⛔️ Powered Tonneau cover removed from R1T production until further notice on all future deliveries

[zipzag]

Here’s what I’m hoping for: after market suppliers figure it out and will either provide a fix for the present power cover problem or will provide a power or manual cover that can be retro-fitted to the bed. Smaller companies can work faster than the bigger ones.

I listened to an interview of a Lotus Production manager and he said that getting any new design done was much harder than pre covid. But it's remarkable the extent to which Rivian has failed on major accessories.

Anyway, Here's tour of the the Lotus plant making the new Emira (last ICE car from Lotus) and a more candid interview than you will get from an American manufacturer. For anyone interest in farming Harry's other channel, Harry's farm, is enjoyable.

For those who don't know Tesla history, the original Roadster is the Lotus Elise supplied to Tesla without the engine and drive train.

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[Dark-Fx]

It pains me to say this, but in Rivians defense, how well would the powered tonneau have coped with Canadian winters? Not well, most wouldn't.

Not a fan of going from powered space saving convenience, to non powered 4 panel awkwardness and giving up storage every time I decide to run tonneauless.

I'll let you know. Mine is still functioning and I'm mechanically inclined enough to potentially un-fuck it if it does get messed up.

So what happens to that roughly 6” wide space behind the cab that the power cover currently tucks into? Will we be able to “hack” into it and use it for additional practical storage? It would make a great spot to store some recovery gear or tools.

I'd like to see what the new hidden panel looks like before committing to saying it could be used as storage, but could be just a matter of sawing the plastic panel in half and riveting a hinge and latch to it.

 

[Tahoe Man]

So the powered tonneau issue turned into such a fiasco that they're finally dropping it as they probably should have long ago (then again the apologist kept trying to sugar coat the whole fiasco).
Looks to me like Rivian just wants to this whole issue to just disappear magically.

 

[virgnia_rivian]

On thing this probably reveals is that the power tonneau isn’t a simple fix and it likely will require a chassis re-design which would come in the next gen R1T or a completely different solution.

I’d rather have the manual cover, which I can store in my garage when not needed, than a power one that I’m afraid to use because it can break. I’ve read too many trip reports of people having horrific issues or not using it because they’re afraid of issues.

I know it’s disappointing, but this was likely Rivian’s best option at this point.

 

[NooterIA]

Can’t say I blame them making this move. They just need to fix the flawed design, make it right for those with broken covers and move forward.

its already been mentioned, but how this past quality control to begin with is beyond me.

 

[NY_Rob]

its already been mentioned, but how this past quality control to begin with is beyond me.

Oh, you mean that genius "employee sales" program where employees got the trucks months before retail customers "to find and correct flaws and ensure quality"? Yeah, seeing a very defined set of core issues shared by a sizable percentage of owners proves that "program" was a total bust from day one and was merely a perk used to entice prospective employees to join Rivian.

 

[NooterIA]

^ yeah, when ya put it like that it pisses a guy off a bit. They knew it was junk well before the first one shipped out to a customer and still went with it. Gonna cost them dearly but it’s gotta be done now.

 

[swhme]

The redesign is probably structural so you couldn’t retrofit it. Change your order to Max Pack for a decent shot at outlasting the delay.

I wonder how they’re going to handle the retrofit for existing owners if this is the case…

 

[cohall]

I wonder how they’re going to handle the retrofit for existing owners if this is the case…

They’ll be giving us all brand new trucks that fit around the redesigned tonneau cover container

 

[NY_Rob]

I guess Elon's having a good chuckle over this latest Rivian fail.....

 

[MountainBikeDude]

This is from the Rivian website.

Manual Tonneau Cover
Our manual cover consists of four interlocking panels that slide in the channel of the truck bed. It comes with a bag for easy storage that fits inside the Gear Tunnel.

The manual tonneau also used to convert into a table, little known ages ago fact, that likely died on the design room floor due to added complexity.

From a business standpoint, I get them removing the tonneau, because until it's solved, every old version they put out, is another loss the company takes on obvious service tie up's and free replacements.

From a customer standpoint, same is true, shipping a bad feature sours their experience as a whole.

In general, they need to learn how to write emails!! I think a good portion of my overall frustration with this latest communiqué were the obviously unanswered questions, for which they had answers for upon contacting CS. That was the accelerant poured upon my growing "flames of impatience" during this process.

