Winter Tire and Wheel fiasco

[crags]

So this happened.
I live in snow country and require winter tires. Rivian offered a “winter tire and wheel packaged” except the tires were AT tires that weren’t technically winter tires and the package was 7 grand Canadian!!! I looked around and found I could get Hakapellita R5 winter tires and alloy rims for about half that including TPMS sensors.
Which I did.
I contacted Rivian Service and they agreed to install the tires and recalibrate the computer to the different tire size. I purchased the truck with 21 inch wheels and there aren’t any21 inch winter tires.
Today, a few days before my appointment I got a call saying that Rivian would not install my wheels. Ok. I can do that myself. But they also said they would not do the recalibration either. Apparently they can not install or calibrate third party wheels and tires. If I get the wheels and tires from them they can do it. But if I purchase them somewhere else with more reasonable prices they can’t. Anybody else out there dealing with this nonsense?

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[Dark-Fx]

If you got one of the tires and sizes on this list, I would mention it and push back. (of course if you did get the 275/50R22 tires, your effective diameter difference is less than a half of a percent, so you don't need to do anything)

https://rivian.com/support/article/what-winter-tires-should-be-used-on-rivian-vehicles

 

[LL75]

or if you get this on their list, you also don't need to recalibrate
275/60R20 Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 SUV

 

[ThirteenElectrics]

I’m in the same boat. My car is accumulating mileage 3% faster than it should be, and thus depreciating faster. Also an issue for leases with capped mileage.

My car’s systems and speedometer are wrong for my wheels, but because Rivian has an abusive monopoly on service, I can’t do anything about it. Apparently Rivian, the automotive adventure company, doesn’t think you should have winter tires. Or any tires not sold by them. What a bunch of twatwaffles.

 

[Osyras]

I got the r1600 20in rims from evsportline and some 275/60 r20 Nokian R5 SUV tires. They match the diameter of the factory 21's on gen1 and factory 22's on gen2 (and probably more). Came out to about 4k in total. Rivian told me they would not put them on my gen 2 that I pick up in 2 weeks but I have pucks so no issues there.

Danny

 

[Riviot]

So this happened.
I live in snow country and require winter tires. Rivian offered a “winter tire and wheel packaged” except the tires were AT tires that weren’t technically winter tires and the package was 7 grand Canadian!!! I looked around and found I could get Hakapellita R5 winter tires and alloy rims for about half that including TPMS sensors.
Which I did.
I contacted Rivian Service and they agreed to install the tires and recalibrate the computer to the different tire size. I purchased the truck with 21 inch wheels and there aren’t any21 inch winter tires.
Today, a few days before my appointment I got a call saying that Rivian would not install my wheels. Ok. I can do that myself. But they also said they would not do the recalibration either. Apparently they can not install or calibrate third party wheels and tires. If I get the wheels and tires from them they can do it. But if I purchase them somewhere else with more reasonable prices they can’t. Anybody else out there dealing with this nonsense?

Can you give more details? What wheels did you get? It looks like these tires only come in 275/60R20 so no recalibration necessary.

 

[Spaceball1]

Don’t bother with calibration. I have switched between original 22s, 20s with 275/65/20, and OE 21s without any issues and no recalibrations.

My speedometer is actually more accurate with the 20s even though my truck is still programmed for the smaller 22s.

 

[crags]

Can you give more details? What wheels did you get? It looks like these tires only come in 275/60R20 so no recalibration necessary.

I got my R1T with the 21” wheels not realizing that you can’t get a snow tire to fit that wheel. So, I got the Haka R5 in the 275/60 R20 as this seemed to be the best most compatible choice, and I’m relieved to be hearing from folks here that it shouldn’t require calibration. That was not the response I got from Rivian. The service center guy I spoke with said they wouldn’t do the install that they had previously offered to do, nor would they do the calibration if I installed the wheels myself because the wheel and tire combination was slightly different from the factory spec. Is the R5 275/60R20 that close to the 21” tire that it won’t need calibration or any changes to the configuration of the truck’s settings. If so, that’s great, but I still think that Rivian is putting an unnecessary impediment in the way of supporting customers who require snow tires and don’t want to buy them from Rivian.

 

[Riviot]

Is the R5 275/60R20 that close to the 21” tire that it won’t need calibration or any changes to the configuration of the truck’s settings.

Yes...

No offence, just curious, did you look into this at all on here? Searched or read around?

 

[ThirteenElectrics]

Don’t bother with calibration. I have switched between original 22s, 20s with 275/65/20, and OE 21s without any issues and no recalibrations.

My speedometer is actually more accurate with the 20s even though my truck is still programmed for the smaller 22s.

Using Google Maps GPS in my CarPlay screen to check speed, switching to 20” to 21” makes my speed about 4 MPH off on the highway. If I swapped in the other direction, that might be enough to get me a speeding ticket.

 

[Indy avocado]

Using Google Maps GPS in my CarPlay screen to check speed, switching to 20” to 21” makes my speed about 4 MPH off on the highway. If I swapped in the other direction, that might be enough to get me a speeding ticket.

Use a tire calculator and get tires of matching diameter to the calibration of your vehicle. There's ample choice in both 275/65R20 and 275/60R20 to match the 20" and 21"/22" wheels respectively.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Countless threads recommending 275/60R20 with 20” wheels, factory or aftermarket, not needing reprogramming because the circumference is virtually identical to your factory setup. Do yourself a favor and look up some basic tire FAQs, learn what tire size markings mean, how tire size relates to indicated speed and odometer readings. Hint: Circumference is distance travelled per every single full revolution. And speed is distance travelled per hour.

 

[Riviot]

Countless threads recommending 275/60R20 with 20” wheels, factory or aftermarket, not needing reprogramming because the circumference is virtually identical to your factory setup. Do yourself a favor and look up some basic tire FAQs, learn what tire size markings mean, how tire size relates to indicated speed and odometer readings. Hint: Circumference is distance travelled per every single full revolution. And speed is distance travelled per hour.

 

[LL75]

Bring your pucks to any tires shop and they can swap and install for you. Or bring it to any discount tires. They already have the Rivian's puck. I rather have tires shop do this than Rivian to be honest.

 

[NY_Rob]

FWIW- From day one, which is like almost 3 years now, Rivian has refused to recalibrate non-oem tires and or non-oem wheels. Unfortunately, some clueless SC's will still schedule the service then bail at the last second, or even worse have owners show up with their vehicles and new tires/wheels then refuse to do the job. This is nothing new for Rivian. It's like asking them to mount an aftermarket bumper on your Rivian, they won't do it period.

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