Undriveable at night in wet snow due to LED headlights not melting snow & ice

[skookumracing]

Here in the PNW our snow is mostly on the warm wet and sticky side... So when driving in light to heavy snow flurries we get a lot of build up on our vehicles.. Well the R1T is no different... the big problem is at night the snow covers up the headlights and visibility goes to zero... I have experienced this twice now as we are getting into the snow season here in the Washington Cascades... Last night we had to pull over about every 3 miles to wipe off the headlights... Not fun. There is just not enough heat from the LED lights to melt off the snow. Rivian either needs to add washer nozzles (our Volvo V90 CC has these), or add heated lenses. Heated head light example, Looking a pair of these. Wonder if I could power off frunk 12vdc outlet or tap into fog lights.. Another option is to mount on forward mounted roof cross bar and power from bed outlets some how.. Also researching transparent ITO or thin wire heating element to stick on stock headlights...

I have emailed my guide with pictures and raised this as a safety issue. Will also create service ticket.... And posted here tagging RJ..

Anyway.. beware if you find yourself in wet sticky snow at night...

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[dleepnw]

oh boy... it'll be interesting if Rivian responds.

 

[cohall]

Have you happened to try putting on a ceramic coating of any sort to see if it helps the snow/slush slide off?

Might not work since the headlights are so vertical, but probably worth a shot. I plan on doing mine this weekend.

 

[Dark-Fx]

That doesn't look like it'd obstruct the light enough to me. I've driven in some pretty nasty stuff before, and the Polestar's heated radar couldn't keep up with it. Could still see just fine.

 

[COdogman]

I would start by trying the cheapest, easiest possible solution which is some sort of spray on coating that won't allow the ice to stick. Even if you had to re-apply a couple times per year that would be much simpler than the other options.

 

[cbrcanuck]

Ugh. Being in Vancouver I know exactly what you're talking about. Definitely let us know how this progresses as this could be a big problem for us too.

 

[Birdowin]

These might be the answer.

• LED Pod A-Pillar Ditch Lights Morimoto 4Bangers for Rivian R1T / R1S - EV Sportline - The Leader in Electric Vehicle Accessories

 

[skookumracing]

Have you happened to try putting on a ceramic coating of any sort to see if it helps the snow/slush slide off?

Might not work since the headlights are so vertical, but probably worth a shot. I plan on doing mine this weekend.

Just had a full body PPF done. Did not add the full ceramic coating, but they did simple wipe/spray on ceramic... water does bead off pretty well..the flat vertical surface of the headlights doesn't help this situation..

 

[Monkey]

I have LED headlights in all my newer vehicles and this is indeed an LED issue. Not enough heat to melt away snow and slush. We get a lot of this sort of sticky snow in the Colorado mountains and the beginning and end of the snowy season. Especially when a high-moisture front pushes up with warmer air from the south. I've tried a few things. Best results have been some Rain-X coating like many put on their windshields to help water bead off. and I put a ceramic coat on our Tesla that seems to really help with lights and sensors with slush sticking and muddy road water and such. That's what I'd recommend....

...This is why some of the fancier Euro cars have wipers and/or heaters on their headlamps.

 

[skookumracing]

That doesn't look like it'd obstruct the light enough to me. I've driven in some pretty nasty stuff before, and the Polestar's heated radar couldn't keep up with it. Could still see just fine.

Yeah... wish I had got a better picture... it was 10pm at night and we were just trying to get home. Wife would jump out and wipe off... Worst time it was ~10mm - 3/8" thick on the lights

 

[s00n]

I was afraid this was going to be the case. Added heated Truck-lites to the Jeep and it solved the problem, but visibility was significantly degraded before. Highly unlikely Rivian will ever have a fix (or aftermarket) due to the headlights being tied into a larger unit.

 

[Monkey]

Just had a full body PPF done. Did not add the full ceramic coating, but they did simple wipe/spray on ceramic... water does bead off pretty well..the flat vertical surface of the headlights doesn't help this situation..

Hmm... You could try some Rain-X. Similar to the ceramic, it's a polymer coating you spray/wipe on. Not sure if it will stick if you've already ceramic coated.

You could get a heat tape and run it along the light bar and around your headlights and plug it into the power port in your frunk -- if your truck has one, newer ones don't.

 

[skookumracing]

I have LED headlights in all my newer vehicles and this is indeed an LED issue. Not enough heat to melt away snow and slush. We get a lot of this sort of sticky snow in the Colorado mountains and the beginning and end of the snowy season. Especially when a high-moisture front pushes up with warmer air from the south. I've tried a few things. Best results have been some Rain-X coating like many put on their windshields to help water bead off. and I put a ceramic coat on our Tesla that seems to really help with lights and sensors with slush sticking and muddy road water and such. That's what I'd recommend....

...This is why some of the fancier Euro cars have wipers and/or heaters on their headlamps.

Will have to try RainX on the headlights... Yeah our 2017 Volvo V90 CC has LEDs, but has washer spray nozzles to clear

 

[skookumracing]

These might be the answer.

• LED Pod A-Pillar Ditch Lights Morimoto 4Bangers for Rivian R1T / R1S - EV Sportline - The Leader in Electric Vehicle Accessories

Those look interesting, but would still need heated lenses or they need to generate enough heat to keep the lens well above freezing

 

[R1Tom]

I have had this same issue now in 4 vehicles so I suspect it will be same as you. It is funny how NHTSA cares about some of the most obscure stuff, but then miss on a topic of high significance like this. But not a manufacturer issue really....I am sure the lights comply with all appropriate requirements.

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