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One Week with the R1T - Some Suggestions

flightlevel

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I've had the R1T for a week now, figured I'd share some thoughts and suggestions. Not sure if anyone from Rivian reads these kind of things, but why not.

First, the truck is friggin' awesome. It's everything good about Teslas in a much more fun and capable package. Seriously, I really can't believe how good it is, and I was expecting it to be good. The build quality is awesome, the drive and handling characteristics are great, the UX is great so far, all around it is way better than a 6XXX VIN car has any right to be. I'm really impressed. Everyone I've shown it to is really impressed. It's that good.

I'll spare you all an amateur review as there are enough professional ones out there already that I largely agree with. Here are the things I think could would make for awesome improvements. I am well aware that this is early in the game and these are by no means gripes, rather things I think will enhance the truck through the OTA update process. I really can't wait to see what and how they keep improving.

Navigation
  • GPS location jumps around any time the car moves an inch or two at a stoplight. Seems to clamp motion only when the car is completely stopped. This often causes it to start rerouting from the next street over if routing is active. Not sure what's actually happening on the backend here.
  • Not possible to set another zoom level and maintain map centering/tracking (in the Tesla for example, you can zoom/pan and when you click "recenter" it will stay at the current zoom level)
  • Have had a number of times where it just fails to route (I think this is probably just connectivity issues)
Spotify
  • Sometimes won't load any content in the Spotify "app." This is resolved by switching to radio and then right back. Might get hung with intermittent connectivity?
Drive Modes
  • When changing to a different mode that requires a suspension change, it would be better if it only goes to the next closest level. For example, if you're currently in "highest" in Offroad Mode, and you switch to All Purpose (which can support high-standard-low), then only automatically go to high - it's the next most acceptable level. Otherwise you can end up going down to standard when you really want to go up to high.
  • When raising and reservoir is empty, display should indicate the reason itā€™s taking so long. Otherwise, seems like raising is broken - it'll keep blinking for a very long time and compared to raising with reservoir pressure, it seems like nothing is happening. This is really just an FYI kind of thing for new people.
Gear Guard
  • When gear guard appears at start of drive (due to recorded motion) it should self clear and return to last selected screen when switching to drive/reverse. Otherwise, you always end up with a "shift to park to view videos" alert on the screen when you go into gear. Should also not replace the ā€œ5th optionā€ unless specifically selected by user (I like to keep Cameras there)
  • Would be nice to have the other side cameras record also
  • Gear guard seems to record not on motion but using object detection - maybe even only when it sees people? This means it does a really good job at filtering out noise (like trees moving) but it seems liable to miss, for example, another car hitting the Rivian and driving away
  • Would be good if it continued to record so long as there was motion, plus some (user configurable?) time after. And maybe even buffer pre-event into the recording if possible.
  • I'm sure this is coming, but... dashcam recording all the time will be a big upgrade.
Driver+
  • The shortest following distance is still way too far. I am sure this is out of an abundance of caution early on, but here in the northeast where everyone is always in a hurry, a 5+ car length following distance is an invitation for someone to rage-pass and cut you off, which only makes the truck back off even more.
  • The website describes lane changes using "Lane Change Assist" but as far as I can tell it is not possible to change lanes while using D+/Highway assist yet
  • Top speed should really be 90
  • And of course, I would like to see this work everywhere, not just "mapped" roads (which I suspect aren't really mapped at all - it does seem to use vision, and maybe just relies on the nav system to say it's a "restricted access road")
Garage Door
  • Very much would like to see proximity open/close (like Tesla), maybe even auto mirror as well.
General UI
  • 24 hour time, please!
  • Would like to have the option to change to % battery power on the IC
  • Would like to see a little more in the way of stats and info on the IC and center display. We're all nerds, the more stats the better! (kW, torque, pitch/roll angles, distance measurements for ultrasonics, etc)
App
  • It's super early, and I'm sure this'll evolve over time, but I'd love to be able to do as much of what can be done on the center screen as possible on the app!
  • I do want to note that the fact that you can control the vehicle (lock/unlock/climate) over BLE only (even without cellular/data) is a huge, awesome feature, especially for people who go off the beaten trail. Really neat.
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Brewbud

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Might help to post your software version number. The updates don't all roll out at once and you may be on an older version. I know when I received mine it wasn't current despite what the delivery guys said.
 

