Any Chance for Normal Door Handles and Proximity Keys?

[SANZC02]

My experience disagrees; PAAK has become increasingly less reliable for me. I frequently find myself standing next to my truck feeling like a moron while I fiddle around in the app trying to get the door to unlock.

Maybe phone type matters? Who knows. I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max.

I had the 12 and replaced with a 14, they both work fine for me. I do usually have the phone in my hand though as I do not keep it in my pocket when sitting in a vehicle.

Sponsored

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

My experience disagrees; PAAK has become increasingly less reliable for me. I frequently find myself standing next to my truck feeling like a moron while I fiddle around in the app trying to get the door to unlock.

Maybe phone type matters? Who knows. I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max.

I agree that my PAAK has become less reliable with the last OTA or two. iPhone 14 Pro Max. I did upgrade my phone around the time of the last OTA so I can't really pinpoint if it was an OTA issue or if the newer phones are more finicky with the R1T. My previous iPhone XS Max was pretty solid with PAAK.

 

[moosehead]

Nope.

 

[ssincl3]

The only thing keeping me from seriously considering a Rivian is the door handles/keys. Seems like there is a lot of frustration. Frankly I just want regular handles and keys. You keep the key in your pocket, grab the handle and the truck unlocks, leave the truck and touch a button and the truck locks. Easy and not complicated. I'm not sold on the handles in/out business, phone as a key, and unlocking as you approach. Sure, make it an optional setting. But give me what I'm used to.

The key for my F150 never crashes, consistently works without fail, and the battery lasts for years. Can't say that for a phone. I also don't have to touch the key or a bracelet or card to the truck to unlock it.

I don't want the handles to go in and out. I don't want to do some funky hand motion to open the door like on a Tesla.

I don't want the truck to lock/unlock when I walk past it. Too many times I have not intention of getting in the truck or locking it after leaving.

I know they use the retractable handles to increase range due to aerodynamics. But I'd gladly forego a few miles to not have to deal with their oddities.

So... I know there's about a 0% chance, but will they ever ditch the retractable handles and go with normal handles and proximity keys? I've heard that Cadillac is already going back to regular handles on the Lyric. I really doubt Rivian will do it though. Or will there be some kind of button on/near the handle to command locking so a regular proximity key can be used? I'd probably be ok with a proximity key and a button on the truck to unlock/extend the handle and lock/retract the handle.

Yup! That’s everything you will sign up for with Rivian. It’s like Apple going too forward to eventually go back and sell you what you once had for free. Wait until you try to position the air vents! It’s the greatest and frustrating-est vehicle I’ve even owned. Honorable mentions of large glass only roofs and touch screens for all buttons.

 

[ssincl3]

I notice that people coming from Teslas will love the Rivian handles and door access. People coming from regular cars will really be let down. Range Rovers have the best integration of flush handles. They are flush when closed and work like regular handles when unlocked.

 

[jasonphoto01]

Going from my RR to the Rivian doors is a letdown. I find myself frequently parking and constantly looking back to see if the truck is going to eventually lock. Then when I get to my truck, I stand next to the door and wait for it to open, sometimes requiring me to set my stuff down and pull my phone out of my pocket. I've seen posts where people have walked up to Rivians with no one around in the parking lot and the door handles are out and unlocked. People that tell you your opinion on the door issues are "unwarranted" are ignorant of this problem which is easily substantiated via the search button.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

I notice that people coming from Teslas will love the Rivian handles and door access. People coming from regular cars will really be let down. Range Rovers have the best integration of flush handles. They are flush when closed and work like regular handles when unlocked.

I came from a Tesla which I didn't mind the phone based proximity locking and unlocking. I think it was because it worked fairly well.

With my Rivian the proximity locking and unlocking has been problematic. In recent SW updates it's been a lot less annoying. What is annoying is needing to have home turned off to avoid it unlocking/locking while I'm at home.

