Dear Rivian Engineers who worked on the Air Conditioning

[txtravwill]

Yeah. I feel like is it prioritizing cooling of the battery first? Is the compressor shared for that? Either way, it will be a reason to get rid of the truck in time as it's hot in TX and I need a vehicle that can deal with that. Did they not test this?

YES! This is exactly my experience. Blows cool air from a 95 degree garage in the morning. But the AC just can't cool the vehicle after it sits in the parking lot in the sun even if I park in partial shade of a tree.
My other cars–even the 2014 Model S–don't have a cooling problem.

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[Cactus]

Yeah. I feel like is it prioritizing cooling of the battery first? Is the compressor shared for that? Either way, it will be a reason to get rid of the truck in time as it's hot in TX and I need a vehicle that can deal with that. Did they not test this?

I certainly hope Rivian tested cabin heat, heated seats and battery warming in the extremes of winter (Michigan upper peninsula, for example) and then test the AC, seat cooling and battery cooling in the extreme temps of Phoenix in July and August.

 

[eRacer]

I was curious if any of you experience excessive 'vibration' on top of the noise. It feels as if the noise reverberates through the accelerator/throttle pedal. It is rather annoying to have to deal with all that noise. Embarrasing when you have guests in the vehicle wondering what that racket is all about in a 'high end' vehicle.

 

[Cactus]

I was curious if any of you experience excessive 'vibration' on top of the noise. It feels as if the noise reverberates through the accelerator/throttle pedal. It is rather annoying to have to deal with all that noise. Embarrasing when you have guests in the vehicle wondering what that racket is all about in a 'high end' vehicle.

Yes, lots of vibration that correlates with noise. I feel it mainly through the accelerator.
Looks like lots of people have this issue with the AC. I think the engineers could do better.
They still have the opportunity to re-design it and make a new version that can replace the weed wacker we currently have in our cars.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong (I hope so) and it's a simple over or undercharge of freon or there's a leak in the condenser or some other defective part.

 

[Ash]

Since we're on the subject, I have to say this roof shade is my favorite mod I've made to my truck so far. I never even notice it's there, unlike when I would feel the sun beating down on my head through the glass.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVVL23ZY?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[R1TS]

I was curious if any of you experience excessive 'vibration' on top of the noise. It feels as if the noise reverberates through the accelerator/throttle pedal. It is rather annoying to have to deal with all that noise. Embarrasing when you have guests in the vehicle wondering what that racket is all about in a 'high end' vehicle.

Rivian says “within spec”.
Also “within spec” is some people feeling the vibration of the windshield wiper motor through the accelerator pedal.

What I want from Rivian regarding the HVAC is vents on the B pillar for the second row passengers. Those tiny vents in the back of the center console is completely insufficient for rear passengers on the sides. Who the heck thought having just one vent for the entire second row was okay in an SUV of this size?!

 

[Rickman90]

Disclaimer- I live in Phoenix where it’s pretty warm right now.
However, the 5 other cars in my household: 2014 Jeep grand Cherokee, 2017Jeep wrangler, 2014 Ford Escape, 2017 Porsche Cayman and 2014 Tesla model S blow COLD air within 3-5 mins of driving-even in 110+ heat.

Engineers: Please redesign the AC so that it:
1. Cools the cabin properly within 5 mins (yes, recirculate is on and temp is set to 72F, but air is barely cool). Even after driving for 15 mins Air from vents is not particularly cool.
2. Doesn‘t make a loud weed trimmer noise. It’s embarrassing to drive what should be a “cool” vehicle that makes the weed trimmer noise. It’s pretty clear the compressor is trying unsuccessfully to cool the cabin, but can’t.
3. Please test the AC in extreme temps to evaluate performance of the system.


That’s it! That’s all I am asking. Otherwise, I am reasonably happy with my R1S.

 

[TM1]

In the morning when I pull out of my 95 degree garage, the AC gets reasonably cool/cold after 2-3 mins on my 15 min drive to work. Unfortunately I can’t park in covered parking at work, so the car is very warm in the afternoon. It just can’t cool down on the 15-20 min drive home. Note: I have photo sync plus tinting on all windows (best UV and IR rejection available).

On a 115 degree day earlier this week I drove my model S to and from work. Although the air itself doesnt blow very hard in that car, it’s cold air within a few mins on way home.

So, since the R1S is capable of blowing cool/cold air when the car is not vey warm (95F), I think it is functioning to the best of its capability. However, I think the AC needs to be re-engineered (title of thread) to work better in hot climates like other vehicles do. I would pay for an improved AC retrofit because otherwise, I like the vehicle.

My 30 minute R1S test drive at noon at their facility near 101 and I 17 in June, sitting in the middle row, was warm. The whole car was baking in the sun and it was probably 110 that day at noon. AC just couldn't blow cold air back there - conduit/ducts needed to cool down? Anyway, a big car needs a big AC. That will cost you some energy, but you want to be cool, or at least not hot.

 

[Worthenj]

Disclaimer- I live in Phoenix where it’s pretty warm right now.
However, the 5 other cars in my household: 2014 Jeep grand Cherokee, 2017Jeep wrangler, 2014 Ford Escape, 2017 Porsche Cayman and 2014 Tesla model S blow COLD air within 3-5 mins of driving-even in 110+ heat.

