Sponsored

DTown3011

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2022
Threads
28
Messages
1,660
Reaction score
2,190
Location
Denver, CO
Vehicles
Rivian R1T
First and foremost I want to say this forum has been invaluable for information, camaraderie, and just generally keeping me excited about taking delivery of my R1T. This journey started with no real plans to actually take delivery of a vehicle - we put down a deposit on an R1S as we invested some in the Rivian IPO and figured it wouldn't be the worst thing to give them a $1,000 interest free loan and stay plugged into what they were doing. This was December 2021 and we had a vehicle we loved (Tesla Model 3) but as things progressed and with the future price increases, our growing family, the addition of a dog, and our Colorado lifestyle it became clear we were the perfect candidates for a Rivian. We switched our order to an R1T from the S (we already have an SUV we love), replaced the Tesla, and the rest is history! You can see my timeline below from order date to confirmation to shop access to 8-steps. I think we all know how it goes by this point but any questions let me know. We picked up at the Denver service center and they've been great to work with:

2023 R1T Adventure Large Pack (PN182xx VIN)
Limestone with Forest Edge Interior
22" Bright Wheels, Manual Tonneau

The Good
  • Build quality absolutely blows the Tesla out of the water, the quality of the interior, the warm wood accents, everything is just a massive step up from the Tesla. I had no issues at delivery with panel gaps, etc. MAYBE I could nit pick a few millimeters here and there on my hood, but other than that it seems flawless. I also got the 12v outlet and 2 magnets in my frunk which was a nice surprise.
  • I can't believe how fast this truck is. I look down and I'm going 70 when I don't even mean to be. I thought the acceleration of the Tesla was fast (0-60 in 4.2s) but at 3.0s it's just in a totally different category. It's mindblowing how good it is.
  • 100% sold on the Limestone/Forest Edge combination. It just GOES together. The Forest Edge green is much more subdued and grey if you have not seen it in person and Limestone is just a special color. Highly recommend.
  • I've actually enjoyed and found the UI to be super intuitive, moreso than Tesla. I love that there is no "home" screen and I can have whatever screen I want up at any given time. The icons make sense. Everything just works.
  • Having the 2nd screen in front of the steering wheel is awesome, to see that I'm speeding/breaking the law since this thing is so damn fast, but it's also nice to have the turn-by-turn nav right there as well.
  • Storage. Wow. This is well documented but I have so many places to put stuff. The frunk, under the back seats, the gear tunnel, the spare tire compartment. Once I get a tonneau cover this thing will be so nice to haul gear.
  • Rivian Service has been AWESOME and easy to deal with. I had a few minor issues and already have an appointment in a few days for next Wednesday.
  • Driver+ I'm actually a big fan of. I think I like it more than Tesla Autopilot. I've had no issues with it engaging on I-25 here in Denver and I like that you have to be centered in the lane to engage - when you engaged with Tesla it would jerk you over to the center which was jarring. What I really love is I don't have to shake the wheel every 20 seconds like I did with Tesla and I can just leave my hand on the wheel without getting nagged. You can also put your knee on the wheel too but I certainly wouldn't do that...
  • Love the heated steering wheel and the seat heaters work great. I think the Tesla was hotter at top temp, but these are pretty good and the heated steering wheel makes up for it since M3 didn't have one.
  • PAAK has worked pretty well for me, no issues. It always recognizes me when I'm nearby.
  • Dog Mode - LOVE this! Have used it frequently with our pup in the car. Works great.
  • All the lights are really cool - We all know about the "00" front lights, but the BACK fog lights and flood lights are so useful and cool. Love the auto high beams. Love the "batman" Rivian logos projected on the ground when you approach.
  • The truck is an absolute JOY to drive and I keep looking for reasons to drive it! 3 of the last 4 nights I have just taken a joyride, typically blasting 90s rap, around the area.
  • Range has been great, efficiency has been great. No complaints.
  • HIGHLY recommend the 3D Kagu all weather mats, they look like they fit in the Rivian and look factory.
The Quirks
  • I've had some issues with L2 home charging - plugging in at night and getting red error message that I need to unplug and try again. This has not been seamless. Last night it wouldn't take the charge, I reset both my charger (ChargePoint Home Flex) and the car, and it worked fine. Just like any electronics, a reset generally works.
  • Not a fan of Sport mode. All the other drive modes are great. Sport mode feels harsh (particularly on my 22s) in terms of ride quality and jerky from a suspension standpoint. I drive in AP pretty much 95% of the time unless I want to impress someone with the acceleration then I might throw it in Sport and immediately switch back.
  • HVAC - learning how to use it. I really resisted using Auto mode on the Tesla when it was first rolled out but learned to love it - set it to 70* and the car just knew you wanted to be there. It wasn't constantly blowing air once it got to temperature. The Rivian struggles on Auto mode, it's MUCH better when you manually just pick a temperature and adjust it once you get hot or cold. Some work could be done here. Maybe I'll just stop using Auto mode, problem solved. It tends to blow cold air more often than not even when it should be heating.
  • Strangely, the truck "presents" the door handles in my garage and in my driveway when it's at home like it's awake. It doesn't seem to fold them in until I lock the vehicle. I normally don't lock my car when it's in the garage, but its the only way I can get it to "sleep." At my home location, its not seeming to auto lock when I walk away. Maybe that's a setting I'm missing?
  • When running Spotify, the tile for the song/artist is alllllll the way to the right of the screen. It's far. You really have to reach for it and this can be distracting and the screen is a lot bigger. Would be nice is maybe this was on the lefthand side.
  • I setup Alexa but it's a bit wonky and I wish it worked for both folding the mirrors and garage doors, but I am sure that can be added in the future.
  • Charging pad is useless, this has been well documented. I'm plugged in for now, no complaints, and can buy a charging pad if I need one. I think we all know this.
  • I think the biggest miss of this vehicle is the large no storage void in the floor of the front area - need to come up with something to put in there but feels like a cop-out that nothing was done in this area.
Here are some photos, I'll take some better ones once it's washed up and ceramic coated this weekend:

