Motortrend: We ran our Rivian to zero battery charge / range. What happened didn't go well.

Electric Rivilution · Jul 28, 2023

What Happens When a Rivian EV Runs Out of Battery Charge?
We ran our R1T pickup truck's battery pack completely empty and things didn't go well at all.

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2022-rivian-r1t-yearlong-review-update-10-running-out-of-battery/

COdogman · Jul 28, 2023

They went so far beyond what any other person would reasonably go, it kinda ruined the “experiment” if they wanted to help people understand what actually does happen if you hit 0. It would have been a simple tow and charge and they made it much worse. I guess I don’t see the point.

Also, has anyone else been able to get a mobile tech appointment on demand like that?

Donald Stanfield · Jul 28, 2023

So basically the same thing that happens when you run out of gas but slightly more of a pain in the ass because you have to be towed to a charger.

WSea · Jul 28, 2023

He said it "this is dumb"

Dark-Fx · Jul 28, 2023

COdogman said:
Also, has anyone else been able to get a mobile tech appointment on demand like that?

SoS is a third party service IIRC, but since it's got an MFG plate on the vehicle, seems like this is essentially a Rivian supported experiment.

I hadn't heard that the manual release breaks the locking latch before. I don't think that's supposed to happen, they probably got too aggressive with it.

Tahoe Man · Jul 28, 2023

Donald Stanfield said:
So basically the same thing that happens when you run out of gas but slightly more of a pain in the ass because you have to be towed to a charger.

Yeah, that's how I read it.
However my opinion of MT has gone downward even further after reading the stunts they pulled.

On the other hand, I'm surprised Rivian doesn't have a bigger buffer after 0.

Dark-Fx · Jul 28, 2023

I need one of these for home.

Rivian R1T R1S Motortrend: We ran our Rivian to zero battery charge / range. What happened didn't go well. 1690559651473

jjswan33 · Jul 28, 2023

Motor Trend - Boldly conducting experiments that have already been done.

Well at least they didn't try to tow charge it....

Andystroh · Jul 28, 2023

Yeah, would have preferred they stopped making poor decisions once it ran out of juice. "They told us to turn off the seat ventilation, so we kept everything on to drain the 12v battery".
...
Sounds like a pain in the butt. But also seems easy enough to not end up in the situation that you need a that level of service - if I get below 10 miles you bet I am finding at least a 120v.

Stickboy46 · Jul 28, 2023

Sounds like if you aren't an idiot .. the RIvian and Rivian service gets an A+ rating for this scenario

Killer95Stang · Jul 28, 2023

COdogman said:
They went so far beyond what any other person would reasonably go, it kinda ruined the “experiment” if they wanted to help people understand what actually does happen if you hit 0. It would have been a simple tow and charge and they made it much worse. I guess I don’t see the point.

Also, has anyone else been able to get a mobile tech appointment on demand like that?

I think the test was actually the correct way to do it. To a lot of people, including myself, this is our first EV. Taking a trip to some remote area with plenty of juice. Setting sail on your return trip, only to find that the charger that worked on the way there, no longer works. Next charger is 25 miles away, but you only have 20 miles of range. Do you chance it... I guess not? Seriously, I've owned 20 cars and haven't read an owners manual from cover to cover. I would guess, most have no idea what can happen when the car hits zero.

PappaBolt · Jul 28, 2023

This is a nothing burger. What happens when you run out of juice. Spoiler: you have to recharge.

aAlpine · Jul 28, 2023

Hey Motortrend, did you charge it back up at 350kW?

iansriv · Jul 28, 2023

Gents-we may very well have found the people that fried the Rivian at the charging station! Probably another "experiment."

iansriv · Jul 28, 2023

Killer95Stang said:
I think the test was actually the correct way to do it. To a lot of people, including myself, this is our first EV. Taking a trip to some remote area with plenty of juice. Setting sail on your return trip, only to find that the charger that worked on the way there, no longer works. Next charger is 25 miles away, but you only have 20 miles of range. Do you chance it... I guess not? Seriously, I've owned 20 cars and haven't read an owners manual from cover to cover. I would guess, most have no idea what can happen when the car hits zero.

While I agree with this how different is it from an ICE car reaching a petrol station that is out of petrol or has issues? I think this was a silly experiment.

Motortrend: We ran our Rivian to zero battery charge / range. What happened didn't go well.

Electric Rivilution

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COdogman

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Donald Stanfield

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WSea

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Dark-Fx

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Tahoe Man

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Dark-Fx

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jjswan33

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Andystroh

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Stickboy46

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Killer95Stang

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PappaBolt

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aAlpine

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iansriv

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