[Edmunds] Here's How Our 2022 Rivian R1T Fared in Its First 5,000 Miles

[jclicky]

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/long-term-2022-rivian-r1t-5000-mile-update.html

Hmmmm…they seem to be a bit harsh on the first-gen/first-year-new-model type issues. Not great that the passenger side window framing came loose & that the window stopped rolling all the way up, but seems like a normal random issue for a new model vehicle much less the first vehicle made by a new manufacturer.

…like discovering your new life partner has poor credit and snores like a two-stroke engine, our glasses are a little less rosy for our R1T now that we've spent some real time together.

We're under no illusions that any first effort from a brand-new company will be free of flaws. Many of the bugs we saw during our first encounter with the R1T have been addressed and we're confident that our truck will continue to improve over time with software updates. But it's not just digital glitches that we've been encountering lately, and we aren't the only ones experiencing them…

I’m not a fan of giving Rivian a full-pass on all issues but it seems quite unfair to ding them for a voluntary recall when the torque service happened so painlessly.

For my money, I’d rather spend 20-30% more than a typical vehicle to buy from a company committed to taking the public bruise of a voluntary recall instead of the major corporations who barely issue any recalls unless they absolutely have to.

Anyone here have any insight into the harsh treatment when the fact that Toyota’s horrible EV literally has its wheels falling off, Ford’s mustang couldn’t keep its roof on, etc.? Seems strange that Rivian isn’t getting the same sort of grace when these other more major recalls get a “ho-hum” sort of boilerplate coverage. Do these outlets like Edmunds appreciate they are being handled by a much larger PR budget from established brands vs. a smaller startup trying to react to their first year of customer deliveries?

Odd that outlets don’t put that context more directly into their framings (yes I know this review mentioned this context some, still, I wish their editorial standards included that inline with their criticisms vs. in separate caveat graphs).

Sure feels often like Tesla gets a pass when for my money their builds & issues have far more serious quality-control omissions, problems & ethical lapses vs. Rivian’s choices.

…After running our R1T on our real-world range loop, it actually traveled farther than the first R1T we tested that wore the more efficient 21-inch wheels with all-season road tires. There are no official EPA figures for the R1T with all-terrain tires, but Rivian estimates there would be a reduction in range of about 40 miles. Instead we saw a range gain of about 4 miles. So how do we explain this?
…
The final piece of the puzzle here is that Rivian contacted us and let us know that it's been able to improve the R1T's range via — you guessed it — over-the-air updates! So in order to prove this claim, we're looking to swap out our truck's all-terrain tires and rerun our range test on 21-inch road tires again. Stay tuned for that…

I don’t anticipate that Toyota, or even Ford, will be pushing such significant software updates in the lifespan of their vehicles (yes they are OTA, but their software team budgets & expertise is so much more inferior), so I don’t understand the short-changing of software updates. They’ve already added a ton of features (kneeling anyone?) & killed a ton of issues, which to me demonstrates a strong commitment to the customer that should reinforce our trust in the brand, apart from the “come to the customer” voluntary recall for the torque issue.

yes the tonneau cover is a black-eye, but they also could have left everyone with the current model out in the Rain, & could have removed it as an option from preorder holders, but they didn’t, they’re offering upgrades to the redesign once it’s finalized. I don’t know of any other manuf. that would gift remodeled elements of that type to previous model-year owners.

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[Mjl]

ht into the harsh treatment when the fact that Toyota’s horrible EV literally has its wheels falling off, Ford’s mustang couldn’t keep its roof on, etc.? Seems strange that Rivian isn’t getting the same sort of grace when these

The recall is much less concerning than water in rocker panels, window panel coming loose, seals coming apart, rear suspension bolt loose, misrouted wiring. These are valid issues and I don't find their consensus to be overly harsh.

That said, this is to be expected for a first year vehicle from a new manufacturer. At the new price? I don't know. I think they should (and will) shore up some of these quality issues by next year. Still seems like they really like the vehicle overall.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

I hate that the service notes are so low res, that you can't read them.

