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EBEG

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Chicago
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2022 Rivian R1T, 2016 Pilot, 2019 Jetta
Hi. New here, but I have been around the EV community a while.

I come from a hot-rodding/street car building background. In the late 90's, I got entwined in GM's EV1 debacle, prompting me to focus my efforts more on electric transportation. I ended up working with and consulting with ZAP, ZEN, Sparrow, Barefoot, Zero, Brammo and others in the fledgling EV space. I founded and ran Grants Pass Electric Vehicles, which became the largest licensed EV dealership in the US. As Chinese Lithium cells became more available, I designed and built packs and BMSs for OEMs making the lithium leap.

If memory serves, it was circa 2005 when GM sued me because my BMS design was too close to thiers. It was not lost on us that GM did not make any EVs at that point, and had killed off the EV1 only a short time earlier. It was also relevant that my design, nor any similar design was used in the EV1. I of course did not have the horsepower to go up against GM in a patent fight, so there was that.

Grants Pass Electric Vehicles remained in business and provided early adopters a chance at an EV until the OEMs started producing "real" EVs in 2009.

I am retired, but continue to be an EV enthusiast, and these days I collect them. I still consult and take interesting design jobs. I hold reservations with Tesla, Chevrolet and GMC for EV trucks but was not an early reservation holder with Rivian. I have been impressed with Rivian's design and vision from the start, but mass producing a vehicle is far more difficult than most appreciate. Rivian has not made the leap Tesla did with the M3 into becoming a "real" car maker yet; but I am sure rooting for them!!

I had a reservation for a F150 Lightning, because I need a pickup. Then I got a look inside their pack design. Yikes, too many rookie mistakes in that design. That pack will suffer a lot of early failures due to hot-spotting with its sandwiched pouches and poor cooling.

Rivian, on the other hand, unabashedly copied Teslas packs. Smart. It is a proven design, and will last much longer all things being equal. Add the fact that the R1S is a gorgeous truck, and, well, here I am. They got my reservation money.

hi.
Other than my R1T, the only other electric car I have driven is the EV1. Our neighbor worked for the electric company in Phoenix (APS) and he had one as his company car.

I remember it being very hot inside since the AC was terrible. It also had worse fit and finish inside than a '65 Mustang with an interior my 17 year-old buddy had installed himself. It was slow, but the initial torque burst was fun. It handled like an early '90s compact car carrying 5 adults. That said, it was still a fun experience.

Last year I saw one at the Peterson Museum. It was fun to tell my son about my experience with a museum piece!
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Lysdexic

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Scott
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04 Tundra
Annnnd that's exactly why mine is listed for sale right now. My bank account can't survive owning both a Rivian and a Jeep. Not when I'm looking at $25k or so just to get something that can go about 100 miles on a full charge.
Ha. Me too. My JKU hard rock is getting detailed today and prepped for sale. Lots of people say they are interested but we’ll see. The wife won’t let me sell her 04 TJ. Guess you have to keep one in the family.
 

Bid

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Bid
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USA
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R1S
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Oyster Floater
Hello Friends.

I am a new member here. I ordered a R1S in 2018 and expect it soon. Really Excited except that I'll be giving up Apple Carplay, Android Auto and Waze. Even though I was fully aware asof my test drive 1 year ago, the anxiety around that is building. I can't imagine having the hubris to think a new infotainment system would obviate the need or want for the safety of Carplay and Android Auto.

Either way, happy to be at this point.

Bid
 

Deleted member 10899

Guest
Hi everyone,
I am trying to understand the owner manual situation. Did anyone receive a paper owner manual or owner's guide? I found the pdf online, but I am not sure it is the complete manual. It also looks like the in-car infotainment system manual and mobile app manual are excerpted, not the full pdf. Can someone shine some light on this?
The qr codes are cool.
 

godfodder0901

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Jared
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Washington
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2004 Honda Civic EX, 2022 Rivian R1T LE
Hi everyone,
I am trying to understand the owner manual situation. Did anyone receive a paper owner manual or owner's guide? I found the pdf online, but I am not sure it is the complete manual. It also looks like the in-car infotainment system manual and mobile app manual are excerpted, not the full pdf. Can someone shine some light on this?
The qr codes are cool.
That's all you get. There are other manuals for the charger and a Tow Operators Guide, but that's it.
 

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zer0t

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New Jersey, Florida
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22 Taycan 4S, 23 Model S Plaid, 20 Model Y P
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Retired
New member from NJ, been reading for a while but getting ready to jump in. I've had a few EVs, mostly Tesla and a Porsche Taycan 4S, but really want a truck for myself. The prices seemed to have gotten quite a bit better and I've identified one I like that I'm trying to work out.

As I mentioned in a other thread it has the not broken yet power cover.


Hoping that it works out and I can enjoy the Rivian. Looking forward to learning and sharing experiences.
 

godfodder0901

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Jared
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So, there was nothing else in your glove box? did they explain why there was no paper?
There is no glove box. And the manual is all digital and accessible from the infotainment screen.
 

thebwk

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Ben
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Wisco
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R1S
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/welcome-home.13001/

My son and I drove down to Chicago today to take in the Museum of Science and Industry, and then to trade my 2018 Audi S6 for my new 2023 R1S. It was quite the day, especially considering that it was my first time driving a Rivian. And that the first drive was after taking ownership of my stunning limestone R1S.

