My concerns as a potential Rivian Owner

[CharonPDX]

To pile on add to the anecdotes - I've towed dozens of times, probably 10,000 miles towing. I've never had it adjust the height uncommanded while towing or connecting to tow.

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[Hereforthesnacks]

As I’ve said before to potential buyers, I think the Rivian is a really cool car. Just remember, it’s a startup and you need to be comfortable with that.

 

[CharonPDX]

Chevy, Kia, and Nissan have excellent service centers with a lot of experience working on EVs.

FWIW - the EV9 is a universally praised 3 row EV with 6 seats. You struggle to find even a luke warm review on it from a reputable site.

The big thing about "conventional" brands is service - service quality is both highly dependent on your local dealer, and "alternatives may be readily available."

In my city, there are four Kia dealerships. If you don't like one, another is readily available. I had a BMW i3, and of the two BMW dealerships in town, one was great with EVs, the other terrible.

Meanwhile, I had exactly one Tesla service center within 150 miles. I have two Rivians, but that's an oddity of the ramp up of their service center. I fully expect them to close one of them.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

The big thing about "conventional" brands is service - service quality is both highly dependent on your local dealer, and "alternatives may be readily available."

In my city, there are four Kia dealerships. If you don't like one, another is readily available. I had a BMW i3, and of the two BMW dealerships in town, one was great with EVs, the other terrible.

Meanwhile, I had exactly one Tesla service center within 150 miles. I have two Rivians, but that's an oddity of the ramp up of their service center. I fully expect them to close one of them.

That’s definitely true. Service centers can vary by a ton. If you find a good one, you hold on to it. Luckily in the Bay Area, each brand has several SCs.

 

[lefkonj]

A few quick comments:
1. Adapters: You can buy a third party today, go for it.
2. Nav system. I haven't had issues with, no more or less than Apple/Google
3. Service issues: The SCs are super busy but mobile service is pretty quick and they can solve all sorts of issues right on your driveway.

have owned mine for 18 months love it.

 

[ukyank]

I stopped reading the minute you said Reddit and were not an owner. Reddit sub is full of whiny losers - mostly Tesla owners that don't know shit about cars, likely can't afford the Rivian they bought, or morons with 4 infants that should have bought a minivan - and only care about software. They compare Rivian to their shitty interior vehicles and think the Tesla "ride like shit" is how all EVs should drive. The fact you spout a list of shit without actually owning anything tells me you are a gullible rube that can't make a decision unless getting validation from internet losers.

You don’t have many friend do you?

 

[HaveBlue]

I actually find the reddit people to be less whiney.

Op has good questions and concerns.


Important issues to me:

• Ride height adjustment can life up while trying to hook up trailer (safety concern) You can use ride height to scoop up the trailer and auto leveling is great.
• Infotainment maps sub par compared to Apple/Google. I navigate all the time and expect very accurate directions, POIs, traffic, offline downloads, etc. Nav has been good and shows a bunch of charging stations
• No vehicle to load adapter supposed to be coming
  • 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 buy one
• Want more aggressive regen and less friction brakes rarely tops out and you can elect not to use 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 you mean connect plus? Yea expensive
• Gen 2 AC/Heat pump is loud/vibrating so is gen 1 for the first minute or two still quieter than an ice engine
• No native way to use text messages through infotainment (kind of a safety issue here too) also coming
• Service time is very long yep for cosmetic fixes. Functional issues take priority
• Demo drive times are poor shrug that's a you thing. Take some vacation time
  • 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. has the total leg room of our GX 470 across the three rows with more adjustment but an extra foot of rear storage. Length and width like an LX
• Disabled blind spot monitoring while trailering. No blind spot system is going to protect you from swiping your trailer into another car. The lengths vary too much.
• 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) I haven't experienced this
• Limited interior pictures compared to competitors (which have, e.g. 3D views) go to a showroom and see it live
• Website is not clear at all what the difference between "Adventure" and "Ascend" is. I don't know either
• 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. Buy one now while they aren't making a profit off you

 

[bummin]

The suspension leveling one is new to me. Never had it move ever on any trailer I have towed with a Rivian, or any of my Ram's with air suspension.

Other areas, I don't miss texting at all. Call my landline and leave a message on my recorder. Better yet, just fax me.

CP, no thank you anymore, Apple music I will take.

Regen is strong, better than any factory exhaust brake on current or past vehicles.

Maps is subjective. I have seen Google pick trails as roads, put 3 vehicles in the ocean in Hawaii, and route the dumbest of routes at times. Buy a Thomas guide as ask the passenger to verify if in doubt.

Noise stuff, why does everyone bring up AC noise but no one ever complains about engine noise on an ICE? I believe the OFF button will give you the DB level you are looking for.

Buy a gasser, or diesel with leaf spring suspension and all the bells and whistles. Hook up that trailer, load up the bed and head up I70. I will do the same and wave to you as I pass you going up. At the top of Eisenhower I'll wait to see you pass, follow you down and see how many brake applications you make before I smell the pads on your friction brakes start to get toasty.

All the other stuff is on par with every OEM, no one wants to turn wrench anymore when you can be an infuencer and chase clicks on a topic you know absolutely nothing about. I would still take a Rivian over anything in about 99% of any situation I encounter in daily driving life.

 

[arcane]

A few quick comments:
1. Adapters: You can buy a third party today, go for it.
2. Nav system. I haven't had issues with, no more or less than Apple/Google
3. Service issues: The SCs are super busy but mobile service is pretty quick and they can solve all sorts of issues right on your driveway.

have owned mine for 18 months love it.

A real reliability question for Rivian owners from someone with an R1T on order: do i need to keep my ICE vehicle as backup? i can’t be without a vehicle for weeks on end.

 

[Redline]

A real reliability question for Rivian owners from someone with an R1T on order: do i need to keep my ICE vehicle as backup? i can’t be without a vehicle for weeks on end.

Why would you be without a vehicle for weeks on end?

 

[lefkonj]

A real reliability question for Rivian owners from someone with an R1T on order: do i need to keep my ICE vehicle as backup? i can’t be without a vehicle for weeks on end.

I own two EVs, R1S and I4M50. All is good.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

A real reliability question for Rivian owners from someone with an R1T on order: do i need to keep my ICE vehicle as backup? i can’t be without a vehicle for weeks on end.

As around about your local SC. It really depends on where you are. If in Bay Area or LA area, you could be without the truck for a while. Others in Seattle say the SC is really efficient. Not sure about CT.​

 

[Redline]

As around about your local SC. It really depends on where you are. If in Bay Area or LA area, you could be without the truck for a while. Others in Seattle say the SC is really efficient. Not sure about CT.​

Doesn't matter, they'll give you a loaner/rental.

 

[SparkyR1t]

A real reliability question for Rivian owners from someone with an R1T on order: do i need to keep my ICE vehicle as backup? i can’t be without a vehicle for weeks on end.

in all the negative posts regarding service nowhere have I ever read that Rivian left an owner without a vehicle. A rental or loaner has always been supplied. Now if it’s a rental it will most likely be a dirty fuel vehicle but you will always have transportation

 

[arcane]

??

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