All in all, not the worst. Rivian seems to be going after most things without needing to be told to do so which is ideal. I am surprised there was no talk about the tonneau, good or bad.

 

[jarross]

After reading the article, I didn't feel like it was harsh. More a pointing out of things they have noticed. Which I would hope they would so I have a better idea of what to watch for. They concluded by saying they still loved the truck, so that's good.

 

[RBR1S]

Really, worried about one recall. That's their priority.

My JGC has had what, like 15? No literally look it up, 15. Including one where Grand Cherokee were literally running over people due to a defect.

 

[NY_Rob]

The review didn't seem overly harsh, it's not like they were reporting non-issues. If you report the facts, they are the facts even if they are displeasing to hear. They did praise Rivian for the 5-min. recall repair, saying it far surpassed any dealer experience.

It is sort of odd they skipped over the tonneau issue as that's one of the few defects Rivian has publicly admitted exists in a large portion of it's vehicles.

 

[mabowden]

Honestly seems like a fair review to me. It's easy to write a review like this when you are an automotive news source and not a "fan".

Most owners and most people on this forum, I believe, are generally pretty understanding of what they have signed up for (beta testing to an extent). We understand there will likely be problems that would be less likely with some* more established OEMs. Automotive news sources generally have lower patience for this. They also tend to get more reads when it is a more controversial stance on something.

*Except FCA vehicles...

 

[SoCal Rob]

That said, this is to be expected for a first year vehicle from a new manufacturer. At the new price? I don't know. I think they should (and will) shore up some of these quality issues by next year.

Yeah, if I paid current pricing I’d want a vehicle made at least one year after the start of external customer deliveries.

Other people value getting it sooner and would be happy to pay Rivian current pricing for the 2022 or 2022.1 hardware, but I bet they’ll have higher expectations, and I can’t blame them.

 

[COdogman]

The review is totally fair. Rivian wants to get in the arena with the professionals. To auto journalists it's not news to write for the 1 millionth time that GM quality sucks, especially in an article that is a Rivian review not a comparison. Tesla does always seem to get a pass, but Rivian also can't worry about that. They need to stand on their own and face their mistakes, like the recall and the stupid tonneau cover that never should have been installed as it is, or the roof glass that seems like it's destined for it's own recall. I still feel like they are doing pretty well climbing this huge mountain, but it's not always going to be sunshine and rainbows.

 

[GHuff]

I think it really comes down to price. Every little detail is subject to criticism when the vehicle cost over $100,000. If the R1T was only $50,000, I feel that 90% of these "complaints" would never come up for discussion.

 

[Blueassassin]

I want that classic OC interior.

 

[MoreTrout]

The recall is much less concerning than water in rocker panels, window panel coming loose, seals coming apart, rear suspension bolt loose, misrouted wiring. These are valid issues and I don't find their consensus to be overly harsh.

That said, this is to be expected for a first year vehicle from a new manufacturer. At the new price? I don't know. I think they should (and will) shore up some of these quality issues by next year. Still seems like they really like the vehicle overall.

I had water getting stuck in my door. Not that I was all that concerned about either, but disagree that a little water in the door is more concerning than a nut that could cause the wheel to collapse while driving, even if rare. The door was fixed when he came for the recall. It's a really simple one way rubber plug applied a little to tight. Water is supposed to get into that space. It just wasn't getting out. I would have been more concerned if it was a space water wasn't supposed to get into, but it's not. Fixed. It drains. Hardly an issue to worry about. I have none of the other issues.

 

[Kuro-Rivian]

Water is supposed to get into that space. It just wasn't getting out. I would have been more concerned if it was a space water wasn't supposed to get into, but it's not. Fixed. It drains. Hardly an issue to worry about. I have none of the other issues.

That correct. Chevy trucks and SUVs were the worst. Their drain holes clogged up the day they drove off the lot...and the rust ensued. Right now, there's enough water trapped in the doors of all the NNBS Chevy's still on the road to water the Sahara!

 

[mabowden]

I want that classic OC interior.

You and me both.

