Conserve Mode should only be selected while the vehicle is stopped? (says Rivian Service Center technicians)

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I’m a fan going slow and appreciating the scenery. Ive only used dynamic mode on my motorcycle twice, once to make sure it worked on a test drive, the other on an empty on-ramp. I imagine that I’ll use sport in the R1T a fair bit at first, then after I get bored of scaring myself, and showing off for friends and family. I’ll do most of my driving in conserve. Unless I know there’s a free charge at the end of the line

Do all purpose instead of Conserve. It's plenty well behaved and doesn't cause the uneven wear that Conserve causes on the tires and drivetrain.

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[Jack Smoke]

Do all purpose instead of Conserve. It's plenty well behaved and doesn't cause the uneven wear that Conserve causes on the tires and drivetrain.

Valid points. Tire wear is obvious. Is uneven drivetrain wear an issue? I suppose motors could wear out unevenly. I’m new to EV’s, so if you have experience, I‘M all ears.

 

[SACDFJC]

I switch between drive modes at speed all the time. I think the speed limit for changing drive modes (software controlled) is 80mph. I have had the rear drive unit replaced 1x and the SC said nothing about changing into Conserve while stopped. Glad the truck is under warranty. Looking forward to seeing how many drive units I go through until they change the software to limit the ability to change drive modes while in motion.

 

[Thedude]

Looking forward to seeing how many drive units I go through until they change the software to limit the ability to change drive modes while in motion.

That sounds like a huge pain in the ass.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

To be clear, the only drive mode that could even remotely affect the drivetrain is into and out of Conserve. The other drive modes are just a change to throttle mapping, ride height, and hydrolic pressure that can all be done at speed (although some ride height changes are speed limited).

 

[AdamUCF]

The motor connect/disconnect isn't some newfangled Rivian thing (like the powered tonneau). Others do similar and do it in an automated fashion even why driving on the highway. There's no inherent reason why switching into/out of conserve should be a problem.

 

[electruck]

The motor connect/disconnect isn't some newfangled Rivian thing (like the powered tonneau). Others do similar and do it in an automated fashion even why driving on the highway. There's no inherent reason why switching into/out of conserve should be a problem.

Actually, the disconnect being used by Rivian is a novel implementation.

amsted-auto-dynamic-disconnect-clutch-white-paper.pdf

 

[COdogman]

This is literally “hearsay”. I would be shocked if Rivian just now realized that switching modes should only be done while stopped. Even my Tacoma with it’s prehistoric transmission can switch from 2WD to 4WD and back at 50 mph.

 

[connoisseurr]

This is literally “hearsay”. I would be shocked if Rivian just now realized that switching modes should only be done while stopped. Even my Tacoma with it’s prehistoric transmission can switch from 2WD to 4WD and back at 50 mph.

Exactly. It is 100% hearsay. I made this post not to induce speculation (unlikely it wouldn't happen, am I right?), but to determine if any other owners have been told by anyone at Rivian to engage/disengage Conserve ONLY from a complete stop.

 

[COdogman]

Exactly. It is 100% hearsay. I made this post not to induce speculation (unlikely it wouldn't happen, am I right?), but to determine if any other owners have been told by anyone at Rivian to engage/disengage Conserve ONLY from a complete stop.

Totally get it. If you didn’t start a conversation about it, I’m sure we would have heard it from someone else who may have just accepted it as fact.

 

[Dark-Fx]

This is literally “hearsay”. I would be shocked if Rivian just now realized that switching modes should only be done while stopped. Even my Tacoma with it’s prehistoric transmission can switch from 2WD to 4WD and back at 50 mph.

I wouldn't be so shocked. It makes a very unhappy bang if you do the change under hard acceleration. There is no way it could stand up to that abuse long term. I do find it hard to believe that the engineers wouldn't have thought of it, but could have been dismissed as "are people really going to be stupid enough to do that?" by someone in a management position without the same exposure to idiots that the engineers have. At a constant speed, it seems to engage just fine.

My 4WD Sonoma would make a similar grinding to a loud bang if 4WD was engaged during rear wheel spin.

 

[COdogman]

I wouldn't be so shocked. It makes a very unhappy bang if you do the change under hard acceleration. There is no way it could stand up to that abuse long term. I do find it hard to believe that the engineers wouldn't have thought of it, but could have been dismissed as "are people really going to be stupid enough to do that?" by someone in a management position without the same exposure to idiots that the engineers have. At a constant speed, it seems to engage just fine.

My 4WD Sonoma would make a similar grinding to a loud bang if 4WD was engaged during rear wheel spin.

That’s a good point. They should know better than to ASS-ume we aren’t dumb enough to do pretty much anything

 

[obfuscurity]

I haven't heard any loud "bang" or any unexpected noises switching to/from Conserve while in motion... yet. Until we have a conclusive finding on this I'll probably change to switching to/from Conserve at a stop.

 

[obfuscurity]

This sounds like one of those things where it's not a problem per se but something else (e.g. loose CVs) might be contributing to a possible failure scenario. We may be conflating problems and "solutions", i.e. customer service advising folks out of a caution to avoid problems like we saw in a previous recall.

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

I almost always select conserve on the fly, while getting on a freeway usually. If true, this is concerning.

Same here...

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