Dear Rivian Engineers who worked on the Air Conditioning

[jcflint]

At first, I am ok with this issue, but as the summer is getting hotter every day here in Dallas, it becomes annoying af, especially with the latest update of the loud noise from the AC when turning on the car unless you turn it off and back on after a few seconds. I don't think Rivian can do anything to be honest since most likely it is due to poor design. I doubt that every car with this issue has the incorrect cooolant level?

My thoughts exactly. We cannot all have coolant levels off. I think the compressor is just to small to handle to Texas heat. We are dying in ours down in San Antonio ever after they corrected the coolant levels.

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[Si.LE.R1S]

I think the issue is you are in a cooler climate zone and the AC system will work in that type of climate. If you live in the south the AC system is just not able to keep up. I have had it checked, tested, and rebalanced. Yet I still ride home from work every evening in an +80 degree vehicle for a 40 minute commute. I just think the system was not designed to handle 110 temp that we have in the south.

really feel for ya jcflint. I felt like that before they recharged mine here in Vegas. mine went from 130 to 70 in about 20 preconditioning today.

there has to be something wrong with your compressor or something - or an undiagnosed leak since the recharge attempt? would be interesting if you could just take out a loaner or first mile vehicle for a week just for comparison

 

[Cactus]

I have a laser temp gun I have been riding around with for over a week now. The R1S can get the vent temp into the high 40s if it's in the shade or not more than 90 degrees outside. However, if it's over 100, which it usually is in Texas summers. The vents do not get cold unless you are in a garage or complete shade. Driving around in 100 degrees the best the vents could do on multiple settings and on/offs was in the 60s and that is just not cold enough to get the cabin below 80 degrees with all the glass on these things. I have been sweating like crazy on my afternoon drives home.

I'm in Phoenix area where temps are even hotter than Texas temps. I completely agree. If the service center can't fix my AC, then I might also need to sell which would make me very sad after waiting since Sept 2019. Otherwise I like the R1S very much because I found a setting that reduces the bounciness and porpoising of the suspension.

The other issue that will only get worse as Rivian ramps up vehicle manufacturing is the wait to get into the service center. Despite my AC not being able to keep up with afternoon heat (it does fine in the morning after parking in a 95°F garage, but not when the vehicle has been sitting in the sun all day and the ambient temp is >110°F with interior temp >125°F (And that's with all windows tinted including the sunroof and windshield)), my service center appoint is 6 weeks from the time I set up service using the app. I've been sweating like a boxer on the way home from work with AC running like a weed wacker on full throttle.

 

[R1TS]

I'm in Phoenix area where temps are even hotter than Texas temps. I completely agree. If the service center can't fix my AC, then I might also need to sell which would make me very sad after waiting since Sept 2019. Otherwise I like the R1S very much because I found a setting that reduces the bounciness and porpoising of the suspension.

The other issue that will only get worse as Rivian ramps up vehicle manufacturing is the wait to get into the service center. Despite my AC not being able to keep up with afternoon heat (it does fine in the morning after parking in a 95°F garage, but not when the vehicle has been sitting in the sun all day and the ambient temp is >110°F with interior temp >125°F (And that's with all windows tinted including the sunroof and windshield)), my service center appoint is 6 weeks from the time I set up service using the app. I've been sweating like a boxer on the way home from work with AC running like a weed wacker on full throttle.

Living in California, I’d LOVE it if our appointment wait times were 6 weeks.
It is about 16 weeks out here.

 

[LL75]

So how many of us here got the coolant level corrected and see improvement? This needs to be on rivian radar or recall list if this is the fix which I think it has to do with their bad design than coolant

 

[jcflint]

So how many of us here got the coolant level corrected and see improvement? This needs to be on rivian radar or recall list if this is the fix which I think it has to do with their bad design than coolant

I got coolant corrected and still does no better when car starts hot. Just wont cool until its been in the garage or shade. It cannot cool inside cabin below 80 if its a hot day and it started out in a hot parking lot.

 

[LL75]

I got coolant corrected and still does no better when car starts hot. Just wont cool until its been in the garage or shade. It cannot cool inside cabin below 80 if its a hot day and it started out in a hot parking lot.

