Rivian, PLEASE fix this part of Highway Assist

[Orangecicle]

I had the chance to drive a R1S Gen 2 and my R1T Gen 1 back to back yesterday on the highways of Iowa (Gen 2 loaner from Rivian while the truck was being repaired).

R1S:

R1T

We had strong crosswinds the entire day, and I really appreciated having the Highway Assist feature on both vehicles. The Assist was driving the vehicle better than I could with the buffeting winds. Other than the lane changing ability of both vehicles, the big difference I noticed the most was that when passing an 18-wheeler, on the Gen 2 I could put pressure on the steering wheel to pull the Rivian vehicle away from the 18-wheeler and place it closer to the edge of the road. That's possible on the Gen 2 but impossible on the Gen 1 without the system disengaging. When you try to do this on the Gen 1, the system releases the steering, and you have full manual steering control. On the Gen 2, you gently force the vehicle to the left of the lane until you pass the big truck and release the wheel when you clear the truck to go back to the center of the lane.

On Ford Blue Cruise (came on my wife's 2025 Mach E), the system automatically senses that you are next to a large truck and does automatically what I would normally do manually -- on its own it moves the Mustang to the left away from the truck. I watched videos on this and understand that Ford discovered this human behavior after studying Blue Cruise data, so they decided to just program this into the system.

I can't tell you how much safer I and may passengers feel by simply moving a few inches to the left when passing a large vehicle. Yesterday, the 18-wheelers were a bit all over the road because of the wind, and the Rivians were happy just sitting in the middle of the lane next to the big trucks regardless of whether the 18-wheelers were encroaching or not. That's not good. It doesn't "feel" safe. Rivian should do just what Ford did and just let the assist direct you safely away from the big trucks you are passing.

This is not at all a complaint; I really appreciated having Highway Assist yesterday. I just hope this note can help to make it better.

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[godfodder0901]

I had the chance to drive a R1S Gen 2 and my R1T Gen 1 back to back yesterday on the highways of Iowa (Gen 2 loaner from Rivian while the truck was being repaired). R1S: R1T We had strong crosswinds the entire day, and I really appreciated having the Highway Assist feature on both vehicles. The Assist was driving the vehicle better than I could with the buffeting winds. Other than the lane changing ability of both vehicles, the big difference I noticed the most was that when passing an 18-wheeler, on the Gen 2 I could put pressure on the steering wheel to pull the Rivian vehicle away from the 18-wheeler and place it closer to the edge of the road. That's possible on the Gen 2 but impossible on the Gen 1 without the system disengaging. When you try to do this on the Gen 1, the system releases the steering, and you have full manual steering control. On the Gen 2, you gently force the vehicle to the left of the lane until you pass the big truck and release the wheel when you clear the truck to go back to the center of the lane. On Ford Blue Cruise (came on my wife's 2025 Mach E), the system automatically senses that you are next to a large truck and does automatically what I would normally do manually -- on its own it moves the Mustang to the left away from the truck. I watched videos on this and understand that Ford discovered this human behavior after studying Blue Cruise data, so they decided to just program this into the system. I can't tell you how much safer I and may passengers feel by simply moving a few inches to the left when passing a large vehicle. Yesterday, the 18-wheelers were a bit all over the road because of the wind, and the Rivians were happy just sitting in the middle of the lane next to the big trucks regardless of whether the 18-wheelers were encroaching or not. That's not good. It doesn't "feel" safe. Rivian should do just what Ford did and just let the assist direct you safely away from the big trucks you are passing. This is not at all a complaint; I really appreciated having Highway Assist yesterday. I just hope this note can help to make it better.

It will never change in the Gen 1. Rivian will never make another noticeable upgrade to Driver+.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Only thing one should expect for gen1 is occasional data updates. Gen1 production started late ‘21 and ended mid ‘24. The autonomy platforms are fundamentally different and there is no business case for continuing development on what will soon be a minority of all customers. If you want better capabilities on gen1, aftermarket Comma AI is the only way forward—along with any and all ramifications of aftermarket modifications. And there is no official representation from Rivian on this site. Unlikely for corporate to see this feedback. If you want better odds of being heard, Rivian app > share feedback.

 

[justinkitswa]

As has been said already, Rivian is more or less done with Gen 1 development. Besides safety recall related stuff, I doubt any significant changes will be made to Gen 1.

And when Gen 3 comes out, we can all expect the end of updates for Gen 2.

It's how software development works. There are zero dollars to spend on supporting legacy products unless its a mandated recall.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

And when Gen 3 comes out, we can all expect the end of updates for Gen 2.

