Snow Mode fail - costly result

[CANCERDOC]

Is it possible the brake application was the stability control trying to correct the slide? If you’ve overcooked it there’s nothing you can do to recover from too much speed

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[SeaGeo]

The Snow Mode documentation says it “reduces” regen, but that was not enough in this case. There should be no regen braking at all or only some sort of anti-lock regen if any (if that is possible).

Unfortunately, you can't turn off regen completely. The best you can do is low, but Snow mode doesn't even default to that anymore, it stays in the last used setting. They need some serious work on Snow mode IMHO...

At some point they stopped carrying over drive-mode specific regen. I think/hope this is a bug. It's still documented in the manual that it should default to low, and the "reset to default" button puts it to low if tapped.

 

[PostMinivanDad]

I was thinking about the feathering approach, too. Especially if there isn’t an “off” option for regen. I’m pretty good doing controlled “power slides” from years of ripping around on ATVs and driving 4x4s in the back 40 where I grew up. I think I could try that next time if that’s the only option. I just don’t see my wife doing that and I’ve been urging her to drive the R1S in poor conditions because it’s “the safest option” for handling bad roads. Now I’m not too sure I want her dealing with this type of scenario…

Same here. When I realized there was no regen off option even in snow mode, I decided not to have the misses drive it in inclement weather: too much to explain, too unlikely anyone but the most tech/car oriented of us will remember what to do in a slide.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

I am really sorry to read this. Is everyone ok? Cars can be fixed…people are a little more difficult.

The recent gen2 dual max demo I had did not switch to low regen when I put it in snow mode! I was surprised because my gen1 would switch that setting automatically.

To anyone else reading I suggest Always verify regen should be in the low setting in wintery weather before you set out.

 

[KeithPleas]

I had a similar experience this past weekend - fortunately with no harm done. We were heading up to our place in Cle Elum and there was about 2" of fresh snow on the plowed driveway - I figured it wouldn't be a problem in Snow Mode. Well, every time I let off the accelerator the regen immediately kicked and locked (in particular) the front wheels, and the car would slide to the side (moderate uphill slope, gentle side slope).

You can see it perfectly in the foreground of this picture. Repeated attempts to back down the driveway went exactly the same. I was able to back down eventually but it was a bit tense.

In hindsight I should have at least tried to turn regen off.

 

[godfodder0901]

I had a similar experience this past weekend - fortunately with no harm done. We were heading up to our place in Cle Elum and there was about 2" of fresh snow on the plowed driveway - I figured it wouldn't be a problem in Snow Mode. Well, every time I let off the accelerator the regen immediately kicked and locked (in particular) the front wheels, and the car would slide to the side (moderate uphill slope, gentle side slope).

You can see it perfectly in the foreground of this picture. Repeated attempts to back down the driveway went exactly the same. I was able to back down eventually but it was a bit tense.

In hindsight I should have at least tried to turn regen off.

There is no off.

 

[ThirteenElectrics]

Snow mode is an ass covering hack. When you drive a Rivian in the snow, you don’t have antilock brakes. Let me repeat that: there is no antilock brake capability with regen. Rivian has taken us back to the 1980s in this respect.

 

[Meash20]

I also found this to be true on a hill in snow/ice. I couldn't get the vehicle to just "roll" it was constantly braking which locked the wheels up and just caused me to slide off the hilly driveway I was on. I was disappointed. Also from the Midwest growing up in snow and having done the same thing many times in other vehicles this was subpar.

Sorry you had the worse outcome..

 

[greyboundary]

Pressing the throttle to brake less is exactly why I’ve never been a fan of one pedal drive. It’s everyone following a dumb Tesla design. Polestar’s blended brake is 100% the way to go.

I know there’s OPD fans out there, but if we want adoption of EVs, expecting every random person to simply “change their reflexes” in this unintuitive way is eh.

 

[Nixapatfan]

Snow mode is an ass covering hack. When you drive a Rivian in the snow, you don’t have antilock brakes. Let me repeat that: there is no antilock brake capability with regen. Rivian has taken us back to the 1980s in this respect.

The testing I've done in my driveway intentionally making it slide on regen does seem to have abs like function though not instant and no feedback to let you know wheels are locking up so hard to tell from inside.

To clarify once the vehicle thinks it is stopped it just holds the brakes so you could still be sliding like in the op's case.

 

[Glembi2]

Snow mode is an ass covering hack. When you drive a Rivian in the snow, you don’t have antilock brakes. Let me repeat that: there is no antilock brake capability with regen. Rivian has taken us back to the 1980s in this respect.

For all modes other than snow mode, I get the priority of regen over antilock braking. But snow mode needs to be the exception.

I think I speak for most drivers that, when intentionally selecting snow mode, I’m doing it because there is snow or other slippery stuff on the road. I really want antilock brakes to kick in before any regeneration. No one wants to fight the regeneration on the truck to get the antilock brakes to kick in.

 

[cmsjrs]

I'm also a Midwest winter driver, specifically from Central Michigan. Until three years ago, I always used all-season tires on all my vehicles. However, after buying my Tesla Model S Plaid at the end of 2022, which came with Pirelli summer-only tires, I faced a dilemma. My choices were to buy a set of all-season tires, winter tires, or park it until the temperature consistently rose above 45°F. I opted for Pirelli P-Zero winter tires, and the difference in my winter driving experience was night and day. I was so impressed that the next winter, I purchased winter tires for my entire family's vehicles.

This winter, my wife received her new R1S Tri Max, which came with all-season tires. I had already ordered Michelin X-Ice winter tires, which we installed the very next day. In our subdivision, the plow drivers pile the snow into a large mound in the cul-de-sac for the neighborhood kids to enjoy. One evening, channeling my inner Hazzard County, USA, youth, I decided to put her R1S in drift mode to circle the snow mound. Despite the slippery conditions, I was unable to make the rear end of the R1S slide out, which was quite surprising.

From this experience, I can confidently say that anyone living in an area with even a mild winter season who doesn't use true winter tires is missing out on a significant advantage. Winter tires can make a substantial difference in safety and performance.

Justifying the expense of winter tires is straightforward when you think of it as buying your next set of tires ahead of schedule. This approach saves wear on your all-season or summer tires. In our case, we end up putting more miles on the winter tires than on the others. If you drive sufficiently and plan to keep your vehicle long enough to need new tires anyway, the cost evens out.

 

[COMtnEV]

This is one of the reasons I prefer to drive my Ioniq 5 when it's slippery. It has the option to completely turn off regen (in all drive modes, not just snow mode) using the paddle regen shifters, so you can very quickly flip it on and off. It's a fantastic vehicle in the snow. I don't know why Rivian can't at least implement a "regen off" setting.

 

[NoGoingBack]

I feel like low regen could be lower. When I am at a high state of charge, like above 90 it practically turns off regen and I can actually coast. If they can’t turn it off completely it can sure get close to off as it does when your at high state of charge. They really need to add that to snow mode. I was able to stay on the road in a recent slide, but I could definitely feel regen locking up the wheels a bit.

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