Rivian Cross Bars didn't lock/latch properly

[jcrigler]

I purchased Crossbars with my R1S and the didn't lock/latch properly. A call to the service folk said you have to pull down on them hard. But I weigh 180 LBS and I could have stood on them and they still wouldn't lock down.

I read in this forum somewhere that you could remove the base of the crossbar feet and access a Tx20 screw to adjust... which I tried to no avail.

I finally just made a service appointment.

Today the Rivian guy showed up and struggled with adjustments for at least an hour before getting them to work right. I'm happy that they got this all working. But jeez... That was a very expensive piece of customer service for Rivian. Dispatching a van and technician to make an adjustment that should have been made at the factory or assembly line. And makes me worried about what problems I will find next.

Anyway... they work properly now. So thank you Rivian.... but fix your QC!

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[rkalbiar]

Sadly, there s virtually no QC with Rivian... But the crossbars are not made by Rivian anyway..

 

[jcrigler]

Really that's no excuse.... they are sold by Rivian.... so they own the problem.

 

[Wilson]

I thought this was the case with mine but eventually (after 15 minutes of struggling) they worked. I think the instructions aren’t very clear, which is the biggest problem. I also think that the challenging fit is designed to mitigate any rattle or vibration…
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Dark-Fx]

Dispatching a van and technician to make an adjustment that should have been made at the factory or assembly line. And makes me worried about what problems I will find next.

There's enough variation in the vehicle side that it can cause issues with either being too loose or too tight. Especially once you start getting some wear involved. I can take a perfectly adjusted bar for over the bed of my truck and it's sloppy as heck on our R1S.

Would have been way better to be able to adjust it without needing to take them apart first, it's too fiddlely.

 

[Phatman113]

Why does everybody say you need to push down on them to lock? I've never done that. You set them in, and get the preliminary latch, but it's still loose. Then you just close the lock cover, and when you push it closed it latches the second latch. Is that not how everybody else's crossbars work?

Not saying OP did it wrong, I'm just seeing lots of people suggesting that the way to latch them is to push down on the bar, and that's not how I've ever done, or been told to do it.

 

[godfodder0901]

Why does everybody say you need to push down on them to lock? I've never done that. You set them in, and get the preliminary latch, but it's still loose. Then you just close the lock cover, and when you push it closed it latches the second latch. Is that not how everybody else's crossbars work?

Not saying OP did it wrong, I'm just seeing lots of people suggesting that the way to latch them is to push down on the bar, and that's not how I've ever done, or been told to do it.

Sometimes you don't get that second latch without pressure.

 

[godfodder0901]

There's enough variation in the vehicle side that it can cause issues with either being too loose or too tight. Especially once you start getting some wear involved. I can take a perfectly adjusted bar for over the bed of my truck and it's sloppy as heck on our R1S.

Would have been way better to be able to adjust it without needing to take them apart first, it's too fiddlely.

I mark mine with specific location for this very reason. I have issues if I even rotate a bar left to right.

 

[FooF]

Service can adjust them for you but you can try yourself. You should only need to make very small adjustments maybe 1/8 turn at a time and test to see if it is getting better or worse.
If you remove the rubber from the crossbar there are two adjustment allens
With the end of the crossbar facing you the right adjustment seems to set the play (clockwise tightens the play if crossbar feels sloppy when latched to the crossbar mount, counterclockwise to loosen if your latch does not want to do the second click when pushing in on the crossbar lever.
After adjusting the play to remove slop or tighten the latch on the crossbar the lever may be sticking out too far. Turn the left allen with the latch closed and lever down but not attached to the roof and you should be able to adjust the lever so that it is not sticking out too far from the crossbar. Make sure to put the rubber back on and test the adjustment and keep working on it until it is not too loose and sloppy or too tight and you cannot get the 2nd click when you push the crossbar lever in.
I also use a paint marker to mark the crossbar position under the lever so that I know I am always putting the crossbars on the same mount points that I adjusted them on.

 

[diehlryan]

I purchased Crossbars with my R1S and the didn't lock/latch properly. A call to the service folk said you have to pull down on them hard. But I weigh 180 LBS and I could have stood on them and they still wouldn't lock down.

I read in this forum somewhere that you could remove the base of the crossbar feet and access a Tx20 screw to adjust... which I tried to no avail.

I finally just made a service appointment.

Today the Rivian guy showed up and struggled with adjustments for at least an hour before getting them to work right. I'm happy that they got this all working. But jeez... That was a very expensive piece of customer service for Rivian. Dispatching a van and technician to make an adjustment that should have been made at the factory or assembly line. And makes me worried about what problems I will find next.

Anyway... they work properly now. So thank you Rivian.... but fix your QC!

Its not a torx screw for adjustment. It adjusts via an allen key.

 

[AL2023R1S]

I purchased Crossbars with my R1S and the didn't lock/latch properly. A call to the service folk said you have to pull down on them hard. But I weigh 180 LBS and I could have stood on them and they still wouldn't lock down.

I read in this forum somewhere that you could remove the base of the crossbar feet and access a Tx20 screw to adjust... which I tried to no avail.

I finally just made a service appointment.

Today the Rivian guy showed up and struggled with adjustments for at least an hour before getting them to work right. I'm happy that they got this all working. But jeez... That was a very expensive piece of customer service for Rivian. Dispatching a van and technician to make an adjustment that should have been made at the factory or assembly line. And makes me worried about what problems I will find next.

Anyway... they work properly now. So thank you Rivian.... but fix your QC!

I had the same problem on my R1S, driver's side rearmost wouldn't latch all the way. Mobile service came out and had to straighten the latch point, because it was crooked.

 

[ndmiller]

Exactly why I picked them up at a SC during an appointment. I came back and they were on the bed. Who knows if it worked the first time, but if not they fixed it.

 

[strykerwsu]

I'm just glad I got the best truck and accessories. Never had an issue. Glad Rivian took care of you.

 

[kuau]

I just picked up my new R1S yesterday I had sold my R1T and took off the cross bars, which I installed them myself and took 2 minutes no issues.
On my R1S I am having the same issue one side will not latch down, doesn't matter how much pressure I push down. I tried it on all the rack mounting spots and I couldn't get it to latch down. So it's hard for me to believe that all the attachment points on the roof are out of alignment. Are there instructions on how to adjust the latch on the rack.

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