Sad R1S rental story

[Riviot]

Anyone test that out before?

Where's your closest RAN? Let's give it a go!

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[Glembi2]

I needed encouragement charging my first time with a non-Rivian charger. And I thought I had done my homework. I can only imagine the frustration the renter was feeling.

<rant> Dealerships and the big car rental companies are the worst players in the EV market. We’ve all heard horror stories about the shenanigans purchaser/renters have dealt with including rental companies treating batteries like gas tanks (charge to 100% or we charge at super inflated prices).

If I recall correctly, someone posted an article about a dealership’s finance salesman trying to sell an oil change and service package to a buyer. The buyer knew what they were doing and wrote an article for one of the big newspapers.

Here is one of the many articles. This one is interesting in that it highlights how much handholding new EV buyers need to get to know how and when to charge. Rental car companies are predicated on moving people to their cars and minimizing the introduction to EVs talk.

https://cleantechnica.com/2023/11/1...ier-to-the-electric-car-revolution-in-the-us/

</rant>

 

[KBabione]

I'm currently in a R1S loaner while ours is in the SC and the service specialist confirmed that we can't charge at a RAN with the loaner. We have an A2Z Typhoon adapter and successfully charged at a Tesla supercharger, but had to initiate it through the app. No big deal.

The good news is that the people renting the Rivian are clearly willing to try EVs and as they learn more and think back at their Rivian experience they'll likely realize that it was a charging/education issue and had nothing to do with the Rivian. They would have had the same issues renting a Fiat e500, a Mach-E, or any other non-Tesla EV.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Where's your closest RAN? Let's give it a go!

I drove my Fisker today, and I'm pretty certain that it won't work at a RAN.

 

[COdogman]

So it sounds like the renter OP met would have been ok charging anywhere but a RAN station because all those charging networks don’t care what vehicle you are connecting as long as it’s CCS and you have the app set up.

 

[azbill]

I drove my Fisker today, and I'm pretty certain that it won't work at a RAN.

The person who tried to charge another Rivian, and was successful, also tried a non-Rivian and it did not work.

Tesla and Rivian are blocking based on the MAC address prefix, which is per OEM.

 

[Dhevey]

I was at a RAN charger somewhere in Northern Virginia (I think) and a Kia pulled up next to me to charge. The driver was excited and said it was his first EV experience and he rented at the airport. Apparently, nobody talked to him about finding the right chargers and he didn’t know that he couldn’t charge at a RAN. We helped him find other chargers and explained level 2 and level 3 chargers to him, but I knew he would have an awful experience and it would turn into an anti-EV story for all his friends. How hard would it be to provide a FAQ Sheet in every car?

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Two ways to solve this?

Have a pass through which bills the charging to the customer rental. This is what Hertz does with Tesla.

Another option is to give the Rivian rental customer app access. At that point the customer should be able to add their CC to the Rivian account and charge.

I don't think you can "activate" RAN chargers. My understanding is they plug and charge using the VIN of the vehicle.

Soon Rivian plans to open up to other EVs. When that happens I expect they will have a way to activate charging through the app like Tesla.

 

[DKM_R1S]

I would actually like to know where I can rent a Rivian and take it on a long trip. Earlier this year we tried to rent a R1S through Turo and in every case, there was a mileage surcharge over a certain limit. So we just had to buy the R1S instead.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

The car and software was not made for rental purposes. The rental company needs an education on electric car charging. And a slap with a large wet trout. Should have told customers to go to EA, EVgo etc. The renters should have educated and prepared themselves, if they are new to EVs and knowing rented something they didn’t understand. Sad, yes. But I’m thinking of the other definition.

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