Please re-design or improve the Climate Control / AC Navigation Controls

[R1TruKaLa]

I have several challenges with the Rivian AC system I'd like to give feedback on, but the most frustrating to my wife and I is the climate controls:

1. In any old school car, you twist the fan nob and it's blasting. You don't have to look away from the road. In the Rivian you click the screen, look for the speed area, look for the + button, click it several times. Meanwhile, your eyes have been off the road reading a screen for far too long
Fix: When the right steering controls are not active, make them control the AC either automatically or by setting. Spinner for temp and left/right for fan speed

2. Instead of just having Pet Mode (I have no pet I would drive around), change it to:
a. Be Right Back Mode - Keep car cool (or warm), keep the radio on in the same spot, don't lock the doors, etc...
-- this is the family in the car and oops forgot my jacket scenario

b. Use logic... when the car is 119 degrees and from the app I put it to 62, put the AC on HIGH not trickle out
-- even better is the Be Right Back button on the app
And don't make me pick a temp... just logically set the car to comfortable temp as quickly as possible (settings or common sense)

c. Use AI... the car is 47 degrees on a Monday at 6:45am. Over the past 19 of 22 days we have driven the car at approx 7:30am. Just get the car ready for driving assuming we are going to drive.
Or
You drive to a shopping center - keep the car comforable for a few hours
* Call this Don't Care About Battery mode if you want but let us opt in and simply keep the car comfortable any time it's likely someone might drive

Anyone else looking for a smarter or easier to use climate system?

We have a list of other feedback I will submit on a separate post, but this one is the one that annoys us most.

Thanks!

That has always been my biggest complaint when I have to take my eyeballs off the road to fiddle with the heating/AC infotainment screen. Been close to some near misses trying to get the right temperature.?

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[R1TruKaLa]

Would make sense to allow user to select heat only or cool only. For me the auto changeover works great, but I cam see the need for heat/cool exclusive.

Yes ??

This, please! I'm in an area where it is currently only 40F in the mornings (and will get much colder in coming months) but if I set the temp below 72, I get the cool air. I want to set it to 68 so it doesn't run the heat too much, but if there is any semblance of sun, the AC kicks on and makes me feel cold and annoyed.

yep ?

 

[Tarkus]

Not sure if your have tried, but I simply say 'Alexa, set temperature to 72 degrees' works for me... or "Alexa turn fan on high". If you get a chance, try it. I only wish I could change the 'wake word' from Alexa to Computer to match my echo device.

 

[kyunam]

I plug this in my R1S - https://a.co/d/48brIQa

 

[SSteveEV]

I'd love to see this thread get as many pages as the OTA accident thread. HVAC has been a huge miss in a vehicle I absolutely adore but turning it on and off to create my own deadband is a huge fail.

Just add the hot/cold/auto/off already!! I'm begging.

Sooo easy and will make 90% of us happy.

 

[Pacblue22]

I have not put my finger on it, but the climate control does not work like standard branfds that have been designed Heat/AC for decades like Toyota, BMW, GM etc. It just plainly does not work as well, or maybe I just need fool with it more often...feel like I am constantly struggling with vents, temp, directions, auto, recirculate, etc...it needs some attention IMO.

 

[DTown3011]

Not sure if your have tried, but I simply say 'Alexa, set temperature to 72 degrees' works for me... or "Alexa turn fan on high". If you get a chance, try it. I only wish I could change the 'wake word' from Alexa to Computer to match my echo device.

This ^^^ for sure for the fan speed and temperature. However I agree the HVAC takes some getting used to overall.

One issue I have with the auto setting is there is no rhyme reason to what vents actually come on. If I want the lower vents as the only ones on, leave, and come back to the car and it was on auto, the defrosters and the upper vents may be on for no particular reason. Maybe it’s shooting air to places it thinks it needs it but I just want my vents where I set them and the auto to work based on the temperature that I select. I don’t want the truck to tell me what vents I should have open or closed.

 

[sgtpeper]

My biggest issue is adjusting the temp while driving - the screen isn't always very accurate so I have to take my eyes off the road to make sure the temp actually changed - plus it's so low on the screen.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Yeah I agree the putting down heat for 5 min then having it blow cold air immediately after is stupid. If ambient temp is colder than the setting use the vent function. Plus if we have automatic vents why can't the setting oscillate or otherwise move to cool or heat the truck faster at the beginning.

Everyone asks why rivian used the power vents and right now they aren't being used for anything. Make it a feature.

 

[R1Thor]

I'd like to see absolutely nothing change with respect to the HVAC.

I just leave it on Auto and it works great 99.9% of the time.

I did the same with my last 2 vehicles--found a temperature I was happy with and left it on auto. If it was warm outside, it'd cool the cabin. If it was cool outside, it heat it up. If it was pretty close to ambient, the fan automatically drops down to the lowest speed.

I don't understand the level of ongoing complaining in these forums. You guys do realize any changes they make FOR YOU are going to inconvenience those of us who are perfectly happy, right? Then we'll be pissed off and moaning until they change it back.

When you bought a car 10 years ago, you got what you got and you dealt with the dynamics of its systems or you got another car.

It's like you NEED to find SOMETHING to complain about!

