Rivian Not Cutting It - In Depth

[the long way downunder]

This episode of Now You Know highlights the biggest concern that I have with Rivian. Its the hodge podge of not always reliable charging networks that one has to deal with when traveling with the truck. Yes, I know these guys are Tesla fan boys, so the reveiw has to be taken with a grain of salt. But they do callout Rivian on this issue and I feel that they were quite honest. Your experiences are….

This seems to be the new schtick of "Now you Know" … they've gone from a goofy but amusing father-son duo futzing around in the early days of "green" home technology to now the youngster being offended and irritable.

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[mwexler2]

I’ve had mixed experiences. Did an SF to LA and back road trip and in general everything went smoothly. More so than my first Tesla experience. I did have trouble with getting the $0.31 rate from Electrify America at one station but that was because of poor internet connection and couldn’t bring up the station I the EA app and because the wallet version of EA requires you to have already loaded some $$ to you account.
I’m in the middle of a trip from SF to Redmond Oregon and had a bit of a hassle this morning charging. My hotel had a charger but it was in a garage level with no access for large vehicles. The Ashland area has no DC FC over 62.5 kW.
The charger at the Mercedes dealer was inaccessible because they were doing pavement work on the lot.
Ended up at a 50 kW charger in Central Point and took a 1+ hour walk and had breakfast while it charged for the trip over the mountains.
Many would have been upset, but I was ready for this in that area.
Note there is a convenient Tesla Supercharger in the area which would have been better.
That being said, I don’t do that many road trips and 95%+ I will be charging at home. Happy to have an occasional inconvenience and be “forced” to take a long walk with Bandit.

Note, even with the occasional problems, I have no regrets with my wife’s Model Y or my R1T. YMMV.

Their argument regarding lack of charging infrastructure is pretty much on point. It's an EV problem, not necessarily a Rivian problem. Tesla just did it right, to their credit.

I went through the exact situation just two nights ago dealing with DCFast Charging not working on the R1T. I looked like an idiot backing out, trying a different charger then back again.. It made my trip not enjoyable at all, and I was really looking forward to it.
Love the truck but I loathe searching for charging stations now with a non-Tesla. It was so trouble free.

 

[Gabe1aron]

I dont quite understand the hate. These guys own their R1T and really like it. The issue is with the charging network and its disjointedness. Tesla superchargers work something like 97% of the time. EA and other chargers work consistently in the 70’s % of the time. And, it takes lots of hunting and pecking to figure out where they are, and how fast they charge. How is it pIts a PIA. And frankly, if you’re like me whooes 4-6 hour drives in your EV regularly, thats a big deal.

my goal is to show people (and myself) that EV travel can be done with ease without the need for an ICE. The charger networks have to step up and make the chargers that are out there easy to find, readily available and ultra reliable JUST LIKE GAS STATIONS otherwise people will go back to their ICE cars as soon as gas prices go down.
Tesla has it nailed in terms of reliability, ubiquity, speed and Teslas nav route you through superchargers without any input from the user. Rivian needs to make it this easy!

 

[mgc0216]

2,300 mile road trip from Normal to Portland with every stop save the hotels being DCFC - a couple of times a charger was out but i just moved to another one (you can't tell me this never happens with Tesla). That being said I couldn't take the most direct route home due to lack of chargers in Wyoming.

But as others have said this isn't a Rivian problem, and to couch it as such is lazy.

 

[Sully151]

So, the lack of chargers is Rivian’s fault?
Man, Ford, Kia, Chevy, Mini, Nissan… will all be so happy to hear that.

 

[DuckTruck]

I’ve had mixed experiences. Did an SF to LA and back road trip and in general everything went smoothly. More so than my first Tesla experience. I did have trouble with getting the $0.31 rate from Electrify America at one station but that was because of poor internet connection and couldn’t bring up the station I the EA app and because the wallet version of EA requires you to have already loaded some $$ to you account.
I’m in the middle of a trip from SF to Redmond Oregon and had a bit of a hassle this morning charging. My hotel had a charger but it was in a garage level with no access for large vehicles. The Ashland area has no DC FC over 62.5 kW.
The charger at the Mercedes dealer was inaccessible because they were doing pavement work on the lot.
Ended up at a 50 kW charger in Central Point and took a 1+ hour walk and had breakfast while it charged for the trip over the mountains.
Many would have been upset, but I was ready for this in that area.
Note there is a convenient Tesla Supercharger in the area which would have been better.
That being said, I don’t do that many road trips and 95%+ I will be charging at home. Happy to have an occasional inconvenience and be “forced” to take a long walk with Bandit.

Note, even with the occasional problems, I have no regrets with my wife’s Model Y or my R1T. YMMV.

@mwexler2,

FWIW, during a recent trip to Bend, the EA station there worked flawlessly both times I used it. The same is true of their Albany and Salem stations, which I've also used multiple times each in the past month. All three are Walmart-based.

