SANZC02
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Bob
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2021
- Threads
- 41
- Messages
- 6,460
- Reaction score
- 11,007
- Location
- California
- Vehicles
- Tesla Model S, LE - R1S
- Occupation
- Retired
- Thread starter
- #1
Rivian 2 year Anniversary with my R1S
Two years ago today I was in Normal Illinois picking up my R1S, here is a summary of my 2 year journey. Spoiler alert for those not having time for a long post, the vehicle has treated me spectacular and still look for places to drive.
28,258 miles, 2.42 m/kWh lifetime, still on original Perrelli 22s
Service History
4/6/2023 Service El Segundo - ADAS module failing on OTA installs, resolved, loaner R1T
7/1/2023 Service Costa Mesa - Air suspension slow leak, resolved, loaner R1T
7/19/2023 Mobile Service - Recall to replace R1S backup light lenses
11/29/2023 Mobile Service - R1S spare tire kit installed
Major trips
1-26-2023 Took Delivery at factory in Normal, IL - Started a round about drive back to SoCal through New England and the Florida Panhandle. 5500 mile maiden voyage. 36 DCFC charging sessions (33 EA, 3EVgo), 23 different states
8/18/2024 Started 7400 mile trip, 30 States, 47 DCFC chargers (Ran Stations - 16, EA Stations - 23, Tesla - 6, ChargePoint - 1, ENGLIX - 1)
After Market Add-on
2-16-2024 Installed EV-Sportline running boards, really made getting in and out of the R1S much better. They are almost 1 year old, were easy to self install, and still look great.
General Experience Review
Seems like a lot of people only post negative experiences. Thought I would add my experience after 2 full years which has been very positive. I picked the vehicle up in January 2023 but it is an early 2022 vin (1663) built in October 2022.
Iāll start with the bad, there were 2 service visits (listed above) in the first 6 months, the dates are the service visits but it did take almost 3 weeks to get the appointments. Neither issue impacted my use of the vehicle so the service delay was just a minor inconvenience. First issue the ADAS module was causing the OTA to report a failure, everything still worked fine but could not get the newer OTAs until the module was replaced. Second issue the Suspension had a slow leak, the right side would droop about an inch over night but corrected itself as I started driving and worked fine. There have been no issues in the past 19 months and 20k miles.
Iām happy with the efficiency, trips pretty much cost about the same as the trips in my Jeep GC. Lifetime average is 2.4 m/kWh, the 2 long trips it was slightly less at 2.25. I drive posted highway speed limits on limits 75 and under, higher limits I usually max at 78 mph, that seems to be the spot I see the largest drop in efficiency. I do use conserve in low on longer highway stretches switching on once on the highway and off before exiting. All other driving is pretty much All-purpose standard height.
I installed solar on my main residence 3 years ago in preparation for getting the R1S. With my NEM credits I have not had to pay anything to SCE in the 2 years I have had the R1S so overall the R1S is cheaper to run than the Jeep was. Fuel and Electricity in SoCal is pretty expensive so even with not doing a lot of miles day to day I was still spending about $200 a month on fuel in the Jeep. Because of the high costs of Electricity and number of sunny days here in SoCal the Solar ROI for me is about 52 months, Iām 41 months in and still tracking to that projected ROI.
I read a lot of posts about issues with Driver+, HVAC, entertainment, PaaK, etc., I have not had those experiences. Is everything 100% perfect, of course not, but there is nothing in my experience that I can complain about. I use Driver+ but only on open stretches of highway, I did find it improved quite a bit between my initial trip on 1/26/2023 and 8/18/2024.
With the OTAs there have been many improvements in the past 2 years that have been useful to me. Some that I really appreciated were, pet mode, ability to turn fans on in the third row when pups are back there, garage door opener, Birds Eye view, Tesla SC access, remote camera access. Iām sure there are others but once you get them you forget they were not originally there.
Iāve had a Tesla Model S since 2016 so early tire replacement was expected, I only get about 30k miles out of the tires on the Tesla. I am surprised at 28.5k miles Iām still on the original tires, my expectation was I would get 25k miles because of the high torque and weight of the R1S, I think I could get 33k miles if I pushed it but will probably replace them at 30k. Iāve already started researching and appreciate the threads on this forum discussing various opinions/experiences on what people have used as replacements.
Overall my experience has been very positive. Based on a lot of negative posts I was a bit hesitant to starting a 5500 mile drive the day I took delivery but did it anyway. It was a good trip and a great way to get acquainted with my new ride. There are a lot of horror stories about DCFC charging, I just have not really experienced that. As you can see above I have taken 2 major trips that totaled 83 DCFC sessions, only 1 time at a Tesla SC would my session not start, I had to drive about 3 miles down the road to an EA station to charge. Iāve have seen chargers not working and occasionally some de-rated chargers but over all my charging experience has been great. Most of my sessions on a trip are in the 25-30 minute range except for the rare occasion I need to go to 90% for a longer stretch. Most of the stops by the time I take a bio break, grab a snack or drink and stretch my legs it is time to go, not much time sitting and waiting.
I could not be happier with my vehicle, originally I was configured with ElCap on bright 22s but after seeing Launch Green on the dark 22s I had to make the change, still glad I did, love the look of the vehicle. Iāve been so happy with it I was a day 1 reservation holder for the R2 to replace the Tesla.
