More charging joy (via VW software)- Rivian, please get this right!

[RivianXpress]

Sounds like the OTA check isn't in the factory-installed software.

yeah, seems like they left a few things out! Hopefully QA got to test that part.

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[JLiz5]

Does anyone agree that It appears VW rushed the ID4 to market knowing a lot can be fixed OA? It also appears Rivian is putting a lot of effort in working out bugs before release to improve the customer experience...or have I drank too much Kool-Aid?

 

[electruck]

VW has been struggling mightily with the software for their EVs since the beginning.

The laggy display is extremely disappointing. I understand that the legacy ICE vehicles didn't get the importance but you'd think this is something they would recognize is absolutely critical to the EV experience. This is something that is a must for Rivian to get right - a laggy display would be my one absolute deal breaker.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Does anyone agree that It appears VW rushed the ID4 to market knowing a lot can be fixed OA? It also appears Rivian is putting a lot of effort in working out bugs before release to improve the customer experience...or have I drank too much Kool-Aid?

I hope you're right.

There's evidence to suggest they're also value-engineering-out as much cost as they can, which is less great.

But I'm hoping we do get a product that is solid and reliable, at least.

 

[azbill]

In addition, IIRC reading some time ago VW only made the initial funding (whatever the penalty amount was) into EA and that EA would have to stand on it's own legs financially moving forward as an independent company.

The funding by VW is spread over 10 years, then it stops. There are about 5 years left, then EA is totally on their own. But we have seen the new "commercial" division already get funded by other investements, such as Arizona Public Service using EA to install, service and run some chargers for them in Arizona.

 

[Gshenderson]

Tesla isn’t as great as the video describes. Finding a broken supercharger is common. There is 20-30 seconds of uncertainty when you wonder if the car will charge or not.

I’ve been driving a Tesla since 2015 and have never run into an inoperable Supercharger. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had to wait for a spot to open. I had one incident where a pickup with trailer had completed blocked every charging bay at a hotel location, and had to wait several hours before the idiot came out a d moved it, but overall my experience with Superchargers has been excellent.

 

[skyote]

I had one incident where a pickup with trailer had completed blocked every charging bay at a hotel location, and had to wait several hours before the idiot came out a d moved it

Carry a tow strap in your Rivian & you can help him move it sooner next time. I may or may not have done something like this a time or two, for good reason of course.

 

[SANZC02]

I’ve been driving a Tesla since 2015 and have never run into an inoperable Supercharger. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had to wait for a spot to open. I had one incident where a pickup with trailer had completed blocked every charging bay at a hotel location, and had to wait several hours before the idiot came out a d moved it, but overall my experience with Superchargers has been excellent.

In some of the busier areas (I'm in Southern California), the Tesla Super Charger stations do get full and they do have some chargers out of order on occasion. Tesla has added to their app to indicate chargers available and out of order so it makes it a bit easier to get to an open station.

Rivian can do that for the RAN network but might be harder if the other vendor networks do not keep track and/or share this information for them to consume and display.

 

[azbill]

In some of the busier areas (I'm in Southern California), the Tesla Super Charger stations do get full and they do have some chargers out of order on occasion. Tesla has added to their app to indicate chargers available and out of order so it makes it a bit easier to get to an open station.

Rivian can do that for the RAN network but might be harder if the other vendor networks do not keep track and/or share this information for them to consume and display.

The phone apps for EA, EVGO and ChargePoint all show real time status on them. Now, if we could just get CarPlay ...

 

[DucRider]

Now, if we could just get CarPlay ...

When the Bolt came out, the interwebs were in an outrage that the only nav option was with your phone.
The Rivian is coming out with only a built in nav, and the interwebs are in an outrage that you can't use your phone nav thru the vehicle screen - you have to buy a $5 phone mount.

Nobody at this point knows how good the Rivian software/interface will be. Like a thousand other details that need to be seen/felt/touched/experienced - getting hands on with a production unit will define the buy/don't buy.

If lack of CarPlay is a dealbreaker - no matter how good the Rivian system turns out to be - then it's time to move on. When you cancel your reservation, you can let them know why. If they find that it is critical enough to enough potential customers, they may make it available in the future. But it won't be at launch. Get over it.

All the whining about pet features is getting so friggin old.

