How to Precondition the Battery effectively in cold weather Gen 2?

[Jared2]

Ok, I know preconditioning has been talked about in the past, but nothing really regarding Gen 2 which is supposed to have a heat pump to help keep temps regulated (I thought for both battery and climate/comfort).

In northern CT this weekend, temps were in the teens and I saw a dramatic decrease in battery performance (miles/kWh).

Each time I was planning to drive, I would warm up the car (cabin) remotely (sometimes while it was still charging). However, on the longer drive from CT to NYC, where I normally see 2 - 2.5 miles/kWh, when it was 20 degrees out, I was getting between 1.3 - 1.5 miles/kWh.

I did notice that the battery, which started out at around 37 degrees, never really got above 50 degrees...

So is there any way I can ACTUALLY pre-condition the battery to warm up so that I get better performance?

edit: Something else that I didn't mention before is that I had my Christmas tree on the roof, but I doubt it would have made THAT big a difference... some, but 40%?

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[Cycliste]

How big was the tree? Aerodynamics makes a big difference.

 

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

This is outta left field pero/but. In the app plan a trip with your arrival range to 80% or higher, then enter destination "100" miles over your current SOC. Once the route is "set", and preferably one in the path to your actual destination, if a local L3 charger is not selected, do so manually. That should make the battery precondition and heat everything up.

I did this in my G1 QT. I am in Central Mass and drove to VT over the wkend. Though I honestly have not been paying much attention to my range since I swapped my 21" OEM rims w/22s and have not had Izzy recalibrated.

 

[RivAW]

This is outta left field pero/but. In the app plan a trip with your arrival range to 80% or higher, then enter destination "100" miles over your current SOC. Once the route is "set", and preferably one in the path to your actual destination, if a local L3 charger is not selected, do so manually. That should make the battery precondition and heat everything up.

I did this in my G1 QT. I am in Central Mass and drove to VT over the wkend. Though I honestly have not been paying much attention to my range since I swapped my 21" OEM rims w/22s and have not had Izzy recalibrated.

That wouldn’t work…it would only precondition the battery for expected arrival at the charger…

 

[RivAW]

Ok, I know preconditioning has been talked about in the past, but nothing really regarding Gen 2 which is supposed to have a heat pump to help keep temps regulated (I thought for both battery and climate/comfort).

In northern CT this weekend, temps were in the teens and I saw a dramatic decrease in battery performance (miles/kWh).

Each time I was planning to drive, I would warm up the car (cabin) remotely (sometimes while it was still charging). However, on the longer drive from CT to NYC, where I normally see 2 - 2.5 miles/kWh, when it was 20 degrees out, I was getting between 1.3 - 1.5 miles/kWh.

I did notice that the battery, which started out at around 37 degrees, never really got above 50 degrees...

So is there any way I can ACTUALLY pre-condition the battery to warm up so that I get better performance?

edit: Something else that I didn't mention before is that I had my Christmas tree on the roof, but I doubt it would have made THAT big a difference... some, but 40%?

You were likely far more affected by aerodynamics and wind resistance than you were by the battery being cold…..

 

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

That wouldn’t work…it would only precondition the battery for expected arrival at the charger…

If the charger is 20 miles away would it not heat up the battery to 50°+?

So, once the battery is heated it should remain so even after charging for a bit, or not. Yes, no?

 

[Jacopa]

Put it in the garage, that’s the best you can hope for to keep the battery relatively warm. Plan on losing a third of your range in winter. In fact, you’ll probably wipe out any gains in trying to keep the battery warm while you are driving by losing the warmth while driving down the highway cooling it off with the cold air sapping it out of the battery from below. That’s a long big battery hanging down there. Sadly it’s just a fact of EV’s in winter, be content you don’t live somewhere that gets really cold, like MN.
And if you don’t have a garage leave it plugged in while sitting outside. Tesla used to say a happy Tesla is a plugged in Tesla in winter

 

[Osyras]

I just got my Gen2 last week and noticed the lack of precondition. You are not crazy as it does affect the range a lot and I was told that they are expecting it to 'roll out soon' by the SC...so by next winter I would assume...

 

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

Again, I have a G1 QT and do not know if the nav and app for the G2 models differ.

i felt compelled to test what I knew I did over the weekend, knowing my battery and motors were cold, thus not wanting low efficiency as I drove to VT, but did NOT note the numbers. I purposely drove to a local L3 charger. I did not charge, but just wanted to ensure my battery was above 50°, due to what I have read on the internet. Though ironically, not everything one finds on the web is correct..HA!!

To be exact and 100% honest, this. This evening, just now as a test I set a destination of Western Connecticut State University from my casa in Leicester, MA 01524. I had an SOC of ~225 miles and set my arrival range to be 90%. As expected the system set an L3 charger many miles away. I then manually selected an L3 at the Auburn Mall. I started to drive and preconditioning started.

The "battery" was at 46° to start and 54° once at the EA chargers at the Auburn Mall, not even 15 minutos from my casa driving at ~40 mph. As best I can recall once the battery is over 50° the efficiency is stable in my G1 QT. I would suspect a G2 models to do better.

EDIT: No doubt having something on your hood will impact the efficiency. If ensuring you start out with a fair chance, then preconditioning might help.

 

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

That wouldn’t work…it would only precondition the battery for expected arrival at the charger…

I disagree based on a test I noted after seeing your response and making me wonder.

I dare you to do something similar to what I did. But your battery must be under 50°, to be fair, IMO.

 

[Jared2]

EDIT: No doubt having something on your hood will impact the efficiency. If ensuring you start out with a fair chance, then preconditioning might help.

Please don’t put your Christmas tree on your HOOD… or at least not when you’re in the same state as I am!! ?

 

[Jared2]

These are interesting points and ideas… I actually had to have my first service done since owning a Rivian. Traded my Gen1 for a Gen2 at the end of September (my discount was expiring).

This latest update seems to have totally messed up my headlights. Most of the time, only one light works making it a bit dangerous.

they very nicely flat bed’ed it away today and got me an Enterprise rental.

great service… I hope it’s an easy fix… or such a bad problem that they have to trade in my new Gen2 for a Tri ?

 

[FraserC]

Hey experienced Rivnuts, we are still learning the ropes with our R1T Gen 2 and would like to know if our battery can be preconditioned on the driveway, while still charging? I did preheat the cabin this morning but have no idea if this also prompted battery preconditioning... The heat pump was certainly working hard!!

 

[sherold]

Unfortunately, the R1 vehicles (both generations) do not have a feature enabled to specifically precondition the battery. You can precondition the cabin, and schedule cabin conditioning but, the batteries will only precondition once they drop under a certain temperature and the BMS activates the battery heating cycle. We, as owners cannot choose when and how to precondition the battery.

 

[FraserC]

Unfortunately, the R1 vehicles (both generations) do not have a feature enabled to specifically precondition the battery. You can precondition the cabin, and schedule cabin conditioning but, the batteries will only precondition once they drop under a certain temperature and the BMS activates the battery heating cycle. We, as owners cannot choose when and how to precondition the battery.

Thanks for the quick answer Sherold! I do have to wonder though, seems the ability to precondition could increase miles per Kwh significantly especially powered from the charger.. Can other EV's do this?

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