2026.03 Update Pushed! Now Installing

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I'm looking forward to being able to keep AWD on all the time. Going from a Quad to a DM without the performance upgrade, the single biggest frustration for me is the engagement/disengagement of the rear motor. It reminds me of a downshift in a gas car and it's moderately annoying. Worst is when the rear motors engage halfway through a turn because I like to accelerate through turns and it causes the rear end to kick out on me due to torque steer.

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[bfilippo]

Ha! I just had a work thing i Tucson. Went from 0° to 75° and a week later home. its…feels like -3. I need to move. Packing my solar panels in a uhaul might be tricky...

Eh, I feel that way this time of year here too but man are our summers the best!

 

[rogersmj]

I'm looking forward to being able to keep AWD on all the time. Going from a Quad to a DM without the performance upgrade, the single biggest frustration for me is the engagement/disengagement of the rear motor. It reminds me of a downshift in a gas car and it's moderately annoying.

Same (well, I never had a Quad)...from what I hear the rear motor engagement is "better" than it used to be, but I still hate it. My preference for a fully automated approach would be full time 4WD by default, unless I'm above 60 mph for like 2+ minutes then DISengage the rear automatically.

 

[joem]

Seems like a good update - certainly happy(ier) as a dual motor owner, but beyond those items the additional features are appreciated. Having owned a Lightning for a couple of years, and one reason I left Ford, I'm glad that Rivian continues to push software upgrades frequently and with meaningful improvements (subjective, I understand).

For dual motor with performance upgrade, what does this update do?

 

[rogersmj]

For dual motor with performance upgrade, what does this update do?

https://riviantrackr.com/news/whats-coming-in-rivian-software-2026-03/

"Launch mode added to Performance Dual Motor, with 0 to 60 and quarter mile stats"

 

[More Juice Please]

For dual motor with performance upgrade, what does this update do?

Fair point, joem, and appreciate the reply from rogersmj. Non-performance dual owner here so getting sport mode is nice, though perhaps not a frequently used setting. Having just given my wife motion sickness when carving on some roads yesterday in all-purpose, it should be fun to see how she handles sport mode. May need to get a sickness bag ready...

 

[joem]

Fair point, joem, and appreciate the reply from rogersmj. Non-performance dual owner here so getting sport mode is nice, though perhaps not a frequently used setting. Having just given my wife motion sickness when carving on some roads yesterday in all-purpose, it should be fun to see how she handles performance mode. May need to get a sickness bag ready...

I would really like for the performance upgrade owners to be able to set sport as the default drive mode. Clearly paying for the upgrade should side step the EPA rating requirements. Plus this is an EV, not sure why those EPA rating matter anyway.

 

[runwithscissors]

Same (well, I never had a Quad)...from what I hear the rear motor engagement is "better" than it used to be, but I still hate it. My preference for a fully automated approach would be full time 4WD by default, unless I'm above 60 mph for like 2+ minutes then DISengage the rear automatically.

Never drove a dual but for that reason alone I wouldn't get one. I also heard that it puts the suspension in auto every single time you drive and that would be a deal-breaker for me as well. I wonder how many people know those limitations when buying one?

 

[Kaiju]

The auto ride height thing was apparently Rivian being caught trying to juice the range numbers to maximum during the EPA testing for the ratings. It was enabled during the testing and is the basis for the marketed range numbers for duals (since they don't have a conserve mode), which means they're apparently not allowed to have it in a state where it can be permanently disabled for the default drive option. If you were a 24 dual motor owner, it didn't come back on all the time on the vehicle you test drove and/or bought and they buried that change in a software update without putting it in the update notes.

I wouldn't say it was worth it for the 1-2% more range. It wasn't required for any reason other than pegging a few more range miles and pumping the numbers for marketing earned them a bunch of bad PR. I'm not sure it turns off customers during test drives because most of them wouldn't know it comes back on unless they had it for days, and I think it gets turned off by a lot of the staff during test drives on the duals so there's no jarring ride quality issues that would definitely make people walk away and not come back. I'd wager that it's a surprise for most buyers after they get their vehicle home. I wonder actually if there aren't a lot that don't even know why their ride quality is garbage on the highway.

