Just saw Rivian R1S burning on 101 Brokaw

[mpshizzle]

Gen 2 will be a bit better because they have better cooling, but these temps aren't that extreme.

Well so far in my 11k miles I've not seen above 115 on my dual. Even when preconditioning

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[kurtlikevonnegut]

Yes - I got confused with the instructions for releasing the parking brake. Look what I found:

It even warns you that it will cause excessive heat and may cause a fire!

so what you're saying is.......RTFM

 

[norivian]

Ok so, am I missing something here?

I feel like towing improperly shouldn't cause A FIRE.

I can see it damaging the motor/inverter, but how does that cause it to catch fire??? That seems like a major design flaw if that's the case. These things are gonna get improperly towed all the time

I feel like a much more likely cause would be the fact that the battery was damaged in whatever wreck it was in before getting towed. (Or possibly the other wrecked vehicle being towed caught fire and it spread).

Maybe I'm off but improper towing causing it to go up in flames seems insane

When ICE cars are towed that way, the gear is switched to neutral?

 

[godfodder0901]

When ICE cars are towed that way, the gear is switched to neutral?

Generally, no. It's bad practice as the transmission still spins in most cars. If you tow a car with two (or four) wheels on the ground, they should be undriven (completely decoupled from the transmission) or have a lubrication system that works when the vehicle is off (i.e. a mechanical lubrication pump).

 

[SANZC02]

Rivian has permanent magnet motors. The rear can be decoupled with the clutches but in tow mode it will brake/park if you tow very quick. Not good if you ignore that. The front is also permanent magnet. Spin those by towing and the power is going to over heat everything without management.

Basically it's like towing an ice car if it is in park or in gear. Not going to be pretty.

Teslas have one induction motor that decouples if the coils aren't powered externally. It can free wheel safely all day.

Tesla also requires flat bed towing and warns against component damage and fire if towed with wheels on the ground.

 

[kyunam]

so… does anyone know what actually caused the fire now?

 

[Zoidz]

so… does anyone know what actually caused the fire now?

Heat. Beyond that, nobody knows, it’s all WAG.

 

[bgg1]

Yes - I got confused with the instructions for releasing the parking brake. Look what I found:

It even warns you that it will cause excessive heat and may cause a fire!

Help me understand something. There are instructions to release the parking brake to put the car into tow mode, but it will only stay released for 15 minutes. So what's the point? Is it simply to put it on the truck?

 

[Zoidz]

Help me understand something. There are instructions to release the parking brake to put the car into tow mode, but it will only stay released for 15 minutes. So what's the point? Is it simply to put it on the truck?

Yes.

 

[captainjp]

so… does anyone know what actually caused the fire now?

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