Finally took delivery but might turn it back in

[DaveA]

What you do is tell them you want these items corrected and an additional 7 days to assess once it is returned. My initial vehicle had to be repainted and I kindly requested this. It was granted. Once I learned that it had to be repainted yet again after the first re-paint (I know, right?), I requested a new vehicle...this was granted as well, but it was an older VIN from what was coming off the production line, but was much better than the shape of the initial one, and has now been mostly sorted.

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[Tmack7]

Yes I rejected one with 20" wheels and spare tire. It had a build number of 1xxxx or so. I looked up the vin number on a website and it showed a 2022 build date. I did not see it.

What happened when you rejected it? Did you get put back in line with original delivery date or get to keep shop access?
Did you reject in person or before you started delivery stuff?
Mine has 20” but no spare and also has RUS. It’s a 2023.

 

[Dave711]

No, I rejected it because of the low vin number - 1xxx. You have a different R1S. I did eventually get put back in the shop. You get the free wheel upgrade and a 2023. Enjoy.

 

[Tmack7]

No, I rejected it because of the low vin number - 1xxx. You have a different R1S. I did eventually get put back in the shop. You get the free wheel upgrade and a 2023. Enjoy.

How long till you regained shop access. My guide is making it seem like it’s not possible.

 

[Dave711]

My guide said the same thing but I appealed that because of the 2022 very early build. You have a 2023 build.

 

[Ozmt]

After waiting since 2020 for my R1S, I finally took delivery today of an R1S LE RB/BM/22 Brights. Naturally, having scoured these forums, I was prepared for all kinds of panel gaps and issues, all of which were present, although not as bad as my 2016 Tesla Model S. Immediately though a few things were off:

1. My VIN was in the 3xxx range, yet my guide told me it was a 3/23 build. That was incorrect and it is a 1/23 build.
2. I'm left wondering why this vehicle was not delivered back when they were desperate for deliveries. Probably something was wrong with it that they attempted to fix but all they told me was perhaps it got unmatched. I seriously doubt that....
3. Being a 1/23 build, it is NOT the vehicle that earned the top safety rating. Rivian made modifications that cannot be retro-fit in order to improve the safety rating for builds after 1/23. While I normally wouldn't care, the fact that I took delivery in 5/23 of a vehicle that is knowingly worse in an accident is something my wife is nervous about.
4. There are two noticeable dents on the outside roof - not sure those can be fixed easily.
5. The wheel shudders like a misaligned Ford Taurus from the early 90's! I should have taken a video, but anything above 80 MPH and the wheel was shuddering like crazy. My watch even thought I was working out!!
6. The hood is seriously misaligned as are a couple of the door handles. It took me a minute to figure out why out the driver's side mirror I could see the door handle, but in the passenger's side mirror I couldn't find them at all.
7. Large gaps in the outside upper trim which should definitely have been caught before delivery.
8. Crossbar railing section has popped out on drivers side.

On the positive side, there don't appear to be any real paint issues, I have the extra 12V outlet, Meridian Sound (although I'm not sure that's good as it sounds pretty bad) and the factory installed PPF looks great. I had to run my fingers all along the sides to actually find the edges as it had been wrapped so well it looked like it wasn't wrapped at all.

I'm going to drive it around for the next few days to see if anything else crops up before I make my decision on keeping or returning. The build date and lower safety rating have my wife concerned which will be a factor in whatever my final decision is.

I would contact rivian, not the guide, and tell them you're returning it until they can deliver what you expect. It's just too expensive to accept less

 

[SherlockOhms]

Good to know you had something worse that got corrected! The service center is pretty far away from me but not awful.

where can i find info on how to read and date the VIN
I have a Vin but no RI yet

 

[smiles76]

Those alignment issues aren’t good, but the steering wheel is what I’d be worried about. It shouldn’t move a millimeter, so that suggests something is seriously wrong. I won’t speculate on what because I’m not educated enough on the issue, but I wouldn’t accept a vehicle like that.

FWIW, sound systems are tough to gauge. I have the Meridian and absolutely love it, as do many others, but some people really don’t like it. The non-branded one may sound different, but it’s hard to imagine it sounding so significantly better or worse that it would be worth trading it in for a vehicle with a different. Now, considering all the other issues you noted, it might just be the tipping point. My T has been darn near flawless and it was a Dec. 2022 build. Much better than earlier ones, so I’d expect a current build to be even better quality. They learned a lot over the first 6-7 months and made some good improvements.

The Rivian Elevation vs the Meridian Audio have exactly the same speakers and amplifiers. Slightly modified amplifier tuning and different speaker grills removing “Meridian”

 

[Cuppie]

Dang! I’m in Seattle and am waiting to see if they can make some fixes on my second attempt at an R1S. I would return it and realize you are getting a new car, not a used or damaged car. Our first one also had tire issues and body work they didn’t disclose but we noticed. Our second one has scratches and dents they are getting check out to see if they can fix them properly.

just a question….did You accept the vehicle before you inspected it? We were talked in to doing that on our first one and that made the return harder. This second one I didn’t even have the app open so they couldn't convince me to swipe up to sync the car to the app to use as the key- doing this causes you to accept the vehicle prematurely.

 

[jskyler]

just a question….did You accept the vehicle before you inspected it? We were talked in to doing that on our first one and that made the return harder. This second one I didn’t even have the app open so they couldn't convince me to swipe up to sync the car to the app to use as the key- doing this causes you to accept the vehicle prematurely.

