Rivian was and is a car company that never executed cleanly and never hit scale. The market isnât buying the pivot to âsoftware/tech company.â After 4œ years of ownership, I still think theyâre too good to die but not strong enough to stand alone.
I hope Iâm wrong, as we love our Rivian's, but...
Maybe thereâs a rationale we havenât heard yet, but as it stands, the R2 jack point is nowhere near as secure or intuitive as the R1. âOptimized for service centersâ feels more like âonly safe in service centers.â
I get the idea, but the R2 jack point simply isnât machined for positive engagement. Thereâs no defined locating feature, and the center cavity isnât a keyed geometry (look at rounding of edges). Unlike the R1, a puck canât lock in, everything depends on friction and precise placement.
This is the new jack point for the R2. The 2"Ă4" highâdensity polymer pad is the designated load surface, and the cavity in the center is difficult to justify from a functional standpoint for service facilities. The cavity would most likely be for a Rivian supplied scissor jack? Nothing outside...
This is the new jack point. That little 2"Ă4" polymer rectangle is the load surface, and the random cavity in the middle is⊠honestly, a headâscratcher. Nothing outside that rectangle is weightâbearing, so no floor jack or bottle jack actually fits there. Itâs a baffling design.
Had my full inspection at 58K and Rivian replaced dampers, two control arms, and a few other things under warranty. Iâm at 70K now and love the truck, but I wouldnât keep it without XCare. I bought it and posted my experience , which was great.
I've done this and it works, but it's a huge workaround....and my wife, definitely isn't interested in those hoops. Spoiled by, "Hey Alexa play my favorites, or play ....." Hopefully a fix is forthcoming..
I've found this happens when you plug in too fast after selecting the stall in the Tesla app. Once I pick the post number, I wait ~10 seconds before plugging in. Since doing that, I havenât had a single Rivianâbilled session on my Tesla membership. YMMV.
My wife could care less about text messaging via the assistant. Shes a no-go on the assistant. Play my music is all she needs as an analog driver with an EV.
For my R1T, I'm currently 75% no go on the assistant as well. We'll see.
Itâs already being worked on, I would imagine. RJ loves the R1. Nobody outside the building knows the full spec, but the obvious move is LGâs 4695 cell backed by Rivianâs 5âyear supply deal and the Arizona plant ramping up. 800V, updated compute, and a Max Pack in the 475âmile neighborhood...