Good bye R1S Bumpmobile. thoughts on ownership and the process

[Sagesq]

Hello all, I have owned my R1S since September of 2022, S/n 665. I want to share my experiences and thoughts on ownership from the moment I ordered it to the day I sold it, 6-6-24
As an early adapter, I grew through all of the stages with Rivian. I had. my order canceled when the price increase happened. After a minute and RJ pivoted back I had my order reinstated. Then I had my order lost in the system. Call after call after call, nobody could find my order. Rivian personnel were awesome to work with. Sympathetic and. patient. Great customer service. Yet for the longest time, nobody could find my order. Then in late August 2022, I got a your Rivian is ready for delivery. From agony to ecstasy. A week later, I"m in the El Segundo delivery center looking at my beautiful Glacier White Launch Edition R1S. It was the sweetest drive up the coast to our home in Malibu.
I have owned BMW M cars, SUV's and Teslas. Been blessed. The build quality of my R1 was spectacular. No real gaps, no orange peel on the paint and the quality of the materials was on par with any BMW I've owned. As most of you. know, the joys of owning a BEV is no service calls. No oil changes, etc. And then the fun began I had a nail in my rear tire that was constantly losing air. I reached out to Rivian and asked them to come to my house. Got a hard no, I had to bring my car to the service center and the closest appointment was ten days out. Not a big deal, but it showed me that service would be a nuisance at best. As time went by, I discovered other nuisances:
Alexa is the absolute worst.
Map interface is nothing special
ABRP helps that.
And the absolute worst thing about the R1S is the ride. It just is not tolerable. You pick the setting and it just is worse than being in a semi truck. In fact, it was the sole reason I sold the car. I just got tired of jostling myself. Bought a new Tesla Model Performance. Picked it up yesterday. NIght and day on the ride.
So I wanted to bid adieu to the bumpmobile and share my thoughts to others.


Pluses: '
Great build quality
Top notch materials
Super amazing performance
Great customer service
Got a great price for my resale. More than paid for my drive off for the Tesla and I have money in the bank. Never a bad thing.

Minuses:
Ride is crapy at best. Great if you have your chiropractor on speed dial
Actual time to get service is terrible
Tires are expensive

Although it does drive like a big golf cart, that’s to be expected: it’s an electric car for Pete’s sake. The whole method of moving the vehicle is different. I actually enjoy the ride, understanding my R1S is a truck, not a sedan. It’s meant to climb hills and get over puddles, and it excels in that regard. To me, the ride is smooth from a comfort perspective when I’m on the highway, and never had an issue (other than you have to learn how to slow the car down to avoid the regen feature, even when set to smooth or low regen). The interior is gorgeous, the AC works perfectly, the TuneIn radio blows Sirius XM away, and I can connect my phone and listen to my podcasts. Overall, huge fan.

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[888tom888]

Although it does drive like a big golf cart, that’s to be expected: it’s an electric car for Pete’s sake. The whole method of moving the vehicle is different. I actually enjoy the ride, understanding my R1S is a truck, not a sedan. It’s meant to climb hills and get over puddles, and it excels in that regard. To me, the ride is smooth from a comfort perspective when I’m on the highway, and never had an issue (other than you have to learn how to slow the car down to avoid the regen feature, even when set to smooth or low regen). The interior is gorgeous, the AC works perfectly, the TuneIn radio blows Sirius XM away, and I can connect my phone and listen to my podcasts. Overall, huge fan.

My last four vehicles were BEVs. I love what they offer me and really appreciate how they drive. Regen is amazing. Nothing beats single pedal driving. My R1s was just a total pain to drive. Minor bumps felt like huge potholes. Maybe it was the 22” wheels? We all have different perspectives and experiences. So glad you enjoy your ride quality. My next BEV will most likely be the new BMW i3 coming in 2025 or the Porsche Macan. Really never needed seating for 7. Will definitely miss the quality. Will never miss Alexa. Ever!

