Review of the Dynamic Glass Roof option in a 2025 Rivian R1s (Gen2)

[CaptTrev]

If you use Apple Music and haven't turned off the sound check feature in the settings, try that. It is night and day with it off.

so I bit the bullet and signed up for apple music - played with it a bit and turned doff sound check.....i could tell a slight difference but not night and day - but perhaps I need to re-tune my EQ settings

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[Johnus]

Kyle from OOS mentioned it in one of his videos but in general this is how electrochromatic glass functions, opaque with no current applied and transparent when current is applied. Makes sense for an EV where you want the inactive/no current state to block light when the vehicle is 'off' to prevent excess cabin heating which adds eventual load to the cooling system.

Additional reference: https://www.dashdoor.com/resource-c...es/electrified-switchable-privacy-glass-work/

That's the opposite of how anything else I have with electrochromatic glass works

It certainly makes sense for this application, as it does for privacy glass. Would be nice to have an official confirmation from Rivian, considering the SCs are offering conflicting information.

 

[carsly]

That's the opposite of how anything else I have with electrochromatic glass works

It certainly makes sense for this application, as it does for privacy glass. Would be nice to have an official confirmation from Rivian, considering the SCs are offering conflicting information.

agreed, I looked through the owner's manual for the 2025 R1S and the Dynamic Glass isn't even mentioned, go figure: https://assets.rivian.com/2md5qhoea...22ea93dfa11ce1/r1s-og-my25-en-us-20240624.pdf

 

[carsly]

Thanks, @carsly I'd say it operates about exactly as I expected and I'm happy to have it. Knocks down the direct sunlight a bit - enough so that I think I won't install a ceiling shade

That was our hope as well, knocking down the direct sunlight from above, and in that measure it performs well enough, quite well in fact, where we don't anticipate needing to clip in a sunshade as we do on our Teslas all summer long.

 

[Brian A]

Well I have to wait till summer. Yesterday clear skies in southern California, sunny. Temp inside the truck reached 111. Outside temp 69. Dynamic roof was on. Now I will have sunshade on my windshield and check later see if that makes difference. If not roof sun shade for sure. Here goes that 1500 or 2500 for premium sound and glass to trash. Plus i have to spend 50 or so for roof sunshade and will look ugly. But need to survive heat.

Just pre cool your vehicle before you get in when it sits outside. Mine is just the regular roof and I have noticed very little difference between it and our Hyundai that has an electric sunshade. Your front and side windows will cause most of the heat. You could also tint it if it bothers you that much. I live in Southern Colorado at 5100feet and we get temps as high as 110degF in the summer.

 

[carsly]

Just pre cool your vehicle before you get in when it sits outside. Mine is just the regular roof and I have noticed very little difference between it and our Hyundai that has an electric sunshade. Your front and side windows will cause most of the heat. You could also tint it if it bothers you that much. I live in Southern Colorado at 5100feet and we get temps as high as 110degF in the summer.

This is quite true - a lot of light enters from the front and side windows (especially the first row where tint isn't regularly applied due to varying state regulations on tinting front windows).

However, in my cars with steel roofs they are noticeably cooler in the summer than my vehicles with sunroofs with shades. I believe this is why Rivian refers to the dynamic roof most often as a 'privacy shade' and doesn't specifically tout any IR or UV reduction from the dynamic glass roof.

All that noted, the electrochromatic roof definitely keeps overhead sun out of your face when driving and keeps the top of your head from getting too much sun if that matters to you.

I'd be all over a steel roof option, not sure why every EV maker feels compelled to offer massive glass roof panels, feels antithetical to the whole energy conservation ethos of EV's. But then again, I did previously drive a Model S Plaid. Conservation what?

 

[hammick]

I'll do some testing this summer. Our front windows and windshield have XPel on them so I'll do a simple test with it on and off, of course cooling down the truck before each test.

 

[carsly]

I'll do some testing this summer. Our front windows and windshield have XPel on them so I'll do a simple test with it on and off, of course cooling down the truck before each test.

I picked up the Rivian front sunshade, will aim to do tests with it in/out and the roof on/off in similar conditions and take measurements with my IR thermometer. I also have plug-in FLIR, but that's lightning only, will see if I have an old iPhone around and can take some thermal scans/pics.

