Software Update 2023.50 -- Scheduled battery preconditioning & other useful improvements!

[Sgt Beavis]

Some VERY nice usability improvements.
Improved throttle control, in Reverse, is one of the smaller things I’ll appreciate. I always end up having to tap the accelerator when backing the last few inches into my garage. Not a big deal but also. nice bit of attention paid to a small detail.

It seems that 2023 updates have all been about improving functionality. There have certainly been some big wins in that regard. The UI is VASTLY improved. The drive mode screen is incredibly useful. PaaS actually works really well (for me at least). Lots of little things have gotten better too. I’m hoping the trend continues in 2024 but I would really like to see some feature added on as well. We’ve all be clamoring for Youtube, Netflix, or some other entertainment while charging. A better navigation option would be appreciated as well (whether it be CarPlay or just adding Google Maps).

How about adding Disney+. That would be a really fun dig at Elon ?

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[Mjl]

People are so impatient. They told us, Q1 2024 was their goal. Hold tight.

What blows my mind about these requests... we are witnessing a HUGE update to actual vehicle livability and functionality but somehow streaming videos is the more important. I genuinely don't understand.

Not to mention they probably already have this feature complete but are waiting on people to start paying for premium LTE service. I doubt rivian wants to foot the bill for these data intense apps.

Anyway, this preconditioning is huge for me. I have a trip that's ~250 miles and setting off with the batteries warm really helps get the most out of range in cold weather.

 

[Redline]

What blows my mind about these requests... we are witnessing a HUGE update to actual vehicle livability and functionality but somehow streaming videos is the more important. I genuinely don't understand.

Not to mention they probably already have this feature complete but are waiting on people to start paying for premium LTE service. I doubt rivian wants to foot the bill for these data intense apps.

Anyway, this preconditioning is huge for me. I have a trip that's ~250 miles and setting off with the batteries warm really helps get the most out of range in cold weather.

This group is EXTREMELY entitled.

 

[Dark-Fx]

This group is EXTREMELY entitled.

Mouths full of silver spoons

 

[SDH]

I've noticed sometimes at low speed and full lock turn the wheels seem like they may not be optimally synchronized and one is pulling a bit harder, creating a slight "lurching" sensation. If you have accidentally had an ICE with true 4WD (not AWD) engaged on pavement and turned tight, you know what i mean.

Exactly this. Does it with my Jeep at slow speeds doing a full lock turn after I’ve put it into 4H. I noticed it straight away with the Rivian but just assumed it was a QM thing. Nice to see them address it.

 

[cjbot3000]

Additionally, for consistent drive performance, you can now keep your vehicle plugged in to maintain optimal battery pack condition without impacting range.

Erm, that note about time-of-use regarding this feature worries me. Is this automatic or optional? I don't really want to wake up at 5-something-am to unplug just in case it decides to maintain during peak hours

That's a $90 mistake for me if it decides to charge outside of my schedule...

I hope this is only part of the "scheduled drive" functionally that I don't need to use, currently.

 

[Trandall]

One thing to keep in mind is that preconditioning the cabin for 5 minutes doesn't use much power but letting the 1000#+battery precondition from 40 degrees to 65 will take a substantial amount of power so I would caution to use it sparingly if you wish to avoid surprise utility bills.
My truck seems to already employ some amount of battery conditioning when its cold outside. When leaving at 6AM for work with ambient temperatures in the 20 F range my battery will sometimes be as high as 65F even without waking or preconditioning the cabin.

 

[R1Tom]

One thing to keep in mind is that preconditioning the cabin for 5 minutes doesn't use much power but letting the 1000#+battery precondition from 40 degrees to 65 will take a substantial amount of power so I would caution to use it sparingly if you wish to avoid surprise utility bills.
My truck seems to already employ some amount of battery conditioning when its cold outside. When leaving at 6AM for work with ambient temperatures in the 20 F range my battery will sometimes be as high as 65F even without waking or preconditioning the cabin.

