Google Maps on Rivian is not on par with other platforms

[portdirect]

No need. It happened to me for just one day, a week after delivery, while parked and long before Rivian switched to Google from Mapbox. Those with CarPlay obsessions have all sorts of excuses. That platform isn’t flawless either.

Whats CarPlay got to do with this? Not getting a good GPS lock is usually a ublox (99.983% of mfrs use them - and yes this statistic is made up) issue rather than anything to do with the OS and other apps running in the infotainment system(s).

One thing that this thread brings up thats a bit annoying is how rivian gatekeeper charger networks - there's a couple of fast chargers round us - that show up in the map on the rivian infotainment screen, we can click them and see how many stalls are free etc - but *cannot* route to them, as they are not one of the networks Rivian has syndicated with.

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[VandalSibs]

Whats CarPlay got to do with this? Not getting a good GPS lock is usually a ublox (99.983% of mfrs use them - and yes this statistic is made up) issue rather than anything to do with the OS and other apps running in the infotainment system(s).

One thing that this thread brings up thats a bit annoying is how rivian gatekeeper charger networks - there's a couple of fast chargers round us - that show up in the map on the rivian infotainment screen, we can click them and see how many stalls are free etc - but *cannot* route to them, as they are not one of the networks Rivian has syndicated with.

That's weird..... can you pass along one of them? I'd like to test this.

 

[portdirect]

That's weird..... can you pass along one of them? I'd like to test this.

lol - and it’s not working at all in the latest update, looks like it’s only showing details for syndicated networks now

heres a screen capture I got of one instance previously in November, showing Rivian have the data, just that they choose not to share it:

edit: oh - it now shows up if you map *to* the charger. Try searching for ‘blink charging station, 12101 Manchester road, mo, 63131’ and you can see the available stalls etc (though it’s now showing 4 rather than the 2 actually there). previously they used to show up if you zoomed in close enough, now you need to actually know where they are in advance… Where this gets annoying is that in southern MO there's a lot of chargers that Rivian wont use, even though they have the data - meaning that you need to resort to using ABRP for route planning (which is owned by rivian, and the source of data they use....)

 

[VandalSibs]

lol - and it’s not working at all in the latest update, looks like it’s only showing details for syndicated networks now

heres a screen capture I got of one instance previously in November, showing Rivian have the data, just that they choose not to share it:

edit: oh - it now shows up if you map *to* the charger. Try searching for ‘blink charging station, 12101 Manchester road, mo, 63131’ and you can see the available stalls etc (though it’s now showing 4 rather than the 2 actually there). previously they used to show up if you zoomed in close enough, now you need to actually know where they are in advance… Where this gets annoying is that in southern MO there's a lot of chargers that Rivian wont use, even though they have the data - meaning that you need to resort to using ABRP for route planning (which is owned by rivian, and the source of data they use....)

Interesting....

I wonder if they only want to include chargers that are run by the networks that own them, and not the funky pseudo-fast chargers that are purchased by a business from places like ChargePoint or Blink, or Flo?

Out of curiosity, have you submitted feedback via the app regarding this?

 

[portdirect]

Interesting....

I wonder if they only want to include chargers that are run by the networks that own them, and not the funky pseudo-fast chargers that are purchased by a business from places like ChargePoint or Blink, or Flo?

Out of curiosity, have you submitted feedback via the app regarding this?

yes - which was the void. Its not an access issue, or limiting to network-owned chargers - Rivian will gladly guide me to EVgo chargers that are in car dealership yards and behind locked gates etc.

Speaking to some other folks about this - it looks like rivian 'grandfathered' in some networks (EA etc) and provide Tesla 'for free' (good luck getting Elon to pay) - but want to get royalties for promoting other networks - eg a commercial agreement was reached for Ionna to get added with its own button etc: as it is a 'lead generator' for the network... On one level it makes sense, but on another and as a connect+ subscriber I wish they didn't nickel and dime everything under the sun where they can.

 

[babock]

I have a 2024 GMC Denali and I really don't notice a difference. Both are Google maps.

 

[booker]

you can share directions from your GM on your phone to your Rivian. Google integration will be much better in future updates when the Rivian assistant is pushed out.

