RealWheels EV Horn Upgrade Kit - Review & Sound Clips Videos

[freshpow]

I was excited to receive mine today and the install was simple - took about 30 minutes in total. Tested it out and it's a great sounding horn. Unfortunately, it seems to have "bricked" my 12v system. Not blaming anyone...am guessing my 12vs were not in great shape but I'm not an expert.

Got in shortly after install to go for a drive and the brake pedal wouldn't move. Driver screen showed a whole bunch of errors and I tried both soft/hard resets. No dice. After the hard reset, both screens booted back up and still showed the same errors. Shortly after, while I was on the phone with Rivian support, both screens went completely black. Tried jumping the primary battery using my other vehicle and the leads at the trailer hitch of the Rivian. The screens came on intermittently but I gave up after about 30 minutes - still wasn't able to unlock or open the frunk.

Bummer...just going to wait for the service center to call me back, which probably won't be until Monday. Hoping it can be resolved with a mobile service visit but the service advisor I spoke with seemed keen on having it towed to the service center.

Wanted to follow up here and note that I don't believe my problems were directly related to the horn install. In any case, the RealWheelsEV team provided tremendous customer support throughout my service experience and even made a slight tweak to the install instructions (hooking up to the unused center post on the battery) to be extra cautious and make sure others don't run into problems in the future.

I have already reinstalled my horn (incredibly simple install given the instructions provided) and everything is working perfectly. Fantastic product with even better customer support! Thank you @RealWheelsEV!

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[NathanR1S]

So, I did the horn upgrade… alone, not impossible, but it took 2.5 hours. I was careful and kind of anal about making sure I was gentle with everything (like the TP20 screws, and removing the plastic covers so I wouldn’t break a clip, etc). I had to call once for a stupid question that I just wanted to verify and Cory was SUPER helpful! Here’s a before video!

 

[NathanR1S]

And here is the after!

 

[RealWheelsEV]

Sounds awesome Nathan, great job on the install!

 

[AfroRick]

I finally have one on order. Hopefully it doesn't take long to arrive so that I can get it installed this weekend. Looking forward to having an actual horn again Rivian should just source the parts for the horns from you guys going forward.

 

[AfroRick]

Did the job solo, took about 1:30, mostly because of trying to deal with that single clip that is removed before seating the horn. That one is all sorts of problematic to remove and it looks like a wire so I was really worried about removing it. A better closeup of some of these would be nice. Oh, and the video says "you should hear a click" when installing to the factory horn and I kept removing and reseating it hoping for a click that never came. It was, however, exceedingly secure when tugging at it so I let it be and kept going.

Broke one of the Christmas trees trying to remove, but that I was able to find a "replacement" for at AutoZone. May want to provide some details on those pieces for those that break some stuff along the way

But, outside of the space below the tub being intimidating as hell - it was an easy job, even solo.

 

[AfroRick]

I've attached some high quality photos of the after in the hopes that it helps whomever else is working the job...

 

[SwampNut]

I used the horn for the very first time two days ago. It's just not something I really ever need. It was to get a neighbor's attention as I went by. I really appreciated that it was quiet and friendly-sounding.

 

[usulio]

I used the horn for the very first time two days ago. It's just not something I really ever need. It was to get a neighbor's attention as I went by. I really appreciated that it was quiet and friendly-sounding.

I generally feel the same, but at highway speeds I don't think anyone will be able to hear you honk.

 

[cwintermeyer]

Just placed my order after watching the super-helpful install video on YouTube. I can't wait to get that bad boy installed when it arrives.

 

[JonW716]

If your good at wiring and want to DIY you can have the same thing for less than $70. The same exact horn provided in the kit is $30 on Amazon (or $35 from hornblasters / wolo seems much cheaper and I see a picture of one posted from a kit, just not a fan of their products but thinking Hornblasters may just buy from them), the Deitch connector splitter for $11, then you need to run Power & ground to the relay (battery charger cable on amazon 8ft ($15), cut the plug off and crimp 2 connectors onto it for the relay power, and mount the horn with a bracket you would need to fabricate (Lowes Interior/Exterior mill finished aluminum solids $8-17) you can easily bend/cut/drill if your handy and have a drill & vice. You'll also need a couple of bolts to mount the horn to bracket fabricated and another bolt to mount the bracket through the frame. I love the simplicity of the kit but for 2 hours and 1/3 price of retail you can DIY (which I personally enjoy doing). I came across the video showing the horn and said that's a great kit but $200 seems a little steep for it. While looking at horn videos I came across the hornblastes horn and said that's the same exact one. I will be doing this project in a week or 2 when I get back for a business trip and have a few hours to kill. Here are a few links to the products (no affiliate links or any crap like that).

Hornblasters Horn on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/HornBlasters-12-Volt-Black-Compact-Electric/dp/B0BSVGW2S7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=310X3KSYEDUSI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4nv0xreJa5C6_ZHpyj4kfU_5Nw6MphmpEIR0QmhvILwZ61yLmz2-lczzBvvlKeVCwpkoRyJwQ-vYfCpPTM2Lit4aZRFjBwTGNnjll2j_7yvTYgiZuJFst8C9L_8UbKMMG_qte0MI6sMqmVT_iHZIElWiCylKIRBrDbNvnnmJWcORc5fBfeoOV3sxsW2t1OSmx6txG5AO6xoMIjGLNGBgBWjW_AuycjxLYc_v3aEMAro.cXdsFtahZ2i_2mDhrn_ioHBFJaP3LEp-zKvK82_pMMA&dib_tag=se&keywords=hornblasters+electric+truck+horn&qid=1726893920&sprefix=hownblasters+electric+,aps,108&sr=8-1
OR from Hornblasters
https://hornblasters.com/collections/electric-horns/products/hornblasters-electric-truck-horn

Deutsch Dual Output Splitter
https://www.amazon.com/Deutsch-Adap...-86d2-7cfe326152af&ref_=sspa_dk_detail_1&th=1) and all you need ais a bracket and a wire to the ground & positive.

 

[Dirt.boy]

Has anyone figured out the wiring location for the horn on a 2025 R1S. I bought the kit and installed the horn but haven't found the vehicle's horn wiring.

 

[iforbes]

Has anyone figured out the wiring location for the horn on a 2025 R1S. I bought the kit and installed the horn but haven't found the vehicle's horn wiring.

Can you just trace it back from the existing horn? If you find it, post pics!

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Can you just trace it back from the existing horn? If you find it, post pics!

That's the easy part, as well as plugging the factory plug into the kit's harness. The hard part is where to hook up the rest of the harness. Gen2 moved 12V to under passenger seat. Is there a power distribution block in the front compartment? or has that been moved and tucked away elsewhere less accessible? The kit was made for Gen1, where the 12V battery and distribution block is easily accessible once the frunk tub is out.

 

[iforbes]

That's the easy part, as well as plugging the factory plug into the kit's harness. The hard part is where to hook up the rest of the harness. Gen2 moved 12V to under passenger seat. Is there a power distribution block in the front compartment? or has that been moved and tucked away elsewhere less accessible? The kit was made for Gen1, where the 12V battery and distribution block is easily accessible once the frunk tub is out.

Ah, I understand now! Great question.assuming you reached out to RealWheels? Sometimes they have to wait to get their hands on a “tester”. Good luck! (It’ll be worth the work)

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