At some point, but gen2 will benefit from gen3’s “training” of their autonomy model. Gen2 also has Nvidia chips and much higher development/compute ceiling than gen1. Gen1 is based on old MobileEye tech, and even then it was not developed to the fullest before it was dropped—hence the class action.

 

[gerrylum]

That's possible on the Gen 2 but impossible on the Gen 1 without the system disengaging. When you try to do this on the Gen 1, the system releases the steering, and you have full manual steering control. On the Gen 2, you gently force the vehicle to the left of the lane until you pass the big truck and release the wheel when you clear the truck to go back to the center of the lane.

Rivian isn't ever going to update Gen 1 highway assist, however you CAN get this feature by adding a Comma system to your Rivian.

 

[Niftly3d]

Somewhat related to this topic, I am on a trip across the US right now and I’m using cruise control as I always do but I swear it has gotten worse over time . it doesn’t gradually slow down and speed up. It drives like an impatient taxi driver. Does anybody know if they have modified the software or if they have any plans to get this back to the way it used to be?

 

[VSG]

Sounds like you've set it to spicy?

 

[Niftly3d]

Sounds like you've set it to spicy?

Omg. I wish there was a spicy setting because then I could turn it off. I’ve also noticed that it will brake to about 10 mph slower if there’s a 18 wheeler in the right lane. It’s super annoying. If no one else is having this problem maybe I’ll take it in.

 

[godfodder0901]

Somewhat related to this topic, I am on a trip across the US right now and I’m using cruise control as I always do but I swear it has gotten worse over time . it doesn’t gradually slow down and speed up. It drives like an impatient taxi driver. Does anybody know if they have modified the software or if they have any plans to get this back to the way it used to be?

Nope. It'll suck forever if you have a Gen 1.

 

[dfx]

Omg. I wish there was a spicy setting because then I could turn it off. I’ve also noticed that it will brake to about 10 mph slower if there’s a 18 wheeler in the right lane. It’s super annoying. If no one else is having this problem maybe I’ll take it in.

It happens in Gen 2 vehicles too. I know nothing about the tech aspects of it but having owned both Gen 1 and Gen 2 and having dealt with this issue on both, I blame it on their adaptive cruise control. I was surprised to find the cruise control on the '22 R1S to be inferior to that of our 2018 Mazda from the get-go. The recent autonomy + enhancements have helped a bit but the phantom braking, and hyper-sensitivity in the way it drives makes the whole driving experience with it uncomfortable

 

[CharonPDX]

On Ford Blue Cruise (came on my wife's 2025 Mach E), the system automatically senses that you are next to a large truck and does automatically what I would normally do manually -- on its own it moves the Mustang to the left away from the truck.

As a former Mach-E owner, the fact that my Gen 1 Rivian doesn't just "not keep away" but feels like it actively movers closer to semis pisses me off. I seriously feel like any time it passes a vehicle larger than itself, it chooses to hug THAT lane line. I find it mildly annoying, for my wife it is panic-inducing. And if I'm driving, and this happens with my wife in the passenger's seat, and I forget to take manual control… There's gonna be a shriek of panic when she notices.

 

[Niftly3d]

As a former Mach-E owner, the fact that my Gen 1 Rivian doesn't just "not keep away" but feels like it actively movers closer to semis pisses me off. I seriously feel like any time it passes a vehicle larger than itself, it chooses to hug THAT lane line. I find it mildly annoying, for my wife it is panic-inducing. And if I'm driving, and this happens with my wife in the passenger's seat, and I forget to take manual control… There's gonna be a shriek of panic when she notices.

I can see that plain as day. They have to fix this - it’s so bad

 

[jrproli]

Sorry folks, i've been using the assistance for almost one year now. Minor improvements, still does not recognize major highways in my region (Tampa-FL). I'll keep paying because i' stubborn and suffer from FOMO but it's not a product up to Rivian standards. It needs majot improvements.
I have a Gen2 R1T.

 

[Orangecicle]

As a former Mach-E owner, the fact that my Gen 1 Rivian doesn't just "not keep away" but feels like it actively movers closer to semis pisses me off. I seriously feel like any time it passes a vehicle larger than itself, it chooses to hug THAT lane line. I find it mildly annoying, for my wife it is panic-inducing. And if I'm driving, and this happens with my wife in the passenger's seat, and I forget to take manual control… There's gonna be a shriek of panic when she notices.

YEP! Had that happen on our last road trip! It can be scary AF.

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