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

Gshenderson

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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.
Damn dude, chill out. Forums are about expressing ones self. You do it as well. Just because you may not agree doesn’t mean you need to tell other people what to do.
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Gshenderson

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BTW, sounds like, at least in part, your describing plugshare.com which also has a phone app.
Agree. Great app. It currently doesn’t focus so much on the pricing, but rather mostly availability. It’d be awesome if they added the ability to see the pricing for each charger on the map display of the app. That might be a little tricky through since not all charger networks use a common metric for billing. Some are time, some kWh, some subscription, etc. Of course, @DucRider will probably lambast me for wanting this. Because, you know, only things he wants are important.
 

Big_Ike

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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.
Like you, I've been driving Teslas since 2015, but haven't had the same luck with Superchargers - but I am incredibly thankful they exist and believe they are a strategic competitive advantage for Tesla. We go to Disneyland a couple times a year and drive over from Phoenix. I always encounter issues with Superchargers - waiting, incredibly slow charge rates, inoperable chargers. Drives my kids nuts, but I tell them we're pioneers, blazing a new trail for the masses! (that doesn't comfort them though)
Regardless, I can't see going back from EV's - they're just too convenient 99% of the time.
 

EyeOnRivian

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That might be a little tricky through since not all charger networks use a common metric for billing. Some are time, some kWh, some subscription, etc.
True, but not insurmountable. Just another data point: unit of measure: kW, $/min, etc. for the charging station/ports to make available via their API.

That said, about a year or so ago I read an article about a new regulation where public EV chargers would need to charge in units of kW dispensed versus by time of use. People were complaining of expensive charges while at slow chargers taking long times to get a decent amount of charge to the battery. Because of this I kind of recall the article mentioning Tesla was in the middle of updating a whole bunch of chargers, but I think this may have been limited to California, possibly other states as well. None the less, when a Electrify America installed a new charging station near me, plugshare reported it (and I verified in person) as time of use billing structure instead of by kWs dispensed. So I thought I would give it a shot and question them on it via the messaging portion of the app, that is, shouldn't the billing structure be by kWs dispensed? Ironically, EA responded via the app that they wanted me to call them. I never did because by the time I saw their reply I had noticed the billing structure for those chargers had changed to kWs dispensed. Coincidence? Probably, but still thought it was interesting they changed it. Just another element in the EV and charging space I wish the industry would standardize on.
 
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DucRider

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True, but not insurmountable. Just another data point: unit of measure: kW, $/min, etc. for the charging station/ports to make available via their API.

That said, about a year or so ago I read an article about a new regulation where public EV chargers would need to charge in units of kW dispensed versus by time of use. People were complaining of expensive charges while at slow chargers taking long times to get a decent amount of charge to the battery. Because of this I kind of recall the article mentioning Tesla was in the middle of updating a whole bunch of chargers, but I think this may have been limited to California, possibly other states as well. None the less, when a Electrify America installed a new charging station near me, plugshare reported it (and I verified in person) as time of use billing structure instead of by kWs dispensed. So I thought I would give it a shot and question them on it via the messaging portion of the app, that is, shouldn't the billing structure be by kWs dispensed? Ironically, EA responded via the app that they wanted me to call them. I never did because by the time I saw their reply I had noticed the billing structure for those chargers had changed to kWs dispensed. Coincidence? Probably, but still thought it was interesting they changed it. Just another element in the EV and charging space I wish the industry would standardize on.
In some States/jurisdictions, it is not legal for charging networks to bill by the kWh. That is reserved for utilities only.

CA passed rules requiring sale by the kWh and a bunch of other stuff phased in over a long time. Some labeling requirement are now being enforced, but the rest of the rules apply to new DCFC equipment installed or replaced after Jan 1, 2022 (and all must be in compliance by Jan 2033). L2 EVSEs installed after Jan 1 , 2023 must comply and the same 2033 deadline for upgrading existing installs.
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/evse_fro_ac.pdf
 

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RivianXpress

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Rivian - Just work a deal with the Tesla SC network already...
 

azbill

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Agree. Great app. It currently doesn’t focus so much on the pricing, but rather mostly availability. It’d be awesome if they added the ability to see the pricing for each charger on the map display of the app. That might be a little tricky through since not all charger networks use a common metric for billing. Some are time, some kWh, some subscription, etc. Of course, @DucRider will probably lambast me for wanting this. Because, you know, only things he wants are important.
I have the MyChevrolet App for my Bolt. It will show EA, ChargePoint, EVGO, EV Connect and a few other sations. For EVGO and ChargePoint it has real time status and pricing info right in the app. In fact from the MyChevrolet App I can initiate the charge, because I was able to link my accounts for those networks (EVGO and CP) with the MyChevrolet app. It also is able to display the last time those stations were used. I am hoping they will either integrate with EA soon, or add Plug and Charge.

