What's with the horrible steering wheel quality?

[elecyk]

The stitching quality on my steering wheel is so bad I had an appointment today to get the steering wheel replaced, and the new steering wheel is even worse! The tech totally understood why I refused the replacement. Rivian needs a new vendor for the steering wheel. Anyone else have similar issues?
Photos of my current steering wheel:

The stitching quality on my steering wheel is so bad I had an appointment today to get the steering wheel replaced, and the new steering wheel is even worse! The tech totally understood why I refused the replacement. Rivian needs a new vendor for the steering wheel. Anyone else have similar issues?
Photos of my current steering wheel:

The overall workmanship of the car is really bad. Bought a Gen2 R1S. Doors don’t close plush, the frames are not aligned. Gaskets are protruding. At 45mph, the steering wheel started to vibrate. Poor customer experience. Worst ever.

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[ozziegt]

The overall workmanship of the car is really bad. Bought a Gen2 R1S. Doors don’t close plush, the frames are not aligned. Gaskets are protruding. At 45mph, the steering wheel started to vibrate. Poor customer experience. Worst ever.

These issues are not normal as most owners will attest to. Sorry to hear your poor experience.

 

[Rae11]

Haven’t had any of this, or at least have not noticed. They will work it out over time I’m sure. Still a lot better than what Tesla was putting out at this stage.
Hopefully they keep it all free of animal leather, I think they will.
Perhaps they could offer upgrades on the steering wheel at some point that has a thicker feel, alcantara/epoxy etc. But so far, I haven’t had an issue with it.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

My original steering wheel stitching was pretty good, but the wheel developed a bubble on the back of the wheel at the 3 O'clock position after about 6 months. Rivian replaced the wheel at the SC and when I picked the vehicle up, I immediately noticed the problem ... it was similar stitching issues (maybe worse) than the OP. It took them 4 tries to get me a wheel that I could accept. I reviewed each one before I approved installation. The first was at the SC (luckily I'm not too far from one). The subsequent 3 wheels were brought to me by mobile service. Only after I was happy, did they install. Stitched steering wheels (regardless of the material) is not NEW technology! Rivian should hold their supplier to a higher level of QC than what they are delivering.

 

[ozziegt]

My original steering wheel stitching was pretty good, but the wheel developed a bubble on the back of the wheel at the 3 O'clock position after about 6 months. Rivian replaced the wheel at the SC and when I picked the vehicle up, I immediately noticed the problem ... it was similar stitching issues (maybe worse) than the OP. It took them 4 tries to get me a wheel that I could accept. I reviewed each one before I approved installation. The first was at the SC (luckily I'm not too far from one). The subsequent 3 wheels were brought to me by mobile service. Only after I was happy, did they install. Stitched steering wheels (regardless of the material) is not NEW technology! Rivian should hold their supplier to a higher level of QC than what they are delivering.

From what I've read, this fake leather junk is not as stretchable and pliable as real leather. So it's harder to upholster with it. I dunno, I think it's a poor choice of materials if that is the case. I don't think other manufacturers have this issue.

 

[Rae11]

From what I've read, this fake leather junk is not as stretchable and pliable as real leather. So it's harder to upholster with it. I dunno, I think it's a poor choice of materials if that is the case. I don't think other manufacturers have this issue.

Perhaps. But Mercedes and BMW have used synthetic materials for the wheels for decades. And they have been just fine.

 

[portdirect]

These issues are not normal as most owners will attest to. Sorry to hear your poor experience.

Not normal - but unfortunately not as uncommon as it should be. Personally I'd have lived with the steering wheels here - the replacement one in my trimax has the same bubble on the right side of the 'spoke' that another user posted here, and I've 'tucked in' the wrap in the past under the threads on our old truck.

 

[elecyk]

These issues are not normal as most owners will attest to. Sorry to hear your poor experience.

Rivian customer service was copied on messages exchanged with the service center. No response. Has been at the service center for more than 2 months. No rental car. Now there are issues with registering the car in Hawai’i. Horrible customer service. They don’t care after they sell. One should enjoy owing a car. For that high price, the workmanship and customer service it is just not worth it.
The $100k plus vehicle is just not worth even $50k. Better to stay with the Hondas, Toyotas, and Subarus, BMWs. They will eventually catch up on the EV market and do better. Most importantly their customer service is way better than Rivian’s

 

[rpo]

Mine is fine. At least it is not peeling off like my Model X's steering wheel did after 800 miles.

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