Powered tonneau at delivery

[Yossarian]

My R1T delivery is scheduled for this coming Tuesday. Late Friday, the delivery center texted me and said that even though the vehicle is configured with a power tonneau cover, it will not be on the truck as delivered. That's not really much of a shocker, but surely Rivian was aware of the situation much earlier, and I'm a bit peeved to only be informed a few days before delivery, after I wired the full payment.

It is also both surprising and annoying that they were not able to give me an idea of when the tonneau will be available, other than to say that they hoped it would be this Fall. The delivery rep also said that they will likely not be able to do the installation via their mobile service.

Is this more or less the norm for the powered tonneau cover these days?

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[RivianNE]

They used to do tonneau cover install by mobile service but not anymore. Had to go to the SC to get the new design installed.

 

[moosetags]

The Rivian powered tonneau cover has been the Achilles Heel of R1T production. A few worked as advertised, many did not. Even Rivian's attempts at a manual tonneau cover have been less than stellar.

If you must have a tonneau cover, consider one of the well-made offerings from several competent aftermarketeers.

The moral of the story is that Rivian should have noticed that neither Ford nor Chevrolet ever offered a factory tonneau cover in over 100 years of making pick-up trucks.

We love Opal (our R1T). We decided early on that we did want a tonneau cover, but not one of the amateur offerings from Rivian. After much research and consideration, we settled on a Lomax Tri-fold. We have found this tonneau to be very well made, nice looking, secure, and water tight.

Brian

 

[Gee Bee]

Iam still on the list for a power assy

Off topic
I contacted Bedrug at Sema and wanted a Bedrug for the R1t and offered to place a order for 100 units ,
Not interested

poor marketing from Bedrug

 

[DLMoss]

I had no notice prior to delivery. They just said “ someday.“

 

[Yossarian]

Ironically, I am indifferent to the tonneau cover but the R1T is coming from the R1 Shop, so there is no way to change any part of the configuration. Now that some time has passed and I've been able to process the messaging from Rivian, I have to say that I'm less than happy with the way this has unfolded.

As I wrote above, I was only notified of the missing tonneau late Friday, and the message was via a text from a rep at the delivery center. The wording of the text was a bit flippant, kind of "hey no biggie but we wanted to tell you that you shouldn't be surprised that you're not getting the powered tonneau cover when you pick up your truck." Adding to the annoyance, was learning that the estimate for when the tonneau will be available is pretty much just "sometime, hopefully this fall, but no promises." And "oh by the way, no mobile service so you;ll need to bring the truck to the SC to get the work done." Adding to the annoyance is that here is no way to communicate with the delivery center other than via text.

I'm not willing to say that the information was deliberately withheld, but frankly, it's hard to believe that no one at Rivian was aware of the situation earlier than late Friday. It's probably just coincidence that the notification text came after full payment was wired to Rivian, but I've had multiple interactions with both my Guide and delivery center throughout the week, without anyone mentioning the tonneau.

As you may be able tell, I'm a bit PO'd. Not so much at Rivian being unable or unwilling to provide anything but the vagueist notion of when the cover may be available, or at having to pay in full for something that I won't receive for many months. or not even that I will have take a full day to drive a more than a hundred miles for the work to be done. No, what's really got my goat is the very tardy, casual an offhand way that Rivian chose to inform me.

I've made an appointment to speak with my Guide Monday morning and while I will as always be polite, respectful and diplomatic, I intend to make my feelings known and see what the reaction is. No options are off the table.

 

[jjswan33]

I am guessing you are getting a 2023?

FWIW I was inquiring about the PTC because I don't want one. I was told if I buy a 2023 it would not come with a PTC installed and that they would come in the fall (and if I didn't want one I could choose not to have it installed). I was also told that if I bought a 2024 it is more likely to come installed at time of delivery.

FWIW #2 - SC just replaced my OG PTC a couple weeks ago. I dropped it off on Wednesday afternoon and they did that service and the rear brakes and were done the next day.

 

[Yossarian]

I am guessing you are getting a 2023?

FWIW I was inquiring about the PTC because I don't want one. I was told if I buy a 2023 it would not come with a PTC installed and that they would come in the fall (and if I didn't want one I could choose not to have it installed). I was also told that if I bought a 2024 it is more likely to come installed at time of delivery.

FWIW #2 - SC just replaced my OG PTC a couple weeks ago. I dropped it off on Wednesday afternoon and they did that service and the rear brakes and were done the next day.

Nope, 2024, VIN year designator R, serial 31,XXX. As I wrote above, I'd be happy NOT to have the tonneau but the truck is from the Shop, and so was speced by Rivian:

 

[jjswan33]

Nope, 2024, and I wrote above, I'd be happy NOT to have the tonneau. The truck is from the Shop though, and was speced by Rivian:

Gotcha. Tell them you want a refund of your $500 or you won't take delivery if you feel strongly about it, I agree they shouldn't be charging you for something that isn't installed that you didn't have a choice on.. Like you said though, unlikely anyone is doing anything malicious but not the worst miscommunication/under communication issue I have seen people report.

 

[jjswan33]

Not to belabor the point but they do have a disclaimer on the shop configs for the PTC.

 

[Golfer04]

Gotcha. Tell them you want a refund of your $500 or you won't take delivery if you feel strongly about it, I agree they shouldn't be charging you for something that isn't installed that you didn't have a choice on.. Like you said though, unlikely anyone is doing anything malicious but not the worst miscommunication/under communication issue I have seen people report.

This.....don't pay for it if you are indifferent. Only problem with that option is if you want it later it won't be $500. $3,000 is more likely. On my first R1T I paid $1500 for PTC and it was 18 months getting it to work. Then traded it 2 months later and just put after market cover on it. Up to you, but I wouldn't pay for it.

 

[Brian A]

I must be one of the lucky ones. I picked my R1T up on 5/22/24 and had the powered tonneau cover on it. It has a build date of 4/2024. So far it works great and looks 100% factory. I didn't want one of the aftermarket ones because they just don't look that great compared to the factory one. They are also more expensive.

 

[boxswatter]

my pick up date was 5/30 and was told it would not be installed. Big surprise to show up and it was! No explanation, they said I must be one of the lucky ones and only a couple had come in installed so far ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[DuoRivians]

Powered tonneaus will generally be installed later at a service center. This has been the case for a long time

 

[RivianRunner]

The Rivian powered tonneau cover has been the Achilles Heel of R1T production. A few worked as advertised, many did not. Even Rivian's attempts at a manual tonneau cover have been less than stellar.

If you must have a tonneau cover, consider one of the well-made offerings from several competent aftermarketeers.

The moral of the story is that Rivian should have noticed that neither Ford nor Chevrolet ever offered a factory tonneau cover in over 100 years of making pick-up trucks.

It's odd you think that making a well-made tonneau cover is too difficult for Ford, GM or Rivian. I don't think I would buy a truck from a company who thought it was too difficult to manufacture a functional and reliable tonneau cover.

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