Kim Java’s posing shatters glass pano roof…

[electruck]

There aren't warnings in the manual or on the side wall of the tires telling you not to stab them with a knife or screw driver because they'll deflate, its common sense.

When washing your windshield at a gas station, do you approach the task from the side of the vehicle, or climb on the hood, clean it head on with a squeegee and expect the hood not to dent?

While I would expect a certain level of resiliency to the glass roof, I'm not expecting it to hold me up while I sit on it, nor am I expecting it to hold half of my body weight while I try to reach the middle/front of the roof from the back. Would it startle me if doing either one of those and it cracked, you bet! But it also wouldn't surprise me.

The flaw in your tire analogy is that there is no history of tires not deflating when punctured. People have decades of experience standing, sitting, leaning, etc on glass panels without incidence. Kim Java even has video documentation of her recent experiences. When people have expectations based on first hand experience, they tend to be surprised when those expectations are not met. Back in the day of steel hoods, I would sit on a car's hood without concern over whether it would dent. Nor did I worry about sitting on the glass t-top panels on the roof (ah, I do have some good memories of Colonial Williamsburg 4th of July fireworks viewing from the roof of my car). When aluminum hoods became a thing, car owners quickly learned that an aluminum hood would dent much easier than steel. Many probably learned the hard way since manufacturers and dealerships probably did not warn new owners. We may be in the midst of a similar transition here but many people still have no reason to suspect that Rivian's glass roof won't support their body weight (or even a small portion of). Given that, Rivian definitely needs to reset customer expectations. Otherwise, all Rivian owners are going to end up paying higher insurance rates because of the number of glass claims that are going to be filed. From the video, it also seems that Rivian needs to improve their service tech training to prevent damage to the glass panels in parts inventory and/or during installation.

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[NY_Rob]

Maybe Kim put on a few extra "rona" lbs lately? Just kiddin....

 

[Taycanfrank]

The "RJ can do no wrong" crowd is on point today.

Good tempered glass is (SHOULD BE) incredibly strong material. Ie.. stronger than a normal car panel. This is just a fact, it's not really up for debate. A tempered glass roof capable of passing rollover testing should be stronger than an aluminum car panel. Period.

Unfortunately CHEAP tempered glass is very weak material, and it sounds like Rivian got ripped off.

If it weren't for how stupid it is, and the chance of scratching paint getting on/off, I'd go stand on my Taycan pano roof with exactly zero concern of it being damaged. It is absolutely rock solid.

 

[Gator42]

I once had a brand new windshield crack while driving out the parking lot at the glass shop. Part of the problem is the strength of the glass comes not just from the qualities of the glass but the interaction of the glass, the adhesive and the seat for the edges. Add Kim’s butt to the equation and it may have flexed in just the wrong way…

 

[CharonPDX]

Even more interesting, the Rivian SC originally had several roofs available to do the replacement but then those were somehow broken within the SC and couldn't be used.

LOL. My old Tesla Model S with opening sunroof "mysteriously cracked" when my teenager borrowed it for a weekend beach trip. (I guarantee my kid or a friend of theirs stood up through the open roof and sat down on the panel - the crack was all the way across - *EXACTLY* where the panel would be supported when in the full-open position.) Took it to Tesla for repair, they had to replace it four times. The first replacement arrived broken, the second broke while they were installing it, the third wasn't quite the right size - it had a noticeable gap when closed (it bowed upward, the sides were fine, but the center was a lip that had noticeable airflow when closed,) the fourth was finally good.

 

[Riviot]

No way I ever use the crossbars on top after hearing these stories. But then again all it takes is one Colorado Spring hail storm and that thing is history anyway… I wish there was a “no moonroof” option.

Worked fine for us! Went up to 60mph with no shimmy. It's relatively easy, just gotta watch out for the antenna fin.

 

[Joints4Sale]

The roof glass is trash.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

The roof glass is trash.

Story behind the crack?

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

After seeing these issues, one of the first things I though about is the risk of using the crossbars. Let's face it, when loading something on the crossbars, it's not unrealistic that people are going to possibly put a hand on the glass, or something may drop on the glass from a few inches while loading the crossbars. That should not cause a failure.

I had thought about carrying my kayak on the roof when I get the R1S. Having second thoughts about that...

This glass is starting to look like Rivian's "Tonneau Cover 2.0" design flaw. I want a Carbon Fiber replacement option!

This is my worry now.......

