What Actually Fails First in Real-World Rivian Ownership

[VandalSibs]

Ha. I totally agree. Nothing worse than having your windshield fog up during heavy snow and your going through menus on a touch screen to turn on the defrost while trying to stay on the road.

There's a button at the bottom left of the center screen dedicated to defog/defrost. It always present (minus the times the backup camera view pops up).

Red circle is around the one for the front, green for the rear.

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[Rivianready]

Both my rear gate and my frunk auto closers would not close properly about 6 months after purchase. Required adjustments- twice. The sensor for my auto wipers failed after about 12 months. It was replaced. Fit of body panels are not the best. They are replacing my 12v battery this week (voluntary recall)- not having a problem yet, but they want to replace it just in case. I have a 2023 R1S quad (first gen).

 

[ENVErider]

The rear view mirror should be a screen and camera so I don't have to keep adjusting the mirror after the wife and I swap. Most high end cars use a camera now, not a mirror. The mirror is also useless when someone sits in the middle of the 2nd row.

First world problems.

Yes, that is a first-world problem. I honestly know what the R1S looks like, but for the truck, the truck bed camera displayed on the center screen gives an amazing rear-view image while driving.

 

[87Ducks]

Lack of talk to text which I hear is still coming.

2nd is the inconvenience of living over 3 hours over a mountain pass from the nearest service center and then once there getting vague answers on the time in the shop. (Last year they gave me a Thursday appointment but hadn't even looked at the vehicle by the following Tuesday. What's the point of making an appointment?). I don't know how anyone working full time deals with this.

 

[Zorg]

2 rear dampers and clutch disconnect replaced. 12v battery lasted 3 years. 1st gen PTC was changed to a new version. All under warranty. Shredded rear tire and pin stripes are my bad. Now scheduled an appointment for front axle noise and vibration under hard Regen.

Love the truck.

 

[shamoo]

I don't know how anyone working full time deals with this.

Ask for them to secure a loaner or a rental for you. I always do.

If I have a loaner Rivian, keep my car for 2 months, I don't care. My wife's Hyundai was in the shop (it's 1 year old!) for a little over 2 weeks but they gave us a brand new Hyundai as a loaner. We didn't mind.

 

[87Ducks]

Ask for them to secure a loaner or a rental for you. I always do.

If I have a loaner Rivian, keep my car for 2 months, I don't care. My wife's Hyundai was in the shop (it's 1 year old!) for a little over 2 weeks but they gave us a brand new Hyundai as a loaner. We didn't mind.


In theory, I agree with you. However in practice the service center may or not have a R1T or R1S to loan as I have been told it is first come first serve no matter even if I make the request ahead of time. If not, then they Uber you down to Enterprise for a rental vehicle (another hour I won't get back). Either way, it is basically an all day evolution to drop off the vehicle and another day to go pick it up. On top of all that, once they finish the repair, the service center starts charging if it is not picked up within a few days.

 

[SLVRon]

I only have two minor complaints, if i can even call them that.

1. Edge case range anxiety. If I want to do some off roading, all the trails are 2+ hours away which means I have to drive there, use up valuable range, and charge up again before the trail which is usually far from chargers. Lots of areas in the SoCal/Nevada desert to play in, but limited for EVs since you have charging on the main highway ~100 miles apart in some areas.

2. Small quirks such as casting not working, Spotify screen showing blank, GPS randomly losing satellite view, weird ticking noise coming from speakers, charge door sometimes closing super fast, having to "wake" up the car to open the trunk (hit button twice), suspension adjustments randomly, lower plastic trim tough to clean without expensive cleaning products (vs. water and soap),

I use 303 detailer for the lower plastic trim and it works really well. Just need to be sure not to let it dry. No more expensive than any other regular detailer.

 

[Taz355]

The rear view mirror should be a screen and camera so I don't have to keep adjusting the mirror after the wife and I swap. Most high end cars use a camera now, not a mirror. The mirror is also useless when someone sits in the middle of the 2nd row.

First world problems.

In Canada it’s all most always dirty I prefer mirror with a flip switch

 

[Taz355]

This feels like a troll post. What is a roadside setup? People have problems with the tire jack? Or is this vendor doing a sales pitch? Pass.

Kit works fine just as good as my f150

 

[Taz355]

After 3 years of ownership I don't really have many complaints. The issues I have had were really specific and Rivian addressed them perfectly.

Tire damage: Sure it happens to any vehicle. I have the patch liquid in the trunk that Rivian provided so I can get home and get the tire replaced. If not Roadside
Paint: The paint on both my R1S's has been great and this isn't from me but a professional detailers who did ceramic coating. They said it was really good and up there with its cost
Software: Yeah software has challenges but this isn't exclusive to Rivian but everything today (not just cars)
Rattles: A few but nothing to really complain about nor that seems problematic

I might have an amazing build or I am one of the many that just aren't out there being loud about it.

My complaints re all minor as well. It is a bit lunky though over bumps

 

[Taz355]

They may be a heavy braker, hard to say. This is early but not markedly so.

I’m not sure why you would need to brake more than the max regen
many don’t know bout the brake assistance which is usually on by deful

Lack of talk to text which I hear is still coming.

2nd is the inconvenience of living over 3 hours over a mountain pass from the nearest service center and then once there getting vague answers on the time in the shop. (Last year they gave me a Thursday appointment but hadn't even looked at the vehicle by the following Tuesday. What's the point of making an appointment?). I don't know how anyone working full time deals with this.

it took me 1 year of ownership before I realized Siri can text while driving for me
only issue is reading incoming texts need to be read off phone so not great

 

[Michal]

My biggest disappointment is that after only 85,000 miles I had to have the half shafts and brakes replaced. Brakes include the rotors as they don't turn rotors. This is a crazy high expense for a truck with such low miles. I use regen all of the time and rarely use cruise control since it relies on the brakes instead of the regen. My wife's Tesla model S went 185,000 miles over 10 yrs. and we did NO maintenance at all. Not even brakes. Just tires and wiper blades. What is wrong with Rivian and their (adventure) vehicle.

You are comparing a 7000lbs pickup to a 4600lbs commuter car...
I bet the brakes in a Smart car would last even longer than your wife's Tesla

 

[Birdowin]

You are comparing a 7000lbs pickup to a 4600lbs commuter car...
I bet the brakes in a Smart car would last even longer than your wife's Tesla

Yes, but you would think that Rivian engineers would take that into account when designing the size of the braking system. My old Dodge diesel pickup had bigger brakes than a small Dodge sedan. Supposedly one of he benefits of an electric vehicle is less maintenance, like brakes through using the regen which I use all the time. Combine that with having to replace the half shafts at 80k and I am very dissapointed. I still love the truck but hope Rivian will take the hint here and re-design these two systems.

 

[Michal]

Yes, but you would think that Rivian engineers would take that into account when designing the size of the braking system. My old Dodge diesel pickup had bigger brakes than a small Dodge sedan. Supposedly one of he benefits of an electric vehicle is less maintenance, like brakes through using the regen which I use all the time. Combine that with having to replace the half shafts at 80k and I am very dissapointed. I still love the truck but hope Rivian will take the hint here and re-design these two systems.

I am sure the are learning and improving with each iteration, just like Tesla did over the years.

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