What to do when key card takes forever to unlock R1T?

[SwampNut]

After surfing, when this happens, I just had to look like an idiot for a min standing there pressing my key card on the door knob until it eventually opens.

Now that I have the app on my Apple Watch, I get to stand like an idiot at the tail gate instead, repeatedly trying to unlock in the app on the watch.

Once again, Rivian is so damn random, and you never know what you will get from one vehicle to another. I use my Watch regularly for the frunk, doors, and tailgate. It's 100% within three seconds, usually one second. (When I'm next to it, cellular takes 3-5 seconds, expected and fine.)

I wonder if pushing the door handle will wake the car and make the card work faster. I should go outside and try a card for the first time.

Our prior Kia EV6 and our BMW I4 have no delay issues, and they came with key fobs that worked instantly for free.

Our BMW remote didn't always auto-unlock before arriving at the car, if it was in sleep (older non-EV). The BUTTON on the remote was 100% and quick, just like the button on the Rivian remote. It seems like the automatic no-touch unlock is just slower to save battery.

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[BanditTA]

I was wondering if the Rivian key fob had a delay as well but @SwampNut it sounds like it doesn’t?

 

[SwampNut]

I was wondering if the Rivian key fob had a delay as well but @SwampNut it sounds like it doesn’t?

Most modern key fobs have two modes; touchless unlock, and pushbutton unlock. I have NEVER had a delay on the button. I don't actually recall if there's any delay with the touchless. I almost never use it, just the phone and Watch.

 

[derekmw]

Yeah our Rivian key fob also works just fine. It's really only the key cards and my apple watch. For both of them, there are times when it works immediately, but more often than not, I'm standing there frustrated trying to get it to unlock. At least with my watch, it looks like I'm doing something on my watch vs looking like I'm trying to break into the car when trying to use the key card.

 

[SwampNut]

Oh, it's also VERY important to separate the second gen, UWB unlock, from the first-gen Bluetooth systems. UWB is vastly more advanced, reliable, faster, and uses less power. Also UWB is able to do a touchless unlock with the Apple Watch. Gen 1 requires you to press the button in the app. And driving requires the app to be open when you "start" the car.

On both Android and iPhone, in all generations, you can program a phone/watch button and/or a voice command to do the unlock remotely, at any time.

This is why I have a very hard time taking any key card safety claims seriously. It's already BETTER solved if you truly believe there's a danger, and absolutely should not be messing with a card at all.

 

[2kwik4u]

why wouldn't you use the faster methods that don't require you doing what criminals would want you doing?

Because......are you ready for this......THEY DON'T EFFING WORK........Yes, I intended to yell that. It's the whole point of the issue. The reliability and trustworthiness of ANY of the access methods is poor at best. Even the programmed "open for me sesame" shortcuts. The underlying system and tech stack is wildly unreliable, no matter how you access it. Fob/Card/Phone might, or might not, work and there is ZERO indication of success until you try to use it.

This is insane. And why I don't buy the safety issue. Unless it's just some emotional problem and not about actually being safe

The lack of trust in the system leads to a feeling of insecurity. Some people have enough "what if's" floating in their head already, that this just adds to it. It's a completely unnecessary problem to have, but if you can't trust any system to work the same time every time, and it's a system that could make/break a bad situation, it's a valid concern.

Like I said before, it doesn't matter if the threat is "real" or not, if it's perceived as one, it's real.

 

[SwampNut]

THEY DON'T EFFING WORK..

So your fob, the app on the phone, and maybe app on a watch ALL fail?

ZERO indication of success until you try to use it.

I mean yeah, that's how everything would have to work; the indication of unlock would come after you unlock...

 

[tjrivian]

Most modern key fobs have two modes; touchless unlock, and pushbutton unlock. I have NEVER had a delay on the button. I don't actually recall if there's any delay with the touchless. I almost never use it, just the phone and Watch.

I don't think your experience is universal. I've definitely had a ~10second delay when pressing the button on the fob. It doesn't always happen, but when it does it's quite annoying. A brief search suggests that I'm not the only one: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/delayed-access-normal-for-fob-and-keycard.21144/

 

[2kwik4u]

So your fob, the app on the phone, and maybe app on a watch ALL fail?