Rivian R1T R1S 1 week in and in LOVE, but not without some quirks - my R1T delivery summary and initial thoughts! IMG_1539.JPEG


Rivian R1T R1S 1 week in and in LOVE, but not without some quirks - my R1T delivery summary and initial thoughts! IMG_1548.JPEG


Rivian R1T R1S 1 week in and in LOVE, but not without some quirks - my R1T delivery summary and initial thoughts! IMG_1549.JPEG


Rivian R1T R1S 1 week in and in LOVE, but not without some quirks - my R1T delivery summary and initial thoughts! IMG_1550.JPEG


Rivian R1T R1S 1 week in and in LOVE, but not without some quirks - my R1T delivery summary and initial thoughts! IMG_1556.JPEG




Rivian R1T R1S 1 week in and in LOVE, but not without some quirks - my R1T delivery summary and initial thoughts! IMG_1558.JPEG


Rivian R1T R1S 1 week in and in LOVE, but not without some quirks - my R1T delivery summary and initial thoughts! IMG_1574.JPEG


Rivian R1T R1S 1 week in and in LOVE, but not without some quirks - my R1T delivery summary and initial thoughts! IMG_1588.JPEG


Rivian R1T R1S 1 week in and in LOVE, but not without some quirks - my R1T delivery summary and initial thoughts! IMG_1593.JPEG


Rivian R1T R1S 1 week in and in LOVE, but not without some quirks - my R1T delivery summary and initial thoughts! IMG_1594.JPEG
Sponsored

 
Last edited:

mini2nut

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2022
Threads
43
Messages
1,606
Reaction score
1,925
Location
SoCal
Vehicles
Rivian R1T, Model Y
Congrats and thanks for posting your thoughts. Itā€™s always good to read about other owner impressions.
 

Inkedsphynx

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 27, 2021
Threads
4
Messages
1,021
Reaction score
2,031
Location
Washington
Vehicles
'22 LE R1T, '21 CB500FA, '21 CMX1100A
Glad you are loving it. Pro tip - Don't reach for the spotify pane when playing a song to change songs, use the controls on the left side of the steering wheel. Volume on the scroll, forward back on the buttons. Doesn't give you pause, but I usually just scroll the volume down instead of pausing.
 

Dark-Fx

Well-Known Member
First Name
Brian
Joined
Jul 15, 2020
Threads
96
Messages
9,360
Reaction score
17,749
Location
Michigan
Vehicles
Polestar 2, R1T, R1S, Livewire One, Fisker Ocean
Occupation
Engineering
Clubs
 
Glad you are loving it. Pro tip - Don't reach for the spotify pane when playing a song to change songs, use the controls on the left side of the steering wheel. Volume on the scroll, forward back on the buttons. Doesn't give you pause, but I usually just scroll the volume down instead of pausing.
Push the scroll wheel in for pause.
 