 

[TexasBob]

We are picking this up with an R1S today (came with the package). The owners manual seems to have no information about it.

• Are you able to set it so that it is opaque when the vehicle is parked and clear when the vehicle is on?
• The above setting is the default we would like to have since it rejects heat etc in the parking lots but will allow for the open-air feeling when driving.

 

[Johnus]

We are picking this up with an R1S today (came with the package). The owners manual seems to have no information about it.

• Are you able to set it so that it is opaque when the vehicle is parked and clear when the vehicle is on?
• The above setting is the default we would like to have since it rejects heat etc in the parking lots but will allow for the open-air feeling when driving.

There's currently no automation or "setting", just a button to turn it on/off when you desire. I haven't tried using Alexa to control it.

 

[TexasBob]

There's currently no automation or "setting", just a button to turn it on/off when you desire. I haven't tried using Alexa to control it.

Thank you. Will feedback to Rivian on that one for sure.

 

[M3_R2]

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...ivian-s-dynamic-glass-roof-offers-238975.html

 

[TexasBob]

Well I have to wait till summer. Yesterday clear skies in southern California, sunny. Temp inside the truck reached 111. Outside temp 69. Dynamic roof was on. Now I will have sunshade on my windshield and check later see if that makes difference. If not roof sun shade for sure. Here goes that 1500 or 2500 for premium sound and glass to trash. Plus i have to spend 50 or so for roof sunshade and will look ugly. But need to survive heat.

FWIW when we first got our two model 3s seven years ago I did a side-by-side test to see how quickly the cabin heated. Long story short:

• unless you tint the windshield with heat rejection tint, nothing else you do is going to make a meaningful difference, including tinting everything else on the vehicle. (I proved this on a side-by-side test with two identical vehicles.)
• The amount of heat that comes into the cabin through the windshield is so significant that it overwhelms any other attempts to mitigate it including any roof shade
• Once you have done heat rejection on the windshield and all other glass surfaces you will see a slowing of the cabin heating but it won't prevent it. In my tests we added 1/2 hour to get to same ~130 temp but it still gets there
• So even if the dynamic roof blocked 100% of all solar radiation, it would not have a meaningful impact on cabin heating unless you have done heat rejection everywhere else

Just like heat rejecting window tint, what it is good for is primarily passenger comfort and secondarily reduced AC load. The sun won't feel so hot especially when it is hitting you directly, and the AC does not have to work as hard to keep the temps low. But nothing you can do will prevent the cabin from heating up when it is parked in the sun, you can just marginally slow it down.

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...ivian-s-dynamic-glass-roof-offers-238975.html

Excellent data that reinforces the points above thanks!

 

[Tejkalra]

FWIW when we first got our two model 3s seven years ago I did a side-by-side test to see how quickly the cabin heated. Long story short:

• unless you tint the windshield with heat rejection tint, nothing else you do is going to make a meaningful difference, including tinting everything else on the vehicle. (I proved this on a side-by-side test with two identical vehicles.)
• The amount of heat that comes into the cabin through the windshield is so significant that it overwhelms any other attempts to mitigate it including any roof shade
• Once you have done heat rejection on the windshield and all other glass surfaces you will see a slowing of the cabin heating but it won't prevent it. In my tests we added 1/2 hour to get to same ~130 temp but it still gets there
• So even if the dynamic roof blocked 100% of all solar radiation, it would not have a meaningful impact on cabin heating unless you have done heat rejection everywhere else

Just like heat rejecting window tint, what it is good for is primarily passenger comfort and secondarily reduced AC load. The sun won't feel so hot especially when it is hitting you directly, and the AC does not have to work as hard to keep the temps low. But nothing you can do will prevent the cabin from heating up when it is parked in the sun, you can just marginally slow it down.


Excellent data that reinforces the points above thanks!

Is heat rejection tint to windshield legal in California. What is heat rejection tint? Is it a actual tint or just some coating.

 

[TexasBob]

Is heat rejection tint to windshield legal in California. What is heat rejection tint? Is it a actual tint or just some coating.

Heat rejection is any type of tint which has a low TSR transmission. A "clear" tint is often put on the windshield. No idea in California. In Texas it is illegal to tint the windshield but it is common to do so. As long as you keep it at 70% VLT or higher it is not really noticeable. But wildly different rules in different states.

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