 

[More Juice Please]

I've only had my R1T for 40 days, but I have not noticed any difference when the rear motor stops or starts (FWD to AWD or vice versa). I have kept the truck in All Purpose almost the full time I have had it (snow mode for a bit as we had a nice 12" two weeks ago). Not sure if I'm just not noticing something that's very subtle or what...seems quite smooth to me.

 

[iamnid]

I've only had my R1T for 40 days, but I have not noticed any difference when the rear motor stops or starts (FWD to AWD or vice versa). I have kept the truck in All Purpose almost the full time I have had it (snow mode for a bit as we had a nice 12" two weeks ago). Not sure if I'm just not noticing something that's very subtle or what...seems quite smooth to me.

Try this. Get on the freeway and settle at 65, or whatever speed you're comfortable with. It will go to fwd only. Then, step on the accelerator like you want to pass someone. It will engage the rear motor and, if you're lucky, it will feel like an automatic transmission downshifting as there will be a delay and then more power will come on. If you're less lucky, it will be a noticeable clunk or jarring feeling as the rear motor is engaged.

Mine started off smooth and went to a clunk with an OTA but is back to the auto transmission feel again.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

The auto ride height thing was apparently Rivian being caught trying to juice the range numbers to maximum during the EPA testing for the ratings. It was enabled during the testing and is the basis for the marketed range numbers for duals (since they don't have a conserve mode), which means they're apparently not allowed to have it in a state where it can be permanently disabled for the default drive option. If you were a 24 dual motor owner, it didn't come back on all the time on the vehicle you test drove and/or bought and they buried that change in a software update without putting it in the update notes.

I wouldn't say it was worth it for the 1-2% more range. It wasn't required for any reason other than pegging a few more range miles and pumping the numbers for marketing earned them a bunch of bad PR. I'm not sure it turns off customers during test drives because most of them wouldn't know it comes back on unless they had it for days, and I think it gets turned off by a lot of the staff during test drives on the duals so there's no jarring ride quality issues that would definitely make people walk away and not come back. I'd wager that it's a surprise for most buyers after they get their vehicle home. I wonder actually if there aren't a lot that don't even know why their ride quality is garbage on the highway.

It's the same EPA regulation that causes my Honda to have the "Auto Stop Start" function default to on so that it has to be manually turned off every drive. It's far more annoying than the auto suspension for Rivian.

Auto suspension doesn't reset every time you drive, but it does after the vehicle has been idle for 4 hours.

 

[mkhuffman]

I've only had my R1T for 40 days, but I have not noticed any difference when the rear motor stops or starts (FWD to AWD or vice versa). I have kept the truck in All Purpose almost the full time I have had it (snow mode for a bit as we had a nice 12" two weeks ago). Not sure if I'm just not noticing something that's very subtle or what...seems quite smooth to me.

You can feel it in Conserve. But it is very subtle. Like a soft downshift. It never happens in All Purpose.

 

[More Juice Please]

Try this. Get on the freeway and settle at 65, or whatever speed you're comfortable with. It will go to fwd only. Then, step on the accelerator like you want to pass someone. It will engage the rear motor and, if you're lucky, it will feel like an automatic transmission downshifting as there will be a delay and then more power will come on. If you're less lucky, it will be a noticeable clunk or jarring feeling as the rear motor is engaged.

Mine started off smooth and went to a clunk with an OTA but is back to the auto transmission feel again.

On the road this morning and if I really floor it, I can feel a bump/downshift sensation. It’s not jarring, so that’s positive. But in a reasonably quick acceleration, but not a sudden and all in flooring of the throttle, I don’t notice anything. Hopefully it stays this way.

You can feel it in Conserve. But it is very subtle. Like a soft downshift. It never happens in All Purpose.

The R1T dual I have does not have conserve. As I understand it the conserve mode was done away with for dual motor setups for just all purpose with the variable engagement of the rear motor when power or traction is needed. May bypass this for a bit and just drive in all-terrain to see how different it feels.

 

[higrob]

Not positive about the dual motor but I think maybe all terrain mode has a very limited top speed.

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