COdogman

Well-Known Member
First Name
Brian
Joined
Jan 21, 2022
Threads
29
Messages
7,418
Reaction score
19,892
Location
Colorado
Vehicles
2023 R1T
Occupation
Dog Wrangler

Sponsored

carmigo

Well-Known Member
Site Sponsor
First Name
Carmigo
Joined
Dec 20, 2022
Threads
34
Messages
235
Reaction score
119
Location
Tupelo, MS
Vehicles
N/A
Occupation
We help people sell their Rivian in the easiest way possible.
First and foremost I want to say this forum has been invaluable for information, camaraderie, and just generally keeping me excited about taking delivery of my R1T. This journey started with no real plans to actually take delivery of a vehicle - we put down a deposit on an R1S as we invested some in the Rivian IPO and figured it wouldn't be the worst thing to give them a $1,000 interest free loan and stay plugged into what they were doing. This was December 2021 and we had a vehicle we loved (Tesla Model 3) but as things progressed and with the future price increases, our growing family, the addition of a dog, and our Colorado lifestyle it became clear we were the perfect candidates for a Rivian. We switched our order to an R1T from the S (we already have an SUV we love), replaced the Tesla, and the rest is history! You can see my timeline below from order date to confirmation to shop access to 8-steps. I think we all know how it goes by this point but any questions let me know. We picked up at the Denver service center and they've been great to work with:

2023 R1T Adventure Large Pack (PN182xx VIN)
Limestone with Forest Edge Interior
22" Bright Wheels, Manual Tonneau

The Good
  • Build quality absolutely blows the Tesla out of the water, the quality of the interior, the warm wood accents, everything is just a massive step up from the Tesla. I had no issues at delivery with panel gaps, etc. MAYBE I could nit pick a few millimeters here and there on my hood, but other than that it seems flawless. I also got the 12v outlet and 2 magnets in my frunk which was a nice surprise.
  • I can't believe how fast this truck is. I look down and I'm going 70 when I don't even mean to be. I thought the acceleration of the Tesla was fast (0-60 in 4.2s) but at 3.0s it's just in a totally different category. It's mindblowing how good it is.
  • 100% sold on the Limestone/Forest Edge combination. It just GOES together. The Forest Edge green is much more subdued and grey if you have not seen it in person and Limestone is just a special color. Highly recommend.
  • I've actually enjoyed and found the UI to be super intuitive, moreso than Tesla. I love that there is no "home" screen and I can have whatever screen I want up at any given time. The icons make sense. Everything just works.
  • Having the 2nd screen in front of the steering wheel is awesome, to see that I'm speeding/breaking the law since this thing is so damn fast, but it's also nice to have the turn-by-turn nav right there as well.
  • Storage. Wow. This is well documented but I have so many places to put stuff. The frunk, under the back seats, the gear tunnel, the spare tire compartment. Once I get a tonneau cover this thing will be so nice to haul gear.
  • Rivian Service has been AWESOME and easy to deal with. I had a few minor issues and already have an appointment in a few days for next Wednesday.
  • Driver+ I'm actually a big fan of. I think I like it more than Tesla Autopilot. I've had no issues with it engaging on I-25 here in Denver and I like that you have to be centered in the lane to engage - when you engaged with Tesla it would jerk you over to the center which was jarring. What I really love is I don't have to shake the wheel every 20 seconds like I did with Tesla and I can just leave my hand on the wheel without getting nagged. You can also put your knee on the wheel too but I certainly wouldn't do that...
  • Love the heated steering wheel and the seat heaters work great. I think the Tesla was hotter at top temp, but these are pretty good and the heated steering wheel makes up for it since M3 didn't have one.
  • PAAK has worked pretty well for me, no issues. It always recognizes me when I'm nearby.
  • Dog Mode - LOVE this! Have used it frequently with our pup in the car. Works great.
  • All the lights are really cool - We all know about the "00" front lights, but the BACK fog lights and flood lights are so useful and cool. Love the auto high beams. Love the "batman" Rivian logos projected on the ground when you approach.
  • The truck is an absolute JOY to drive and I keep looking for reasons to drive it! 3 of the last 4 nights I have just taken a joyride, typically blasting 90s rap, around the area.
  • Range has been great, efficiency has been great. No complaints.
  • HIGHLY recommend the 3D Kagu all weather mats, they look like they fit in the Rivian and look factory.
The Quirks
  • I've had some issues with L2 home charging - plugging in at night and getting red error message that I need to unplug and try again. This has not been seamless. Last night it wouldn't take the charge, I reset both my charger (ChargePoint Home Flex) and the car, and it worked fine. Just like any electronics, a reset generally works.
  • Not a fan of Sport mode. All the other drive modes are great. Sport mode feels harsh (particularly on my 22s) in terms of ride quality and jerky from a suspension standpoint. I drive in AP pretty much 95% of the time unless I want to impress someone with the acceleration then I might throw it in Sport and immediately switch back.
  • HVAC - learning how to use it. I really resisted using Auto mode on the Tesla when it was first rolled out but learned to love it - set it to 70* and the car just knew you wanted to be there. It wasn't constantly blowing air once it got to temperature. The Rivian struggles on Auto mode, it's MUCH better when you manually just pick a temperature and adjust it once you get hot or cold. Some work could be done here. Maybe I'll just stop using Auto mode, problem solved. It tends to blow cold air more often than not even when it should be heating.
  • Strangely, the truck "presents" the door handles in my garage and in my driveway when it's at home like it's awake. It doesn't seem to fold them in until I lock the vehicle. I normally don't lock my car when it's in the garage, but its the only way I can get it to "sleep." At my home location, its not seeming to auto lock when I walk away. Maybe that's a setting I'm missing?
  • When running Spotify, the tile for the song/artist is alllllll the way to the right of the screen. It's far. You really have to reach for it and this can be distracting and the screen is a lot bigger. Would be nice is maybe this was on the lefthand side.
  • I setup Alexa but it's a bit wonky and I wish it worked for both folding the mirrors and garage doors, but I am sure that can be added in the future.
  • Charging pad is useless, this has been well documented. I'm plugged in for now, no complaints, and can buy a charging pad if I need one. I think we all know this.
  • I think the biggest miss of this vehicle is the large no storage void in the floor of the front area - need to come up with something to put in there but feels like a cop-out that nothing was done in this area.
Here are some photos, I'll take some better ones once it's washed up and ceramic coated this weekend:

