getut
Active Member
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2026
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- 40
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- Location
- NC, USA, Earth
- Vehicles
- equinox ev and hyundai santa cruz, shopping rivian
- Thread starter
- #1
Hello everyone, new forum user here and hoping to get some discussions going to help ease my concerns with these cars. I have been HEAVILY researching in the weeds for many months now and am getting close to pulling the trigger, but these lingering issues still concern me if I end up going with Rivian. I work in IT security, so many of my issues are related to that but also some pretty deep, in the weeds issues as well since I am a research junkie and I work on and hack all of my stuff. So with that said.. here we go. I apologize this will likely be long. I also want to state I come at a lot of these potential issues from the viewpoint of someone who does not lease and typically holds on to vehicles at least 10 years. Other than these issues that I list, Rivian is at the top of my list, but I do feel like I'm forcing it given these potential issues but driving one of these makes me not think clearly with all that power.
1) Range issues. I don't have a warm squishy that Rivian has done a good job with their EPA range estimates and that is the #1 most critical feature to me. I use my trucks for real truck work, so I consider 400 miles in optimal conditions the absolute bare minimum for a truck. Not because I use 400 mile range, but because I use more than what lesser EPA ranges would reduce to in LESS than optimal conditions. When you consider about 60% range loss in cold weather and another 60% if towing, that puts it at around 150 miles usable and even less with 10 years of wear on the battery. So that 400 mile starting point is the absolute least range that I can live with. But my concern is that Rivian has fudged this. Unlike the Silverado EV that seems to always easily hit EPA estimates even at 70MPH constant, I don't get the feeling that the Rivians can do that. I REALLY hope someone tells me different. The 420 mile range seems to be doable when a significant amount of slower driving is involved. I have not yet found where Rivians can do that 420 mile range on a
2) Not a deal breaker but close to it. I am prepared to do work arounds if I decide on the Rivian, but not happy about it. But the Rivians NEED a split phase 240v outlet. Proprietary V2H systems are not acceptable. Pure stock 240v outlet that works with no proprietary system at all. The most proprietary system I would willingly accept is a charging port dongle with 240v split phase on it.
3) Severe concerns over regen limitations. I watched closely for years on out of spec reviews with people talking about it and demonstrating it compared to other EV trucks. I spend a large portion of my time in the mountains on very steep hills. A truck that limits regen in 2 minutes or less of downhill even when not towing are a real concern and with someone in the mountains as much as me, it is leaving a large amount of free charging on the table with a truck that wont regen properly. I really want to hear that they got it resolved with gen 2, but I have not found a smoking gun to say they have. It still seems more like, "we made some tweaks that made it a little better but it still exists" type thing. That one very much is a deal breaker for me. I hear this issue is also potentially strongly related to 2 other issues that I have ever only heard of with Rivian EV's. Eating up tires very quickly because the overheat or whatever it is seems to be strongly focused on the front motor since their settings make this one do 90% or more of the regen rather than using both front and back motors. Somehow this also seems to play into the fact that Rivians seem to be eating brakes faster than any other EV I have researched. Have any of these issues seen fixes that I am unaware of? See this interesting video on the regen issue research.
4) Security and Privacy concerns about the connectivity on the vehicle. This one will likely tweak some people who trust too much, but being an IT security worker I have large problems with devices that are always connected to the manufacturer. Would love if there was an open LOCAL API for communicating with the truck. First and foremost, every system on the planet that cares about security uses a trust no one model. That means not even trusting the manufacturer and keeping it firewalled or airgapped until there is a documented need. Full time access to my vehicle will not be allowed by anyone other than me as the owner. I have real trouble knowing that this system has cameras that watch everything that get sent back to Rivian. I would love a way to run this truck with 4G/5G completely and utterly disabled at the hardware level and then run it through a combo 4g/4g hotspot with firewall that is under MY control to make sure it only communicates when and with entities that I am aware of and approve only when there is a documented need. But with that said, I find the built in dashcam immensely helpful and usable. It just wont happen if the only way to use it requires having to ask permission from servers that I don't control to get someone elses access approval to something that I own and exists behind my firewall. My wife drives an equinox EV and we have teh telematics module hardware capped off and do the same with the equinox and block it from accessing GM, but the equinox does not have anything like the dashcam feature on the Rivians. I am just not OK with the system sending photos and video about my movements away from home or at home in a way that a bad employee at Rivian could use to do bad things. And 90% of breaches are from insiders. I don't trust Rivian or any company to control my devices for me. What functionality would I lose if I completely disable built in connectivity at a hardware level and run it through a firewall that I control?