Same here. I find that if I put the car in pet mode if I go eat for an hour or so it is better. But should not be doing that

 

[Cactus]

So how many of us here got the coolant level corrected and see improvement? This needs to be on rivian radar or recall list if this is the fix which I think it has to do with their bad design than coolant

I will tell you after Aug 25th (made service center appointment in early July). LOL.

Also don't forget the poor placement of the vents on the dash. They are low or off to the side and difficult to aim with the stupid display vent drag. I have never been able to properly aim the side vent. Frankly, I'm not sure it "aims." Seems to be always blowing air along the driver window, certainly not at the driver!

I wish they had circular vents like porsche and mercedes that are high on the dash and are manually aim-able.

 

[Arnie1]

I have a laser temp gun I have been riding around with for over a week now. The R1S can get the vent temp into the high 40s if it's in the shade or not more than 90 degrees outside. However, if it's over 100, which it usually is in Texas summers. The vents do not get cold unless you are in a garage or complete shade. Driving around in 100 degrees the best the vents could do on multiple settings and on/offs was in the 60s and that is just not cold enough to get the cabin below 80 degrees with all the glass on these things. I have been sweating like crazy on my afternoon drives home.

Rule of thumb for car ac says a delta of 30-35F ambient to discharge..so at 100F best you can get is 65-70 discharge..hard to believe..

 

[NY_Rob]

I assume everyone in the now super hot areas are using roof shades right?

We've been spared the high temps here with our max being in the low 90's for a few days.. but the direct sun for hours at a time still raises the cabin temps to extremes with that huge glass roof. I installed the hansshow roof shade in my R1T that has the silver top layer (the side that faces the sun) and it's made a great difference in the cabin temps. I think it has to be more effective than the more common roof shades that only have a black layer on both sides because the black just absorbs the sunlight and radiates down into the cabin whereas the hansshow shade with the silver top reflects most of that light right back out. I don't know if hansshow or someone else makes a silver topped roof shade for the R1S, but it may at least help.

 

[Zoidz]

Rule of thumb for car ac says a delta of 30-35F ambient to discharge..so at 100F best you can get is 65-70 discharge..hard to believe..

With recirc on the intake air temperature is not outside ambient. That's the whole purpose of recirc. It can take inside air that has been cooled to 80 degrees and extract more heat, eventually lowering the discharge temperature to the 50s.

 

[rpmtexas]

We are having the same problem with R1S not cooling well in Texas. The air doesn’t ever seem to be blowing cold out of the vents. I’m wondering if maybe there is a glitch in the recirculation mechanism or something. Seems like most people are seeing a temp diff that is where it should be from outside air but not where it should be once the cabin has cooled and it is cooling previously cooled air. We are scheduled for service and a bunch of different things. We are at 10 weeks lead time in Austin. But sales people assure me that as they ramp up more things will get better… lol.

 

[Cactus]

I keep it in All Purpose mode, standard height and automatic (lowers at highway speeds), but use stiff suspension, NOT soft. Setting to stiff almost completely removes the bouncy porpoising. Still have a little head toss, but my R1S feels and handles much better in stiff suspension setting.

 

[Cactus]

I assume everyone in the now super hot areas are using roof shades right?

We've been spared the high temps here with our max being in the low 90's for a few days.. but the direct sun for hours at a time still raises the cabin temps to extremes with that huge glass roof. I installed the hansshow roof shade in my R1T that has the silver top layer (the side that faces the sun) and it's made a great difference in the cabin temps. I think it has to be more effective than the more common roof shades that only have a black layer on both sides because the black just absorbs the sunlight and radiates down into the cabin whereas the hansshow shade with the silver top reflects most of that light right back out. I don't know if hansshow or someone else makes a silver topped roof shade for the R1S, but it may at least help.

Since I've never been a fan of sunroofs, I am thinking of getting the sunroof "wrapped" in white to completely block the sun. Yes, I spent good money on getting the max IR rejecting tint on all glass in the R1S, but I still feel the heat from the sun through the sunroof when driving.
Has anyone "wrapped" their sunroofs? I'm thinking the cost would be a couple hundred bucks or less?

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