The process before they even brought the vehicle was to accept it via the app. As I look back on it all, that was a mistake and I should not have done that.

I'm still debating on the return as the Guide cannot confirm that I will still get pre-order pricing and it messes up a very favorable rate I have on financing. The service center is saying everything can be fixed.... assuming there isn't anything worse that I'm unaware of.

 

[C.Quest]

After waiting since 2020 for my R1S, I finally took delivery today of an R1S LE RB/BM/22 Brights. Naturally, having scoured these forums, I was prepared for all kinds of panel gaps and issues, all of which were present, although not as bad as my 2016 Tesla Model S. Immediately though a few things were off:

1. My VIN was in the 3xxx range, yet my guide told me it was a 3/23 build. That was incorrect and it is a 1/23 build.
2. I'm left wondering why this vehicle was not delivered back when they were desperate for deliveries. Probably something was wrong with it that they attempted to fix but all they told me was perhaps it got unmatched. I seriously doubt that....
3. Being a 1/23 build, it is NOT the vehicle that earned the top safety rating. Rivian made modifications that cannot be retro-fit in order to improve the safety rating for builds after 1/23. While I normally wouldn't care, the fact that I took delivery in 5/23 of a vehicle that is knowingly worse in an accident is something my wife is nervous about.
4. There are two noticeable dents on the outside roof - not sure those can be fixed easily.
5. The wheel shudders like a misaligned Ford Taurus from the early 90's! I should have taken a video, but anything above 80 MPH and the wheel was shuddering like crazy. My watch even thought I was working out!!
6. The hood is seriously misaligned as are a couple of the door handles. It took me a minute to figure out why out the driver's side mirror I could see the door handle, but in the passenger's side mirror I couldn't find them at all.
7. Large gaps in the outside upper trim which should definitely have been caught before delivery.
8. Crossbar railing section has popped out on drivers side.

On the positive side, there don't appear to be any real paint issues, I have the extra 12V outlet, Meridian Sound (although I'm not sure that's good as it sounds pretty bad) and the factory installed PPF looks great. I had to run my fingers all along the sides to actually find the edges as it had been wrapped so well it looked like it wasn't wrapped at all.

I'm going to drive it around for the next few days to see if anything else crops up before I make my decision on keeping or returning. The build date and lower safety rating have my wife concerned which will be a factor in whatever my final decision is.

Seconds thoughts come from gut instinct and should be respected. Its a human survival gift. Of risk, to each, their own.

I reserved a few years ago and will have the option to buy a much anticipated R1S quad this fall. However, now my spicy senses are tingling to be careful!
I posted my extreme disappointment of my first drive of the R1S a few weeks ago. To recap, the body build quality was marginal (made the expensive vehicle look like an abstract painting) and the high level of noise from multiple sources was insane. Thoes could be fixed I guess. But my biggest concern was how poorly the SUV drove and felt at the wheel. It felt very wrong, like it had serious engineering problems. My passenger said it was noisy in the back and felt unstable. I asked but was denied a different vehicle to drive. I feel once I questioned, the friendy be one of us communication ended and they re-directed to easier pickings. This is heartbreaking.

Rivian would already be dead if it weren't for thoes of us that accept their learning curve vehicles that would make Earl Shriebe blush.
I want to support and drive Rivian. But common sence tells me to seriously question the business plan and success of a company that would knowingly release some of the disasters I have seen (and driven).
I worry that to fix under warranty all these hit-or-miss trucks will cost Rivian too much and they will start to say "performs as designed" and focus on sales of the redesigned life saver R2.

For me, the risk of early adoption was off-set by the $7.5k tax bonus and high demand/resale vale - Both are gone for the R1's.

Unless Rivian can get its top engineers to move to Normal to fix production and starts delivering top quality trucks this summer, I think I need to leave the poker table for a year or two when competition and market conditions reduce the cost and improve the engineering of EV's.

To others braver than me: God bless the buyers that can accept risk now to promote the future of a new cool concept American truck company!

 

[jskyler]

The Rivian Elevation vs the Meridian Audio have exactly the same speakers and amplifiers. Slightly modified amplifier tuning and different speaker grills removing “Meridian”

I have to admit that after some tweaking, I find the system acceptable. It's not great and I would never call it "premium", but it's not terrible or something that I view as a negative.

 

[Timothykf]

As for the steering shake, it maybe as simple as an unbalanced tire. After doing some off road driving, I lost a balance weight on my front right tire. Same issue, at high speeds I'd get a noticeable shake in the steering wheel - not as much as you describe, though.

 

[Cuppie]

The process before they even brought the vehicle was to accept it via the app. As I look back on it all, that was a mistake and I should not have done that.

I'm still debating on the return as the Guide cannot confirm that I will still get pre-order pricing and it messes up a very favorable rate I have on financing. The service center is saying everything can be fixed.... assuming there isn't anything worse that I'm unaware of.

Same here and that was our standing point that they are doing the process backwards. Fingers crossed you get your repairs done.

 

[smiles76]

I have to admit that after some tweaking, I find the system acceptable. It's not great and I would never call it "premium", but it's not terrible or something that I view as a negative.

I'm curious what in vehicle sound system you find “premium?” This is the best sound system I've ever listened to in a vehicle, by far.

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