 

[Sagesq]

My last four vehicles were BEVs. I love what they offer me and really appreciate how they drive. Regen is amazing. Nothing beats single pedal driving. My R1s was just a total pain to drive. Minor bumps felt like huge potholes. Maybe it was the 22” wheels? We all have different perspectives and experiences. So glad you enjoy your ride quality. My next BEV will most likely be the new BMW i3 coming in 2025 or the Porsche Macan. Really never needed seating for 7. Will definitely miss the quality. Will never miss Alexa. Ever!

I don’t need seven seats, and I have that part flat, so it’s just more storage space. I’m not saying it’s the best ride I’ve ever had (my wife has the electric Porsche Taycan and that’s super smooth), but it’s an SUV. For day trips and commuting, along with the occasional weekend adventure, it’s the best vehicle I’ve owned.

 

[Brian-MS90D]

Interesting. The MYP is well known for its stiff, harsh, sport tuned suspension/wheels. I loved my MYP, but eventually the jarring hits on every little bump exhausted me and especially my passengers. I recently traded in my MYP for the R1S which I consider a much better / softer ride (acknowledging the R1S is still a "truck" and is not going to ride as nice as other more car based SUV's). So we've basically had the exact opposite experience. My mind is blown that anyone would go to a MYP (coming from any vehicle other than may be a Dodge Viper, haha) and describe the MYP as a more comfortable ride. But, we all have our preferences.

I have had the opportunity to drive MY Long Range and they are a much nicer and softer ride, especially the newer ones post ~ 2022 or 2023.

I think both Tesla and Rivian make great products. I hope you enjoy your MYP. It's a super fun car to zoom around in, especially up windy roads.

 

[Boo23]

Also depends on where you live. I sold my R1S recently and ride quality was 70% of the reason, I’m in Colorado and the roads are terrible, went back to a Raptor as it’s the only vehicle I’ve owned here in CO that deals with the terrible potholes so you can drive without constantly making allowances for the road surface.

 

[bdwalters]

I found that running the tires a couple of PSI low really improved the ride quality.

 

[Electron]

Interesting. The MYP is well known for its stiff, harsh, sport tuned suspension/wheels. I loved my MYP, but eventually the jarring hits on every little bump exhausted me and especially my passengers. I recently traded in my MYP for the R1S which I consider a much better / softer ride (acknowledging the R1S is still a "truck" and is not going to ride as nice as other more car based SUV's). So we've basically had the exact opposite experience. My mind is blown that anyone would go to a MYP (coming from any vehicle other than may be a Dodge Viper, haha) and describe the MYP as a more comfortable ride. But, we all have our preferences.

I have had the opportunity to drive MY Long Range and they are a much nicer and softer ride, especially the newer ones post ~ 2022 or 2023.

I think both Tesla and Rivian make great products. I hope you enjoy your MYP. It's a super fun car to zoom around in, especially up windy roads.

The 2021 suspension on the MYP is horrible and anything is better than those wooden stick for shocks. They improved it slightly for 2022 and in 2023 they really improved on the MYP's suspension a lot.

Going from your 2021 MYP to the Rivian is a big leap. Good in a lot of ways if the 2021 MYP with the wooden shocks/spring rate was your baseline. I've worked a ton on Teslas in general installing springs, shocks, coil overes, modifying bump stops and tuning. Seeing them evolve from 2021 to the new Model 3 (Highland) is pretty impressive.

I've driven the new Model 3 the day after it arrived at the service center and spent pretty much the whole day with it. Tesla nailed the suspension tuning. It's what I would consider night and day.

Even the suspension on the Model S and X, is better tuned than the Rivian's air suspension by a pretty large margin with the rebound and compression tuning. Heck even the KIA EV9's suspension is better tuned and it's not even an air suspension. Rides incredibly smooth.

From all the reviews on the new R1 Refresh, I feel pretty optimisic about the new suspension tuning, which is great on Rivian's part for addressing that.

 

[runwithscissors]

Gen 1 R1S is markedly worse ride than R1T. I have never had an issue with the truck.

