No real AM or FM radio in the R2

[Husky]

This thread is off the rails and I am not sure if I like that or not.

Agreed. You know what a short attention span some young people have

Back on the subject, I may just use my Amazon Music app on my phone (which I'm already paying for), but the lack of a radio is still annoying.

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[Count Orlok]

A native CB radio would be nice.

 

[Alan in Tempe]

A native CB radio would be nice.

10-4 good buddy

 

[SwampNut]

I often find that I'm actually older (on the calendar, apparently not mentally) than the people calling for old tech and skeuomorphs in their cars.

If Rivian can unfuck the voice assistant, would that make some of this less...hated? If you can just say "Hey Rivian play the XYZ station on iHeart" or whatever?

 

[sparked]

If Rivian can unfuck the voice assistant, would that make some of this less...hated? If you can just say "Hey Rivian play the XYZ station on iHeart" or whatever?

The majority of us who have a good cell coverage will probably be able to figure out something that works for us. For the people who have poor cell coverage in rural/remote areas, they might have to do a portable bluetooth radio.

 

[SwampNut]

The majority of us who have a good cell coverage will probably be able to figure out something that works for us. For the people who have poor cell coverage in rural/remote areas, they might have to do a portable bluetooth radio.

I live in a place with nearly no cell coverage and am often outside of cell range. There are so many other options.

 

[TexasBob]

Right now, 800v gets you absolutely no time savings at 90% of charging stops, and R2 will charge faster than Volvo's best. Two years from now, pretty much the same--maybe 80%.

I disagree. Fun actual fact: there are more than twice as many (2,400) 800V charging station locations in the US today (and an equal number of total ports – about 11k) as there were total Tesla Superchargers 5 years ago. But...

Edit: Since there is no clear consensus or proven data on this, I think it might be better if you separated out this 400v vs 800v topic into its' own discussion and not mix it up with this AM/FM topic.

Agree 100% I did not want to try to pull this onto my own hobby horse. This thread is about Rivian not putting in a radio not about 800V vs 400V. Apologies for pulling it off track.

 

[Alan in Tempe]

The majority of us who have a good cell coverage will probably be able to figure out something that works for us. For the people who have poor cell coverage in rural/remote areas, they might have to do a portable bluetooth radio.

A portable Bluetooth radio is a terrible mitigation to the lack of FM radio. Poor reception, easily destroyed by interior heat here in the desert, inaccessible to the voice assistance, another item to separately manage and charge, etc.

 

[sparked]

A portable Bluetooth radio is a terrible mitigation to the lack of FM radio. Poor reception, easily destroyed by interior heat here in the desert, inaccessible to the voice assistance, another item to separately manage and charge, etc.

I'm not taking a stance on good or bad third party options. R2 is already here so people are going to try different solutions whether it's great or not. We're about to see a lot of real world testing in a lot of environments. R2 will have more sales than Model 3/Y Standard where they also removed FM radio.

 

[bgg1]

I'm probably one of the 90% that don't listen to radio in my R1S, but it's not because I don't want to. My primary radio listening has always been AM, which is obviously not an option. FM works, but for some reason it always seemed like an extra step was needed to get it going. It's just become easier for me to stream podcasts (although the Spotify menu could definitely use some work).
But I would definitely prefer to have built-in radio (AM and FM) in the R2 for any number of the reasons highlighted in this thread.

 

[SwampNut]

FM works, but for some reason it always seemed like an extra step was needed to get it going. It's just become easier for me to stream podcasts (although the Spotify menu could definitely use some work).

Aside from the low quality and excessive ads, this is actually another major reason that radio is dead...



Radio’s New Challenge: Being Found
Not all the news is rosy for broadcasters, however. A separate 2026 industry report from Quu examined the 100 best-selling vehicle models in the United States and found that while AM/FM radio is technically present in all of them, it is becoming increasingly harder to find. Only 26% of those top-selling models now feature a physical radio button on the dashboard, down from 36% just a year earlier. Meanwhile, built-in streaming apps now appear in 53% of vehicles — more than double the 20% recorded in 2024.

The Quu report also identifies what it calls the “last touch” problem: because most modern vehicles default to the last audio source used when the engine is restarted, whichever platform earns a driver’s final listen at the end of a trip automatically wins the first listen at the start of the next one. In some newer models, returning to radio after another source was last used requires two or more button presses through an infotainment menu — a small friction that can quietly chip away at listening habits over time.”

 

[tivoboy]

Correct. You are not seeing the issue.
There is no option to stream NPR in the R2. When my wife is driving she listens to NPR. You want her to lug along a portable radio in a $67K car?

The tunein app streams NPR

As for AM in EV cars.. oem really don’t like to do it as the EMI frequencies that the EV motors and wiring operate at significantly interfere with AM modulation. Not so much or at all with FM.

So, in order to protect the radio signal and output, they need more shielding around motor, wiring, cable harnesses, inverters, probably some ferrite cores here and there, not sure about battery pack. That’s a lot of shield for just ONE purpose. That is not only COSt, but more importantly WEIGHT all of which are bad for EV’s.

So, much easier to not have to engineer for something that really isn’t very high on the MAJORITY of buyers list of features required or desired, and does only ONE thing - reduces AM radio interference.

There are good Bluetooth receivers that will do either Satellite, for SiriusXM, or FM digital. And even some for analogue digital if you’re really out in the boonies..

I always take a Bluetooth enabled Sirius radio on longer roadtrips for mostly talk radio, but some music radio too. It’s got a little half dollar sized hockey puck magnetic receiver that would plop onto the roof and lead into the glove box, but honestly I’ve never had to put it anyone other than in the corner of the dash of the passenger side of the car, then the receiver goes usually in the glove box where most of the AUX in are located, or just Bluetooth to a head unit.

For Sirius, getting the cost to ~ $4 a month is trivial, so while not FREE like AM or FM, it’s pretty darn cheap.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Anecdotally, the wife & I took our dog to the new Moo Thru ice cream joint in Burke, VA last night. No cell signal while we were there. Neither of our phones (Verizon) had bars. Rivian (AT&T) said "Rivian assistant offline" when I tried talking to it.

FM radio worked fine.

I realize this is a one-off fringe case and all that, but Burke is a suburb of Fairfax County, Literally *one of the top five wealthiest counties in the country*. How is it they have areas of no cell reception? Just seemed super-weird. Reminded me of this thread. I'm sure this isn't the only place with this issue.

Edit: adding photo to pay the tax.

 

[electromage]

Did Rivian confirm that it doesn't have a tuner? I see the "powered by iHeartRadio" but there are a ton of stations in my area that are owned by IHeartMedia and maybe that's what it refers to?

 

[Leesonw]

I listen to 3 NPR stations in my car every day. Those of you who don’t are missing out on quality reporting but that is a discussion for another day. I just scanned Iheart. It has none of the stations I listen to. I tried to scan Tune in but they wanted $12.99/ mo. This is a total fail on the part of Rivian IMHO. Penny wise and pound foolish.

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