My concerns as a potential Rivian Owner

[blueberrybeat]

I've been wanting a Rivian for a couple of years and seriously considering for a few months now. I've been lurking around here, Reddit, and watching a ton of YouTube videos. I compiled a list of fairly important items that I thought I'd post to see whether things I've read about have been resolved, or to flag for Rivian corporate what's between me and dropping $100k on one of their cars.

Important issues to me:

• Ride height adjustment can life up while trying to hook up trailer (safety concern)
• Infotainment maps sub par compared to Apple/Google. I navigate all the time and expect very accurate directions, POIs, traffic, offline downloads, etc.
• No vehicle to load adapter
  • The idea of plugging into one of those solar chargers as an intermediary may alleviate this concern
• No native NACS and adapters not readily available
• Want more aggressive regen and less friction brakes
  • I will be taking it on a lot of mountain roads and getting the most out of regen is big. I have a Polestar 2 currently and the friction brakes virtually never get used and the blending of regen and friction is so seamless I'm surprised Rivian is noted as being so aggressive on the friction brakes
• Apple Music costs more and needs a special subscription
• Gen 2 AC/Heat pump is loud/vibrating
• No native way to use text messages through infotainment (kind of a safety issue here too)
• Service time is very long
• Demo drive times are poor
  • I live in the greater DFW area currently and the service center has no demo drives on the weekends?? How's a working person supposed to get over there without taking time of of work. I shouldn't have to take time off of work (the latest appointment is 6:15 pm, which can mean leaving work early if you know DFW traffic).

Annoyances but not critical:

• The support site is so lean on details about the car. Interior dimensions, battery statistics, etc.
• Disabled blind spot monitoring while trailering.
• Autonomy driving has been described as that it kind of bounces between the lane rather than staying centered (or ideally Manual Lane Biasing like Lucid)
• Limited interior pictures compared to competitors (which have, e.g. 3D views)
• Website is not clear at all what the difference between "Adventure" and "Ascend" is.
• I'd like to see the company profitable so that I know there's some longevity to the brand. I'm willing to take a risk on the brand, but would want to see the product itself move past the "beta" phase since it's a generation 2 premium product commanding a premium price tag.

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[COdogman]

I think 99% of your concerns could be alleviated with a test drive. Set one up at your nearest Rivian space or rent one for a day on Turo. It will be well worth it.

Our opinions are all subjective.

 

[Thedude]

I've been wanting a Rivian for a couple of years and seriously considering for a few months now. I've been lurking around here, Reddit, and watching a ton of YouTube videos. I compiled a list of fairly important items that I thought I'd post to see whether things I've read about have been resolved, or to flag for Rivian corporate what's between me and dropping $100k on one of their cars.

Important issues to me:

• Ride height adjustment can life up while trying to hook up trailer (safety concern) Never had this happen over thousands of miles of towing.
• Infotainment maps sub par compared to Apple/Google. I navigate all the time and expect very accurate directions, POIs, traffic, offline downloads, etc. I found it was accurate enough to not be a hassle.
• No vehicle to load adapter
  • The idea of plugging into one of those solar chargers as an intermediary may alleviate this concern Not sure what this means
• No native NACS and adapters not readily available Adapters are readily available and tested to work with Rivians
• Want more aggressive regen and less friction brakes
  • I will be taking it on a lot of mountain roads and getting the most out of regen is big. I have a Polestar 2 currently and the friction brakes virtually never get used and the blending of regen and friction is so seamless I'm surprised Rivian is noted as being so aggressive on the friction brakes. Most of my driving (and towing) was in the Colorado Rockies, the regen works fine especially at lower charge levels.
• No native way to use text messages through infotainment (kind of a safety issue here too) Just sayhey siri/google and you can dictate or have texts read to you completely hands free.

 

[azbill]

I have had no issues connecting a trailer, nothing to worry about.

The navigation is poor, compared to Apple and Google.

Texting is not integrated have to rely on Siri.

There is no option for Apple Music right now, have to connect audio to your phone.

Service times are definitely long.

 

[VandalSibs]

When hitching up a trailer, just turn off auto height adjustment. It's what I do when hooking up my RV (set drive height I want, then turn off Auto. Bing bang boom, all good). And once the trailer power cord is plugged in, towing mode should kick in and height should stay the same.

 

[ndmiller]

Love my R1T but i understand it's not perfect and won't be for years.

Based on your concerns and tone, I would wait until R2-R5 to come out. You'll just be on this forum complaining about issues that were well known at your time of purchase.

 

[NY_Rob]

As others have already said, ride height adjustment while connecting the trailer has never happened to me (I've trailered our boat maybe 20 times now).

