2022 Gen1 R1T. Winter range/efficiency. How do I fix it?

[Stainer85]

I've had my truck for three NJ winters, and the range seems to have worsened, but only during the cold season. I typically average between 2.3 - 2.4 mi/kWh in the spring, summer, and fall. Come winter, my average efficiency drops to between 1.85 - 1.9 mi/kWh. On the low end, that's a 19.57% drop in efficiency. I could accept around 10%, but an almost 20% hit is excessive. Same driver, in the same conditions, same travels, with the same tires for the first two winters (stock Pirelli), and I now have Michelin Defenders, which I get slightly better efficiency than I did with the Pirelli tires. This is all on the stock 21” wheel/tires, except the last 7k miles since changing to the Michelin Defenders. The truck has over 43k miles now—95% of driving done in All-Purpose mode.

I precondition/schedule climate settings ahead of my travels and sometimes manually through the app, turn on climate settings, and keep my truck plugged in so I can charge it about a half hour before driving it. My battery temperature is typically between 40* to 45* without charging and can reach mid_50* to about 60*, with the latter resulting in better efficiency but nowhere near normal ranges. Scheduled climate settings and charging a while before my drives seem to get the battery temps up in the higher end of the range.

So, as far as I can tell, I'm doing what I should to get a “normal” winter range, but I’m not getting it.

Am I missing something? What do I need to do to get better range? I brought this to the attention of the Service Center last winter, and they told me they tested the truck, and everything seems normal.

I know there has been debate as to whether charging at home on a level two charger sends enough power to the truck to affect the battery temperatures, so for anyone out there who is knowledgeable in that regard, my Rivian charger is on a 60-amp circuit, delivering 48 A to the truck.

Thanks in advance for any insight you all might be able to share.

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[Alanparkcity]

I've had my truck for three NJ winters, and the range seems to have worsened, but only during the cold season. I typically average between 2.3 - 2.4 mi/kWh in the spring, summer, and fall. Come winter, my average efficiency drops to between 1.85 - 1.9 mi/kWh. On the low end, that's a 19.57% drop in efficiency. I could accept around 10%, but an almost 20% hit is excessive. Same driver, in the same conditions, same travels, with the same tires for the first two winters (stock Pirelli), and I now have Michelin Defenders, which I get slightly better efficiency than I did with the Pirelli tires. This is all on the stock 21” wheel/tires, except the last 7k miles since changing to the Michelin Defenders. The truck has over 43k miles now—95% of driving done in All-Purpose mode.

I precondition/schedule climate settings ahead of my travels and sometimes manually through the app, turn on climate settings, and keep my truck plugged in so I can charge it about a half hour before driving it. My battery temperature is typically between 40* to 45* without charging and can reach mid_50* to about 60*, with the latter resulting in better efficiency but nowhere near normal ranges. Scheduled climate settings and charging a while before my drives seem to get the battery temps up in the higher end of the range.

So, as far as I can tell, I'm doing what I should to get a “normal” winter range, but I’m not getting it.

Am I missing something? What do I need to do to get better range? I brought this to the attention of the Service Center last winter, and they told me they tested the truck, and everything seems normal.

I know there has been debate as to whether charging at home on a level two charger sends enough power to the truck to affect the battery temperatures, so for anyone out there who is knowledgeable in that regard, my Rivian charger is on a 60-amp circuit, delivering 48 A to the truck.

Thanks in advance for any insight you all might be able to share.

I live in a cold climate and do the same things you do. My range drops 25%-30% in the winter.

 

[DayTripping]

I don't think your efficiency drops are out of line. Many have seen worse. What are your cabin temps set at?

Cold air is denser so at highway speeds that will also be more work to push the car through the air.

 

[Stainer85]

I don't think your efficiency drops are out of line. Many have seen worse. What are your cabin temps set at?

Cold air is denser so at highway speeds that will also be more work to push the car through the air.

Typically between 68-70*.

 

[sherold]

Your numbers seem absolutely normal to be honest. Take a look at this thread to see what you can do to sway things back in the direction you'd like.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...for-driving-in-extreme-cold.36724/post-669651

 

[DayTripping]

It seems like you are doing all the right things. How long is your commute? Is it mostly short runs? I get 1.5-1.6mpk for my first mile or so when warm and I've seen 1.1 mpk when cold for the first mile or two.

It all seem pretty normal. My Teslas take a similar hit when we have cold weather in Texas and they have heat pumps too.

 

[Riviot]

WITHIN SPEC

 

[Erik+]

Move to a year round warmer climate?

 

[Stainer85]

Interesting, I assumed there was something I'm missing.

I'm familiar with that post, but I hoped there was something else I could do, like maybe charging at a DCFC for the last 10% to get the battery temp up before heading out on a longer trip. But now that I think about it, my motors (Quad - I should have mentioned that before) don’t seem to get above 110 degrees Fahrenheit, regardless of what I do ahead of driving it, or what type of driving I'm doing.

Thanks for your help!

