Experience: Snow Mode is great on pavement w/ compact snow & ice, but All Terrain Mode is better for deep snow

[johstacy]

Ok so we got the new Snow Mode and I have taken the time to put it through it's paces... The new Snow mode works great on pavement that has compact snow and ice on it and I do like the low regen in that scenario and the soft acceleration however outside of that I couldn't find anything better than the all terrain mode. that being said I actually had to dip out of Snow Mode and back into the All terrain with regular break regen when the snow on the road was thick and heavy (I am talking about 8 to 12 inches on the road) which I had to deal with today. Today I got stuck in the middle of Snoqualmie Pass when they closed it. The snow was pounding, heavy winds and no snow plows there where many Semi's that where jackknifed and lets just say it was a mess. Snow Mode worked great up until that point after sitting there for a hour getting pummeled by the storm I was finally able to get moving by weaving around a bunch of semis and my R1T owned it. For the next half hour I plowed my way through a foot of snow no path cut for me and never once got squirrely or felt that I was about to lose control and I did it all not in Snow mode... All Terrain mode with regular regen gave me the power and the confidence to plow through this s*it show of a snow storm. So what did I learn? Well here are my take always

• Snow mode is great on pavement with compact snow and ice and a couple inches of pow this includes hills. Could work with steep hills with a lot of pow on them with the soft regen as long as you easy the throttle off.
• If your dealing with deep snow even on the highway go All Terrain with regular regen. The power to push through the snow is unmatched
• The Rivian Windshield wipers failed me. They kept getting caked with snow and I had to stop several times to clean them off as they where no longer cleaning the windshield.
• Windshield wipers and the frunk. I found you are unable to pull the wipers straight out from the windshield to clean them the frunk prevents that even if you open it. It made it extremely hard to remove the snow from them and break the ice that was building up on the wipers off.
• Another frunk / wiper complaint. There is a huge "gap" where the wipers sit under the frunk lip in my case this was filled with snow and the melting snow from the windshield which then made that snow compact snow. So compact that it caused my wipers to stop functioning all together! I had to get out and scoop the snow out on the side of the highway in order to get the wipers to work again. This is stupidly hard as that part of the truck is very hard to reach even with a tool (scraper).
• Ok another take away with the wipers.... They don't sit high enough at rest on the windshield for the heat to thaw the snow off of them. Rivian needs to figure out a way to "snow proof" the wipers it sucks to constantly have to pull over in a snow storm to manually knock the ice off the wipers because it gets caked on with no heat going to them to melt the ice. (this is also compounded by the snow melting off of the windshield then refreezing on to the wipers)
• Ok back to Snow Mode... Rivian please have Snow Mode disable lane assist and re-enable it when snow mode is turned off this is a huge hazard in the snow and can cause accidents
• Last thing is with a lot of Pow and heavy snow it tends to build up on the back windshield and even with the window heat on it just doesn't melt at all. and the amount of build up is crazy when you have heavy snow which also blocks the rear view mirror.

I know I complained a bit here but all in all these are first world problems and in general the Rivian got me on and off the mountain multiple times in one day during a very heavy snow storm safely and I felt safer than in any other vehicle I have driven in a long time. So take from this what you will I still love my gen 1 Rivian.... just image what Gen 2 will be like

Thank you Rivian!

Edit: Where the *ell is Christmas mode? I couldn't find it!

Second edit: when I refer to All Terrain mode I am referring to All Purpose at the standard ride height

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[SNOWinSEA]

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[johstacy]

Curious what tires you’ve got? Making the drive home that way tomorrow

20 AT's

 

[Defiance]

+1 on caking blades and deep pocket below. But great to hear you were able to navigate Snoqualmie that easily! Might see you up there soon ? Was up that way a couple weekends ago and came across another yellow R1T on the drive back.

 

[johstacy]

+1 on caking blades and deep pocket below. But great to hear you were able to navigate Snoqualmie that easily! Might see you up there soon ? Was up that way a couple weekends ago and came across another yellow R1T on the drive back.

I live there so I will be around! ?

 

[Marchin_MTB]

There must be a wiper blade change mode in the service menu that points the wipers up, you could use that to clean them perhaps.

I can imagine a software tweak that rests the wipers higher during heavy snow to let them get some heat through the windshield.

 

[Guy]

Did your headlights get covered regularly in snow/ice and needed cleaning?

 

[Dark-Fx]

Regen is adjustable in snow mode. Did you try doing that or just left it in low?

Under the service menu there is a wiper service button that brings them up out of the pocket.

 

[05soxfan]

On another note, does anyone know if snow mode is full time AWD/4WD?

Had an interesting scenario the other day on a slick driveway that has a slight incline. The only mode my R1S could get up the driveway in was Sport? Is this because Sport is the only full time AWD/4WD mode?

That has me wondering if Snow is also full time AWD/4WD. Could not find anything in the literature regarding this.

PS: I'm on 22" all seasons, anxiously awaiting dedicated snows to arrive.

 

[brancky3]

Regen is adjustable in snow mode. Did you try doing that or just left it in low?

Regen is adjustable in every mode, but the adjustment is made with your right foot
I think this 'snow mode' just made it more user friendly for those not used to 1 pedal driving. Most people would have an instinct to take your foot off the accelerator pedal completely but that's not how EV's should be driven.