If you are still reading this long post sorry, kind of just kept going but, I wanted to let people know that there are people having some great experiences with their Rivian. I have zero regrets taking a chance on a brand new company launching these incredible machines.
Delivery Day in Normal, January 2023
December, 2024
Two years ago today I was in Normal Illinois picking up my R1S, here is a summary of my 2 year journey. Spoiler alert for those not having time for a long post, the vehicle has treated me spectacular and still look for places to drive.
28,258 miles, 2.42 m/kWh lifetime, still on original Perrelli 22s
Service History
4/6/2023 Service El Segundo - ADAS module failing on OTA installs, resolved, loaner R1T
7/1/2023 Service Costa Mesa - Air suspension slow leak, resolved, loaner R1T
7/19/2023 Mobile Service - Recall to replace R1S backup light lenses
11/29/2023 Mobile Service - R1S spare tire kit installed
Major trips
1-26-2023 Took Delivery at factory in Normal, IL - Started a round about drive back to SoCal through New England and the Florida Panhandle. 5500 mile maiden voyage. 36 DCFC charging sessions (33 EA, 3EVgo), 23 different states
8/18/2024 Started 7400 mile trip, 30 States, 47 DCFC chargers (Ran Stations - 16, EA Stations - 23, Tesla - 6, ChargePoint - 1, ENGLIX - 1)
After Market Add-on
2-16-2024 Installed EV-Sportline running boards, really made getting in and out of the R1S much better. They are almost 1 year old, were easy to self install, and still look great.
General Experience Review
Seems like a lot of people only post negative experiences. Thought I would add my experience after 2 full years which has been very positive. I picked the vehicle up in January 2023 but it is an early 2022 vin (1663) built in October 2022.
Iāll start with the bad, there were 2 service visits (listed above) in the first 6 months, the dates are the service visits but it did take almost 3 weeks to get the appointments. Neither issue impacted my use of the vehicle so the service delay was just a minor inconvenience. First issue the ADAS module was causing the OTA to report a failure, everything still worked fine but could not get the newer OTAs until the module was replaced. Second issue the Suspension had a slow leak, the right side would droop about an inch over night but corrected itself as I started driving and worked fine. There have been no issues in the past 19 months and 20k miles.
Iām happy with the efficiency, trips pretty much cost about the same as the trips in my Jeep GC. Lifetime average is 2.4 m/kWh, the 2 long trips it was slightly less at 2.25. I drive posted highway speed limits on limits 75 and under, higher limits I usually max at 78 mph, that seems to be the spot I see the largest drop in efficiency. I do use conserve in low on longer highway stretches switching on once on the highway and off before exiting. All other driving is pretty much All-purpose standard height.
I installed solar on my main residence 3 years ago in preparation for getting the R1S. With my NEM credits I have not had to pay anything to SCE in the 2 years I have had the R1S so overall the R1S is cheaper to run than the Jeep was. Fuel and Electricity in SoCal is pretty expensive so even with not doing a lot of miles day to day I was still spending about $200 a month on fuel in the Jeep. Because of the high costs of Electricity and number of sunny days here in SoCal the Solar ROI for me is about 52 months, Iām 41 months in and still tracking to that projected ROI.
I read a lot of posts about issues with Driver+, HVAC, entertainment, PaaK, etc., I have not had those experiences. Is everything 100% perfect, of course not, but there is nothing in my experience that I can complain about. I use Driver+ but only on open stretches of highway, I did find it improved quite a bit between my initial trip on 1/26/2023 and 8/18/2024.
With the OTAs there have been many improvements in the past 2 years that have been useful to me. Some that I really appreciated were, pet mode, ability to turn fans on in the third row when pups are back there, garage door opener, Birds Eye view, Tesla SC access, remote camera access. Iām sure there are others but once you get them you forget they were not originally there.
Iāve had a Tesla Model S since 2016 so early tire replacement was expected, I only get about 30k miles out of the tires on the Tesla. I am surprised at 28.5k miles Iām still on the original tires, my expectation was I would get 25k miles because of the high torque and weight of the R1S, I think I could get 33k miles if I pushed it but will probably replace them at 30k. Iāve already started researching and appreciate the threads on this forum discussing various opinions/experiences on what people have used as replacements.
Overall my experience has been very positive. Based on a lot of negative posts I was a bit hesitant to starting a 5500 mile drive the day I took delivery but did it anyway. It was a good trip and a great way to get acquainted with my new ride. There are a lot of horror stories about DCFC charging, I just have not really experienced that. As you can see above I have taken 2 major trips that totaled 83 DCFC sessions, only 1 time at a Tesla SC would my session not start, I had to drive about 3 miles down the road to an EA station to charge. Iāve have seen chargers not working and occasionally some de-rated chargers but over all my charging experience has been great. Most of my sessions on a trip are in the 25-30 minute range except for the rare occasion I need to go to 90% for a longer stretch. Most of the stops by the time I take a bio break, grab a snack or drink and stretch my legs it is time to go, not much time sitting and waiting.
I could not be happier with my vehicle, originally I was configured with ElCap on bright 22s but after seeing Launch Green on the dark 22s I had to make the change, still glad I did, love the look of the vehicle. Iāve been so happy with it I was a day 1 reservation holder for the R2 to replace the Tesla.
If you are still reading this long post sorry, kind of just kept going but, I wanted to let people know that there are people having some great experiences with their Rivian. I have zero regrets taking a chance on a brand new company launching these incredible machines.
Delivery Day in Normal, January 2023
December, 2024
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