Gen 2 R1S Owners

[Pacernow]

All,

I have been considering leasing a 25 R1S. Rivian is providing significant enhancements to lease a Gen 2 R1S. Had an opportunity to test drive a DM Large Battery Performance Model R1S at the Dallas Space today (6/14/25). The S was very quiet no wind noise, turn radius was impressive compared to my R1T, and the performance feature was great. Enjoyed the test drive and the Rivian personnel were excellent.
Recently seen some videos by EV influencers discussing issues with the alignment, the rear end swaying and porpoising of the rear end. Several viewers of these videos chimed in that they had the same experience. Any owners on this board experienced these issues?
Thank you in advance.

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[Donald Stanfield]

I had a gen 1 T and now a gen 2 S and the S is overall more polished. My gen 1 was a ‘22 so an early build and there were lots of noises from the suspension that my new one doesn’t have. Overall you can tell they improved it and with the rear wheel power bias of the tri especially. Butt dyno feels significantly faster.

I feel like porposing isn’t a factor so long as you’re rolling off the throttle, especially when you’re deep in the pedal. Usually the people experiencing that either aren’t used to a car with that kind of acceleration or regen braking. If you want porposing go test drive a hummer SUV. You can get sea sick in there.

 

[Pacernow]

Donald,

Thank you for your reply.

 

[MidnightRivian]

Gen 2 SUV has a refined suspension and the new updates both combined to help improve the driving dynamics.

Even my Gen 1 has improved from just software updates.

As far as alignment goes, you will want to make sure you check steering wheel centering along with how the vehicle is tracking when you take delivery. If you have any issues, DFW service center is excellent to work with and will get you aligned correctly.

I personally use DFW service center and have had very good experience with them for my Gen 1.

I would not hesitate to put an order in for Gen 2 R1S due to suspension, alignment or driving dynamics reviews from EV influencers that might be using previous OTA updates / Gen 1 vs Gen 2 parts.

 

[Octane]

new to Rivian … my R1S Tri is about 2 weeks old (from Dallas too) .., zero issues.

 

[Pacernow]

Octane and MidnightRivian,

Thank you for your responses.

 

[socaladam]

Gen2 R1S here.

Same issues you mentioned.

Delivered with poor alignment and steering wheel not centered - SC addressed these 1 month later (best appt I could get).

Compared to my Audi eTron the R1S:
Wind noise is much louder
Blower motor is so loud it’s sounds like a truck idling outside my home
Air suspension is years behind Audi

I have to disagree with the previous comment. There is nothing refined about the R1S suspension, on either generation. Yes, I’ve driven both.

 

[joem]

Gen2 R1S here.

Same issues you mentioned.

Delivered with poor alignment and steering wheel not centered - SC addressed these 1 month later (best appt I could get).

Compared to my Audi eTron the R1S:
Wind noise is much louder
Blower motor is so loud it’s sounds like a truck idling outside my home
Air suspension is years behind Audi

I have to disagree with the previous comment. There is nothing refined about the R1S suspension, on either generation. Yes, I’ve driven both.

Maybe you should stick with your Audi. In no way does Audi sell any vehicle with the off road capabilities that Rivian delivers. This is like comparing apples to pineapples. I have a Yukon Denali 4wd and the Rivian suspension is very similar refinement.

 

[benguin]

9-month Gen2 R1S Dual Max owner in Minnesota. No issues, other than some minor body trim, which the SC here addressed quickly. Very positive experience so far. OTA is making the car better each month, including charging curves and ride quality (which IMHO was pretty good to begin with). I haven't had issues with porpoising, alignment, or wind noise. The heat pump is loud, but that you can hear on the outside. I drove a Gen1 R1T for a weekend, and in comparison, the heating efficiency is definitely better with the heat pump.

My two cents. Hope this helps.

 

[riverie]

3 weeks and 1300 miles into my first EV, R1S Tri-motor.
I have read many of the reviews where folks find fault with the vehicle, but my experience is completely positive.
Good delivery experience, good experience with mobile service when they installed my spare tire.
Vehicle is quiet, comfortable, and scary quick.
No regrets.

 

[adatel]

9 months into my R1S Performance Dual Max with premium sound. Coming from a 2012 MB GL450 that I had put 130K miles on and was spending $15K a year just to keep operating.

I have had one software glitch on the R1S navigation which cleared up with a Hard then Soft reset.

Love the R1S. Very quick, more powerful and more torque than my 495HP V8 MB. Exact same size on the outside but a bit more space inside on the Rivian.

The sound systems are now (with over-the-air updates) comparable -- now, I would say a bit better than the GL premium sound.

The suspension is not as luxury smooth as the MB, and the MB was a rock >100 (I won't tell you if that is KPH or MPH) - autobahn-designed clearly. The R1S is a bit bumpier and also not quite as well-behaved at speed but because of the instant torque and lack of gear changes, it is definitely the more fun beast to drive of the two (and the MB was no slouch and had a great transmission).

FWIW, I have the 22 wheels which I understand are a better ride than at least some of the 20s.

Bottom line, I wouldn't go back to an ICE MB, and wouldn't have put my 70K (after discount) on a used MB which I'm sure would have already cost me 10K in maintenance by now (they are crazy complex cars).

If you are unsure about the ride, then definitely drive one (again) since that is a very personal thing. As a previous poster wrote, it has improved via over-the-air tuning since I got the car, and it was fine then from my perspective.

I also think one pedal driving is a game-changer from a user experience perspective. It is so intuitive (and safer!) now to me that the car should slow down if you take the foot off the gas, and not coast along. It has helped me to avoid several situations where cars in front of me slowed or stopped (before I got to the automatic braking hard stop).

Also, my two cents is to be very careful about thinking that what you read on this forum is representative of Rivian owner experiences. People who come here are demanding car/EV nerds (ahem), or people who have a problem with their car. That is a group with a selection bias. I know other Rivian owners who aren't on the forum and have great experiences, FWIW.

I had lots of issues with my MB, but as long as I was willing to spend $15K a year everything got fixed well and it only let me down once. But every time I took it to a non-dealer, they had terrible problems fixing it and I ended up back at a dealer.

Hope that helps.

 

[krb1183]

We've had our Gen2 R1S since last August. We haven't had any of the issues you've mentioned from the video. We always look forward to driving the R1 because of how comfortable and quiet it is. Especially compared to our other ICE vehicles. This is our first EV so we don't have any other comparisons to other EVs, but we really like it and think it's a very comfortable riding vehicle. We pretty much always drive in auto ride height, so always in standard height unless cruising on highways.

 

[Pacernow]

Thanks to everyone that has responded to this thread. The information that all of you have provided has been very helpful.

 

[socaladam]

Maybe you should stick with your Audi. In no way does Audi sell any vehicle with the off road capabilities that Rivian delivers. This is like comparing apples to pineapples. I have a Yukon Denali 4wd and the Rivian suspension is very similar refinement.

My R1S is on 22” rubber bands. No way this thing has any real off road chance.

ETA - I didn’t buy the R1S to rock crawl, or drive fire roads at 50mph. That's what my truck is for.

 

[joem]

My R1S is on 22” rubber bands. No way this thing has any real off road chance.

ETA - I didn’t buy the R1S to rock crawl, or drive fire roads at 50mph. That's what my truck is for.

While the 22” are not great for off roading. You can throw some 20” with AT tires and get fantastic off road performance. Stick with your audi.

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