Panel fit vs accident

[Turbospeed440]

I know 22 had poor panel alinement and better with 23. I've been looking at used r1t's that are a 22 23 no accident but they look like a blind person built it. Are they that bad or just been in accidents and the owners fix them to avoid a ding on car fax. Anyone have pics of there poor panel alinement

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[Donald Stanfield]

I'm confused by your question. Are you asking whether the panel alignment on some first-made cars was bad enough that it looked like Ray Charles was running the line? Yes, that is the case. That doesn't mean the car wasn't in an accident, but I've seen some pretty bad-looking panels on here in the early days. My first one was Sept '22, and it was just about perfect, though, so not all of them were bad.

 

[Turbospeed440]

I'm confused by your question. Are you asking whether the panel alignment on some first-made cars was bad enough that it looked like Ray Charles was running the line? Yes, that is the case. That doesn't mean the car wasn't in an accident, but I've seen some pretty bad-looking panels on here in the early days. My first one was Sept '22, and it was just about perfect, though, so not all of them were bad.

Yes I was wondering how bad the fitments were. I just can't see the car being 100k leaving the factory and there is like 3/8 gap on hood fender by the windshield going down to 1/8 by the bump

 

[Nixapatfan]

Yes panel gaps are bad compared to the big manufacturers though that doesn't mean they are built badly for the most part they are overbuilt/engineered. I had a hard time getting over the panel gaps, still do sometimes but otherwise the truck is great. Oddly enough the interior is built way nicer than the exterior which is where I spend majority of my time so I'm able to cope with it.

 

[CharonPDX]

Yes I was wondering how bad the fitments were. I just can't see the car being 100k leaving the factory and there is like 3/8 gap on hood fender by the windshield going down to 1/8 by the bump

The hood specifically can be adjusted after the fact. Mine arrived pretty badly aligned, but my local service center got it perfectly even in a few minutes. After 3 years of abuse, the passenger's side is getting a bit out of alignment, but not enough for me to care.

My side gaps between front fender and front doors have been even the whole time.

(August 2022 delivery, VIN <10,000.)

 

[NY_Rob]

They also had the occasional misshaped doors early on which were replaced per customer requests. If you had one of those doors and didn't complain they did not proactively replace them like they've been doing with the 12 volt batteries. It's possible you may be seeing some of those vehicles that no amount of panel shifting will fix without replacing a door.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

My hood and passenger side door on my 23 R1S were very out of alignment when I took delivery. The service center got them straightened out to my satisfaction. You may be seeing examples of where the original owners didn't GAF or have the wherewithal to go back to the SC to get them fixed. Some people just don't care. Rivian will not adjust these for free any longer. There's a 1 year fitment and rattle warranty.

 

[BCondrey]

I had a 22 R1T and the gaps were fine, although I know many people on reddit reported them.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Easy way to do away with speculation: get yourself a paint thickness gauge. The same ones appraisers and dealers use to measure paint thickness. If panels have different thicknesses of paint, it’s telltale sign body work has been done. You can find the tool for less than $50 on Amazon.

What model year doesn’t really matter. It’s not consistent. More to do with what shift and who on the line worked when and how well they did their job. And, for parts of assembly that is automated, it’s down to how many vehicles have already gone through since last calibration (of fixtures) and how far out of spec those settings have gotten when your particular vehicle went through.

My '23 was built on 5/30 of that year and every door was hung out-of-spec. QC at factory clearly did not pay attention to alignment, only function. Service Center corrected every single one free of charge under warranty; even though I was almost two years outside of the adjustment period (it helps to be nice to SC staff).

 

[Erik+]

SC adjusted my hood for free when I asked nicely even though it was well past the adjustment period and I had purchased the truck used. The doors are pretty simple to adjust on your own if that were needed.

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