Engineers: Please redesign the AC so that it:
1. Cools the cabin properly within 5 mins (yes, recirculate is on and temp is set to 72F, but air is barely cool). Even after driving for 15 mins Air from vents is not particularly cool.
2. Doesn‘t make a loud weed trimmer noise. It’s embarrassing to drive what should be a “cool” vehicle that makes the weed trimmer noise. It’s pretty clear the compressor is trying unsuccessfully to cool the cabin, but can’t.
3. Please test the AC in extreme temps to evaluate performance of the system.


That’s it! That’s all I am asking. Otherwise, I am reasonably happy with my R1S.

My one week old R1T struggled on recent trip through Las Vegas. Fortunately I was able to get it in quickly at my SC in Salt Lake City. They discovered the system was over-charged from the factory. Correcting the refrigerant volume and the software update seems to have cured the issue. Before the visit, I was getting what felt like ambient air only when the car was parked in the heat and cabin temp started out hot. Pretty bad they don't have better QC at the plant but all of this feedback hopefully helps!

 

[Jdunn]

Mine is particularly bad when I have tried to cool the cabin remotely before I get in. Then the ac does not work at all even after driving and sweating for 30 minutes

 

[JWreck]

I was shocked to find out yesterday that using the vent windows function disables the AC entirely if you’re pre-cooling the cabin via the remote app. Maybe not shocking to anyone that RTFM if it’s in there but that seems silly.

 

[Ashtothexo]

Disclaimer- I live in Phoenix where it’s pretty warm right now.
However, the 5 other cars in my household: 2014 Jeep grand Cherokee, 2017Jeep wrangler, 2014 Ford Escape, 2017 Porsche Cayman and 2014 Tesla model S blow COLD air within 3-5 mins of driving-even in 110+ heat.

Engineers: Please redesign the AC so that it:
1. Cools the cabin properly within 5 mins (yes, recirculate is on and temp is set to 72F, but air is barely cool). Even after driving for 15 mins Air from vents is not particularly cool.
2. Doesn‘t make a loud weed trimmer noise. It’s embarrassing to drive what should be a “cool” vehicle that makes the weed trimmer noise. It’s pretty clear the compressor is trying unsuccessfully to cool the cabin, but can’t.
3. Please test the AC in extreme temps to evaluate performance of the system.


That’s it! That’s all I am asking. Otherwise, I am reasonably happy with my R1S.

Same!! Also in Scottsdale. Was honestly so worried about my kid the other day that we went home. That was of course in between me yelling "What?!" every time he said something because the Air is so loud. Wondering if I just bought a $88k car I can only safely use half the year. At this point I think I will just leave it on pet mode every time we get out of the car.

I'm going to get it tinted this week to see if that helps and when the team comes out for my mobile ticket for other things going to ask them about this too.

 

[Cactus]

Same!! Also in Scottsdale. Was honestly so worried about my kid the other day that we went home. That was of course in between me yelling "What?!" every time he said something because the Air is so loud. Wondering if I just bought a $88k car I can only safely use half the year. At this point I think I will just leave it on pet mode every time we get out of the car.

I'm going to get it tinted this week to see if that helps and when the team comes out for my mobile ticket for other things going to ask them about this too.

Earlier in this thread @Craigins suggested to turn off the AC for 30 secs, then turn on again to "reset" the weed wacker AC compressor and get it to blow cool-er (not cold) air. That trick works for me, so I am now in the habit of toggling off my AC when I leave the car. Kind of annoying that we need to do that, but maybe it will work for you, too?

The crazy thing is the loss in mi/kwh when the AC compressor goes "weed wacker." I went from 2.2 mi/kwh to 1.6 mi/kwh. Then after toggling AC off and on again the efficiency went back up to 2.2 or better.

 

[Deadfish]

What I can't believe is this "luxury" truck does not have solar tint on all the windows.

Here is how I think of it - leave your car for 10 min in the sun - feel the heat? all that heat has to be removed by AC even when the car is driving. Just seems like a massive waste of power to me. A HUGE oversite by Rivian. The last 5 cars I have owned have all had factory solar tint on all windows.

I think having to take my brand new truck to the tint shop like it's some low end civic is ludicrous.

(note EVEN the civic ships with tint now)

 

[Ashtothexo]

Earlier in this thread @Craigins suggested to turn off the AC for 30 secs, then turn on again to "reset" the weed wacker AC compressor and get it to blow cool-er (not cold) air. That trick works for me, so I am now in the habit of toggling off my AC when I leave the car. Kind of annoying that we need to do that, but maybe it will work for you, too?

The crazy thing is the loss in mi/kwh when the AC compressor goes "weed wacker." I went from 2.2 mi/kwh to 1.6 mi/kwh. Then after toggling AC off and on again the efficiency went back up to 2.2 or better.

I've had too many issues my first week with this car. I spent over twice as much on it than my previous cars and had no issues with those. Frustrating we have to look for so many hacks online to making it work as it should. I did call just now and got an appt for Friday just to make sure everything is working as expected.

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