 

[PBRAZ]

I have several challenges with the Rivian AC system I'd like to give feedback on, but the most frustrating to my wife and I is the climate controls:

1. In any old school car, you twist the fan nob and it's blasting. You don't have to look away from the road. In the Rivian you click the screen, look for the speed area, look for the + button, click it several times. Meanwhile, your eyes have been off the road reading a screen for far too long
Fix: When the right steering controls are not active, make them control the AC either automatically or by setting. Spinner for temp and left/right for fan speed

2. Instead of just having Pet Mode (I have no pet I would drive around), change it to:
a. Be Right Back Mode - Keep car cool (or warm), keep the radio on in the same spot, don't lock the doors, etc...
-- this is the family in the car and oops forgot my jacket scenario

b. Use logic... when the car is 119 degrees and from the app I put it to 62, put the AC on HIGH not trickle out
-- even better is the Be Right Back button on the app
And don't make me pick a temp... just logically set the car to comfortable temp as quickly as possible (settings or common sense)

c. Use AI... the car is 47 degrees on a Monday at 6:45am. Over the past 19 of 22 days we have driven the car at approx 7:30am. Just get the car ready for driving assuming we are going to drive.
Or
You drive to a shopping center - keep the car comforable for a few hours
* Call this Don't Care About Battery mode if you want but let us opt in and simply keep the car comfortable any time it's likely someone might drive

Anyone else looking for a smarter or easier to use climate system?

We have a list of other feedback I will submit on a separate post, but this one is the one that annoys us most.

Thanks!

a) Rumor is that this functionality is on the horizon. Teslas can do this, correct?

b) If it is hot out and I set climate control to low through the app, my AC will come on pretty strong. Within 4-5 minutes my cabin goes from 100 to 65.

c) I see this as more of a future Alexa capability than a feature directly built in to the car. "I don't care about the battery mode" is going to be a tough sell, unless it is plugged in.

 

[agsogg]

I have several challenges with the Rivian AC system I'd like to give feedback on, but the most frustrating to my wife and I is the climate controls:

1. In any old school car, you twist the fan nob and it's blasting. You don't have to look away from the road. In the Rivian you click the screen, look for the speed area, look for the + button, click it several times. Meanwhile, your eyes have been off the road reading a screen for far too long
Fix: When the right steering controls are not active, make them control the AC either automatically or by setting. Spinner for temp and left/right for fan speed

2. Instead of just having Pet Mode (I have no pet I would drive around), change it to:
a. Be Right Back Mode - Keep car cool (or warm), keep the radio on in the same spot, don't lock the doors, etc...
-- this is the family in the car and oops forgot my jacket scenario

b. Use logic... when the car is 119 degrees and from the app I put it to 62, put the AC on HIGH not trickle out
-- even better is the Be Right Back button on the app
And don't make me pick a temp... just logically set the car to comfortable temp as quickly as possible (settings or common sense)

c. Use AI... the car is 47 degrees on a Monday at 6:45am. Over the past 19 of 22 days we have driven the car at approx 7:30am. Just get the car ready for driving assuming we are going to drive.
Or
You drive to a shopping center - keep the car comforable for a few hours
* Call this Don't Care About Battery mode if you want but let us opt in and simply keep the car comfortable any time it's likely someone might drive

Anyone else looking for a smarter or easier to use climate system?

We have a list of other feedback I will submit on a separate post, but this one is the one that annoys us most.

Thanks!

Alexa can adjust the fan and temperature. She cannot, to my knowledge, move the vents.

 

[CommonSense]

1) Another vote that the too many of the HVAC controls are buried too many layers into the touchscreen.
2) There does not seem any rhyme or reason as to which settings go with the driver vs. are driver-independent.
3) The steering wheel heater does not appear to have its own thermostat.

#1 + #2 + #3 combined into a panicked call from my wife while she was driving and the steering wheel was getting too hot to touch and she couldn't figure out where the off switch was located (I had used the heater in an early morning run). (because ever other car we have had has a physical switch on the back of the steering wheel to turn on / off the steering wheel heat).

On #2 - I'm so tired of getting my wife's audio settings when I'm driving... Why are the presets not linked to the driver, like every other vehicle I've ever had?

 

[corndog]

Seems everyone wants something different.
I'm perfectly happy with the way it works. Lord forgive us if we have to push a couple buttons to get what we want.
Figure it out.

 

[tplociniak]

My biggest complaint is how poor the vehicle meets and maintains temperature in auto mode. By far the worst vehicle auto climate control I’ve had over the last 20 years. Over a 2 hour trip I took screenshots of the cabin temp in the app every 15 minutes or so vs the climate setting. Having the auto climate control set to 70* maintained between 63* and 66* in the app for the entire ride. I’m not sure where the temp sensor is that the climate control is using but I have a feeling this placement is one of the main issues. I’m also curious if the temp sensor the app uses for cabin temperature is different than the climate control temp sensor, I think they must be. My guess is the climate sensor is within the main screen area and the heat from the electronics threw off the cabin temp that we feel. If they have another sensor in the cabin the app is using, utilizing both of these in the programming could possibly greatly improve actual comfort in there

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