Yes, on a regular basis. Might go 2-10 days with PaaK working. Then it doesn't. No indication as to why, but it takes a disco reset on the truck, and a reboot on the phone, and it will work again, for somewhere between 10 minutes and 10 days. Same with the fob. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Same with the card. There is no indication of if I will be allowed to access and drive my truck or not until I try it. Might get lucky and it just works. Might spend a few minutes messing with it. I have 41k miles on the truck, so clearly I figure it out each time, but it's always a random set of circumstances and hoops to jump through to get it to work.

Hell, just this morning I had the fob in the truck. Had just been driving for 45min. Fob sitting in the console. Hopped out to unhook the trailer for 3min, got back in, and the truck tells me "No key detected". Had to fiddle fuck with the remote, pushing buttons, tapping on it, waving it around. Still didn't work. Had to dig the key card out of my wallet to get the truck to respond and allow me to put it in gear. Phone, Fob, and card all in the truck. 2/3 of them didn't work.

I've had multiple instances like this where I'm standing outside the truck, in the dark, and in the rain, and the PaaK doesn't work, the truck doesn't respond to the fob, and the card won't read. Nothing to do but stand there and keep trying something different until some random combination of unlocking in the app, placing the card, or hitting unlock on the fob somehow appeases the Rivian gods and allows me in.

Yes, I've had it in for service. Multiple times. Just like everything else that doesn't work right; I'm told "working as intended" and nothing is changed when I pick it up.

I mean yeah, that's how everything would have to work; the indication of unlock would come after you unlock...

Yea, but I can bet a years salary that my house key works every time and never lose money. I would lose my life savings betting on the Rivian to work as expected.

The point here is that you can't trust and KNOW it will work the first time, every time. My wifes Rogue; if I hit the button on the fob, the car opens. Instantly. Every. Single. Time. I trust that system to work because it's proven to do the exact same thing, in the exact same amount of time, with the exact same set of inputs for 8yrs. I can't get the Rivian to be predictable for 8hrs, so I don't trust it any further than I can throw it. Neither does my wife, because she has no idea if it will work, until you try it. There is ZERO trust in the system.

If there was even a single access method that worked reliably the same, every single time, then I would agree safety isn't an issue. That's just not the case here.

 

[SwampNut]

I don't think your experience is universal.

Nothing is a universal experience in a Rivian. Another reason why I recommend against them unless you need/want a truck that is an EV and has good off-road ability. Otherwise, Tesla is my first choice and recommendation.

 

[ljubitel]

I also have similar experience using the phone app, the key card, or the digital key. If the truck is asleep, sometimes it takes annoyingly long to unlock. I found that if I manually push the doorhandle to open the door (how you'll open it if in carwash mode) it tends to wake up faster but not foolproof.

 

[ndmiller]

I always precondition my R1 to my leave time, so PAAK, Fob, Card, Wrist keys are always quick as it's already awake.

 

[Christa_R]

I have a gen 2 R1S.

Although the tech told me the delayed opening should only happen when waking from a deep sleep, it happened while he and I were standing around talking and testing it and it was not shut off for more than a few minutes. Sometimes it took 10-15 seconds to open, sometimes instantly.

My vehicle will randomly lock while I am loading the vehicle. I unlock all doors and I put one dog in back on driver side, then walk around to the other side to load other dog and the vehicle will lock before I get to the other side even though I am within an arm's length of the vehicle. I replicated this with the tech.

 

[SwampNut]

My vehicle will randomly lock while I am loading the vehicle. I unlock all doors and I put one dog in back on driver side, then walk around to the other side to load other dog and the vehicle will lock before I get to the other side even though I am within an arm's length of the vehicle. I replicated this with the tech.

This happens on my gen 1 if I walk around the back, but not if I walk around the front. Never happens in front, but about 30% if I walk to the back. If I want to open/use the tailgate, I have to put the phone on the bed rail, or leave a door open. So stupid.

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