IMG_1539.JPEG


IMG_1548.JPEG


IMG_1549.JPEG


IMG_1550.JPEG


IMG_1556.JPEG




IMG_1558.JPEG


IMG_1574.JPEG


IMG_1588.JPEG


IMG_1593.JPEG


IMG_1594.JPEG
Beautiful truck and an adorable dog! Thanks f sharing your experience. Even though there are some quirks, it seems like it's a good fit for the whole fam.
 
OP
OP
DTown3011

DTown3011

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2022
Threads
28
Messages
1,660
Reaction score
2,190
Location
Denver, CO
Vehicles
Rivian R1T
Push the scroll wheel in for pause.
Yes I do use the steering wheel controls, but there are some other functions I use, changing between lists, favoriting, etc. that you can't do from the steering wheel.

I just donā€™t feel like you are IN LOVE with your truck the way this guy is:

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/rivian-honeymoon-is-still-goin.13164/

Maybe that will come with time as you get to know each other. You are still a young couple.
Haha that is the truth, not sure anyone is as in love as he is!
 
OP
OP
DTown3011

DTown3011

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2022
Threads
28
Messages
1,660
Reaction score
2,190
Location
Denver, CO
Vehicles
Rivian R1T
Beautiful truck and an adorable dog! Thanks f sharing your experience. Even though there are some quirks, it seems like it's a good fit for the whole fam.
The quirks are minor and all can be fixed over time or with software, so no complaints here. Just want to give potential owners some ideas on what to expect. It's part of being an early adopter.

That's our just over 1 year old Vizsla and he's loving the truck as well!
 

SANZC02

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bob
Joined
Feb 11, 2021
Threads
29
Messages
5,258
Reaction score
8,860
Location
California
Vehicles
Tesla Model S, LE - R1S
Occupation
Retired
Question about your charging. Is your charger set for TOU windows?

I have a charger that is set to not charge peak times. With the Tesla I could plug in anytime and it would start charging after 9PM. I have found that the Rivian does not like that, I either need to turn the schedule off on the charger which I do not want to do as we still charge the Tesla or plug the Rivian in after 9pm, even tried setting the Rivian to start at 9:30 but it just does not seem to like being plugged in if the charger is not ready to charge.
 
OP
OP
DTown3011

DTown3011

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2022
Threads
28
Messages
1,660
Reaction score
2,190
Location
Denver, CO
Vehicles
Rivian R1T
Question about your charging. Is your charger set for TOU windows?

