One pedal driving inconsistencies

[mtberman]

The reason it is inconsistent is that Rivian did not do the design and engineering that other makers did. Other makers produce regenerative braking systems that don’t overheat, and which work in very cold temperatures.

Hyundai, GM, VW/Audi, Ford, etc could have simply given up and forced friction braking on the driver when the inverter got hot, like Rivian did. Instead, they beefed up the battery heating and inverter cooling so that their vehicle could do repeatable hill climbs and descents found on US roads, with regeneration for the full duration of the drive.

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[CrazyOne]

This is my first EV. I find the lack of blended braking as a cost saving measure by Tesla and Rivian. I believe all others EV manufacturers have it. Lack of blended braking makes one pedal driving the only way to regen. It also limits the amount of regen. What we have may be maximum for Large pack, but too less for Max pack. Does small pack have the same Regen as large pack? If yes why?

I can see both side of one pedal driving. However the implementation is designed to be smooth for people who treat Regen like an one-off switch. There is a good 1 -2 second delay between letting go of the pedal/cancelling cruise and getting max Regen. Sometimes I have to use brakes and ease off as the Regen kicks in.

 

[Thedude]

It takes a couple drives to get used to but it’s not hard. The truck even tells you to expect limited regen with multiple warning messages, bells and onscreen displayed gauges.

 

[NorthVan57]

I think the regen should be available even in the cold, when I come down from the local ski hill in Vancouver BC where I live I get 8 % of my battery back in my 2018 leaf, that’s great! Seems like a fail if you can’t make use of gravity to add energy back to the battery and also avoid wearing out the brakes, leaf is 5 years old, still haven’t had to replace front brakes.

 

[Flyin7]

I have had several Teslas and still own a Model Y. OPD takes time to get used too (I love it) and it is the same in the Rivian as well as the Y, when it is cold or the main battery is not ready for the regen power, the regen goes to minimum and you have to use the brake pedal technique to slow or stop the car (or truck), old school driving! My Rivian regen in snow mode is really dialed in with very minimum regeneration so the truck doesn't start sliding when you ease up on the go fast pedal. My first EV was a Spark (Front wheel drive) and it was hell to drive in the snow because when you did quickly back off the throttle, it was immediately heading / sliding toward the ditch because the front tires were skidding trying to regen.

 

[Indy avocado]

On a cold day an ICE vehicle’s engine and brakes do not perform the same when you first start driving as they do after 5-10 minutes. Especially if it was parked outside.

Not even close to this level of difference.

I agree with the original post and others that the extremely variable amount of regen depending on state of charge and temperature is a potential safety risk. I've nearly coasted through stop signs because the truck gives me almost no regen on a very cold morning, only for it to provide significantly more regen just a mile or 2 later. The only indication is a tiny slice of hashed out area on the power meter.

My wife and I love one pedal driving, but blending in brakes when regen is significantly limited should be automatic. Also, offer a creep mode... Far easier to maneuver tight spaces.

 

[COdogman]

Not even close to this level of difference.

I agree with the original post and others that the extremely variable amount of regen depending on state of charge and temperature is a potential safety risk. I've nearly coasted through stop signs because the truck gives me almost no regen on a very cold morning, only for it to provide significantly more regen just a mile or 2 later. The only indication is a tiny slice of hashed out area on the power meter.

My wife and I love one pedal driving, but blending in brakes when regen is significantly limited should be automatic. Also, offer a creep mode... Far easier to maneuver tight spaces.

I believe what you and the others are saying - I guess I haven’t experienced the same thing. Which is odd because we have now had some cold days in CO and I’ve gotten the regen warning a few times when I start driving.

 

[evhelphub]

I remember the first time I got back into an ICE vehicle after owning an EV with OPD for about 6 months. Dang near crashed the thing, completely forgetting that if I don't push on the brake it just rolls forward which felt unnatural and illogical. Very unsettling.

Truly a "why did we ever have the crank" moment. I get why some people don't like it, usually only at first, but I would never buy another vehicle without this feature.