5) Durability for the long haul. I don't lease. I keep vehicles for 10 years or better. But Rivian is scaring me just a little with repeated issues like half shafts that keep failing. Will this vehicle eat me alive in costs after the warranty goes out?
6) Can I stream video like netflix, amazon prime and youtube to the infotainment system while charging?
7) Is there any confirmed way to sideload apps on the infotainment system. This is more of that, I refuse to submit to what they say I should have. If the app is physically able to run on the infotainment system, it should be allowed and no one should be able to decide that other than the owner. Walled garden ecosystems are never not a$$tastic. I'm OK with making add on apps only usable while parked, but beyond that, its not their decision.
8) Lack of brake blending and true two pedal mode. This is one of the things i vastly like better about the GM ev's. GM tunes their EV's so that when in 2 pedal mode, the default regen pretty closely simulates the engine braking of a gas car. Then the 1st half of brake pedal increases that regen until max until it starts blending in friction brakes. I think this allows much more granularity of regen, because COASTING is more efficient than even regen. Two pedal mode makes coasting much easier with the same amount of regen available if you want it. It's amazing how many people think that single pedal mode is the only way to get regen. Maybe that is true with Rivian, but not with most others.
Things I like about the vehicle and praise them for.
1) NOT encrypting the CAN bus. Another component that has popped up with IoT in the last 10 years or so is companies clamping down on hardware and using those clamp downs as a way to artificially cripple functionality so that it can be sold back to you piece by piece.
2) Giving tons of info for geeks on the infotainment system
3) Usable size of the trucks. Not too big, not too small. Bed could be larger, but overall its in a sweet spot for overall truck size. They are beautiful trucks with immense power and fun to drive and easily the most capable off road of all the EV trucks. I go off road in the mountains very frequently.
Sorry for the long post, but this is a ton of money. I am leaning toward Rivian but really want good answers on some of these before I will be able to fully commit.
1) Range issues. I don't have a warm squishy that Rivian has done a good job with their EPA range estimates and that is the #1 most critical feature to me. I use my trucks for real truck work, so I consider 400 miles in optimal conditions the absolute bare minimum for a truck. Not because I use 400 mile range, but because I use more than what lesser EPA ranges would reduce to in LESS than optimal conditions. When you consider about 60% range loss in cold weather and another 60% if towing, that puts it at around 150 miles usable and even less with 10 years of wear on the battery. So that 400 mile starting point is the absolute least range that I can live with. But my concern is that Rivian has fudged this. Unlike the Silverado EV that seems to always easily hit EPA estimates even at 70MPH constant, I don't get the feeling that the Rivians can do that. I REALLY hope someone tells me different. The 420 mile range seems to be doable when a significant amount of slower driving is involved. I have not yet found where Rivians can do that 420 mile range on a
2) Not a deal breaker but close to it. I am prepared to do work arounds if I decide on the Rivian, but not happy about it. But the Rivians NEED a split phase 240v outlet. Proprietary V2H systems are not acceptable. Pure stock 240v outlet that works with no proprietary system at all. The most proprietary system I would willingly accept is a charging port dongle with 240v split phase on it.
