Phantom drain after 3 weeks of no use

[happyjohn14]

I just did a 3-week foreign trip and was curious what the drain would be when I got back. I don't have a home charger so this is for those like me. I charged the truck up to 92% before leaving and came back to 46%. Pretty shocked. I'm thinking it when into hibernation mode or something as it stopped recording anything on gear guard at that time, which raises other questions. Has anyone else seen the same thing?

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[Longreach]

Seems like everyone is having this issue, but to varying degrees, depending on the software version and feature configurations.

It’s a huge issue and is unsustainable, regardless of some peoples workaround comments. It’s just plain wasteful.

Rivian seems to acknowledge it and has made some improvements. But it’s unclear if they have truly embraced the required “war on power consumption” culture change. Also unclear if there are inherent electrical hardware constraints that will limit how much progress they can make with software tweaks.

 

[boardthatpowder]

My truck was parked at the airport last week for 5 days in CO so temps about high of mid 80s during the day and low of mid 50s during the night. Parked with 72%/201m and came back to 67%/186m. So just 1%/3m drain per day which I thought was great. But then realized I had accidentally left Gear Guard turned off.

 

[DJG]

My truck was parked at the airport last week for 5 days in CO so temps about high of mid 80s during the day and low of mid 50s during the night. Parked with 72%/201m and came back to 67%/186m. So just 1%/3m drain per day which I thought was great. But then realized I had accidentally left Gear Guard turned off.

Same here, seeing about 0.5%-1.0% per day now. This week's update has further reductions (10% I believe it said), in addition to a camp setting to further reduce draw should you want to use it. Later this year will be a setting specifically for deep hibernation, which is likely the "kitchen sink" end game of what's possible. So, by the end of the year I'd expect we're seeing close to zero with that setting on and GG off.

 

[Marchin_MTB]

I’m seeing approx. 2% per day so OPs 21 day number doesn’t surprise me.

agreed that this needs to be addressed .

 

[Attesan997]

I'm happy the sentiment has changed, I remember in plenty of threads some time ago it was a take it or leave it attitude. There was no way to improve consumption without sacrificing features. Clearly based on the release notes that's not been the case and I hope it continues to improve. But more importantly even if it was only a vocal minority no one should accept some of these abusurd levels of drain as the "cost" of having a connected vehicle.

 

[happyjohn14]

I just spoke with support, and he explained to me that it's to be expected, primarily because of battery conditioning, and cooling the battery during the summer to increase the life of the battery. Makes sense but his recommendation was to keep it plugged in all the time, as even a 120v outlet would be enough to keep the battery optimal in season temperature swings. Not really an option for someone currently in an apartment. Deep hibernation sounds like a strong need. I'd hate to be camping somewhere, or far from a charge port and stuck just because the truck wanted to maintain optimal battery temps.

 

[Longreach]

.… Later this year will be a setting specifically for deep hibernation, which is likely the "kitchen sink" end game of what's possible. So, by the end of the year I'd expect we're seeing close to zero with that setting on and GG off.

If that is true, it would go a long way to solving the critical problem by effectively providing the virtual “off” button that actually turns everything off.

But it would be a brute force solution that would betray the underlying problem of relying on big central processors. Gear guard could have been implemented with a low power peripheral module, with power consumption similar to a dash cam or GoPro. Lock control could have been implemented using a low power module, much like the legacy guys do it. The modules could sit on a wake up bus to only wake the main processor if really needed.


Regardless, I’ll take the virtual “off button compromise for now, as long as it doesn’t take 10 minutes to come out of hibernation each time I use it (every night).

 

[atebit]

Just as a point of comparison, when I had my Taycan there was virtually no vampire drain after leaving that car parked for weeks. Similar telemetry/remote features to the R1T, except no Gear Guard.

 

[mini2nut]

"Hibernation" mode would be appreciated by many owners.

 

[Marchin_MTB]

there are situations where this issue impedes on basic functionality. Say you take a four week trip at the airport but getting to the airport with more than 60% remaining is not feasible. You come back to find that you can’t get home or perhaps even to the nearest charger.
There are airport shuttle parking services that provide charging here but those are usually covered spots and cost more. I think Rivian should cover the cost of these until they get drain below 0.5-1%/day for everyone.

EDIT: I understand that you can put the truck in “shipping mode” and this is supposed to reduce drain but I don’t know if that’s a good long term solution.

 

[electruck]

I just spoke with support, and he explained to me that it's to be expected, primarily because of battery conditioning, and cooling the battery during the summer to increase the life of the battery. Makes sense but his recommendation was to keep it plugged in all the time, as even a 120v outlet would be enough to keep the battery optimal in season temperature swings. Not really an option for someone currently in an apartment.

Also not an option for those who want/need to charge off-peak. Daytime battery conditioning will need to be powered off the battery itself and the charge recouperated while charging overnight at off-peak rates.

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