I have a charger that is set to not charge peak times. With the Tesla I could plug in anytime and it would start charging after 9PM. I have found that the Rivian does not like that, I either need to turn the schedule off on the charger which I do not want to do as we still charge the Tesla or plug the Rivian in after 9pm, even tried setting the Rivian to start at 9:30 but it just does not seem to like being plugged in if the charger is not ready to charge.
Yes, my charger is set for TOU per my utility from 9pm-6am, but I can override it and I get a bill credit annually as long as I fall within those parameters "90% of the time." The way they put it, they understand everyone once and awhile you might need to charge outside of those hours.

I totally agree with your assessment. That's exactly how my Tesla worked, plug it in, nothing happens, and at 9pm voila...charging starts. Agree the Rivian doesn't like it - it's almost like it thinks it needs to start charging right away, gets confused, then errors out.

I can turn the schedule off on the charger app tonight but leave the scheduled charging on in the Rivian and see if that helps this evening. This is great feedback!
 

Sponsored

SFsoundguy

Well-Known Member
First Name
John
Joined
Nov 16, 2021
Threads
3
Messages
110
Reaction score
172
Location
Bay Area
Vehicles
Rivian R1S, Lucid Air Touring
Yes, my charger is set for TOU per my utility from 9pm-6am, but I can override it and I get a bill credit annually as long as I fall within those parameters "90% of the time." The way they put it, they understand everyone once and awhile you might need to charge outside of those hours.

I totally agree with your assessment. That's exactly how my Tesla worked, plug it in, nothing happens, and at 9pm voila...charging starts. Agree the Rivian doesn't like it - it's almost like it thinks it needs to start charging right away, gets confused, then errors out.

I can turn the schedule off on the charger app tonight but leave the scheduled charging on in the Rivian and see if that helps this evening. This is great feedback!
This is the same issue Im having. I think it started after the last OTA update I did on Feb 3rd. I have tried every combination of TOU charging with the R1S over the past week with Rivian and Charge Point on the phone also and the car just doesn't like being plugged into a TOU charger (Charge Point Juice Box ) and it will trigger a fault when it dose its own TOU schedule..... I have noticed also that once it dose a normal charge all the TOU charges will then work including TOU schedules but after a few hours it will forget the handshake and fail to charge again
 

ajbrutman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2020
Threads
14
Messages
254
Reaction score
415
Location
california
Vehicles
LE R1T, GTI
Clubs
 
Congrats! Try setting the car to lock when a door is not opened for x amount of time. Im pretty sure I have that setting on. Also try closing the rivian app on your phone if it keeps waking.
 

quartz

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2023
Threads
7
Messages
203
Reaction score
209
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Vehicles
Honda Clarity PHEV
Clubs
 
Congrats! Love the color combo šŸ˜‰
 

lefkonj

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
Feb 6, 2021
Threads
19
Messages
648
Reaction score
998
Location
New Jersey
Vehicles
A7/Q3 R1S ordered
Clubs
 
Two things about the 'At Home' settings. First is gear guard can be turned off so it doesn't use energy and the vehicle can be set to not lock. If it is in a garage it doesn't matter.

I agree that sport mode on the 22s is rough, but hey that is sport mode.
 

BoIsADog

Well-Known Member
First Name
Scott
Joined
Dec 19, 2022
Threads
3
Messages
50
Reaction score
41
Location
SF, CA
Vehicles
R1T, Mach-E
  • When running Spotify, the tile for the song/artist is alllllll the way to the right of the screen. It's far. You really have to reach for it and this can be distracting and the screen is a lot bigger. Would be nice is maybe this was on the lefthand side.
  • I setup Alexa but it's a bit wonky and I wish it worked for both folding the mirrors and garage doors, but I am sure that can be added in the future.
  • Charging pad is useless, this has been well documented. I'm plugged in for now, no complaints, and can buy a charging pad if I need one. I think we all know this.
Agreed on these three points. Alexa is disappointing. For those using Android Auto, the voice assistant is much smoother with Google and getting relevant results without so much jibber jabber (except the wake word "Hey Google" is worse than saying Alexa or Siri).

I wish, while I was driving, if I want to pick a place to navigate it would voice type. Instead the keyboard pops up and you start typing. For comparison, with Android Auto it says voice typing only while driving. You say your destination, it loads results, you pick one. Easy.

Same goes for searching music. When I go to search, I'd love to just voice type and see results. I don't always want to hear Alexa saying "Now playing X on Scott's Spotify"... Getting a the wrong version and having to click back to search results.

Just something I miss. I guess this will get logged as "probably coming at some point". It's not urgent or a deal breaker.


EDIT: like others I use the steering wheel controls for Spotify.
Sponsored

 
 




Top