End of my dream

[crashmtb]

The OP’s experience is unfortunate and understandably frustrating. Brand new $75k R1T having an issue combined with an immature poorly executed ICC network.

My wife and I are new to EVs. Our primary motive for moving to EVs was to stop spewing toxic crap.

We knew going in that we are on the leading edge of the conversion from ICE to EV and therefore accepted the challenges and adjustments.

We have not taken any trips in our EV6 or R1T requiring the use of a charging station but we have studied the available charging network apps. We have planned several trips and it is clear that ICC charging stations are not enough and generally poorly executed. Apps that report the charger status frequently show that individual charging ports are inactive.

Having said that with fore thought and planning and accepting the extra time for charging most long trips in an EV should be enjoyable.

Soon we will make several long trips using multiple apps to plan the trip and a mind set to not leave a working charging port until we have a 100% charge. We also accept that most of the ICC chargers are L2 and that both the EV6 and R1T navigation apps are incomplete.

Charging to more than around 80-85% is very slow. You’ll find most of the applications for routing will avoid charging to more than that percentage.
better an extra 10 minute stop than 40 minutes trying to squeeze in more electrons.

on EV trips what I have done is charged to 100% at home due to time not being a factor, to maximize the first leg.

last trip I did we had one segment that required charging to 100% to have adequate capacity left at our chargerless destination. It was pretty annoying, at almost an hour and a half, even taking a leisurely lunch break. And this is in a vehicle with a battery of 35% less capacity than the R1.

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[crashmtb]

Again, there is no requirement for this.

Prop open the hood of your ICE vehicle (don't fully latch) and see if it governs the engine.

It won't even warn you.

There is no safety requirement here, they invented this check.

Didn’t say there was any requirement. Just pointing out of the reasons to have the hood latch showing as open slow the vehicle, a person trying to escape is not the likely primary scenario.

my front Engine‘d ICE car won’t warn thst the hood is only on the secondary latch, but the last 911 I played with does. Go figure.

 

[Dark-Fx]

It won't even warn you.

My ICE vehicles definitely would warn me that the hood was open. I'm not sure if they would prevent me from driving faster than 15 mph because I'm not an idiot. There's no legitimate use case to driving that fast with the hood open, excepting some sort of damage.

 

[Zoidz]

This is a great thread that I hope EV noobs read when considering a Rivian. It's clear that you really need to analyzie your use case BEFORE buying.

...
Prop open the hood of your ICE vehicle (don't fully latch) and see if it governs the engine.

It won't even warn you.
...

Incorrect blanket statement - many vehicles warn you if the hood is open. My BMWs and my 2010 Avalanche all have hood open warning lights that activate if it is not fully latched.

I've never tried driving but I asssume there is no speed limiting interlock.

 

[Denver_Paulie]

Dude, I'm not your mom; but the guy was upfront about being new to EV's. Cut him some slack. If you want to educate him on why his plan is overly cautious, I humbly suggest there's a better way.

@EVTrucking You do you my man, but there are better ways than charging to 100%. Your R1T will charge appreciably slower at higher speeds, and some stations charge by the minute (so you'll be unnecessarily adding time and expense to your trips). You'd be better off adding an extra stop into the route and getting a true fast charge and moving on at 75-80%. You'll also be getting the side eye if someone is waiting behind you for the charger and you go to 100%

I get it, man, but the person shared that they have a Kia and Rivian EV. If true, who buys two electric cars and does not spend a ton of time in advance figuring out the ins and outs of operating the vehicles? They claim they waited for a Rivian, and are on this forum, so this means that they are not "new" to EV's.

In the six years I have been driving EVs, I have seen that most "EV people" tend to be OCD about their cars and borderline obsess about the smallest things when it comes to using their cars - that includes best practices for road tripping. Your advice on "you do you" and spending two hours charging to 100% is all fun until people like this are wasting YOUR time at a charging station.

Between the original post that started this thread, or the one about these people owning two EVs and wanting to charge to 100% at every location while on a road trip, I am not sure what to believe. Seems like there may be a number on this forum who may not be who or what they say they are.

 

[Acoustic71]

Seems like there may be a number on this forum who may not be who or what they say they are.

"Gasp! Say it ain't so!"

I think you may be on to something....

 

[Denver_Paulie]

"Gasp! Say it ain't so!"

I think you may be on to something....

The funny thing is that we are page 10 of a thread that could have started with a complete BS story.

I need to get life!!!

 

[EVTrucking]

I get it, man, but the person shared that they have a Kia and Rivian EV. If true, who buys two electric cars and does not spend a ton of time in advance figuring out the ins and outs of operating the vehicles? They claim they waited for a Rivian, and are on this forum, so this means that they are not "new" to EV's.

In the six years I have been driving EVs, I have seen that most "EV people" tend to be OCD about their cars and borderline obsess about the smallest things when it comes to using their cars - that includes best practices for road tripping. Your advice on "you do you" and spending two hours charging to 100% is all fun until people like this are wasting YOUR time at a charging station.

Between the original post that started this thread, or the one about these people owning two EVs and wanting to charge to 100% at every location while on a road trip, I am not sure what to believe. Seems like there may be a number on this forum who may not be who or what they say they are.

 

[Denver_Paulie]

That is a very nice EV set up you have there. Congrats.

You have received some excellent advice from people on this forum, I hope you employ it when on the road in either of your nice vehicles.

