeast corner of the Congo, there's so much that impacts charging behavior that, unless it's a complete fail, is within reason. That being said, can I ask what your starting percentage was? Looking at my DC fast charging history I see the following:

26%-79%: 32 minutes
38%-93%: 30 minutes
12%-66%: 30 minutes
58%-90%: 31 minutes
29%-64%: 28 minutes
43%-94%: 24 minutes

Just a sample...

I started at 45%

 

[Tango45]

I started at 45%

If you went from 45% to 100% in 25 minutes, I think you made great time. As for the changes in charging rates, I think those that have responded previously have addressed the "why?" thoroughly and more eloquently than I could. If nothing else, I hope we've dissuaded you from any concerns that there's a problem with your vehicle. Taking a daughter to college, you've got enough to worry about. Mazeltov!

 

[e4gaa1104]

If you went from 45% to 100% in 25 minutes, I think you made great time. As for the changes in charging rates, I think those that have responded previously have addressed the "why?" thoroughly and more eloquently than I could. If nothing else, I hope we've dissuaded you from any concerns that there's a problem with your vehicle. Taking a daughter to college, you've got enough to worry about. Mazeltov!

I went from 45 to 80. The speed dropped to 55kW but I needed to get home so as my daughter packed the car I used my home level 2 to get up to 96%

 

[s0ysauce]

While I agree with that sentiment, having young children has forced me into the longer, but fewer stops. I just make sure the charging stop has a place for my kids to eat, and don't mind that they are taking so long playing with their food. Then I haul it as soon as they fall asleep in the car. Honestly I kick myself for only getting the large battery because of this.

Unfortunately that's fairly normal - Best charging speeds are always near the "bottom" of the battery. Part of that is the natural charge curve of the battery, part of that is your Rivian trying to keep the battery temperature under control.

When road tripping it's often better to do more frequent shorter stops with high charging speeds as opposed to fewer longer stops

 

[Tonicart]

It's not about the DC charging station's speed, but your vehicles battery / BMS capability.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

EVGO is not good unless you get the membership. Their chargers are less busy than EA though (likely due to the higher prices). Charging slows down a decent amount around 60%, again at 70% and then dramatically slower at 80%. I avoid charging above 80% especially on road trips. I will typically charge to 100% right before leaving home. Charging from 80-100% on a road trip takes just as long or longer than charging from 10-80%.

 

[Kidentist]

Anyone from WA care to give an opinion as to whether or not the EVgo + plan is worth it for those of us in WA State??? Reading reviews they suck. The only time I tried to use it (Bellevue next to the Fred Meyer on 148th) 2 chargers were out and one was occupied.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

Anyone from WA care to give an opinion as to whether or not the EVgo + plan is worth it for those of us in WA State??? Reading reviews they suck. The only time I tried to use it (Bellevue next to the Fred Meyer on 148th) 2 chargers were out and one was occupied.

EVgo membership used to be a great deal, when EVgo was more reliable and cheaper than Electrify America (EA).

Unfortunately, EVgo has become more expensive and less reliable, whereas EA has become more expensive and more reliable (except for the lines of people waiting).

I haven't cancelled our EVgo membership yet, but I probably will.

Very best wishes!

 

[Riviaenz]

69¢/kWh nuff said. Plus I’ve seen this happen on the chargers I’ve used EA, Tesla.

EVgo is the worst! The one time I tried them I got robbed to the tune of $1.21/kWhr and of course insult to injury they pickpocketed me for their session fee 2x. Their unit stopped 10 min into the first session and it didn’t displayed a summary long for me to notice how much they were syphoning out of my credit card. I only noticed AFTER the second session when the charge summary stayed up long enough for me to get to regret the experience.

Sponsored