 

[MountainBikeDude]

The flaw in your tire analogy is that there is no history of tires not deflating when punctured. People have decades of experience standing, sitting, leaning, etc on glass panels without incidence. Kim Java even has video documentation of her recent experiences. When people have expectations based on first hand experience, they tend to be surprised when those expectations are not met. Back in the day of steel hoods, I would sit on a car's hood without concern over whether it would dent. Nor did I worry about sitting on the glass t-top panels on the roof (ah, I do have some good memories of Colonial Williamsburg 4th of July fireworks viewing from the roof of my car). When aluminum hoods became a thing, car owners quickly learned that an aluminum hood would dent much easier than steel. Many probably learned the hard way since manufacturers and dealerships probably did not warn new owners. We may be in the midst of a similar transition here but many people still have no reason to suspect that Rivian's glass roof won't support their body weight (or even a small portion of). Given that, Rivian definitely needs to reset customer expectations. Otherwise, all Rivian owners are going to end up paying higher insurance rates because of the number of glass claims that are going to be filed. From the video, it also seems that Rivian needs to improve their service tech training to prevent damage to the glass panels in parts inventory and/or during installation.

While slightly flawed, still goes to the point of why do you need to warn people glass cracks when stressed? But fear not, like a coffee being labelled Caution: Contents Hot because people don't expect the hot coffee they order to be hot, there will likely be a disclaimer in the manual soon that will say "Do not rest heavy objects directly on the glass roof."

I want the glass to withstand generalized wear and tear, but a glass roof is just that, a glass roof. If I could option a hard top, I would honestly consider it. And yes, an indestructible "transparent aluminum" roof would be preferred.

 

[AbhorViolence]

I saw this video and it reminded me again of my concerns about the glass roof. It's "nice" but not having a cover means I'll have to tint it dark with ceramic (if I can figure out what's the right film to not cause it to break!), and now this... I have brushed such concerns aside before but it does make me wonder.

Hopefully if this ends up being a "thing" like the tonneau cover, they'll have it fixed/upgraded by the time I get my Max Pack, manual tonneau truck.

 

[bd5400]

Good tempered glass is (SHOULD BE) incredibly strong material. Ie.. stronger than a normal car panel. This is just a fact, it's not really up for debate. A tempered glass roof capable of passing rollover testing should be stronger than an aluminum car panel. Period.

Genuine question: are you arguing that a glass roof contributes structurally, at all, to rollover/roof crush performance? Because it’s always been my understanding (assumption?) that the structure for rollover performance comes from the cars pillars and that the glass is pretty much completely irrelevant when it comes to rollover performance. I’m not really understanding how the glass in a roof would “pass” rollover testing as a measure of strength.

 

[Surferdude]

Genuine question: are you arguing that a glass roof contributes structurally, at all, to rollover/roof crush performance? Because it’s always been my understanding (assumption?) that the structure for rollover performance comes from the cars pillars and that the glass is pretty much completely irrelevant when it comes to rollover performance. I’m not really understanding how the glass in a roof would “pass” rollover testing as a measure of strength.

If you polled 100 Rivian owners "would you prefer a glass roof or a metal roof in a rollover accident" exactly 100 owners would reply metal roof.

Glass roofs on vehicles are dumb. They are even dumber on trucks. Their only purpose is to get ooohs and aaaahs from impractical people, but outside of this they are a negative in every other conceivable aspect.
I would actually pay extra for a standard everyday metal roof with insulation. Living in the tropics, I'm still wondering how I'm going to keep the heat out of the cab and off my head.

Hopefully something good can come out of this and the people at Rivian will consider a metal roof option. Surely this is too late for me as I'm hoping to take delivery within the coming months. But others can benefit or at the very least have an option.

 

[electruck]

While slightly flawed, still goes to the point of why do you need to warn people glass cracks when stressed? But fear not, like a coffee being labelled Caution: Contents Hot because people don't expect the hot coffee they order to be hot, there will likely be a disclaimer in the manual soon that will say "Do not rest heavy objects directly on the glass roof."

I want the glass to withstand generalized wear and tear, but a glass roof is just that, a glass roof. If I could option a hard top, I would honestly consider it. And yes, an indestructible "transparent aluminum" roof would be preferred.

Glass can be fragile, it doesn't have to be.

Regardless, if Rivian service keeps breaking enough roofs (yet another new thread popped up today with a roof cracked while in for service), Rivian engineers (edit: and/or the glass suppliers) will eventually be tasked to do something about it.

 

[kizamybute']

Guess she should stick to Tesla's! LOL

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