Thanks. Sharing to the Rivian is a cool feature. Unfortunately, it does not help with routes as the shared directions just sets the start and end locations - the Rivian then routes the drive itself with the same options as one would get from entering the destination manually from the car.

 

[hammick]

They all have their quirks. Our '26 Sierra EV keeps showing a destination I went to 9 months ago every time I get close to that destination. I'll never need to go there again so it's annoying. I cleared it in my Google account and it reappeared. Apparently it's stuck in the car's system and re-syncs with Google. Our R1S doesn't do that. Good thing I didn't go the rub and tug

 

[theonetruestripes]

ChargePoint or Blink, or Flo?

Rivian has definitely routed me to Flo and ChargePoint, and maybe to Blink. The Flo at Ben&Jerry’s, I forget where the ChargePoint was. Blink I might be hallucinating.

It is possible it doesn’t route you to low rated chargers, and declines to tell you “that one is crap, don’t go” so partners don’t get all huffy and pull data or retaliate in other ways?

Speaking to some other folks about this - it looks like rivian 'grandfathered' in some networks (EA etc) and provide Tesla 'for free' (good luck getting Elon to pay) - but want to get royalties for promoting other networks - eg a commercial agreement was reached for Ionna to get added with its own button etc: as it is a 'lead generator' for the network... On one level it makes sense,

That is how most businesses work. The party that needs the other the most gets to pay or at least offer something for free. Rivian needs to have Tesla’s Superchargers in order to offer good routes most places, so they can’t charge Tesla for that, they might be able to get it “for free” since Rivian’s customers will pay for the power consumed at Tesla’s rates which one assumes are set to make a profit at this point.

Blink isn’t a huge network, and has lots of unreliable chargers (at least around here), so having it isn’t something Rivian needs, it is a little nice because some routes are easier with some of the few good Blink charge sites, so Rivian could charge Blink and if Blink won’t pay it won’t hurt Rivian.

That is how Internet peering agreements work as well. It is a little odder there because an imbalance in the direction of traffic can make a difference, or merely the total amount of traffic. It use to be that cable companies use to pay backbone companies dearly to peer with them because it made a huge difference if Comcast didn’t get good peering to the backbone Comcast’s customers felt like “the internet is slow” and they canceled, maybe went back to dialup or explored other options. Now Comcast has sooooo many “eyeballs” that they can sometimes manage to get good peering from the backbones cheap/free because “Netflix will be unhappy if they pay all that money for a OC196 with you and they can’t reach all our customers..."

 

[mkg3]

I liked the old/original map better. I would switch back if I could...

 

[mpshizzle]

[***Note*** Not to be confused, Android Automotive OS is different from Android Auto. Android Automative OS is built into the Volvo and acts as the native OS in the car whereas Android Auto is more like Car Play for Android Phones]

Fun fact. Rivian's infotainment is actually also Android Automotive. It's just a much more highly customized version of it than Volvo/GM. implementations.

The reason the routing isn't the same as your phone is because it's a combination of Google AND Rivian algorithms taking into account travel time, efficiency, current vehicle state of charge, charging stops and reliability scores, etc

That said, for local routes that do not require charging I agree, it would be nice to see alternate route options.

 

[HaveBlue]

The Rivian station rating system is super helpful. It was always frustrating not knowing if chargers were available, working and how much.

 

[hudesigns]

My biggest issue with Google Map in Rivian is that it’s not synced with Google Map in my phone where all my contacts addresses, bookmarks, vacation spots reside. In my phone I can say “navigate to Tom’s home”or “drive to my secret bike path”

All these info you saved over the years are not synced with Rivian. It’s like getting an email account but you can only read or send emails in your car, not synced to your phone or laptops. That’s not any good. It’s year of 2026 and we’re about to enter age of autonomy, but some implementations in infotainment feel like they’re stuck in the 90s.

 

[theonetruestripes]

In my phone I can say “navigate to Tom’s home”or “drive to my secret bike path”

On my iPhone I can send maps addresses to the Rivian (from Apple Maps or Google Maps), can you not do that from Android?

 

[COdogman]

I like Google Maps compared to the old one, but none of these platforms are perfect. The current system cannot find my partner’s house for some reason, which is in a 20 year old neighborhood. It directs me to the next street over

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