 

[Gshenderson]

In some of the busier areas (I'm in Southern California), the Tesla Super Charger stations do get full and they do have some chargers out of order on occasion. Tesla has added to their app to indicate chargers available and out of order so it makes it a bit easier to get to an open station.

Rivian can do that for the RAN network but might be harder if the other vendor networks do not keep track and/or share this information for them to consume and display.

Yeah, unless I’m traveling for work (and using Uber), I tend to avoid major urban centers. Most of my supercharging tends to be at interstate locations that aren’t as heavily utilized as downtown ones.

 

[Gshenderson]

When the Bolt came out, the interwebs were in an outrage that the only nav option was with your phone.
The Rivian is coming out with only a built in nav, and the interwebs are in an outrage that you can't use your phone nav thru the vehicle screen - you have to buy a $5 phone mount.

I’ll reiterate that my concern is not really about how good or bad their app might be. I’m optimistic that it will be really good. The problem I have is that crowdsourcing apps like Waze have huge value based on the crowd sourced data they amass and utilize to make their apps more useful. As an emerging company, there’s no way Rivian can touch that unless they partner with someone who already has the data. I really like to know where the cops are, but maybe that’s just me.

Another crowdsourcing example is GasBuddy. I use it all the time when driving my 4Runner. I’m not aware of an EV charger equivalent, but I’m sure some enterprising nerd will come out with something soon, or GasBuddy will add it. Factoring charging cost into your route planning would be very beneficial, but that info will likely need to be crowdsourced across numerous charging networks and not something that will likely be incorporated into proprietary auto manufacturer app.

From a music standpoint, many of us have huge investments in content, channel subscriptions, playlists, etc on our mobile devices or in the cloud that are the result of years of building those up. To go back to nothing from a content and organization standpoint with a new app will be extremely frustrating.

Bottom line is that there’s tons of cool innovations that the broader tech world and entrepreneurs produce very rapidly once needs are identified. By having a closed proprietary system, Rivian is eliminating the ability to incorporate that into their vehicles. Many of us think that’s a poor decision.

 

[azbill]

When the Bolt came out, the interwebs were in an outrage that the only nav option was with your phone.
The Rivian is coming out with only a built in nav, and the interwebs are in an outrage that you can't use your phone nav thru the vehicle screen - you have to buy a $5 phone mount.

Actually, I have a 2017 Bolt and it did come with navigation. I found the GM nav at the time to be inferior to my phone nav, so I only use my phone.

 

[DucRider]

I’ll reiterate that my concern is not really about how good or bad their app might be. I’m optimistic that it will be really good. The problem I have is that crowdsourcing apps like Waze have huge value based on the crowd sourced data they amass and utilize to make their apps more useful. As an emerging company, there’s no way Rivian can touch that unless they partner with someone who already has the data. I really like to know where the cops are, but maybe that’s just me.

Another crowdsourcing example is GasBuddy. I use it all the time when driving my 4Runner. I’m not aware of an EV charger equivalent, but I’m sure some enterprising nerd will come out with something soon, or GasBuddy will add it. Factoring charging cost into your route planning would be very beneficial, but that info will likely need to be crowdsourced across numerous charging networks and not something that will likely be incorporated into proprietary auto manufacturer app.

From a music standpoint, many of us have huge investments in content, channel subscriptions, playlists, etc on our mobile devices or in the cloud that are the result of years of building those up. To go back to nothing from a content and organization standpoint with a new app will be extremely frustrating.

Bottom line is that there’s tons of cool innovations that the broader tech world and entrepreneurs produce very rapidly once needs are identified. By having a closed proprietary system, Rivian is eliminating the ability to incorporate that into their vehicles. Many of us think that’s a poor decision.

Like I said, Rivian has made their choice. If it is a deal breaker for you then move on. The subject has been beat to death and then beat some more.

 

[EyeOnRivian]

Another crowdsourcing example is GasBuddy. I use it all the time when driving my 4Runner. I’m not aware of an EV charger equivalent, but I’m sure some enterprising nerd will come out with something soon, or GasBuddy will add it. Factoring charging cost into your route planning would be very beneficial, but that info will likely need to be crowdsourced across numerous charging networks and not something that will likely be incorporated into proprietary auto manufacturer app.

BTW, sounds like, at least in part, your describing plugshare.com which also has a phone app.

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