Yesterday I installed the update to use the FOB for the proximity locking/unlocking so I'll see how well this does. For this one I have home enabled.

I will say that I prefer the way my Jeep Wrangler works where there is just a button for locking. For unlocking it does it pretty much automatically when you grab the handle.

I don't think I'd ever avoid a vehicle due to locking/unlocking annoyances. On my sprinter van I have to unlock and lock it using a fob. Yeah, its that horrendous.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Going from my RR to the Rivian doors is a letdown. I find myself frequently parking and constantly looking back to see if the truck is going to eventually lock. Then when I get to my truck, I stand next to the door and wait for it to open, sometimes requiring me to set my stuff down and pull my phone out of my pocket. I've seen posts where people have walked up to Rivians with no one around in the parking lot and the door handles are out and unlocked. People that tell you your opinion on the door issues are "unwarranted" are ignorant of this problem which is easily substantiated via the search button.

I'd like to be able to configure the truck to not present the handles when it is unlocked. It doesn't need to.

 

[rodhx]

I put 23k miles on a Mach E and now 8 months & 12k miles with my R1T. The Rivian PAAK implementation has been been incredibly solid compared to the frequent issues with Ford. Hopefully the latest update, which installed last night, will make it even better. I never use anything but my phone with the truck.

 

[R1Sky Business]

LOL.

Let's keep it cordial

 

[VSG]

Let's keep it cordial

I'm sipping a cordial right now. Does that count?

 

[Arky]

I don't really like flush handles as a design trend but PAAK has generally worked pretty well for me on my pixel 6. Only problem is the battery drain on the phone leaving the app running too long, but as far as detection it's consistent and reliable.

Cadillac and the TM3 handles IMO seem like the worst of both worlds, I want to be able to open a door in a single motion not push and pull some nonsense. At least the R1 handles do become a simple pull when they unlock properly.

 

[Flabirder]

Count me as another whose PAAK worked fine early on, but since the 2023.2.3 update has failed repeatedly (iphone 12 throughout). In addition to not unlocking the doors, about half the time it doesn't recognize the PAAK from inside and I have to hold the card to the inside of door in order to put the truck into gear. It's definitely an ongoing issue that Rivian hasn't adequately addressed.

 

[yizzung]

The increasing volume of complaints about PAAK not being sensitive enough seem proportionate to the volume of previous complaints about it being too sensitive.

I disabled PAAK the first day of ownership because I was sitting on my sofa and could see the Rivian locking and unlocking repeatedly while it was just sitting in front of my house unattended. Not good in an urban environment for your car to randomly unlock itself.

Clearly they had sensitivity dialed up pretty high to consistently unlock the truck from 50+ feet away through the walls of a residential home... Sounds like they've dialed it down now, although I've never reenabled PAAK. I am curious to experiment with proximity and the fob.

One complaint I have with the presenting handles is that they fill up with snow too easily and don't close flush unless I stick my fingers in there and clear them out.

I also like the proximity function on my Audi where you physically press the door handle (with key in pocket). Yes it's an extra step and doesn't work easily with hands full of stuff, but I kinda preferred it to the finicky behavior of unlocking the Rivian.

For the OP, I would say that odds of a hardware redesign are indeed 0% in the short term but clearly they are still fiddling with the software side of things to dial it in.

 

[Surferdude]

I put 23k miles on a Mach E and now 8 months & 12k miles with my R1T. The Rivian PAAK implementation has been been incredibly solid compared to the frequent issues with Ford. Hopefully the latest update, which installed last night, will make it even better. I never use anything but my phone with the truck.

Currently own the Lightning and I have the same issues with PAAK. It works about 98% of the time. But during the 2% of the time I just punch in my code on the door keypad and it unlocks. I wish Rivian had a keypad. It would eliminate the need for that silly wrist band and make people more confident about carrying only their phone with them and not needing "back ups". Maybe someone can make an aftermarket stick -on keypad? Wishful thinking I guess.

Sponsored