Steering lock

[Hindley_Milner]

On every other car I've driven in the last two decades, the steering wheel locks when the car is off. On EVs, "off" isn't really a thing, so the steering is locked while the car is "unlocked" but not "drivable", i.e. when the keycard has been presented in the interior and the brake has been pressed.

Not so on the Rivian. You can turn the wheel whenever. I've never seen this on another car. As in this post, it appears the power steering pump is engaged constantly while unlocked (maybe even while locked).

Is my car unique, or does everyone's R1T behave this way?

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[DaveA]

I’m with you, I don’t think it is ever locked. I’ve locked the truck while inside at charging stations and can still move the wheel freely.

 

[Christopher]

I'm curious as to why it's necessary to have a steering wheel lock these days?

I honestly hated when my Silverado would lock the steering wheel because there'd be times where it'd be difficult to unlock and I'd have to force the steering wheel to release tension off of the lock in order to turn the key.

 

[Hindley_Milner]

I’m with you, I don’t think it is ever locked. I’ve locked the truck while inside at charging stations and can still move the wheel freely.

That's bizarre. It would suggest that the power steering pump is *always* on.

So I checked it and... It is!

Totally crazy. The wheel is unlocked and power steering active while the car is off and locked???

 

[Hindley_Milner]

This is fixed in 2022.31. I'd bet $50 this is where the "10% improvement to vampire drain" came from, and another $50 it's going to be more than 10%. I'm measuring Camp Mode "Power Off" drain now, then will measure regular drain to see what we get.

Huge relief, now I don't have to worry so much about my kid putting turn marks in my driveway.

 

[PracticalRivian]

I made a video about cv shaft and driveline clunking problems and mentioned there the fact that I found the power steering pump to essentially be always running if the truck was unlocked (not sure about when locked).

That was 2 updates back. A few days ago at the jobsite I randomly noticed that my steering wheel was super difficult to move after the truck had been sitting for a while unlocked so I am assuming they changed something with how long it runs after exiting the truck.

 

[Arky]

What is this about a power steering pump? Doesn't it just have electric power steering like every other car these days?

Pumps were only really used because they could be mechanically driven off an engine, which this doesn't have.

 

[Hindley_Milner]

What is this about a power steering pump? Doesn't it just have electric power steering like every other car these days?

Pumps were only really used because they could be mechanically driven off an engine, which this doesn't have.

Yeah, you're right about that. Habit. Regardless, it's off now, and that's got to save some power. In another thread there was a user who was able to turn the steering column from underneath with his fingers - clearly keeping that hardware online will use *some* power.

That said, I'm not actually seeing any improvement at all in the last 24hrs, and this was with Camp Mode's "Power Off" option. I was losing 6mi/day before, and I'm losing 6mi/day after.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Yeah, you're right about that. Habit. Regardless, it's off now, and that's got to save some power. In another thread there was a user who was able to turn the steering column from underneath with his fingers - clearly keeping that hardware online will use *some* power.

That said, I'm not actually seeing any improvement at all in the last 24hrs, and this was with Camp Mode's "Power Off" option. I was losing 6mi/day before, and I'm losing 6mi/day after.

I'm not going to put it past whatever you are using to query the state of the battery as a significant contributor to the vampire drain.


Back to the topic. The Rivian doesn't have a steering column lock.

 

[ztron]

I'm not going to put it past whatever you are using to query the state of the battery as a significant contributor to the vampire drain.


Back to the topic. The Rivian doesn't have a steering column lock.

Yeah no lock but now that the pump is turned off until you put it in forward or reverse it makes getting into the truck a lot easier!

 

[Hindley_Milner]

I'm not going to put it past whatever you are using to query the state of the battery as a significant contributor to the vampire drain.

Perhaps. Going to test that today.

Back to the topic. The Rivian doesn't have a steering column lock.

It didn't. As of 2022.31, like every other car on the road, the steering wheel won't turn until a key is presented.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Perhaps. Going to test that today.



It didn't. As of 2022.31, like every other car on the road, the steering wheel won't turn until a key is presented.

It's possible that what you're interpreting as "steering wheel lock" is actually "trying to turn the wheels of a 7000lb truck without mechanical assist"

 

[R1Tom]

Yeah no lock but now that the pump is turned off until you put it in forward or reverse it makes getting into the truck a lot easier!

This is best part of it for me! I can actually grab onto steering wheel now to get in!

 

[Craigins]

I would not use the steering wheel as support for getting in the truck....

That's asking for things to break.

 

[R1Tom]

I would not use the steering wheel as support for getting in the truck....

That's asking for things to break.

Like what? A tie rod?

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