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I love the truck. Have both, the Lightning and the Rivian and the Rivian just moves me. The Ford is great, but it's still a "Ford".

But, having experienced both, combined with coming from a Tesla and just simple common sense, my wish list of improvements is growing. Most of it software related, the rest is storage related.

1. Interior storage. Comparing it to the Ford is not appropriate as there simply is no comparison. Rivian screwed the pooch on this one, in terms of interior storage within driver reach. You can absolute tell they followed Tesla's playbook in so many areas. Apparently, this was one of them, but apparently they had Tesla's 2015 playbook instead of the current one.

1a. No glove box, really? Why? The little, and I mean VERY little front seat pockets are good for a few pens at best. The center console, while deep, is very narrow and thin. Put something in the bottom, then fill it up, good luck finding the item on the bottom. A console tray would be nice for little things up top, big things on the bottom.​
1b. They left open floor space between the footwells. Tesla tried this and learned that less than 5% preferred it. They offered a console that could be installed a short time later, then not too much later, started making it standard on all cars. Who wants to leave all their stuff exposed and flying around? Praying they make one and soon.​
1c. The Ford has multiple storage pockets in the doors, the Rivian has these kind of flimsy pull out pockets. Not practical.​
1d. Cup holders. The slide out cup holder thing is not great. Something they can add to the console they build as noted in 1b.​
1e. Would be nice if they offered an optional drawer that could replace the camp speaker. It's something I'll NEVER use. Would be great for extra storage if it could be a slide out drawer instead or as an option.​

2. The Alexa integration is cool. Rivian said the truck was built around it, thus she can control everything. But, that's not remotely true. No window controls. No garage door controls. No seat adjustment controls. Can't open gear tunnel doors. etc, etc. Should all be software correctable.

2a. When Alexa speaks, it doesn't mute or lower the radio volume, as it does for phone or navigation. Thus, can't hear what she says if the radio is on.​

3. No Way Points. Elon Musk stubbornly held out on these for the first 8 years before finally releasing them to the Tesla. Such a necessary thing for those that use their vehicles for more than just commuting to and from work. Another dated Tesla playbook item that Tesla corrected, Rivian needs to as well.

4. No passive key fob? Really. Most $20,000 cars have this. Not all of us live with our phone at our hips. Key fob absolutely needs to auto unlock and lock the doors and allow you to drive without having to push the buttons. Another dated Tesla playbook item from the Model 3. One of the reasons I hated that car. Tesla again, corrected this issue and now offers passive key fobs for the Model 3/Y. Already did for the S&X.

5. Charging levels. Rivian gives you three choices. Almost every other EV allows you to set a specific charge level. The difference between 70% and 85% and 100% is pretty large. Should be able to set the percentage to an individual number anywhere in between.

6. Can't stop charging from the Rivian app. Maybe from the wall charger app (if you purchased the wall charger), but should be able to do this using the Truck app.

6a. Also can't change the charging level from the app. I've been charging to around 90% as that works best for me. Instead of being able to charge to 100%, then change the setting from the app, I have to go out to the truck to do it. #5 would be the better solution. #6 would be a secondary solution as well.​

7. Need to allow for more UI (icon location) configuration. Plenty of space on the bottom row to add icons. Again, as Tesla has done, should be able to put your most commonly used items in that row so they're just one touch away, rather than multiple taps via sub-menu's.

8. Need to allow more items to be displayed on the driver instrument cluster. Like the Tesla, should be able to display trip data, among other things

9. When leaving passive lock/unlock off at home (using phone as the key), the door handles stay open with the handle lights on 100% of the time. The lights should turn off.

10. App should have controls to open the Frunk, gear tunnel doors, tailgate, tonneau cover, windows.

10a. App should also allow for horn to be honked. Lights flashed. Allow it to be remotely started.​

11. Homelink to open garage door should be one touch away. Two steps is too many. Have to open homelink, then select "home" (or whatever you name it).

12. Unfortunately, not a software fix, but amazed that there are virtually no tie down hooks in this truck. