L2 charger down to 2.7kwh at 24F.. Should I be worried?

[COMtnEV]

Seeing the same thing post update. Drop to Rivian 7.3kW at 81%, 3.6kW at 88%. Have included a data table from my previous 3 charging sessions. First one is prior to 51.31 update, battery starting <50F w ambient temps >50F. Second is prior to update, battery starting >50F but ambient temps <40F and falling. 3rd is after update w battery and ambient temps <50F. Have been adding data categories I'm tracking, as I see discrepencies between what my charger, the Rivian app, and ABRP are reporting for power, and a 3-5F difference between what the truck and ABRP report for battery temp.

Does anyone else see this discrepancy between the temperature the truck reports and what ABRP reports?

The biggest differences I'm seeing are:
1 - When the charge session started, the Rivian app and charger power were the same. Previously, Rivian has always been 0.3-0.4kW lower.
2 - That power "discrepency" between Rivian app and charger reappeared when the charge rate dropped.
3 - The power discrepancy between Rivian app and ABRP has increased to almost 1kW at peak charging rate (used to be consisten 0.4kW). That 0.4kW difference returned when charge rate dropped.
4 - With an ambient temperature of 18F this AM and the truck sitting overnight with a starting battery temp of 49F (Rivian), the 41F battery temp was surprising. Over the previous two months, typical temperature different between ambient and battery in the morning is 10-15F. Even when temps were subzero. Not 23F. Will see if the battery drain issue I've been seeing (inconsistent, but up to 3kW/day w temps 10 to 30F and up to 35kW/day with temps -10 to -20F) gets even worse going forward. At least we're two months closer to spring, so Rivian can pretend these issues have gone away until next winter.

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[MarkNorman]

@COMtnEV This is really great data, thanks for doing that! I wonder why Rivian is reluctant to have the truck condition the battery to optimize L2 charging in cold weather. I really think that is all it’d take but it’s probably not that simple.

 

[COMtnEV]

I was monitoring things fairly closely, and got excited at 78% SoC. If you look at the data, the battery temp barely budged for almost 2 hours as it charged at max rate. At 78%, temp was 47.2F ABRP. Then it started to ramp fast enough that I noticed it immediately, climbing 1F in 30 minutes. I thought "yeah, they fixed it, they have the battery heating as it comes up to 80% to solve this stupid problem, we're going to push past the magic 50F ceiling". Only to see the charge rate drop and temperature plateau (warmed less than 1F over the next 2 hours until I gave up at noon). So I don't know if they actually tried to solve it but screwed it up, or if this was just an aberration. I also don't understand why difference in power readings. And why the data the truck provides is different than the data from ABRP, without a constant delta, and what this means for the reliability of the data coming from the truck since Rivian owns ABRP. But I need to get reproducible data before I spend too much time wondering.

 

[portdirect]

This will not be getting fixed; it's normal operation for the gen2 architecture. I'm afraid you are going to need to have 'trust me bro' as the source for this.

I would never have got a gen2 had I known this - it's a killer right when you actually need the full capacity.

 

[hobbyjogger71]

This will not be getting fixed; it's normal operation for the gen2 architecture. I'm afraid you are going to need to have 'trust me bro' as the source for this.

I would never have got a gen2 had I known this - it's a killer right when you actually need the full capacity.

Is this from an inside source? Very disappointed if so.

 

[Chi_Guy]

This will not be getting fixed; it's normal operation for the gen2 architecture. I'm afraid you are going to need to have 'trust me bro' as the source for this.

I would never have got a gen2 had I known this - it's a killer right when you actually need the full capacity.

The workaround of setting nav destination to a DCFC (to preheat the battery to ~50° F) works ok if you are driving just before starting a full charge. If your car is parked and cold is there any workaround that preheats the battery? (Short of sitting in the Rivian, shifted into drive, with navigation set to a DCFC?)

Even if the step-down charging is “normal operation” a software solution of adding a battery preheat button would be desirable. If Rivian is aware of this problem I’ve got to imagine they’ll do something eventually to address it. Right?

 

[portdirect]

The workaround of setting nav destination to a DCFC (to preheat the battery to ~50° F) works ok if you are driving just before starting a full charge. If your car is parked and cold is there any workaround that preheats the battery? (Short of sitting in the Rivian, shifted into drive, with navigation set to a DCFC?)

The issue with even using DC charging preconditioning is that it heats the battery before charging - depending on conditions it will cool during charging. So for example, if you DC Precondition prior to starting a charge at 10% SoC, by the time it's got to 80% SoC at 48A the battery temp may have dropped to bellow 50f depending on ambient temps.