Having the S now for 2 months there are moments I cringe as waiting for the family to give me a hard time about ride quality. They haven't but I'm shocked that it feels like it hits bump stops on med, and soft is like the ocean whereas the truck never feels like that. I left it in Sport one time with them in and that got audible wtf.

I can see where some may simply trade it due to this. In fact main reason why I got such a great deal on mine. Prior owner kept their range rover and he told me it was mostly ride quality that his wife disliked and not ready to fully go ev.

I have the 22's. Going to put on 20s that I have as well to see the difference soon.

I have 20's at 48 psi and it still stinks. Software update helped a bit but man it's pretty bad on choppy roads. Apparently Gen 2 fixed this problem and I wouldn't doubt it. Gen 1 R1S was a suspension swing and a miss.

 

[runwithscissors]

Also depends on where you live. I sold my R1S recently and ride quality was 70% of the reason, I’m in Colorado and the roads are terrible, went back to a Raptor as it’s the only vehicle I’ve owned here in CO that deals with the terrible potholes so you can drive without constantly making allowances for the road surface.

R1T drives way better for Gen 1. I've had several R1T loaners and did my test drives in one and driving them makes me regret the R1S. I don't know how anyone could use sport or low suspension on the R1S unless they drive on glass.

 

[sirna7]

Hello all, I have owned my R1S since September of 2022, S/n 665. I want to share my experiences and thoughts on ownership from the moment I ordered it to the day I sold it, 6-6-24
As an early adapter, I grew through all of the stages with Rivian. I had. my order canceled when the price increase happened. After a minute and RJ pivoted back I had my order reinstated. Then I had my order lost in the system. Call after call after call, nobody could find my order. Rivian personnel were awesome to work with. Sympathetic and. patient. Great customer service. Yet for the longest time, nobody could find my order. Then in late August 2022, I got a your Rivian is ready for delivery. From agony to ecstasy. A week later, I"m in the El Segundo delivery center looking at my beautiful Glacier White Launch Edition R1S. It was the sweetest drive up the coast to our home in Malibu.
I have owned BMW M cars, SUV's and Teslas. Been blessed. The build quality of my R1 was spectacular. No real gaps, no orange peel on the paint and the quality of the materials was on par with any BMW I've owned. As most of you. know, the joys of owning a BEV is no service calls. No oil changes, etc. And then the fun began I had a nail in my rear tire that was constantly losing air. I reached out to Rivian and asked them to come to my house. Got a hard no, I had to bring my car to the service center and the closest appointment was ten days out. Not a big deal, but it showed me that service would be a nuisance at best. As time went by, I discovered other nuisances:
Alexa is the absolute worst.
Map interface is nothing special
ABRP helps that.
And the absolute worst thing about the R1S is the ride. It just is not tolerable. You pick the setting and it just is worse than being in a semi truck. In fact, it was the sole reason I sold the car. I just got tired of jostling myself. Bought a new Tesla Model Performance. Picked it up yesterday. NIght and day on the ride.
So I wanted to bid adieu to the bumpmobile and share my thoughts to others.


Pluses: '
Great build quality
Top notch materials
Super amazing performance
Great customer service
Got a great price for my resale. More than paid for my drive off for the Tesla and I have money in the bank. Never a bad thing.

Minuses:
Ride is crapy at best. Great if you have your chiropractor on speed dial
Actual time to get service is terrible
Tires are expensive

I couldn't agree with you more about the ride being crappy at best.

I started driving and owning a Honda, then Toyota, and then switched over to a Mercedes GLE and Tesla Model X as our current cars. We have 2 little ones on the way, so we need to switch from the Mercedes to a 3-row SUV, preferably electric, given my Tesla Model X. The obvious choice is a Rivian...

BUT OH MY GAWRSH...the ride quality driving my neighbor's R1S, then demo driving the Quad/Dual-motor R1S twice. I am so happy, and it's such a game-changer that Gen 2 will make any improvement to ride quality. ??

 

[KRG]

I found that running the tires a couple of PSI low really improved the ride quality.

