Front passenger door requires excessive force to close

[tcvirginia]

2023 R1S. Issue with passenger side front door not closing well. It requires significantly more force than all the other doors to close. Often when passengers (not just children) try to close the door, they have to do it twice. That has not happened even once with any other door on the vehicle. 4 attempts have been made to fix it with the following results:

1 - at the service center for another issue, they took a look, supposedly adjusted the alignment. It was the same when I picked it up (possibly with more wind noise now). The rep said that it was just cabin pressure and normal, but I showed him that it was not the same as the other doors. If it was cabin pressure or the seal, it should be pretty uniform.

2 - mobile service. technician agreed completely that it was not right, but said it was the handle/latch system and that he couldn't fix it that day. I agree that it is actually the latch, as that door does not feel the same to open either.

3- another mobile tech showed up at my house without us ever scheduling an appointment. We were out of town, but my father who was visiting gave him access and was told that the door was "fixed." It was the same.

4- service center visit last week (also with some other issues, but mainly for the door). When I picked it up, they said they adjusted some things and it was the way it was supposed to be. He said that I should not expect it to feel smooth like a luxury car, and again sited the necessity of a seal and cabin pressure. I explained that I did not expect it to feel like a Mercedes, but I didn't understand why this one door was the only one that did that. He said, "it is usually the rear doors that are hard to close," then showed me how easily it closed when he pushed with significant force. It is exactly the same as it was (see attached videos)

Has anyone had this issue? Was there any resolution? I have driven to the service center in Richmond (twice) over an hour each way and the door is exactly the same. I don't expect it to feel like a Mercedes door closing, but at $80k, am I being unreasonable to think that adults would not have to routinely close the door twice? I don't think it has much to do with being able to drive through 4 foot deep water since the other doors close nicely.

Thanks.

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[Donald Stanfield]

You are closing your doors really softly. It's hard to say how much force it is actually taking when you're limp-wristing the door closed.

 

[tcvirginia]

Can't tell if you are trying to insult me or be helpful. I can certainly slam them and they will close. I don't have some sort of force gauge to show that they require different forces to close. Can you accept my word that 3 doors close easily and one doesn't? Is that the quality and consistency Rivian wants to put out there? When my friends get in and the door doesn't close, they have to do it again and I shrug about the crappy workmanship. Rivian seems totally cool with it. If this is what is is supposed to be, then i will move on.

 

[windblowlc]

I used to have exactly this problem with my driver's door (gen 2 Tri) the first day since new. Columbus SC fixed it by adjusting the door and the door handle. No more second try closing.

 

[Polar]

Please test this again with a window partially opened.

And let us know how it closes

 

[SoCal72]

I've a 2025 Rivian that has the exact same thing. The passenger door on the drivers side does not close without significant force. Every reason they gave you, I also was given from alignment, to latch adjustment and then finally this is normal or may improve over time. I was also told the seal was tight and so lots of cabin pressure, resulting in the difficulty closing this door. Despite it not happening on the other side. I eventually gave up on it and now tell anyone new to the car to close it FIRMLY. It is annoying, but only one of several things that I've been trying to get fixed, and that is alignment that they've worked on 3-4 times now without resolution. Sorry to hear about your issue, but I've had that since Day one and no solution.

 

[sk05]

Have the same issue in my Launch Edition T. Had the SC look at it a few times. I was told cabin pressure as well but I pushed back because, like you said, why would it just be one door then? It’s the passenger rear door for me. Still an issue for me but one that is more of an annoyance. If there was a fix, I’d love to know.

 

[Great Gatsby]

Seems like a common issue for some to have at least one door take some force to close (rear passenger side door for mine). Doesn't seem like there is a fix, so just tell people to slam away is the only solution at the moment.

 

[csharp]

In the video it actually DOES look like you are expecting Mercedes quality with the force (or lack thereof) that you are using to shut the door. Watching this, to me, it looks like your other 3 doors are the problem and they don't properly seal if they are able to be shut with that little force.
BUT in order to be helpful... try rolling the window down and shutting it again. This will determine if it is a pressure issue or a hardware issue. If you roll the window down and it shuts much easier, then it is pressure and nothing* is wrong. If rolling the window down produces no different result, then you do indeed have a hardware issue.

 

[chrisw]

I have this issue on the rear doors and gear tunnel doors on my '25 R1T. Not a big issue, but it's something I'll have fixed at its first service. Hasn't been an issue because all the panel gaps are perfect.

 

[pointless]

Not sure why gaslighting by certain members is tolerated on this forum.

The tech was right about one thing, 2023 R1T, rear passengers always have to double-close the rear doors, rear passenger-side is worse than rear driver-side.

Asked to have it adjusted but there was only a very slight improvement. But 2 years in and they need to be (nearly/lightly?) slammed to close them.

I think it is a combination of door shape/latch alignment, weight distribution, seals, and some attributed to cabin pressure in my case.

The front doors seem much heavier, and close easily, as expected on mine.

On one of my previous Tacomas the rear doors always needed extra effort to close them, for 9 years.

Are the edges of the door aligned (top/bottom/left/right) to the body, smooth when closed?

 

[tate16t]

Initially, I had the same problem with all of my doors (23’ R1S). Now it’s only the front passenger and rears. I contributed this to the vehicle being new. My drivers door no longer does this and gets used the most. To this day, the passenger doors don’t close unless force is applied.

Initially, my wife’s Tesla had the same problem.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Not sure why gaslighting by certain members is tolerated on this forum.

The tech was right about one thing, 2023 R1T, rear passengers always have to double-close the rear doors, rear passenger-side is worse than rear driver-side.

Asked to have it adjusted but there was only a very slight improvement. But 2 years in and they need to be (nearly/lightly?) slammed to close them.

I think it is a combination of door shape/latch alignment, weight distribution, seals, and some attributed to cabin pressure in my case.

The front doors seem much heavier, and close easily, as expected on mine.

On one of my previous Tacomas the rear doors always needed extra effort to close them, for 9 years.

Are the edges of the door aligned (top/bottom/left/right) to the body, smooth when closed?

I'm not sure why people use the term gaslighting without knowing what it means.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Can't tell if you are trying to insult me or be helpful. I can certainly slam them and they will close. I don't have some sort of force gauge to show that they require different forces to close. Can you accept my word that 3 doors close easily and one doesn't? Is that the quality and consistency Rivian wants to put out there? When my friends get in and the door doesn't close, they have to do it again and I shrug about the crappy workmanship. Rivian seems totally cool with it. If this is what is is supposed to be, then i will move on.

Trying to be helpful. There's a big difference between slamming the doors and half-ass closing them as you are doing now. Yes, I can see that the other door closed with less force than your front passenger door, but I don't believe that's the issue here. I think that an aluminum door that's sealed to be able to ford 3' of water might require more force than what you're putting down. I think your expectation for how lightly to close the door is the problem, not the operation of the door itself.

These aren't soft close doors that are motor assisted, and they are light to save weight. They shouldn't require being slammed, but you need to put in more force than what you are.

 

[shamoo]

I also think you are closing that door VERY softly. I can tell you if I did the same, almost none of my doors will close.

That being said, I'd venture to say your OTHER 3 doors are not sealed well enough given they will close with the force you're applying in the video.

After having my R1S for ~2 years, I'm used to having to put a little more force than other vehicles.

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