Here is an example where I just looked up an EVGO charger, it is currently inuse, but you can see the pricing and if I were there I could plug in and push the button in the app to start the charge.

Rivian R1T R1S More charging joy (via VW software)- Rivian, please get this right! Appview
 
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Cactus

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This video is a perfect example of what I posted on another Rivian forum several months ago:
https://www.[Banned Site].com/threads/rivian-charging-network.398/#post-1945

Electrify America charging experience is pretty poor (OK terrible) compared to Tesla (sorry, but Tesla set the standard: cost, convenience and charging speed, which is not that fast). Imagine driving to an EA charger with less than 10% and hoping 1) the app works, or 2) your cc works on their reader, 3) the touchscreen works, 4) charging is not 50kW or slower. Rarely do Tesla superchargers not work when you plug in.
Seems like they are trying to make the experience better, but why is it quadruple the cost of a supercharger visit? Why should driving from Phx to Dallas using EA charging cost more than driving a regular ICE car? It costs over twice as much; that's wrong. Despite being fined for cheating (dieselgate), VW has mountains of cash. Since VW has plans to electrify their fleet, why not make sure the charging experience is really really good? As the video demonstrated, VW can't even make the charging experience good with their own cars!
You get the feeling that VW doesn’t really care too much about electrification, but they do care about making money. If they make charging too expensive they will shoot themselves and other EV makers in the foot. Most people that live in houses charge at home 90% of the time, but lots of people live in apartments and would depend on EA chargers. I didn't know that VW simply threw money at EA. They should have partnered with EA to make sure their own cars worked well with EA network. That might have given them an advantage.

It boils down to this: if the non-Tesla charging network sucks and costs more than fossil fuels, people won't buy very many electric vehicles, so the network won't need to be very capable or reliable, and will ultimately fail. Maybe VW wants EVs to fail?
 

johnnylawson

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This video made me drop my 1st edition ID.4 reservation that was leaving the factory to my local dealer. Was going to do Rivian r1s and ID.4... but no way am I driving this thing after seeing this video. I want one foot driving - out the door. Plus I wasn't crazy about having to work with a dealer on all this. They just started calling me to get in touch with me about my order.
 

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This video made me drop my 1st edition ID.4 reservation that was leaving the factory to my local dealer. Was going to do Rivian r1s and ID.4... but no way am I driving this thing after seeing this video. I want one foot driving - out the door. Plus I wasn't crazy about having to work with a dealer on all this. They just started calling me to get in touch with me about my order.
Go for a Model Y. You won’t regret it. I’m stoked about my Rivian and won’t buy a Cybertruck because it’s ridiculous, but otherwise I think you’re crazy if you buy a non-Tesla EV right now given the prices.
 

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Go for a Model Y. You won’t regret it. I’m stoked about my Rivian and won’t buy a Cybertruck because it’s ridiculous, but otherwise I think you’re crazy if you buy a non-Tesla EV right now given the prices.
“You won’t regret it” o rly? Seems like a fanboi statement, to me.

plenty of people have regretted buying Tesla. I test drove a Model Y and had no problem walking away afterwards. It was “okay” but neither my wife nor I were that impressed. We both were happy to get in our Volvo and thought the Volvo was considerably nicer.
 

kylealden

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“You won’t regret it” o rly? Seems like a fanboi statement, to me.

plenty of people have regretted buying Tesla. I test drove a Model Y and had no problem walking away afterwards. It was “okay” but neither my wife nor I were that impressed. We both were happy to get in our Volvo and thought the Volvo was considerably nicer.
?‍♂ I’ve driven most comparable EVs on the market and most of them have significant, glaring compromises like the ones in this thread.

Tesla has its problems (fit and finish issues, toxic brand, Elon, irresponsible autopilot marketing, and many others), but there’s a reason the owner satisfaction is through the roof. The Y in particular is very good, and compares favorably to other crossover EVs at any price, let alone at the same price, unless you’re a very niche buyer.

It’s your call if you want to dismiss me as a fanboy. An interesting choice if you do, since I’m giving up my Tesla for an R1T ?

(serious question - does Volvo have a BEV in the market right now? I didn’t think they did?)
 

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(serious question - does Volvo have a BEV in the market right now? I didn’t think they did?)
They released the XC40 Recharge this year. That's their first BEV in the USA.
 

HackyMoto

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BTW, sounds like, at least in part, your describing plugshare.com which also has a phone app.
PS PlugShare allows you to add a Rivian to your vehicle list. New to me if not new to anyone else
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