A potential powered tonneau breakdown while in the field would suck but as @Dark-Fx touched on, being mechanically inclined, I was also confident I could deal with it. A 4-panel, slide into the slot manual cover makes sense from a packaging/security standpoint, but also makes the bed a one way or the other style, where taking panels out in a parking lot is awkward, and if it's not easily accessible/removable without complexity, people will just more often than not, trip over and around it to not have to either take them out, or replace them should the situation call for it. And that is the part I'm most disappointed about. Wife will take a panel out, complain, then lean it against the side of the truck, while she wrestles with a bag to put them in, all while scratching the crap out of the truck. Yay... My life is complete.

 

[DirtyJester]

I’ve been in the manual or no cover side since the get go. I have yet to see a power tonneau that has been reliable. 4 buddies have powered ones on their trucks I had the old 3 flip manual. Every one of them has had issues with theirs. Even when they worked I was in and out of mine quicker then they were on my ram1500.

 

[Count Orlok]

So this means the price of the truck is being lowered! neat!


on a serious note, I'd rather have a "manual" one from Bak-it (Flip MX4). have it on my F-150 and it is great. I have never once thought "I wish I could press a button to open it."

 

[mini2nut]

Stopping installation of the poorly designed powered tonneau cover was a smart business decision by Rivian leadership.

The supplier will need to stop production and switch to building aluminum slats. Rivian most likely designed the current bed cover system and the supplier was contracted to build it per engineering specs.

Rivian will have to retrofit roughly 13,000 existing powered tonneau covers after engineering has redesigned and validated the new parts. That alone is going to be a huge expense and flood service centers with repairs.

The next bitch session on this forum is going to be the cost of the 2.0 powered tonneau cover being released in 2023. I can guarantee it will be at least $3,000 for the option.

The big question: Will Rivian grandfather the $1500 tonneau price for pre 10/21 reservation holders? I think they learned a hard lesson earlier this year.

 

[joelster]

Same here.
I added it when it seemed clear they were only batching trucks with powered ones. But I/we knew it was going to be a weak spot at best. So planned to use it sparingly if I had to get it. Bought my graphite lube 2 months ago JIC, based on advice through the forum.
So now I updated config back to manual cover in hopes an after sale or aftermarket retrofit is developed as an option. I’m just hoping to get a truck sooner than later but with the benefit of evolution - both in the company and the R1T.
Fingers crossed!

Yeah... I was just trying to keep my purchase price down. I ended up making compromises in order to get my truck sooner and adding the power tonneau was one of them. It worked. I spent more than I intended but I've had my truck since June 30th and I love it.

Guys Guys, stop complaining for every single thing !!! we all knew this is a brand new vehicle, designed by a 35 year old guy that never designed a car, leave alone an electric pickup..... So we are going to have issues, deal with them and in the meantime enjoy what the truck has to offer and remember, there is none, zero, cars like this in the market.

One more thing, I hear a lot of people crying about "PRE" March pricing.... I want my pre march prices on the tonneau, the gear camping, bla bla bla...... Listen, the world has changed, is not the same world of 2 years ago, we are in a complete different escenario, If we don't pay the current market prices we are going to bankrupt the company and then what ? get a cybertruck ? a Lighthing ? FUCK NO ! I LOVE MY RIVIAN, Lets give Rivian the support they need.

Yeah ^^^ this. Even with all the bumps and hiccups (four trips to the shop if you count the recall) I have trouble finding things to be mad about. I knew what I was getting into and Rivian has, IMHO, done a great job of dealing with all of my issues. It still feels like they are building the plane as it takes off but the ride is getting smoother as we go.

The truck is a wonder. Truly a life changing purchase. Maybe it's just because it's my first EV but it is the best vehicle I have ever driven, an absolute pleasure to drive. To be that and still have 835 HP on tap is just astounding. RJ and his team have crafted a truly amazing and revolutionary product. It's the first electric pickup truck. Now everybody want to build them!

All auto manufacturers are having issues these days. Rivian is not unique in this. It does seem however that everybody want to make an example out of Rivian for some reason. The press was super excited to jump on the news of the recall. Random people would ask me about it. In the end, all I could say was, "It's no big deal. they took care of it the next morning."

Again, love my truck! I am so not mad.

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