Your numbers seem absolutely normal to be honest. Take a look at this thread to see what you can do to sway things back in the direction you'd like.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...for-driving-in-extreme-cold.36724/post-669651

 

[Stainer85]

The commute to my office is about 26 miles. The first 7 miles are local roads at less than 50mph, then the highway for about 15 miles, which I almost always set the cruise to 70 mph (lately I've been backing that down to 68 mph to see if there is a positive impact on the range), then the remaining 4 miles at an average of 40 mph.

In over 43k miles of driving, I've only needed more than the full range twice, so it's typically not an issue, but I have a longer trip planned and since it's during the winter, figured I would make sure I'm not leaving range on the table.

Thanks for your replies!

It seems like you are doing all the right things. How long is your commute? Is it mostly short runs? I get 1.5-1.6mpk for my first mile or so when warm and I've seen 1.1 mpk when cold for the first mile or two.

It all seem pretty normal. My Teslas take a similar hit when we have cold weather in Texas and they have heat pumps too.

 

[Stainer85]

Very helpful. That’s exactly the feedback I was looking for.

Move to a year round warmer climate?

 

[DB-EV]

I've had my truck for three NJ winters, and the range seems to have worsened, but only during the cold season. I typically average between 2.3 - 2.4 mi/kWh in the spring, summer, and fall. Come winter, my average efficiency drops to between 1.85 - 1.9 mi/kWh. On the low end, that's a 19.57% drop in efficiency. I could accept around 10%, but an almost 20% hit is excessive. Same driver, in the same conditions, same travels, with the same tires for the first two winters (stock Pirelli), and I now have Michelin Defenders, which I get slightly better efficiency than I did with the Pirelli tires. This is all on the stock 21” wheel/tires, except the last 7k miles since changing to the Michelin Defenders. The truck has over 43k miles now—95% of driving done in All-Purpose mode.

I precondition/schedule climate settings ahead of my travels and sometimes manually through the app, turn on climate settings, and keep my truck plugged in so I can charge it about a half hour before driving it. My battery temperature is typically between 40* to 45* without charging and can reach mid_50* to about 60*, with the latter resulting in better efficiency but nowhere near normal ranges. Scheduled climate settings and charging a while before my drives seem to get the battery temps up in the higher end of the range.

So, as far as I can tell, I'm doing what I should to get a “normal” winter range, but I’m not getting it.

Am I missing something? What do I need to do to get better range? I brought this to the attention of the Service Center last winter, and they told me they tested the truck, and everything seems normal.

I know there has been debate as to whether charging at home on a level two charger sends enough power to the truck to affect the battery temperatures, so for anyone out there who is knowledgeable in that regard, my Rivian charger is on a 60-amp circuit, delivering 48 A to the truck.

Thanks in advance for any insight you all might be able to share.

Hi - Similar - on long island. On shorter trips (less than 20 minutes) my efficiency takes a big, big hit. In winter trips on 20 AT, when I precondition and charge the vehicle before departing, I am only losing 7-10 percent (say over 100 miles). I think this is just what you are going to get.

Spring Summer Fall I usually beat EPA on longer trips. Shorter trips are probably about on. Good luck.

 

[Rural1T]

Worth noting: "driving efficiency" and "overall efficiency" are two different things.

The trip meter records overall efficiency, total miles traveled ÷ total kWh used. So, the trip meter reflects all the energy used while the vehicle is parked maintaining the battery and preconditioning the cabin, etc. If you reset the trip meter prior to driving, you'll find that your driving efficiency is much better than your overall efficiency, provided the battery is warm, the cabin is preconditioned, and tire pressures are good.

In my Gen 1 R1T, during the winter depending on temperatures, my overall efficiency is reduced by 20-25% but my driving efficiency (and thus range) is only 5-10% lower than it is in warmer weather.

 

[SamDoe1]

Mine is the same, keep driving it as this is normal. Mine will do a similar 2.1-2.2 mi/kwh in the summer but probably 1.8ish in the winter time. When it's cold like today at -4F when I went to work, I was down around 1.6-1.7.

Charging will heat up the battery naturally so you'll see better performance right after a charge.

 

[Riviot]

The commute to my office is about 26 miles. The first 7 miles are local roads at less than 50mph, then the highway for about 15 miles, which I almost always set the cruise to 70 mph (lately I've been backing that down to 68 mph to see if there is a positive impact on the range), then the remaining 4 miles at an average of 40 mph.

In over 43k miles of driving, I've only needed more than the full range twice, so it's typically not an issue, but I have a longer trip planned and since it's during the winter, figured I would make sure I'm not leaving range on the table.

Thanks for your replies!

This is almost identical to my commute in Washington State. 58k miles on a Gen1 Quad R1T. Granted I swap from AS to AT in winter, I see a similar drop. I reset trip meter A every morning and what I notice is battery temps 60°F or below result in sub-2mpk with nightly charging to 70%.

I tried bumping it up to 80%, and guess what, the battery got warmer! 70°F+ battery and my MPK was 2.1-2.2 range! I've since lowered to 75% and battery usually is at 70°F when I'm ready to roll (charging ends at 7am when higher TOU rate starts, I leave between 8-830am depending on traffic).

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