 

[Zoidz]

Thanks for the report. Not surprised that snow mode is not the best for deep snow. Regarding the windshield wipers, my experience is that in heavy wet blowing snow, this happens in any vehicle. Having literally hundreds of hours in the seat snow plowing, I've seen this on all brands of vehicles. The wind just sucks any heat out of the windshield preventing it from melting. It's really a pain in the butt to have to clear the wipers every 10 minutes when you are plowing for 6 hours, but it is what it is.

 

[johstacy]

Did your headlights get covered regularly in snow/ice and needed cleaning?

Oh this is one entry I did forget!! though it did not bother me today as it was during the day time however during heavy snow and in Snow Mode it would be nice to dim the light bar in the front it reflects off of the snow so badly that you can only see 10 feet in front of you. Have Snow mode dim the light bar and increase the fog / driving lights

 

[johstacy]

There must be a wiper blade change mode in the service menu that points the wipers up, you could use that to clean them perhaps.

I can imagine a software tweak that rests the wipers higher during heavy snow to let them get some heat through the windshield.

This just might actually work....

 

[johstacy]

Regen is adjustable in snow mode. Did you try doing that or just left it in low?

Under the service menu there is a wiper service button that brings them up out of the pocket.

you can adjust the regen however it is the squishy throttle that gets you in deep heavy snow...

Not sure how well the service button works I will have to try that next time

 

[Johnsykas]

Ok so we got the new Snow Mode and I have taken the time to put it through it's paces... The new Snow mode works great on pavement that has compact snow and ice on it and I do like the low regen in that scenario and the soft acceleration however outside of that I couldn't find anything better than the all terrain mode. that being said I actually had to dip out of Snow Mode and back into the All terrain with regular break regen when the snow on the road was thick and heavy (I am talking about 8 to 12 inches on the road) which I had to deal with today. Today I got stuck in the middle of Snoqualmie Pass when they closed it. The snow was pounding, heavy winds and no snow plows there where many Semi's that where jackknifed and lets just say it was a mess. Snow Mode worked great up until that point after sitting there for a hour getting pummeled by the storm I was finally able to get moving by weaving around a bunch of semis and my R1T owned it. For the next half hour I plowed my way through a foot of snow no path cut for me and never once got squirrely or felt that I was about to lose control and I did it all not in Snow mode... All Terrain mode with regular regen gave me the power and the confidence to plow through this s*it show of a snow storm. So what did I learn? Well here are my take always

• Snow mode is great on pavement with compact snow and ice and a couple inches of pow this includes hills. Could work with steep hills with a lot of pow on them with the soft regen as long as you easy the throttle off.
• If your dealing with deep snow even on the highway go All Terrain with regular regen. The power to push through the snow is unmatched
• The Rivian Windshield wipers failed me. They kept getting caked with snow and I had to stop several times to clean them off as they where no longer cleaning the windshield.
• Windshield wipers and the frunk. I found you are unable to pull the wipers straight out from the windshield to clean them the frunk prevents that even if you open it. It made it extremely hard to remove the snow from them and break the ice that was building up on the wipers off.
• Another frunk / wiper complaint. There is a huge "gap" where the wipers sit under the frunk lip in my case this was filled with snow and the melting snow from the windshield which then made that snow compact snow. So compact that it caused my wipers to stop functioning all together! I had to get out and scoop the snow out on the side of the highway in order to get the wipers to work again. This is stupidly hard as that part of the truck is very hard to reach even with a tool (scraper).
• Ok another take away with the wipers.... They don't sit high enough at rest on the windshield for the heat to thaw the snow off of them. Rivian needs to figure out a way to "snow proof" the wipers it sucks to constantly have to pull over in a snow storm to manually knock the ice off the wipers because it gets caked on with no heat going to them to melt the ice. (this is also compounded by the snow melting off of the windshield then refreezing on to the wipers)
• Ok back to Snow Mode... Rivian please have Snow Mode disable lane assist and re-enable it when snow mode is turned off this is a huge hazard in the snow and can cause accidents
• Last thing is with a lot of Pow and heavy snow it tends to build up on the back windshield and even with the window heat on it just doesn't melt at all. and the amount of build up is crazy when you have heavy snow which also blocks the rear view mirror.

I know I complained a bit here but all in all these are first world problems and in general the Rivian got me on and off the mountain multiple times in one day during a very heavy snow storm safely and I felt safer than in any other vehicle I have driven in a long time. So take from this what you will I still love my gen 1 Rivian.... just image what Gen 2 will be like

Thank you Rivian!

Edit: Where the *ell is Christmas mode? I couldn't find it!

The problem I have on our PA 2 lane State paved roads is the roads are not plowed wide. The center with heavy crown may show pavement or be blcak ice, but right side has heavy snow. Along with crown, this pulls unenvenly towards the ditch (we have no shoulders). Encountering a vehicle the other way puts the right side in that heavy snow and encountering idiots who plow sriveway snow into the roadway creates a fierce tug to the right and can bounce your foot on the pedal. The Rivian is heavy so correction is touchy. Hopefully, Rivian addressed this with "snow mode". Photo is a normal commute on our PA State Highway. On this commnte I was pulled to the right in a slide 4 times and had to ever so gently correct.

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