I do understand OP's complaint and hopefully Rivian will implement the same "fix" Tesla did with the brake blending feature. I'm sure that they will.

 

[Ryanortev]

If I were you I’d sell the truck and delete my rivianforums account. This would bother me way too much.

 

[emoore]

I understand the full battery limited regeneration being annoying but going down a mountain pass should be familiar since your braking is limited in ICE cars too. That’s why you need to down shift in an ICE.

 

[Indy avocado]

I believe what you and the others are saying - I guess I haven’t experienced the same thing. Which is odd because we have now had some cold days in CO and I’ve gotten the regen warning a few times when I start driving.

I definitely get that message when the battery is >90% regardless of temperature. I occasionally see it at >85%.

Yesterday the battery was about 50F at 80% and I had about 1/4 of regen blocked off without any warnings that I had noticed.

Sometimes limited regen means almost none, other times it means 70% capability. I want it to be consistent, and unless they have brake blending, the notification should be prominent and persistent.

I remember the first time I got back into an ICE vehicle after owning an EV with OPD for about 6 months. Dang near crashed the thing, completely forgetting that if I don't push on the brake it just rolls forward which felt unnatural and illogical. Very unsettling.

Also had this problem after just about a week or 2 of driving the Rivian.

OPD was quickly normal to me because I typically drive a manual (Mustang) and I pretty much always downshift and engine brake. But you still need the brake pedal.

I understand the full battery limited regeneration being annoying but going down a mountain pass should be familiar since your braking is limited in ICE cars too. That’s why you need to down shift in an ICE.

Somewhat... Being "off the pedal" is a "passive" state. In a manual car, you get the engine braking effect with no risk of losing that assistance. Are you asking me to feather the accelerator to reduce regen while also using the brake pedal to shed speed?

Ideally Rivian would either
A. Detect that you're beginning a long descent and reduce regen to an indefinitely sustainable amount
B. Have a hill decent mode you could enter to achieve that state.

I don't think it's very likely, but I could see a chance (with a heavy trailer) where the driver would run out of regen capacity, then need to rely solely on friction brakes and overheat those as well. Getting the friction brakes engaged sooner (in that specific instance) would provide a longer window for the brakes to be cooled and providing assistance via regen later, possibly preventing an overheated/ runaway state.

It's also possible Rivian has analyzed this and it's not a concern.

 

[emoore]

My experience (without a trailer) down a mountain pass has been that regen recovers shortly after I have been using the friction breaks. It’s actually more intuitive than putting and ice auto trans into a lower gear.

 

[mkhuffman]

I don't own a R1, so this issue is very interesting and somewhat concerning. I am considering replacing my Mach-e with a R1, but I really, really like the OPD in my MME. I have never had it limit regen even at sub zero temps or at high charge levels. I have heard that it will limit regen if you are at 100%, but I have never experienced it even then.

This seems like something that should not be a problem for Rivian, and I am very surprised it is.

 

[SANZC02]

I don't own a R1, so this issue is very interesting and somewhat concerning. I am considering replacing my Mach-e with a R1, but I really, really like the OPD in my MME. I have never had it limit regen even at sub zero temps or at high charge levels. I have heard that it will limit regen if you are at 100%, but I have never experienced it even then.

This seems like something that should not be a problem for Rivian, and I am very surprised it is.

Test drive one if you get a chance. I’ve got almost 12k miles on my R1S and it is nothing like people are reporting here for me.

 

[CrazyOne]

I don't own a R1, so this issue is very interesting and somewhat concerning. I am considering replacing my Mach-e with a R1, but I really, really like the OPD in my MME. I have never had it limit regen even at sub zero temps or at high charge levels. I have heard that it will limit regen if you are at 100%, but I have never experienced it even then.

This seems like something that should not be a problem for Rivian, and I am very surprised it is.

I have heard that regen on Rivian is much stronger than it is on other cars. Test drive one and decide. It's an annoyance, but nothing to worry about.

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