A software update to some Amazon delivery vehicles is automatically turning off the air conditioning after a few seconds if the driver is not in their seat, according to multiple Amazon delivery drivers who are complaining about the update online.
According to Amazon delivery drivers, the new update is for the Amazon EDV (electric delivery vehicle), the custom-built Rivian van. Delivery drivers say that this update automatically turns off the air conditioning in the van if the driver is not in the vehicle for more than 30 seconds. Drivers are complaining about the update as the start of the summer season, which can be particularly difficult and dangerous for delivery drivers.
“As many of you are aware, the EDVs just got a software update where if you are out of your seat for 30 seconds with the side door open, the AC switches off,” one Amazon delivery driver said in an online forum for drivers. “We all hate this obviously.”
I saw a video where a guy just shoved a $1 carabineer into the door latch to defeat this.
EDIT: Here’s the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF6VBnUla58
Nice of the headline to omit rather crucial info for the angry clicketyclicks. It only happens when nobody is in het car for more than 30 seconds AND the side door has to be open.
Like just close the door? That side door being let open is an INSANE waste of energy.
“Rivian recently released a software update for Electric Delivery Vehicles that actually extends climate control for drivers,” the Amazon spokesperson said. “As a result, the AC now runs for up to 10 minutes after a driver exits the vehicle, ensuring a cool cabin when they return. The timer resets at every stop. The AC only shuts off if the driver sliding door is left open for more than 30 seconds — a battery conservation measure.”
So it doesn’t turn off the A/C as long as you shut the sliding door when you get out. I do understand that it’s a hassle to have to close the door after you grab the package at every stop. But you have to close the door anyway before driving. Although I’ve seen many times drivers just keep the door open the entire time they’re driving around a neighborhood with multiple stops.
On the other hand, maybe drivers do that because they are being timed by the second, so not having to close the door saves a second or two every stop.
I do this job, so if you left the door open you would get fired, but every DSP is different and some are more lax. Some vans don’t even have cameras in them.
I see plenty of Amazon vans driving around neighborhoods with the side door wide open…
Yeah, I’m as much for Amazon burning down with Bezos locked inside as anyone else, but this one is actually reasonable.
You want to turn on your AC, close your fucking door, you damn maniac.
I think we all know why they dont close those doors no? Like its completely common knowledge at this point that delivery drivers get monitored down to the second and that if they dont save every bit of time possible they will get their pay cut or fired for not meeting quota. The technical solution to this is just an automatic door or curtain system that doesnt cost time to open/close but still keeps the hot air out. The moral solution is to just outlaw micro management and monitoring of delivery drivers.
I can hear my dad yelling
CLOSE THE GODDAMN DOOR IM NOT PAYING TO COOL THE OUTSIDE
Ah, childhood.
Me running the A/C with the windows down:
Couldn’t they automate the door so it closes on its own?
Next headline: Amazon driver suffocates to death after van door closes on their neck.
Wondering how much the AC could even do if the door is left open. But maybe the hassle is also having to turn it on again every time?
Yeah, I think it’s more energy-intensive to keep turning the A/C on and off again and again, but there’s definitely a point where it’s more wasteful if the door is kept open long enough and it’s more friendly to the battery (and environment) if you turn it off. But it’s a moot point here because as long as the driver is delivering that door will have to be opened again and again and they’ll need the cabin cool either way.
The “turning thing on and off Uses more energy than just leaving it on” thing is largely a myth based on a complete misunderstanding of how most electronics work and a lack of understanding of thermodynamics.
Most electronics (even light bulbs) do have an energy spike at power on but the spike is measured in milliseconds (if that).
Yes but there is an external factor involved here: leaving the door open for extended periods of time. If we’re talking about energy saving for the battery, and you can probably extend that to the environmental effects as well, at some point it’s more cost effective to turn the A/C off. I’m not gonna argue if 30 seconds is that point, people who know more can confirm that.
Now obviously what they are NOT taking into account is driver comfort and the fact they are literally being timed down to the second with their deliveries to the point they leave the door open just to shave off a couple of seconds on each stop.
Your AC turns itself off and on repeatedly through it’s normal running cycle to prevent frost building up - your fridge and freezer does this as well.
AC units without inverters specifically
Yes, but it does that with the doors generally closed most of the time. An A/C that has to keep turning on and off way more frequently because it gets warmer immediately due to a door being open more than closed is different.
Maybe they should have something like those magnetic self-closing mesh curtains that go in front of open patio doors? Obviously something more solid than mesh - like clear plastic sheets, but it would provide a significant conservation of the cool air while allowing the quick in & out access the drivers need. Similar curtains (more like hanging strips & without the magnetics) are routinely used in the food industry for walk-in refrigeration & freezer units.
A friend of mine delivers for Amazon now and hates it.
Can confirm, they expect so much of drivers. He is constantly told that he isn’t fast enough doing over 150 packages every day.
The door should be motorized, idk if it is though. When they came out I saw a video on the truck from Doug Demuro and I think when it’s put in park the door from the cab to the cargo area automatically opens to save like a second per stop. So the side door could definitely have like a button you press when you get out to shut it while you walk away.
Is this update planned to extend all the way up the food chain to executive offices, rhetorical question of course. We all know the answer.
Wouldn’t matter if they’re never in there anyway
I didn’t need a reason to continue not giving them money yet here we are…
Yeah, package delivery is a physically active and intense job, and even more so when you’re stuck doing it for Amazon with their dystopian speed quotas.
Super shitty stuff. Let people have some fucking A/C.
You didn’t read the article.
What about putting up one of those curtains of plastic slats like they have in the walk-in coolers of restaurants ? That could help keep the heat in the cab portion while they’re opening the door.
Yes, force the behaviour of closing the door while they’re away from the truck, for energy savings and for security, and reinforce that with some training and reminders, but the added barrier could keep the coolness in the driver area just a bit better.
scabs