Not going to lie, when my guide texted me the delivery address yesterday, my first thought was that it was pretty sketch. I mean it was in a wilderness park parking lot. So I felt reassured when we pulled up and there was an R1S there for someone else’s first mile.

Long story short, the trade and delivery went as smooth as it could have. But holy shit was I nervous on the drive down. I kept imagining the worst, that some idiot driver would rear end my Audi and derail the R1S transaction. The young lady thoroughly walked me through every facet of the vehicle. And when she needed time to check out my trade, I took the time to QC the exterior. To my surprise there weren’t any major concerns. Although I’ll look it over again tomorrow when the endorphins have subsided to their normal levels.

The drive home exposed my learning curve. Brake regen is no joke and one pedal driving takes some getting used to, especially when approaching stop lights with vehicles in front of you. The new car smell was wonderful, and it is true that scents have a magical link to memories in your brain. I do not have a photographic memory, but the scent immediately flooded my mind with the various brand new car experiences that I have had the pleasure of enjoying. 2000 Civic Si. 2005 4Runner. 2012 Passat TDI. 2018 S6. The smell let me relive them all!

I guess this has turned into a long story after all. The drive home was incredible. I definitely missed the sound of my former twin turbo V8, but the commanding view and the effortless torque made me forget about the car I left behind. Sure, I caught myself missing the ability to text my wife with CarPlay, but I had my son sitting shotgun to relay messages. I definitely caught myself speeding on a number of occasions. Attribute that to the stealthy torque, but also to the lack of heads up display. I will miss that feature every time I drive her. I never had to glance at the dash in my S6 to know my speed or the speed limit. They were always prominently displayed in my field of vision. Maybe the R2S will gift us with this nearly mandatory convenience.

The bourbon in my glass is causing me to be more wordy than I had planned. I’ll close by saying that my son and I had an excellent time together, and he was able to share in the purchase of our family’s first EV. He did, however, suffer more battery percentage anxiety than did I. Then again he panics when his iPhone is down to 65%. We arrived home with 47%, and since my level 2 charger is scheduled to be installed on Monday, she sits in the garage plugged into a normal outlet charging away at a rate of 1-2 miles per hour.

All in all a wonderful experience. Thanks Rivian. And thank you Colton for sharing it with me.

Ben
 

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Deleted member 10899

Guest
Has anyone found a rivian how-to video? Tesla and other companies have informative videos, but i can find anything online or on my console.
 

john.chargego

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John
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Los Angeles
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R1T Quad-motor Adventure Package
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ChargeGo on YouTube
Hi everyone,

My name is John, and I help run ChargeGo on YouTube. We took delivery of our R1T (Adventure Package) last week, and so far, our experience has been almost entirely positive. There have been a couple hiccups that I will discuss soon.

Check out our delivery day experience here:
 

Fozzy

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Philadelphia
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R1T
Hi everyone,

Took delivery of my R1T recently and just got PPF and tint applied. Loving the truck so far. Already had one guy come up to me in the grocery store parking lot who didn't know what it was but though it was the coolest truck ever.
Rivian R1T R1S Introductions! Drop in and say hello new and old members... IMG_20230316_160620
 

neveo

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Neveo
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Park City
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f150 Raptor,RR,AMG GTC,Escalade,
Clubs
 
It's finally ready, I ordered in January of 2020 and excited to have my Midnight R1S scheduled for home delivery this coming Friday. Looking forward to seeing how well it does in the unending winter of cold and snow this year in Park City . My wife is going to hoard the use of this one for herself . I wasn't sure i was going to go forward with it after so much delay but was convinced after our home demo in January during a heavy snow . Will post pics this weekend
 
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LaxRN

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Dustin
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Los Angeles
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Ioniq 5 SEL AWD
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RN
Hi Everyone,

New to the forums here. Been lurking the past couple of weeks and decided to finally join in.

Not completely new to the EV club. Currently own and driving a 2022 Ioniq 5 SEL. Previous had a fully spec'd out 2020 Tacoma.

I had originally pre-ordered/reserved a R1T in December 2021. I was putting some heavy miles on the Tacoma driving around LA for work and the price of gas was killing me. Once I figured out I was not going to be getting a Rivian any time soon I decided to cancel and settled for the Ioniq 5. I have honestly loved every moment of it, but always had that longing for the R1T. Just missed that feeling of being in a truck. We also do a lot of camping in and around the Sierra mountains so the Tacoma had been awesome.

I decided to bite the bullet again and go with what I really wanted in the first place. I put in a new reservation in January of this year, fully expecting to not hear anything for a year....or more.
My mind was blown when I got the email from Rivian, while on vacation this month, that I was invited to configure. I was absolutely giddy.

So my R1T is configured, VIN and guide assigned and working on my 8 steps. Confirmed with my guide a few days ago that the truck is still at the plant and waiting on final checks before being shipped to the SC in El Segundo. Guide says it will probably take 4-8 weeks.

It's honestly all I think about now and eagerly awaiting that delivery ready email!
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