Vampire Drain Relating to Frunk Trim -- my solution to reduce drain %

[zymolysis]

At the national average of $0.23 per kWh, it comes out to around $283 per vehicle but the waste from one individual's vehicle isn't really the issue. When you measure the waste against the entire production run of R1 vehicles, the sum is staggering. We're talking about tens of thousands of Megawatt hours of wasted electricity and the figure gets worse every day. Sure, idling an ICE is worse than parking a R1 but that's not really the right comparison, is it? We should compare the R1T to the Ford Lightning which has negligible vampire drain or any of the other modern EVs which also show very little wasteful vampire drain. I understand why getting this fixed might not be a critical priority for Rivian right now considering the other issues they're facing but I really hope they are dedicated to solving this issue. Rivian isn't Hummer; conspicuous waste will destroy their brand identity. I can only speak for myself but if I knew Rivian couldn't fix the drain through a software update, I wouldn't buy an R1T.

"National average of $0.23 per kWh" - really?
From eia.gov: "In 2021, the average nominal retail electricity price paid by U.S. residential electric customers rose at the fastest rate since 2008, increasing 4.3% from 2020 to 13.72 cents per kilowatthour (kWh), according to data from our latest Electric Power Monthly. "
I agree that these kind of losses are unacceptable, but my residential rates are 10 to 12 cents per kWh on a standard rate, and can get down in the 5 cent range, off-peak, in time of day.

Sponsored

 

[sacramentoelectric]

"National average of $0.23 per kWh" - really?
From eia.gov: "In 2021, the average nominal retail electricity price paid by U.S. residential electric customers rose at the fastest rate since 2008, increasing 4.3% from 2020 to 13.72 cents per kilowatthour (kWh), according to data from our latest Electric Power Monthly. "
I agree that these kind of losses are unacceptable, but my residential rates are 10 to 12 cents per kWh on a standard rate, and can get down in the 5 cent range, off-peak, in time of day.

There seem to be a number of averages floating around. I got mine from Energysage which probably isn't the best source. According to the EIA, it's $0.1564 nationally as of Nov 2022 and $0.2614 locally (California.)

 

[jakef801]

I'm trying the frunk trim removal test. Took it out, unplugged, locked. Still losing some battery. Granted it has been single digits here. In 48 hours, I've gone from 85% to 80% with trim piece out. Doesn't seem to be making a shits difference for me.

Update - 48ish hours unplugged with frunk trim out. 85% down to 78% - 20 miles range lost. Warming up a bit here, but has still been in teens Fahrenheit overnight.

BTW - when I was charging at EA in California, it was ridiculous compared to Utah and Wyoming. I can't remember the rate in CA, but getting from 10% to 90% was costing me between $30 -$40. In Wyoming and Utah, the same charge costs me $10 - $18. Was as low as $9 one time. Note: the Evanston, WY charger is EA and the one in Garden City, UT is Chargepoint.

 

[NY_Rob]

Update - 48ish hours unplugged with frunk trim out. 85% down to 78% - 20 miles range lost. Warming up a bit here, but has still been in teens Fahrenheit overnight.

Damn... sorry to hear that.
FWIW- the trim removal trick didn't reduce my vampire drain either.

 

[toade]

^ why put the trim back on if your drain has dropped significantly?

I think it will "catch up with you" and you'll see it go back up to 6miles/day loss even without the trim attached. I think the GOM (range Guess-O-Meter) is seeing much less loss than previously (because you removed the trim piece) and is not predicting range correctly now and needs to re-calibrate itself.

My theory is there are two categories of vehicles:
1) Vehicle with trim issue and regular vampire loss
2) Vehicle with no trim issue, just regular vampire loss

If you're #1 and you remove the trim piece, you move to a cat 2 situation.. but it will take time for the GOM to adjust because of historical losses.
If you're cat 2 and you remove your trim piece and see no change in vampire loss (like me) that means your trim piece was okay to begin with and was not preventing vehicle sleep state.

I was going to put it back to see if that was the reason (or one of the reasons) there was loss... or if it was just a coincidence, and something else changed.

But I see your point. That said, I've only had my car for a week, so there really isn't much historical data. So I'll leave it off and we'll see if your theory holds true that the GOM is recalculating. There is certainly a third possibility, that my car won't see significant vampire drain now that the trim is off. Reading other threads, there are certainly people who claim not to have vampire drain, and mine being a 2023 VIN, there is certainly a possibility that it behaves different than yours.

Time will tell... I'll make sure to update here.

