Finally took delivery but might turn it back in

[jskyler]

After waiting since 2020 for my R1S, I finally took delivery today of an R1S LE RB/BM/22 Brights. Naturally, having scoured these forums, I was prepared for all kinds of panel gaps and issues, all of which were present, although not as bad as my 2016 Tesla Model S. Immediately though a few things were off:

1. My VIN was in the 3xxx range, yet my guide told me it was a 3/23 build. That was incorrect and it is a 1/23 build.
2. I'm left wondering why this vehicle was not delivered back when they were desperate for deliveries. Probably something was wrong with it that they attempted to fix but all they told me was perhaps it got unmatched. I seriously doubt that....
3. Being a 1/23 build, it is NOT the vehicle that earned the top safety rating. Rivian made modifications that cannot be retro-fit in order to improve the safety rating for builds after 1/23. While I normally wouldn't care, the fact that I took delivery in 5/23 of a vehicle that is knowingly worse in an accident is something my wife is nervous about.
4. There are two noticeable dents on the outside roof - not sure those can be fixed easily.
5. The wheel shudders like a misaligned Ford Taurus from the early 90's! I should have taken a video, but anything above 80 MPH and the wheel was shuddering like crazy. My watch even thought I was working out!!
6. The hood is seriously misaligned as are a couple of the door handles. It took me a minute to figure out why out the driver's side mirror I could see the door handle, but in the passenger's side mirror I couldn't find them at all.
7. Large gaps in the outside upper trim which should definitely have been caught before delivery.
8. Crossbar railing section has popped out on drivers side.

On the positive side, there don't appear to be any real paint issues, I have the extra 12V outlet, Meridian Sound (although I'm not sure that's good as it sounds pretty bad) and the factory installed PPF looks great. I had to run my fingers all along the sides to actually find the edges as it had been wrapped so well it looked like it wasn't wrapped at all.

I'm going to drive it around for the next few days to see if anything else crops up before I make my decision on keeping or returning. The build date and lower safety rating have my wife concerned which will be a factor in whatever my final decision is.

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[R1TCA]

Doesn’t sound like this is the one for you.
Can you return (as in not accept delivery) at this point and ask for a different one?

 

[jskyler]

Doesn’t sound like this is the one for you.
Can you return (as in not accept delivery) at this point and ask for a different one?

My guide assured me that if I returned it within the 7-day window because of these issues I could get back on the list for a different one. Will only know if that was accurate should I try to return it!

 

[R1TCA]

My guide assured me that if I returned it within the 7-day window because of these issues I could get back on the list for a different one. Will only know if that was accurate should I try to return it!

Good luck. It seems to me that would make you and your wife more at ease.

 

[dleepnw]

id return it as long as it is true you could get back in the queue.

 

[Christopher]

It never would have crossed my mind that the difference in safety rating between 22 and 23 would be part of any decision making process when purchasing the vehicle. In fact, we did pre-order it without even knowing the safety rating. The rating difference is marginal. In only one area was an improvement made from acceptable to good.

I'd happily trade a newer R1S (once I get it) just to have those 12v outlets and sound system. Everything else is easily fixable by the service center.

If you work though these issues with the service center and keep the vehicle, it will still be a safe vehicle for your family.

 

[Gee Bee]

Sad

I do prebuy inspections on aircraft and the stuff I see from the mfg”s who don’t care .

I hope my RT is correct in a few weeks.

 

[mikehmb]

FWIW - put in tickets on the body issues and they’ll get you sorted in a couple of days in the shop. I had issues with mine - some more egregious than what you’re calling out - and it’s right as rain now.

You do you. For me, I opted to keep mine and work through the issues. Bulletproof otherwise.

 

[electruck]

Keep in mind the safety improvement for '23 was driven by a new, tougher IIHS side impact test. Unless you plan to never ride in another vehicle with a friend, coworker, family member, etc which wasn't designed with the revised test in mind, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Safety is always improving.

 

[jskyler]

FWIW - put in tickets on the body issues and they’ll get you sorted in a couple of days in the shop. I had issues with mine - some more egregious than what you’re calling out - and it’s right as rain now.

You do you. For me, I opted to keep mine and work through the issues. Bulletproof otherwise.

Good to know you had something worse that got corrected! The service center is pretty far away from me but not awful.

 

[jskyler]

Keep in mind the safety improvement for '23 was driven by a new, tougher IIHS side impact test. Unless you plan to never ride in another vehicle with a friend, coworker, family member, etc which wasn't designed with the revised test in mind, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Safety is always improving.

An excellent point and one that I will point out to my wife who is the one more bothered by it than I am. For me, the alignment issues were a bigger deal but not a show stopper.

 

[Rivdog]

Those alignment issues aren’t good, but the steering wheel is what I’d be worried about. It shouldn’t move a millimeter, so that suggests something is seriously wrong. I won’t speculate on what because I’m not educated enough on the issue, but I wouldn’t accept a vehicle like that.

FWIW, sound systems are tough to gauge. I have the Meridian and absolutely love it, as do many others, but some people really don’t like it. The non-branded one may sound different, but it’s hard to imagine it sounding so significantly better or worse that it would be worth trading it in for a vehicle with a different. Now, considering all the other issues you noted, it might just be the tipping point. My T has been darn near flawless and it was a Dec. 2022 build. Much better than earlier ones, so I’d expect a current build to be even better quality. They learned a lot over the first 6-7 months and made some good improvements.

 

[mikehmb]

Good to know you had something worse that got corrected! The service center is pretty far away from me but not awful.

Fair point - I’m 24 miles from the SC, 30 mins on a bad day. Distance would definitely alter my perception, esp if it wasn’t all handled in a single shot. I’ve had 4 visits to the SC so far, but I think we have all the gremlins stamped out now.

Wish I could give you a before after, but there was a big blob of a dent on the rear passenger-side wheel well haunch director on the horizontal line. Came out without any evidence whatsoever of a flaw. Paintless dent-removal people are magicians.

 

[NineElectrics]

FWIW - put in tickets on the body issues and they’ll get you sorted in a couple of days in the shop. I had issues with mine - some more egregious than what you’re calling out - and it’s right as rain now.

This was not my experience. I put in the tickets. They fixed what was easy to fix and shrugged their shoulders at the rest, “they’re hard to fix.” They don’t stand behind their work when the going gets tough.

 

[ironpig]

The Rivian is still safer than almost all cars on the road despite not having some of the latest and greatest.

That said, those trim and panel issues are really bad and not acceptable. I might not have driven it off the lot in that condition. I'm not sure why the service center allowed this through pre delivery inspection.

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