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Mileage Loss in Cold / what’s realistic?

AnninSI

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Agree with the comments already here. I have found that prewarming the battery (and the cabin - which is nice) helps a lot and also check what you are heating. Turn off the "middle" if no passengers, lower temp in front. For me that has made a big difference once temps are anywhere near freezing or below. 20-45% loss of efficiency is commonly reported.
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MTVhike

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I always preheat the cabin in the morning while plugged in, it takes about 10 minutes. There's a setting "hold", which defaults to 2 hours; does that mean that when I start the preheat, it will stay on for 2 hours? BUT, does any of that energy heat the battery? If I left it on longer, would that help? Is there a way to turn it on permanently - i.e. heating the cabin and battery as long as it's plugged in? (It's supposed to go down to -9°F tomorrow night!)
 

Rural1T

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I find battery temperature when starting the drive to be the biggest factor effecting winter driving efficiency.

At battery temps above ~50°F, the winter efficiency hit is minimized. To achieve this battery temp in the winter, I schedule my overnight L2 charging session to complete within 30 min of my planned morning departure time (I also precondition the cabin).

I live in Montana, park outside, and regularly drive in temps between 32°F and -20°F. With a warm battery, I have about a 5% efficiency loss above 10°F, a 10% loss above 0°F, and a 15-20% loss below zero. If the battery is cold, I find that my efficiency hit roughly doubles compared to a warm battery. Preheat your battery!
 

Ilovejunebugs

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I agree, battery temp seems to be the most important factor when it comes to efficiency. When I leave for work in the morning (truck is in a garage, plugged in and preconditioning each morning before i leave) I consistently use between 1-2% to get to work. If it's warm (above 60F or so) I'll use the same to get home. However when cold it'll be double that. This past Monday our high was 3 but it felt much much colder due to high winds. I left the truck unplugged all day to see and it used 3% just heating the cabin for around 30 minutes for my scheduled departure time and another 11% to get home. The battery was 15 degrees, and I had the "range limited by cold" message.

Rivian R1T R1S Mileage Loss in Cold / what’s realistic? Jan 2026 cold truck


Rivian R1T R1S Mileage Loss in Cold / what’s realistic? Jan 2026 cold
 

Weck

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I’ve had my 2025 R1T Dual Max for 10 months. I drive the same route to/from work each day. For most of the time I’ve had the truck the 31 mile trip takes 9-10% or about 40 miles of battery each way. Sometimes less going home as it’s slightly downhill and warmer. I did get updated tires in October. Reviews said they got similar or slightly better mileage. Here in Colorado it’s obviously colder in the winter, though this winter is warmer than usual. Same route I’m getting about 15% and about 60 miles used one way. That’s 50% more battery usage. Temps can range in the 20s to 60s. Some days it may be 13-14%. But it seems like a lot more usage for a regular route that I know the average. Is this pretty typical? I know the cold affects the battery. I’ve had 3 different EVs and so far this one has the most difference in battery drain. Curious on others experience with this. Thanks
I have pretty much the same build as you, 2025 T dual max pack performance with the factory 22s

In the summer, I can make it to my cabin, 2hrs drive 110 miles 50/50 interstate on about 22-24 percent battery. This is 76 mph highway and 63 mph two lane cruise setting.

Same drive last Monday, 3-5 degrees F, used 47 percent battery, so about double. This is starting out plugged in with a climate schedule set for departure.

Battery was at an indicated 38 degrees on departure. The efficiency display did get better as the drivetrain warmed up, but I was seeing 1.2 for the beginning of the drive.

I did up my tire pressure a couple psi when winter hit, but once it gets real cold you still lose 3-4 psi easy just on temperature change.

So yeah, frigid temps really impact range... But I had no problem getting going, unlike my wife's ICE car that I had to drop a new battery in after I jumped it to get home...
 

DKM_R1S

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Gen 1 R1S quad here. I know the thermal management is not very good if I am driving for 90 minutes at 20F and the regen braking remains reduced all the way to the end of the drive.
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