3) Severe concerns over regen limitations. I watched closely for years on out of spec reviews with people talking about it and demonstrating it compared to other EV trucks. I spend a large portion of my time in the mountains on very steep hills. A truck that limits regen in 2 minutes or less of downhill even when not towing are a real concern and with someone in the mountains as much as me, it is leaving a large amount of free charging on the table with a truck that wont regen properly. I really want to hear that they got it resolved with gen 2, but I have not found a smoking gun to say they have. It still seems more like, "we made some tweaks that made it a little better but it still exists" type thing. That one very much is a deal breaker for me. I hear this issue is also potentially strongly related to 2 other issues that I have ever only heard of with Rivian EV's. Eating up tires very quickly because the overheat or whatever it is seems to be strongly focused on the front motor since their settings make this one do 90% or more of the regen rather than using both front and back motors. Somehow this also seems to play into the fact that Rivians seem to be eating brakes faster than any other EV I have researched. Have any of these issues seen fixes that I am unaware of? See this interesting video on the regen issue research.
4) Security and Privacy concerns about the connectivity on the vehicle. This one will likely tweak some people who trust too much, but being an IT security worker I have large problems with devices that are always connected to the manufacturer. Would love if there was an open LOCAL API for communicating with the truck. First and foremost, every system on the planet that cares about security uses a trust no one model. That means not even trusting the manufacturer and keeping it firewalled or airgapped until there is a documented need. Full time access to my vehicle will not be allowed by anyone other than me as the owner. I have real trouble knowing that this system has cameras that watch everything that get sent back to Rivian. I would love a way to run this truck with 4G/5G completely and utterly disabled at the hardware level and then run it through a combo 4g/4g hotspot with firewall that is under MY control to make sure it only communicates when and with entities that I am aware of and approve only when there is a documented need. But with that said, I find the built in dashcam immensely helpful and usable. It just wont happen if the only way to use it requires having to ask permission from servers that I don't control to get someone elses access approval to something that I own and exists behind my firewall. My wife drives an equinox EV and we have teh telematics module hardware capped off and do the same with the equinox and block it from accessing GM, but the equinox does not have anything like the dashcam feature on the Rivians. I am just not OK with the system sending photos and video about my movements away from home or at home in a way that a bad employee at Rivian could use to do bad things. And 90% of breaches are from insiders. I don't trust Rivian or any company to control my devices for me. What functionality would I lose if I completely disable built in connectivity at a hardware level and run it through a firewall that I control?
5) Durability for the long haul. I don't lease. I keep vehicles for 10 years or better. But Rivian is scaring me just a little with repeated issues like half shafts that keep failing. Will this vehicle eat me alive in costs after the warranty goes out?
6) Can I stream video like netflix, amazon prime and youtube to the infotainment system while charging?
7) Is there any confirmed way to sideload apps on the infotainment system. This is more of that, I refuse to submit to what they say I should have. If the app is physically able to run on the infotainment system, it should be allowed and no one should be able to decide that other than the owner. Walled garden ecosystems are never not a$$tastic. I'm OK with making add on apps only usable while parked, but beyond that, its not their decision.
8) Lack of brake blending and true two pedal mode. This is one of the things i vastly like better about the GM ev's. GM tunes their EV's so that when in 2 pedal mode, the default regen pretty closely simulates the engine braking of a gas car. Then the 1st half of brake pedal increases that regen until max until it starts blending in friction brakes. I think this allows much more granularity of regen, because COASTING is more efficient than even regen. Two pedal mode makes coasting much easier with the same amount of regen available if you want it. It's amazing how many people think that single pedal mode is the only way to get regen. Maybe that is true with Rivian, but not with most others.
Things I like about the vehicle and praise them for.
1) NOT encrypting the CAN bus. Another component that has popped up with IoT in the last 10 years or so is companies clamping down on hardware and using those clamp downs as a way to artificially cripple functionality so that it can be sold back to you piece by piece.
2) Giving tons of info for geeks on the infotainment system
3) Usable size of the trucks. Not too big, not too small. Bed could be larger, but overall its in a sweet spot for overall truck size. They are beautiful trucks with immense power and fun to drive and easily the most capable off road of all the EV trucks. I go off road in the mountains very frequently.
Sorry for the long post, but this is a ton of money. I am leaning toward Rivian but really want good answers on some of these before I will be able to fully commit.
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