The windshield wipers....work.

[rpo]

Yeah, this is gonna be a specific review. First, I have owned 4 Tesla's (2014 Model S, 2016 Model S, 2019 Model S, and a 2023 Model X) and now have a 2023 R1S.

It's been raining here for the past few days, so I got to test out the windshield wipers in everything from mist to heavy rain....and they work. Yep, it's that simple. It begins to rain, and the wipers turn on. Rain gets heavier, wipers run more often or faster. Like clockwork. Great job, Rivian.

And the reason I am pointing this out is that the automatic wipers in my last three Teslas did not. They would either go from off to high speed in the lightest of rain and would simply fail to run at all if the rain became too heavy. It was the same thing on all three cars I owned, so it was clearly a software or hardware defect that must be unfixable at this point. Pretty much without fail, when the rain stopped, the wipers would just keep on running, and I'd have to manually turn them off. It was beyond aggravating.

So, again, great job to Rivian for making a basic feature simply work.

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[Jeevesbond]

This is hilarious because it was first thing i said to my wife as we are also x s and y owners where the wipers didnt work well!

 

[KingTodd]

Are you on the correct forum? You are only supposed to complain here.
My area is in a drought but form the few times I have used them they have been very good in Auto mode

 

[rpo]

This is hilarious because it was first thing i said to my wife as we are also x s and y owners where the wipers didnt work well!

I've got another thing to point out that simply works on the Rivian and did not with Tesla. Driver+. I had "Full Self Driving" on my last two Teslas (and the original autopilot on another) , and on every freeway with on/off ramps, it would veer to the right the moment the lane was merging in if I was in the slow lane. Sharp veer to the right followed by a sharp veer to the left. It was unnerving and drivers behind me must have thought I was drunk. It's been an issue for 7 years and Tesla has not fixed it, but the Rivian just stays right in the lane as it should without any adjustments.

 

[Jeevesbond]

I've got another thing to point out that simply works on the Rivian and did not with Tesla. Driver+. I had "Full Self Driving" on my last two Teslas (and the original autopilot on another) , and on every freeway with on/off ramps, it would veer to the right the moment the lane was merging in if I was in the slow lane. Sharp veer to the right followed by a sharp veer to the left. It was unnerving and drivers behind me must have thought I was drunk. It's been an issue for 7 years and Tesla has not fixed it, but the Rivian just stays right in the lane as it should without any adjustments.

Agree ive been happy w driver plus in my limited use so far however i did like that ap was more available for roads. If they opened driver plus to higher speed thoroughfares alongside highway id be absolutely delighted

 

[s4wrxttcs]

I had a 2015 Tesla Model S where I felt like the autowipers worked really well

With my 2018 Model 3P the autowipers were horrible because Tesla decided to have a vision based on where it used a tiny amount of the camera image.

With my 2022 Rivian I was initially happy with the Autowipers but then I started to notice they don't wipe as quickly as I'd like with light rain.

Then there was a period where I felt like the wipers themselves (regardless of mode) were ineffective and unsafe. The service department did some adjustment so they're okay now.

Ultimately I think I'm going to find better wiper blades.

I'm not super into the UX for the wiper controls either. Takes too long to switch modes versus having a hard switch.

 

[Killer95Stang]

I wonder how Rivian's wiper will compare to the 5ft long veloci-wiper of the cybertruck? You might change your mind..

 

[LevelHeaded]

Ultimately I think I'm going to find better wiper blades

I got PIAA Aero Vogues and love them. Put them on almost immediately after taking delivery!

 

[kylealden]

This is honestly one of the first things I tell Tesla owners too. Rivians aren't perfect but this (and the physical wiper/light controls) are perfect exmaples to me of how Rivian strikes the right balance between "smart," "simple," and "functional" which Tesla whiffs so often.

We have a Model Y and previously had a Model 3 and the wipers are an absolute unmitigated disaster. Running at a million miles an hour in a light mist, totally failing to run in a downpour, going nuts on a sunny day, and clumsy touchscreen controls. It's awful.

The Rivian does an extra wipe once in a blue moon when I unlock it, but otherwise has literally never disappointed me - just works. And if it didn't, I'd have a physical toggle control.

 

[rpo]

This is honestly one of the first things I tell Tesla owners too. Rivians aren't perfect but this (and the physical wiper/light controls) are perfect exmaples to me of how Rivian strikes the right balance between "smart," "simple," and "functional" which Tesla whiffs so often.

We have a Model Y and previously had a Model 3 and the wipers are an absolute unmitigated disaster. Running at a million miles an hour in a light mist, totally failing to run in a downpour, going nuts on a sunny day, and clumsy touchscreen controls. It's awful.

The Rivian does an extra wipe once in a blue moon when I unlock it, but otherwise has literally never disappointed me - just works. And if it didn't, I'd have a physical toggle control.

This is a perfect comparison.

 

[Thedude]

For me the auto wipers are way too slow in light rain. As a result I never use auto and either manually select a wiper setting or just push the button when I want the window cleared.

 

[Alchemy8279]

I live in the Southeast, where we get torrential downpours, and the wipers are too slow at the highest setting. Other than that, they work great.

I get the occasional wipe at startup, but I have attributed that to pollen and dust over the sensor.

 

[Winger]

Working wipers are great to hear.

My Tesla 3 was a great little car but those wipers drove me crazy every time it rained. Whose idea was it to eliminate the physical control for wipers? Not only did the wipers not work automatically, but you had to take your eyes off the road (while raining) to manually turn them on!

Other than that, the 3 only needed service once in 5 years ... for a dead 12V battery that was replaced at home (I don't stress too much about paint and trim issues, my car had surfboards and sand and sunblock inside all the time).

I hope the R1T is as good.

The A/C on the 3 was not the best, a little loud and hard to get the vents and fan speed configured, but from the posts on here about par with the R1T... so expectations have been managed.

 

[Grajjie]

Interesting, so it seems those coming from a Tesla like the Rivian auto wipers however I am coming from a BMW and I think it's a step back compared to that. I find that the wipers go too slow in moderate rain and they go way to fast in light rain. The thing I liked about the BMW system is that they have a scroll wheel on the stalk to select 4 levels of sensitivity for the auto wipers. Usually I keep it at level 1 and sometimes put it to level 2 and it works pretty well. I wish Rivian would add an option to adjust the sensitivity in the infotainment.

 

[rpo]

Interesting, so it seems those coming from a Tesla like the Rivian auto wipers however I am coming from a BMW and I think it's a step back compared to that. I find that the wipers go too slow in moderate rain and they go way to fast in light rain. The thing I liked about the BMW system is that they have a scroll wheel on the stalk to select 4 levels of sensitivity for the auto wipers. Usually I keep it at level 1 and sometimes put it to level 2 and it works pretty well. I wish Rivian would add an option to adjust the sensitivity in the infotainment.

Sensitivity settings would be amazing. My tesla ran the wipers at high speed starting about 5 minutes after the rain began (prior to that they simply didn't work), and then they would run forever after the rain stopped. Literally forever. They were the worst wipers, and I had 3 Teslas with autowipers. None worked.

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