I can second this. My 22s were filled to 51 and dropping them to 47 made a big difference.

 

[Garzee]

Hello all, I have owned my R1S since September of 2022, S/n 665. I want to share my experiences and thoughts on ownership from the moment I ordered it to the day I sold it, 6-6-24
As an early adapter, I grew through all of the stages with Rivian. I had. my order canceled when the price increase happened. After a minute and RJ pivoted back I had my order reinstated. Then I had my order lost in the system. Call after call after call, nobody could find my order. Rivian personnel were awesome to work with. Sympathetic and. patient. Great customer service. Yet for the longest time, nobody could find my order. Then in late August 2022, I got a your Rivian is ready for delivery. From agony to ecstasy. A week later, I"m in the El Segundo delivery center looking at my beautiful Glacier White Launch Edition R1S. It was the sweetest drive up the coast to our home in Malibu.
I have owned BMW M cars, SUV's and Teslas. Been blessed. The build quality of my R1 was spectacular. No real gaps, no orange peel on the paint and the quality of the materials was on par with any BMW I've owned. As most of you. know, the joys of owning a BEV is no service calls. No oil changes, etc. And then the fun began I had a nail in my rear tire that was constantly losing air. I reached out to Rivian and asked them to come to my house. Got a hard no, I had to bring my car to the service center and the closest appointment was ten days out. Not a big deal, but it showed me that service would be a nuisance at best. As time went by, I discovered other nuisances:
Alexa is the absolute worst.
Map interface is nothing special
ABRP helps that.
And the absolute worst thing about the R1S is the ride. It just is not tolerable. You pick the setting and it just is worse than being in a semi truck. In fact, it was the sole reason I sold the car. I just got tired of jostling myself. Bought a new Tesla Model Performance. Picked it up yesterday. NIght and day on the ride.
So I wanted to bid adieu to the bumpmobile and share my thoughts to others.


Pluses: '
Great build quality
Top notch materials
Super amazing performance
Great customer service
Got a great price for my resale. More than paid for my drive off for the Tesla and I have money in the bank. Never a bad thing.

Minuses:
Ride is crapy at best. Great if you have your chiropractor on speed dial
Actual time to get service is terrible
Tires are expensive

Hi Tom, Sorry to hear but do agree about the ride. Curious, who gave you the great resale price, was it Tesla?

 

[Garzee]

Also, for anyone out there... are there aftermarket mods to the suspension that would be cheaper than upgrading to the R1S gen 2?

 

[Riv E In]

I know I’m in the minority here but…

I drive a dual motor 2024 on 21” wheels, keep the height at standard and the ride set to soft, and it’s a GREAT ride.

I came from a Jeep Grand Cherokee with adjustable suspension that was ROUGH, so I admittedly do have a lower expectation than some.

We also have a new Tahoe. The R1S doesn’t feel any worse than that.

I will say that I got a launch edition loaner and that ride quality was noticeably worse. Not sure what they changed, if anything, or if it was just the mileage.

All that to say I find my R1S ride to be perfectly acceptable for a nice SUV.

 

[SoCal Rob]

I have no complaints about my 2023 R1S suspension ride at all. Sure sport is stiff in a good way, but I daily in the “mid” blended setting and it’s great. Guess I got a “good one”? ?

Maybe members here with a “bad one” can meet up with a local member who has a “good one” to figure out what the issue is: suspension not behaving the same, wheel package, expectations, etc.

I have only driven or ridden in one other R1S and that was for our first mile (around the block) drive. Honestly, I have no idea if we have a “good one” or not since I’m comparing to our old Land Rover LR3 and a (longer test drive on pavement) couple 2021 Land Rover Defender 110s.

In my mind our R1S is a “good one” because the on smooth pavement and driveway dip / speed bump ride is as good as our (very comfortable) LR3 and better than the Defender. I didn’t drive the Defender off pavement but the R1S has been more comfortable on rough off-road stuff than our LR3 at higher speeds since the major update towards the end of last summer. For all I know, other people might consider ours a “bad one” because of their point of reference.

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