I seem to have noticed this too but haven't been able to determine if it is just residual heat from the overnight charging session or if it was intentionally heating the battery pack?

 

[DRIVIAN]

I can't figure out if this is real or if I'm dreaming.

Too much of what I wanted for it to be real.

So I'm going to assume I'm dreaming.

If this was a dream it'd have Android Auto. It does have everything else on my list though. Very excited for scheduled preconditioning!

 

[Trandall]

I seem to have noticed this too but haven't been able to determine if it is just residual heat from the overnight charging session or if it was intentionally heating the battery pack?

Me neither although I suspect the latter. I typically plug in nightly around 9PM which should end my charge around 1AM so it's hard to believe such a charge session would generate that much residual heat unless we've stumbled upon a system that outputs more total energy than inputs in which case we just solved a good portion of humanities problems!

 

[NY_Rob]

"Improved throttle control when in Reverse "

That's great to hear because backing up to a trailer coupler and going just "half an inch more" is very difficult the way the throttle is mapped currently.

You said difficult, but you meant terrifying right?

Exactly.. I already dented my Lic plate with the trailer coupler. I'm super careful backing up on to the coupler now, my wife is usually the guide when hooking up the boat and she asks me why it takes so long with the Rivian vs her Honda Pilot.

As an old manual transmission driver, I know reverse gear on manual transmissions are generally near the same low gear ratio as 1st gear which gives you very fine vehicle control in reverse, and even automatic trannys have lots of slip at low throttle levels so again, fine control in reverse. But, none of that gearing down effect in reverse for EV's (because there are no higher or lower gears) so they need to remap the reverse throttle response so it takes a lot more pedal movement to increase power to the motors vs that same pedal travel in Drive. Hopefully Rivian gets this right to make backing up that last inch a bit less stressful.

 

[SSteveEV]

Exactly.. I already dented my Lic plate with the trailer coupler. I'm super careful backing up on to the coupler now, my wife is the guide and she asks me why it takes so long with the Rivian vs her Honda Pilot.
As an old manual transmission driver, I know reverse gear on manual transmissions are generally near the same low gear ratio as 1st gear which gives you very fine vehicle control in reverse, and even automatic trannys have lots of slip at low throttle levels so again, fine control in reverse. But, none of that gearing down effect in reverse for EV's (because there are no higher or lower gears) so they need to remap the reverse throttle response so it takes a lot more pedal movement to increase power to the motors vs that same pedal travel in Drive. Hopefully Rivian gets this right to make backing up that last inch a bit less stressful.

Agreed. I would have understood Alan Ruck's accident better if he had been in reverse.

 

[shimps1]

Will be interested to see, once this releases, what the "break even" is for pre-conditioning. Meaning, how far do you have to drive at higher efficiency, before it saves enough energy to overcome the amount used to pre-condition. Lots of factors (ambient temp, etc) , but my guess is probably close to 30+ miles.

 

[teartags]

I'm going to be real interested to see how the pre-conditioning works. I have been timing my charging to end as I leave in the morning when it's chilly (20's - 40's) and my battery temps have generally been in the 60-70' s and as high as the 80's. Regardless, my efficiency (according to the graph) stays in the grey (below 2.0) until about 15-20 mins into the drive when the motor temps hit 95 or more. Standard Dual motor

 

[bmedfo1]

Helpfully the schedule will use charging to precondition the battery. I set my charge % to 70% overnight, when I wake up I bump it to 80% and then about an hour later when I leave for work the Batt is a nice warm 65. This wastes no power. even if its coming from the wall why charge all the way up to the desired % then let it cool down just to use more energy to heat it back up if you know when you are leaving it should just wait to do the last 10% charging. obviously this would not work for anyone who is almost running out of range daily and might leave before schedule.

On the improved low speed maneuverability. I want to know what it is they are changing.

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