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Driving a Rivian R1T With Zero Miles of Range Pays Off, Until It Doesn't

If you’re curious about what’s going to happen with your Rivian R1T once it runs out of any juice and it shows zero miles of range, then here’s the answer you were looking for. Someone tried this same scenario. It’s useful to know, especially since the charging infrastructure isn’t as developed as we would’ve wanted it to be.
Rivian R1T on a Flatbed 11 photos
Photo: Ben Sullins on YouTube
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YouTuber Ben Sullins took his all-electric pickup for a real-world range test. Unlike what and how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) verifies the range capability, this man is showing us a more likely scenario that might apply to almost everyone who uses a Rivian R1T for commuting or a long vacation.

He starts the range test at a charging station. After some time spent plugged in, the truck’s fully charged and it shows a range of 293 mi (471 km) in Conserve Mode. The Rivian R1T used here is equipped with 21-inch all-terrain tires.

The first stop is after 106 mi (170 km), even though the truck’s computer says it used 130 mi (209 km) of range and showed 54% of battery left. However, the route the YouTuber followed went through the mountains. The elevation change doesn’t help with keeping the consumption figures low.

After driving some more, the truck shows it has only four miles (six kilometers) left of range. Then, warnings started to appear on the dashboard and the infotainment screen. Unfortunately, the man and his passenger were nowhere near a charger at that point. That’s when they decided it would be a good idea to see what happens when the battery percentage reaches zero.

The 0% stage is eventually reached, and the driver keeps pushing the all-electric truck. He continues driving at more than 55 mph (88 kph). But the truck is slowly giving up. Finally, it notifies the driver an emergency stop is imminent and tells him to “pull over immediately.”

After the warning appears on the dashboard, flooring the acceleration does nothing. The highest speed the R1T can reach is limited to 25 mph (40 kph). At this stage, they’ve already driven more than eight miles (13 kilometers) past the 0% point.

The YouTuber pulls to the right side of the road to let others pass him, and that’s when the truck finally gave out. It didn’t allow him to move any further. He had to put the Rivian R1T in Neutral and activate Tow Mode to slightly move it.

Fortunately, another Rivian owner came to help. They had to charge the truck with no range before moving on. They hooked both vehicles up and started driving. But that didn’t work! The truck with the depleted battery braked. They had to call for a flatbed because the R1T doesn’t allow tow charging to happen when you drive a lot more after the battery shows 0%.

Just remember that you can’t use the regen brakes to add some electricity to the battery when you go a lot further than the truck would like you to.

In the end, they drove 236 mi (380 km) with the Rivian R1T in Conserve Mode, in real-world conditions, and without looking at what the range is constantly.

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About the author: Florin Amariei
Florin Amariei profile photo

Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one.
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