 

[NY_Rob]

^ FWIW.. mine is a 2023 VIN as well.... I took delivery exactly 2 weeks ago

 

[racekarl]

measuring energy in units of “miles per hour” is a recipe for frustration. For the purpose of monitoring charging and vampire drain you‘ll get much better data and more comparable results using state of charge as a percent or kWh

 

[jakef801]

Update: 75ish hours, unplugged, locked, frunk trim out, parked outside. Started at 85% with 265 miles. Currently 76% with 239 miles. Daytime temps near 32F, overnight temps in teens Fahrenheit. Think I'm just gonna put the trim back in. It's not the solution for me.

That being said, I know a lot of you are seeing far greater drain and I consider myself lucky.

I had a gal call me from Rivian to address a ticket I put in about a new, mysterious "thump" / "clunk" noise we heard on a 130 mile drive from Evanston, WY to SLC, UT last week. It was very random. Not violent or overly concerning, but it was there. Happened a dozen plus times on I-80 going about 70mph from left front area. Would happen like 3 or 4 times over five minutes, then nothing for a while...then one here, one there type of thing. She spoke with me for a good half hour yesterday a.m. and said she'd speak with the techs and get back to me later in thr day, which she did. Spoke again for another 15 or so and said that they want to get to the bottom of it. She asked me a lot of very detailed questions and was taking notes. Her name is Miriam and Rivian had better keep her employed because she's the type of associate you want to keep on the team, hands down.

Side note: I'm also having gear Tunnel door release issues again (which the SC "fixed" a couple of months ago). It is again taking me 2 - 4 tries to get them to unlatch enough to open - more so on passenger side. I told her that I'd read that you're not supposed to slam or slap the tunnel doors - rather, you're supposed to press them closed from upper, front side andnwait to hear 2 clicks. She said that that is correct. She asked me to take panel alignment pictures of both doors and add to a new ticket. I have an appointment at the SLC, UT SC on Feb. 27.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I wonder if there is a difference here between the trucks with magnet vs the ones with clips.

Finally decent enough weather here for me to stand outside and play with the trim.. one of the magnets pulled out of the trim and stayed in place. This happens with metal clips too, so not super concerned, but definitely have to watch for this happening either way.

 

[BCondrey]

I think there is a software change that is supposed to fix this, I saw it in upcoming release notes.

 

[HaveBlue]

It’s really interesting to me that the trim issue is fixing the problem for some but not for others.

Not really if you consider what's happening. The latch has a switch that is activated (likely NC) when the trunk is closed as a safety notification or limit switch for the closing motors. When the truck senses the motors have done their job, they are turned off. However, the trim, weatherstripping and bump stops continually push up on the hood. In some vehicles, it is enough to allow that switch to activate again. Removing the trim decreases the pressure allowing the switch to remain deactivated. Likely on other vehicles the tolerances are different and just removing the trim is not enough. Either more items pushing against the hood need to be removed, the hood needs some adjustment or the micro switch needs some adjustment. The switch may or may not be adjustable similar to the brake light switch on a brake pedal.

BTW modern brake pedal switches are no longer just on/off to activate the lights. Many are some sort of varistor that senses how strong/deep you push the pedal. Push lightly and you stay stopped. Push harder and the engine start/stop system is activated or the brake lights flash on Euro cars when braking hard.

 

[Dark-Fx]

BTW modern brake pedal switches are no longer just on/off to activate the lights.

LOTS of EVs use the Bosch iBooster.

 

[shrink]

I was supposed to have a Service Center visit for vampire drain tomorrow, 2/8/2023.

I ended up canceling it but leaving the ticket open. Keep in mind, I have a SVP of Software Development verified frunk sensor issue preventing sleep and he recommended I wait to see if the OTA fixes it.

My local SC apparently didn't get the message that I canceled the appointment. I had called the toll-free Rivian service number yesterday.

Anyway, my local service advisor reached out and said this:

"speaking with engineering on this topic it is expected that the car loses roughly 5% or less state of charge. Expected is about 3.2% or 9 miles a day, this can vary with hotter or colder temperatures as well."

If that's the official position of Engineering, that's problematic.

Personally, I have since re-installed the trim piece and haven't been paying that close attention to vampire losses. I'm just waiting for the OTA.

 

[cwinters]

OTA did nothing for this issue. I am trying this method. I see about 3% every 8-12 hours, which for a car sitting in a garage doing nothing is not "within spec." Service tech was at my location today and said 4-5% loss a day is expected... not by any other manufacturer or anyone with common sense. said it was likely due to things that need connected to cloud, like Spotify. I for one don't need Spotify or anything else to update when I am not in my car.

Sponsored