Even if the step-down charging is “normal operation” a software solution of adding a battery preheat button would be desirable. If Rivian is aware of this problem I’ve got to imagine they’ll do something eventually to address it. Right?

I doubt it - it's not a case of not having the appetite.

 

[OYLman]

This will not be getting fixed; it's normal operation for the gen2 architecture. I'm afraid you are going to need to have 'trust me bro' as the source for this.

I would never have got a gen2 had I known this - it's a killer right when you actually need the full capacity.

If this is normal operation, why did no one in the service center seem to know that? Seems like they should be up front in any sales material that this is the case because it's unlike any other electric car I've owned or have heard of. Smells like a class action lawsuit waiting to happen.

 

[mkhuffman]

The issue with even using DC charging preconditioning is that it heats the battery before charging - depending on conditions it will cool during charging. So for example, if you DC Precondition prior to starting a charge at 10% SoC, by the time it's got to 80% SoC at 48A the battery temp may have dropped to bellow 50f depending on ambient temps.



I doubt it - it's not a case of not having the appetite.

I was on the verge of going forward with a R1T Tri Max purchase, under the assumption they are going to fix the L2 charging speed issue. If they are not going to fix it, I am not going to get one. That is how important this issue is to me, and it isn't something anyone would know unless they read this forum. So thank you for sharing.

I would be beyond pissed off if my brand new T had this issue with no plans to fix it. It is unacceptable. And I will now wait for the Lucid Gravity instead. Damn. I was really getting excited about the T. I freaking love that Storm Blue color.

 

[COMtnEV]

Is this from an inside source? Very disappointed if so.

If this is normal operation, why did no one in the service center seem to know that? Seems like they should be up front in any sales material that this is the case because it's unlike any other electric car I've owned or have heard of. Smells like a class action lawsuit waiting to happen.

I agree - if this is "standard" for the Gen2 architecture, it is the basis of a class action lawsuit that at the very least, will severely impact Rivian's reputation. The failure to address it in a timely manner could be the basis for a class action lawsuit - it has certainly impacted my ability to use my R1T as planned, and has completely negated the reason I waited for a Max Pack. It's like selling someone an ICE vehicle and not saying that you'll only be able to fill the 20 gallon tank to 16 gallons six months of the year.

This screenshot was just taken from their current online marketing materials. Nowhere is there a disclaimer that says "only during summer months". Or they should have worded it "Barely over 90% charging happens at home. If you're lucky and have lots ot time".

 

[COMtnEV]

Super disappointing. Charging from 20% SoC. Battery steadily warmed up from 43F to 54F at 80% SoC. Hoped for great things. Battery now at 54.7F. But charge rate has exhibited the same step function. Now 3.3kW at 88% SoC. So 50F is not the magic threshhold, at least not for the R1T I have.

 

[windblowlc]

^^Agree! This is the most disappointing thing on the Gen 2. I now have to start the charging much earlier before a trip - the result is the truck would sit at 100% charge level much longer before the start of my trip since there's no easy and accurate way to time the completion to coincide with trip start. What's worse for battery management?!

 

[MarkNorman]

Super disappointing. Charging from 20% SoC. Battery steadily warmed up from 43F to 54F at 80% SoC. Hoped for great things. Battery now at 54.7F. But charge rate has exhibited the same step function. Now 3.3kW at 88% SoC. So 50F is not the magic threshhold, at least not for the R1T I have.

Theory busted, ughh! If you continue on past 88% to 100% on this charge, please update us again afterwards. Are you still seeing the final plunge down to 1-2 Kw at >92% SoC?

As the eternal optimist, I do think they are on the right track and glad to see the battery warming more. What kind of ambient temps was your truck in for this charge?

 

[Glogic]

It was somewhere around 30 and I plugged in at 94%. It hit 10.9 and went down to 93% before dropping to 4.1. it's almost comical at this point, though if my wife finds out I dumped 7k extra for this I'll never hear the the of it

 

[portdirect]

It was somewhere around 30 and I plugged in at 94%. It hit 10.9 and went down to 93% before dropping to 4.1. it's almost comical at this point, though if my wife finds out I dumped 7k extra for this I'll never hear the the of it

The drop you saw in SOC is possibly as the reported capacity of the battery increased as it warmed - I’ve seen this since late last year on both generations when the conditions are just right. Home assistant with the unofficial Rivian integration or another service that reads the rivian API would be able to answer this for sure.

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