Regen on high is very aggressive, so much so that if you have the driver window open and music muted, you can hear the tries scrubbing on the pavement during stops due to the very high deceleration caused by high regen.

"Disabled blind spot monitoring while trailering" well yeah, because the trailer is blocking the rear sensors.

 

[Redline]

Love my R1T but i understand it's not perfect and won't be for years.

Based on your concerns and tone, I would wait until R2-R5 to come out. You'll just be on this forum complaining about issues that were well known at your time of purchase.

Yeah…

With a list like this and the tone you’ve already set…I’d wait.

It’s a car, not a life or death decision. Do your research, if it isn’t for you, move on or wait, but you’re setting yourself up for failure already.

 

[Yossarian]

I agree with @Redline and @ndmiller - the Rivian will likely be a disappointment given the rather exacting criteria set out in your list. You don't mention which model you are interested in but regardless of whether its a pickup or SUV, I'm not sure that any existing EV will tick all, or even most of your boxes. That said, a test ride may go a long way to providing some answers.

My R1T is far from perfect, but it is one of the most enjoyable, competent and comfortable vehicles I've ever driven.

Rivian's biggest negative IMO is not the vehicle per se, but rather service. In my case, much of that problem is not of Rivian's making - I live in a state that does not allow manufacturers using the direct sales method to operate service centers. That said, the available service centers in the adjacent states all have unacceptably long wait times. It's important to note however that wait times are not nearly as much of an issue for critical service (safety, drive ability) and may be taken care of by a Rivian mobile units.

 

[ndmiller]

FWIW I bought a Porsche 718 Boxster a few years back, I wanted a convertible sports car and had the means to acquire it. Years wait turned into months when I arrived a dealership cold and an allocation was rejected with no-one else on the list (everyone wants a 911).

Took delivery after production and it was amazing, best handling car I've ever driven, so fast and angry loud I was in heaven. BUT I live in GA, so top down turned it into an oven even with the air on full blast. Sunburn was a real thing and I realized I would be killed in this car. 60-70mph right angle turns became the norm rain or shine not the exception having fun. The downsides of this amazing car were too much to deal with, so I sold it.

Was the Porsche a bad convertible sports car, no maybe the best ever made. Was I a convertible sports car enthusiast, yes loved them ever since I saw my first one before I could drive as a teenager. Did I want to drive a convertible sports car and put up with the downsides, no absolutely not. I just wasn't that guy and preferred my HUGE comfortable Japanese made Lexus LX570.

So fast forward, I traded the Lexus in for the R1T. Was I a pickup truck guy, nope never ever. Was I an EV guy, nope couldn't care less. Am I a driver of big heavy comfortable vehicles, yes that's me. I may never use my R1T bed or the cross bars but the comfort, space, size and weight sold me. IMHO getting injured or killed in a car accident is almost completely avoidable with the biggest vehicle you can own and avoiding major highways with 18 wheelers (I use flyover in my area where trucks aren't allowed). The fact I can plug it into the house is downright amazing as gas stations kind of suck. And the SC in Atlanta is a mile away from work or I never would have bought one.

 

[Redline]

FWIW I bought a Porsche 718 Boxster a few years back, I wanted a convertible sports car and had the means to acquire it. Years wait turned into months when I arrived a dealership cold and an allocation was rejected with no-one else on the list (everyone wants a 911).

Took delivery after production and it was amazing, best handling car I've ever driven, so fast and angry loud I was in heaven. BUT I live in GA, so top down turned it into an oven even with the air on full blast. Sunburn was a real thing and I realized I would be killed in this car. 60-70mph right angle turns became the norm rain or shine not the exception having fun. The downsides of this amazing car were too much to deal with, so I sold it.

Was the Porsche a bad convertible sports car, no maybe the best ever made. Was I a convertible sports car enthusiast, yes loved them ever since I saw my first one before I could drive as a teenager. Did I want to drive a convertible sports car and put up with the downsides, no absolutely not. I just wasn't that guy and preferred my HUGE comfortable Japanese made Lexus LX570.

So fast forward, I traded the Lexus in for the R1T. Was I a pickup truck guy, nope never ever. Was I an EV guy, nope couldn't care less. Am I a driver of big heavy comfortable vehicles, yes that's me. I may never use my R1T bed or the cross bars but the comfort, space, size and weight sold me. IMHO getting injured or killed in a car accident is almost completely avoidable with the biggest vehicle you can own and avoiding major highways with 18 wheelers (I use flyover in my area where trucks aren't allowed). The fact I can plug it into the house is downright amazing as gas stations kind of suck. And the SC in Atlanta is a mile away from work or I never would have bought one.

