How often do they update the charger map/what's the source?

[verchalent]

As I've started exploring my area, I've found a lot of chargers that are not listed in my R1t or the app. They are part of the networks Rivian lists though (Electrify America, Charge Point, etc). This is really annoying when I am trying to plan longer trips and/or look for a charger wherever I am. Having to take out the phone and check plugshare/etc is really annoying especially if I want to use nav. Does anyone know if they periodically re-sync with providers? Or is some way to report new chargers for them to add?

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[Atlrivian]

When I was taking my test drive a month ago, the Rivian guy had me punch in one of my more frequent road trip routes to show me how Rivian can automatically route me to them as needed. Rivian's system couldn't see the only 2 locations of true DCFC on the route, which were at Walmart Electrify Americas. Instead it was routing me to a 50kw max charger ?. When I pointed this out he didn't have a good response.

 

[AdamUCF]

I believe it's this Telenav solution that Rivian is using for charger routing. I don't know where Telenav gets their data from but I know they integrate with Mapbox and OpenStreetMaps.

 

[bhopkins]

Instead it was routing me to a 50kw max charger ?. When I pointed this out he didn't have a good response.

I had it do the same to me a few weeks ago on a road trip. I'm glad I had used A Better Route Planner and knew there were other faster chargers in the area. I'm hoping that in time, the onboard Nav will pull in charger status and have more awareness of all the chargers out there.

 

[verchalent]

Mine only shows 6.6kW chargers near me. Waiting for my home charger would have been super painful had I not looked at plugshare and seen a 150kW charger nearby.

 

[AdamUCF]

I'm hoping that in time, the onboard Nav will pull in charger status and have more awareness of all the chargers out there.

The problem seems to be that all the charging networks are a bunch of jerks and force you to use their app and don't make the status of their chargers available outside of that. They all see it as a monetization opportunity and want you to use their network instead of others.

 

[verchalent]

The problem seems to be that all the charging networks are a bunch of jerks and force you to use their app and don't make the status of their chargers available outside of that. They all see it as a monetization opportunity and want you to use their network instead of others.

That doesn't entirely make sense to me for a few reasons. First is that EA and ChargePoint appear to have partnered with Rivian to drive traffic to their chargers. Their entire goal is to get people to use their chargers so it's far more beneficial to them to have chargers shown in the Car's nav system. Second, EA still makes you use their app to initiate charging and such. So clearly Rivian is not trying to supplant the first party apps, they're just trying to point drivers to chargers. My feeling is that it's more crap integration/laziness vs intentional difficulty.

 

[AdamUCF]

That doesn't entirely make sense to me for a few reasons. First is that EA and ChargePoint appear to have partnered with Rivian to drive traffic to their chargers. Their entire goal is to get people to use their chargers so it's far more beneficial to them to have chargers shown in the Car's nav system. Second, EA still makes you use their app to initiate charging and such. So clearly Rivian is not trying to supplant the first party apps, they're just trying to point drivers to chargers. My feeling is that it's more crap integration/laziness vs intentional difficulty.

ChargePoint has some Rivian integration but I haven't seen anything from EA outside of the ability to route to them. Location and theoretical charge rates are static data that's publicly available. Current status would require calling an API provided by the charger network which I've seen no indication of being a thing.

 

[verchalent]

ChargePoint has some Rivian integration but I haven't seen anything from EA outside of the ability to route to them. Location and theoretical charge rates are static data that's publicly available. Current status would require calling an API provided by the charger network which I've seen no indication of being a thing.

ChargePoint has some integration as you can initiate charging through the Rivian app. EA makes you pay and init through the EA app. Both show charger location and provide real-time availability for listed chargers. All of that suggests Rivian has agreements in place with both for some level of integration. That could just be a basic license for API usage. None of that is an issue. The issue is that in both cases, I have found chargers that are not listed. My guess is that it's because both are working to expand their networks and Rivian is not updating their map frequently or the source/s they're using are not updating. I'm just trying to figure out which is the case, so that I can see if there's any opportunity to nudge them to update or anything like that.

 

[W1SE]

I like PlugShare. And you can find all the ones around you and review every few months to look for updates. Also, you can overlay on future travel route if you are not finding what you want on the rivian system. Battery pre-conditioning may not happen if you don’t use the rivian displayed ones.

 

[SeaGeo]

ChargePoint has some integration as you can initiate charging through the Rivian app. EA makes you pay and init through the EA app. Both show charger location and provide real-time availability for listed chargers.

Rivian does not show real time availability of EA chargers. Nor do they show that EA has any 350kw chargers, and the nav tells you to check the EA app for pricing.

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