 

[jclicky]

All fair takes/responses: I see the point that they are largely fair in their criticisms & that Rivian needs to be able to stand on their own feed in the big-leagues. I think the thing that irks me is the freebie promotional attention I see Tesla getting for relatively-vaporware future-products/changes (cybertruck, self-driving, opening up superchargers, etc.) vs. Rivian in-production items (yes, fair, they temporarily killed the camp kitchen).

After reading the article, I didn't feel like it was harsh. More a pointing out of things they have noticed. Which I would hope they would so I have a better idea of what to watch for. They concluded by saying they still loved the truck, so that's good.

Perhaps just instinctually defensive: just irked that other manufacturers get a pass for higher-percentage incidence of failures that we accept as standard-faire but Rivian’s low-quantity production & relatively small error-rate isn’t put into context: remarkable to have so few issues & successfully run a full voluntary recall at current capacity (that to me recommends their rapid-response service capacity vs. Tesla).

The review didn't seem overly harsh, it's not like they were reporting non-issues. If you report the facts, they are the facts even if they are displeasing to hear. They did praise Rivian for the 5-min. recall repair, saying it far surpassed any dealer experience.

It is sort of odd they skipped over the tonneau issue as that's one of the few defects Rivian has publicly admitted exists in a large portion of it's vehicles.

Yeah if anything, the tonneau cover deserves more airtime: in retrospect Rivian ought to have nixed the auto-cover & offer to deploy it later along w/ the Max Pack (still to come, just not in production at the moment, so take the truck as it is if you need it now).

Honestly seems like a fair review to me. It's easy to write a review like this when you are an automotive news source and not a "fan".

Most owners and most people on this forum, I believe, are generally pretty understanding of what they have signed up for (beta testing to an extent). We understand there will likely be problems that would be less likely with some* more established OEMs. Automotive news sources generally have lower patience for this. They also tend to get more reads when it is a more controversial stance on something.

*Except FCA vehicles...

I do get that the news outlets aren’t beta-testing, so fair, I suppose I’m lamenting that there isn’t a longer honeymoon for Rivian since they’re just getting started. Though I’m a relatively late-comer to this ”fandom” so I totally get it if you’re a multi-year reservation holder still waiting for your order…

Yeah, if I paid current pricing I’d want a vehicle made at least one year after the start of external customer deliveries.

Other people value getting it sooner and would be happy to pay Rivian current pricing for the 2022 or 2022.1 hardware, but I bet they’ll have higher expectations, and I can’t blame them.

The new pricing tier does bump them up into higher-expectations levels, totally fair point, can’t criticize anyone for expecting Lexus-build-quality for over Lexus prices, more like Range-Rover prices.

The review is totally fair. Rivian wants to get in the arena with the professionals. To auto journalists it's not news to write for the 1 millionth time that GM quality sucks, especially in an article that is a Rivian review not a comparison. Tesla does always seem to get a pass, but Rivian also can't worry about that. They need to stand on their own and face their mistakes, like the recall and the stupid tonneau cover that never should have been installed as it is, or the roof glass that seems like it's destined for it's own recall. I still feel like they are doing pretty well climbing this huge mountain, but it's not always going to be sunshine and rainbows.

Guess that’s a good point, can’t let them fall to too low of expectations & have ourselves settle for insufficient standards; I wouldn’t tolerate build failures like this from Lexus (though their infotainment has been pathetic for years) & we’re talking far pricier tier now than that, so yes, Rivian has to worry about not getting a pass for anything at these prices now.

Just don’t want to see Rivian get kicked for par-for-the-course first-year-model issues & certainly not for what we all continue to give Tesla a pass for with their substandard production quality control.

For me, I want to see this brand persist & succeed since I don’t see any other brands advancing: EV, off-road capability (actual ability too), luxury-quality interior/features, and long-lasting build-quality.

I really don’t want to see Rivian get pushed to race to the bottom on quality/ longevity if the general coverage pushes them to race towards volume the way Tesla has at the expense of quality.

I don’t think that the future of EVs is bright if it’s all cheaply-made EVs, and even the luxury brand EVs have some really questionable build decisions just to milk their margins on a new category for them.

Always grateful for the good takes on this forum…

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