This sounds a lot like me when I was 25. I wanted an S2000 for years, I now had the means to buy one, so I did. It was an amazing vehicle, I loved driving it…but just once or twice a week. It was not a daily driver, especially in Minnesota. I sold it before winter came.

With that said, I really, really wish I had kept it, but I simply didn’t have a place to put it in my early 20s. It would’ve been an awesome car for weekends and values have skyrocketed.

 

[RivianR1TinSFL]

I've been wanting a Rivian for a couple of years and seriously considering for a few months now. I've been lurking around here, Reddit, and watching a ton of YouTube videos. I compiled a list of fairly important items that I thought I'd post to see whether things I've read about have been resolved, or to flag for Rivian corporate what's between me and dropping $100k on one of their cars.

Important issues to me:

• Ride height adjustment can life up while trying to hook up trailer (safety concern)
• Infotainment maps sub par compared to Apple/Google. I navigate all the time and expect very accurate directions, POIs, traffic, offline downloads, etc.
• No vehicle to load adapter
  • The idea of plugging into one of those solar chargers as an intermediary may alleviate this concern
• No native NACS and adapters not readily available
• Want more aggressive regen and less friction brakes
  • I will be taking it on a lot of mountain roads and getting the most out of regen is big. I have a Polestar 2 currently and the friction brakes virtually never get used and the blending of regen and friction is so seamless I'm surprised Rivian is noted as being so aggressive on the friction brakes
• Apple Music costs more and needs a special subscription
• Gen 2 AC/Heat pump is loud/vibrating
• No native way to use text messages through infotainment (kind of a safety issue here too)
• Service time is very long
• Demo drive times are poor
  • I live in the greater DFW area currently and the service center has no demo drives on the weekends?? How's a working person supposed to get over there without taking time of of work. I shouldn't have to take time off of work (the latest appointment is 6:15 pm, which can mean leaving work early if you know DFW traffic).

Annoyances but not critical:

• The support site is so lean on details about the car. Interior dimensions, battery statistics, etc.
• Disabled blind spot monitoring while trailering.
• Autonomy driving has been described as that it kind of bounces between the lane rather than staying centered (or ideally Manual Lane Biasing like Lucid)
• Limited interior pictures compared to competitors (which have, e.g. 3D views)
• Website is not clear at all what the difference between "Adventure" and "Ascend" is.
• I'd like to see the company profitable so that I know there's some longevity to the brand. I'm willing to take a risk on the brand, but would want to see the product itself move past the "beta" phase since it's a generation 2 premium product commanding a premium price tag.

It's a man made machine. Maybe this will help you adjust a ton of your concerns above.

 

[Mickey]

? Geez! Alec, it's just a truck (or SUV). If you don't like it you can sell or trade it. Nothing is perfect in life... so stop analyzing and go get a Rivian. You will LOVE it! It is so much fun to drive.

IMO, these open forums have become full of complainers. You won't read as much from happy Rivian owners. Even the pettiest of things are posted. (I sometimes feel like these could be from competitive EV vehicle owners/sellers trying to shed negativity against the finest vehicle I have ever owned, and I've owned plenty in my long lifetime.) After two years of owning my R1T Launch Edition, I have experienced VERY FEW of the things I read about. Sure I have some things that annoy me (like the short towing range with my Airstream due to its relatively "small tank"), but in reality, they are no big deal. I simply adjust.

I say, "Go get a Rivian!" Life's too short. ?

 

[FranklinTB]

I'll echo some of the concerns that others have noted. Most of us here saw Rivian for the first time, had an inner monologue that went something like "holy crap, I need this", and plunked down a $1k deposit soon afterwards.

My story is that I'm a truck guy--not a car guy. Tesla or other EV sedans were never on my radar. I saw Rivian written up in an article and read "0-60 in 3 seconds" and did a double take on that stat. At that time, there were only a few Porsche ICE models that could do that--and they cost well over $100k. A TRUCK can do that!?

That was it, I was sold.

I think with the amount of thought and deliberation you've put into this decision--Rivian probably isn't for you at this time.

Early tesla's have known issues (door handles, sunroof issues, first gen software issues etc.) Rivian will absolutely have some form of this that will become apparent after a while. We know of the squeaking in half shafts and noise issues with the AC compressor. Those are engineering defects and cannot be fixed from what I've heard from the SC. Maybe the Gen2 have those fixed.

It is what it is.

Still an amazing vehicle. Zero regrets.

 

[Yossarian]

. . . So fast forward, I traded the Lexus in for the R1T. Was I a pickup truck guy, nope never ever. Was I an EV guy, nope couldn't care less. Am I a driver of big heavy comfortable vehicles, yes that's me. I may never use my R1T bed or the cross bars . . .

Well @ndmiller, if you're not going to use those crossbars, I can point you to someone who definitely will.

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