In a pinch, the Chevron at the Western edge of Sisters has a level 2(?) charger available, if you're worried about crossing the Cascades on US20/22.

Safe travels!

 

[Gabe1aron]

Its not a Rivian problem per se, but it’s a non-Tesla problem. Tesla knew early on that A reliable, high-speed charger network would help sell the cars as something that would get people to feel comfortable traveling long distance in their EVs. The other manufacturers just waited for Tesla to fail and made half-hearted efforts to add a few chargers, while outsourcing the chargers to companies that did not have a stake in the game, resulting in the fragmented charging network we have today. Rivian is at least working on their own RAN network, but thats only level 2. There needs to less fragmentation and better service from the networks loke EA.
its not Rivians fault but they need to try and work with the networks to improve reliability, speed and availability of high-speed chargers if they want to get more people to take the plunge and buy their EVs

 

[Gabe1aron]

Just read this thread… EA chargers cant handle difficult conditions. Enough said!

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/baker-and-barstow-ea-charger-can’t-stand-the-heat.6065/

 

[Mike TDM]

Just because they are on YouTube doesn't make them an authority. I've tried to watch one of their other videos, it was difficult to watch and I couldn't finish. I'm not giving them another click based off of sensationalistic thumbnails, designed to get clicks. Someone has to keep in mind, do they have a real story to tell, or are they just trying to get clicks.

Could not have said it better myself!

 

[Dark-Fx]

otherwise people will go back to their ICE cars as soon as gas prices go down.

Gone are my days of having to stop somewhere to fuel up twice a week when all I am doing is around town driving. I'd rather be mildly inconvenienced on a rare road trip than have to stop at stinky gas stations all the time.

 

[MoreTrout]

Rivian is at least working on their own RAN network, but thats only level 2.

Wrong. The RAN is a DCFC network, not level 2.

The Rivian Adventure Network
Over 3,500 DC fast chargers planned at approximately 600 sites.

Rivian Waypoints
Top off while you're out.
We’re installing over 10,000

Level 2 chargers
Level 2 Chargers
Level 2 charging is capable of delivering up to 25 miles of range per hour. Many public and home charging options are Level 2 chargers, including Rivian Waypoints, the Rivian Wall Charger and the Portable Charger. Level 2 charging at 240V is much faster compared to Level 1 charging off of a standard 120V outlet, but not as fast as Level 3 DC fast charging commonly used while traveling.
across the U.S. and Canada where you shop, play, stay and eat. Conveniently located near popular destinations, Rivian Waypoints will let you grab extra miles while you’re out and about.

https://rivian.com/experience/charging

 

[Count Orlok]

Just because they are on YouTube doesn't make them an authority. I've tried to watch one of their other videos, it was difficult to watch and I couldn't finish. I'm not giving them another click based off of sensationalistic thumbnails, designed to get clicks. Someone has to keep in mind, do they have a real story to tell, or are they just trying to get clicks.

cool. now do ijustine and outofspec

 

[cjust2006]

Hope those guys read some of these comments...

The first thing they were upset about was a glitch in Nav, where route wouldn't calculate and couldn't get it to recalculate. The solution was to reboot the MUI. Takes 60 seconds, and they were losing their minds over it. I know doing the same thing occasionally in a Tesla isn't unheard of.

Then, yes, charging. Unfortunate. Not Rivian's fault. And the line that the rep from EA sold them saying there were a lot of problems with R1Ts since our update was just to keep them off his back, and they bought it.

Then they wanted to cook and run Starlink (non RV version) and other stuff off the 120v plugs, and they were shocked at the consumption. First, that consumption wasn't terrible. Second, do the math of what you'll be running and you will know before being surprised what you're gonna consume (+/- a little for inverter loss, sure). Not like your appliances are magically going to use less power if it were a F150 Lightning.

R1T is infinitely more capable than any Tesla; I can't figure out how they manage to stay mad... Oh, wait, that's right - they do it for the views. THAT'S why they stopped getting callbacks from reps for press cars.

 

[txtravwill]

Yeah, these guys have annoyed me a few times. Perpetual EV newbies somewhat. Know what they were buying into charging network wise and its going to get a lot better. That and they just make stupid comments such as when rebooting and moving too fast when LTE connectivity hasn't restored yet (takes few minutes on a Tesla when do the same), etc.

 

[mwexler2]

Thanks. I agree the EA in Bend, like most EA stations worked flawlessly for me and as far as I could tell the Launch Green R1T that pulled in next to me.
Overall I’ve been impressed with EA.

@mwexler2,

FWIW, during a recent trip to Bend, the EA station there worked flawlessly both times I used it. The same is true of their Albany and Salem stations, which I've also used multiple times each in the past month. All three are Walmart-based.

In a pinch, the Chevron at the Western edge of Sisters has a level 2(?) charger available, if you're worried about crossing the Cascades on US20/22.

Safe travels!

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