 

[Acoustic71]

I think it's safe to say that you can change the "Location" part of your signature.

 

[EVTrucking]

That is a very nice EV set up you have there. Congrats.

You have received some excellent advice from people on this forum, I hope you employ it when on the road in either of your nice vehicles.

I have some advice for you:

- Don’t jump to conclusions. You assumed I would sit my ass at a charging port regardless of other folks needs and not take into account the overall situation.

- learn how to constructively provide advice. Lose the insults and innuendos.

- Stop trying to be a know it all. Fewer folks will think you are a jerk.

 

[Max]

A glitchy latch and some broken chargers is no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Depends on the baby. I have heard some birds take their young through an obstacle course early on to see which one survives and is worth the trouble. Sometimes ignoring the signs may not be the wisest choice. A hood latch issue on a Lexus GX460 that it’s design has been around for a while and prioritizes reliability is not something I would consider getting rid of the vehicle for. But in R1T, the fact that a hood sensor can turn your brand new $90K vehicle into a useless pile of junk, is a sign that this vehicle is still under development. I would not downplay the expectation of any new car owner that they should be able to trust their new vehicle to get them from A to B more than the one they got rid of.

That said, I personally can live with the risk and inconvenience of charging infrastructure because we will have our ICE for another 10 years and probably will take that on occasional super long trips. But I think, Rivian has focused too much about designing a vehicle that kicks ass and now needs to focus on redesign, charging network and manufacturing improvements that makes it possible for the owner to trust their kick ass vehicle to get them where they want to go (primary function of a car). One of the reasons I am sticking with my explore package is that my risk tolerance and vehicle reliability are not likely to meet before that is ready.

 

[Denver_Paulie]

I have some advice for you:

- Don’t jump to conclusions. You assumed I would sit my ass at a charging port regardless of other folks needs and not take into account the overall situation.

- learn how to constructively provide advice. Lose the insults and innuendos.

- Stop trying to be a know it all. Fewer folks will think you are a jerk.

Advice noted.

However, hard not to assume that you "would [not] sit your ass at a charging port regardless of other folks needs" when you actually wrote in your original post that you would charge to 100% every time you stopped to charge while on a road trip.

Which is it? Do you mean what you originally posted, or are you backtracking on what you originally shared? The jerk in me honestly does not care, since it seems like you have bought into the "CCS charging infrastructure makes it impossible to road trip in a Rivian" hype.

Anyway, I will soon be headed out on a two week road trip in my EV - headed to Glacier and then the Canadian Rockies. I will wave when I pass on my way to Glacier in a couple of weeks! Maybe I will send you a picture of me using Electrify America chargers in the lovely state of Idaho as I roll north on I-15? Only bummer is that I don't have my Rivian yet, but my existing EV is a nice consolation prize.

As others have said, you do you. Please just don't do you if the charging location is busy and there other people wanting to charge.

Cheers


PS. Sorry to interrupt with the ongoing latch conversation, since it is important, but hopefully Rivian will have a fix for that in the near future that does not require taking the vehicle into a shop for a physical repair.

 

[IThinkFreely]

Depends on the baby. I have heard some birds take their young through an obstacle course early on to see which one survives and is worth the trouble. Sometimes ignoring the signs may not be the wisest choice. A hood latch issue on a Lexus GX460 that it’s design has been around for a while and prioritizes reliability is not something I would consider getting rid of the vehicle for. But in R1T, the fact that a hood sensor can turn your brand new $90K vehicle into a useless pile of junk, is a sign that this vehicle is still under development. I would not downplay the expectation of any new car owner that they should be able to trust their new vehicle to get them from A to B more than the one they got rid of.

That said, I personally can live with the risk and inconvenience of charging infrastructure because we will have our ICE for another 10 years and probably will take that on occasional super long trips. But I think, Rivian has focused too much about designing a vehicle that kicks ass and now needs to focus on redesign, charging network and manufacturing improvements that makes it possible for the owner to trust their kick ass vehicle to get them where they want to go (primary function of a car). One of the reasons I am sticking with my explore package is that my risk tolerance and vehicle reliability are not likely to meet before that is ready.

Early adopters MUST expect trouble. Pretty sure it's in the fine print somewhere. If you have a sub 100Kish VIN - expect trouble.

I have the 9,250th Model 3 ever made - expected all the usual crap, panel gaps, glitchy software, bad finishes - some I experienced, some I didn't. The Model 3 was plagued with connectivity issues early on. Rendering the thing useless at times. But it was remedied.

Other stuff like finishes I never gave a crap about to be honest. 'Does it drive' is my primary concern. Getting through your first road trip, with some minor issues, in an all new EV is not a reason to get rid of a car.

 

[mgc0216]

Soon we will make several long trips using multiple apps to plan the trip and a mind set to not leave a working charging port until we have a 100% charge. We also accept that most of the ICC chargers are L2 and that both the EV6 and R1T navigation apps are incomplete.

That is a sub-optimal mindset. It may end up being an unfortunate reality in some cases (this past weekend i had to charge to 98% on a 62kW charger because that was the only way I could complete the next leg of my trip).

From a timing perspective it's MUCH more time efficient to charge to 60-70% a few times than 100% once - it's just the way the charging curve works. That's why folks use ABRP it helps to make those tradeoff calculations for you so you don't waste time over charging when you don't need to.

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