Weekly Rivian Responds Roundup - Cruise Control

[zefram47]

Just saw the latest Weekly Rivian Responds Roundup over on Reddit and there was the age old question of regular/standard cruise control being made available. Gotta say, Rivian's response quite honestly pisses me off. It's extremely dismissive and just says they won't offer it because Driver+ is the answer. Except pretty much everyone seems to have stories to tell of ACC failing during good weather conditions as well as others where cameras become obscured, etc. We already know they offer standard cruise control in Tow Mode...why the hell won't they make it an option with a giant warning if ACC fails!? I'm one off those folks who uses cruise control everywhere that traffic allows safe use and doubly so in an EV with regen to allow one to move their foot. This is kinda one of those things that might make me not hang on to my truck once I get it if they don't address the issues with Driver+ and/or offer standard cruise.

If by “traditional cruise control”, you mean a single speed set point that wouldn’t utilize cameras or sensors to detect the traffic around you, then we’d say that Driver+ is meant to add both convenience and safety. Part of engaging Driver+ is the understanding that these systems support driving but do not replace the driver’s need for attention, judgment, and control the vehicle. We don’t intend to offer vehicle features that would override the safety parameters of Driver+. We’re always working to improve the performance and usability of our vehicles, including Driver+.

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[RoadRunner]

Are they as good at building vehicles as they are at not answering questions?

 

[COdogman]

I like how they pretend the “latest” info on the manual tonneau is word for word the same description that has been on the website for 2 years.

The cruise control answer is particularly crappy. I would use regular cruise control way more than driver +

 

[TXR1S]

Agreed. After my first phantom braking event in ACC, I wish it had a dumb cruise option.

 

[mikehmb]

I’ve put in 3 tickets for ACC when it tried to kill me. All but the first were canceled because “they know it’s an issue.”

I very much plan to continue submitting tickets when it’s a problem. That said, I’ve really only had an issue on 2-lane (1 each way) roads, and because it’s goddamned terrifying on said roads, I don’t use it, hence no new tickets for a few weeks.

Freeways don’t seem to be an issue. But it’s unacceptably buggy and needs to get fixed, or give us an option for regular dumb cruise.

Rivian Corp: I’m one of your biggest fans, but this is out of control and needs to be fixed. It’s functionally lagging ancient legacy ICE cars by a decade.

 

[Thedude]

I haven’t had any issues with cruise control at all. Like a lot of other complaints it seems to be completely hit or miss between vehicles.

 

[SANZC02]

I get that if cruise control is there it should work properly but do that many people use it a lot.

I’ve had cruise on every car since probably 1980, most of them I probably never even turned it on to see if it works. My 2014 Jeep GC I can count on one hand how many time I’ve used it. The Tesla Model S I admit to using it several times on long trips but rarely if ever have used it within 100 miles of my house.

Not being antagonistic, I’m generally interested if I am in the minority here.

 

[zefram47]

I get that if cruise control is there it should work properly but do that many people use it a lot.

I’ve had cruise on every car since probably 1980, most of them I probably never even turned it on to see if it works. My 2014 Jeep GC I can count on one hand how many time I’ve used it. The Tesla Model S I admit to using it several times on long trips but rarely if ever have used it within 100 miles of my house.

Not being antagonistic, I’m generally interested if I am in the minority here.

I literally use it whenever traffic allows safe use...ACC that's competent would mean I'd use it even more. In anything remotely fast/quick it helps prevent tickets if nothing else. Also frees up the brain for dealing with other inputs rather than constantly worrying about speed.

 

[zefram47]

I’ve put in 3 tickets for ACC when it tried to kill me. All but the first were canceled because “they know it’s an issue.”

I very much plan to continue submitting tickets when it’s a problem. That said, I’ve really only had an issue on 2-lane (1 each way) roads, and because it’s goddamned terrifying on said roads, I don’t use it, hence no new tickets for a few weeks.

Freeways don’t seem to be an issue. But it’s unacceptably buggy and needs to get fixed, or give us an option for regular dumb cruise.

Rivian Corp: I’m one of your biggest fans, but this is out of control and needs to be fixed. It’s functionally lagging ancient legacy ICE cars by a decade.

I was thinking about that this evening. I think submitting a ticket for every time it fails to work, whether that means unnecessary deactivation, phantom braking, failing to slow early enough, etc is a great idea. If they aren't going to give us dumb cruise control, then ACC damn well needs to work 100% of the time and do so safely.

 

[electruck]

I get that if cruise control is there it should work properly but do that many people use it a lot.

I’ve had cruise on every car since probably 1980, most of them I probably never even turned it on to see if it works. My 2014 Jeep GC I can count on one hand how many time I’ve used it. The Tesla Model S I admit to using it several times on long trips but rarely if ever have used it within 100 miles of my house.

Not being antagonistic, I’m generally interested if I am in the minority here.

You may be in the minority but you're not totally alone. I never use CC. Partly because I want to be in total control of the situation and partly because being actively engaged in driving helps keep me focused and alert on longer trips. And I just plain enjoy driving.

 

[Riviot]

+1 dumb cruise control

Too many rainy days in the PNW result in blurred camera and ACC not available with no one else around me. It's a problem when the loaner vehicle I got while my Rivian was in the shop can do more cruise control more reliably more often.

Thanks, Toyota Camry. Gonna miss your wet dog smell...

 

[rivian_germany]

I could see why they would be overly cautious to add a "dumb" cruise control. I can see the headlines already: "7000 LB EV Rivian Truck cruise control causes fatal crash in [state].. " Any crash, whether human or vehicle error, is going to get WAAAAY more press than 1000 toyota camry's with stuck gas pedals. Remember the early days of Tesla? ANY Tesla fire no matter the cause got immense press. The first Tesla battery puncture, which didn't even cause any injury, got SOOO much press! Really bad news could cause a severe reaction and impact sales. Even if it was because of "dumb" cruise control that practically ALL vehicles already have. I will admit that I did not buy a Tesla for YEARS because I wanted to see if they were really safe.

 

[SoCalTravels]

One of the really scary things we’ve experienced using Driver+ is how it handles Toll Roads here in California. Our tolls roads don’t have booths. Everything is handled via camera rigs above the freeway. There is no slowing down. Traffic maintains full speed you blast under the cameras and they bill you. In the Rivian with Drivers+ turned on, with almost no warning, the vehicle will hit the breaks aggressively and start flashing “toll booth take control.” Driver+ should be smart enough to know the highway hasn’t had a “toll booth” on it in 15 years… If I don’t immediately press the gas pedal the vehicle will stop in the middle of traffic on the freeway.

 

[atebit]

I WANT A RESUME FUNCTION, F*****.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I haven’t had any issues with cruise control at all. Like a lot of other complaints it seems to be completely hit or miss between vehicles.

I literally use it whenever traffic allows safe use...ACC that's competent would mean I'd use it even more. In anything remotely fast/quick it helps prevent tickets if nothing else. Also frees up the brain for dealing with other inputs rather than constantly worrying about speed.

I'll use on my 2 lane commute if I'm finding myself driving far too fast because there's not traffic holding me up like usual. Occasionally I'll get phantom braking that seems to be the truck reacting to a guardrail that's pretty close to the road.

I had the Polestar react to that same guardrail once by literally attempting to steer me into oncoming traffic to avoid the guardrail. Tires made it most of the way over the line before I was able to react and pull it back over. I'll take light phantom braking over that any day.

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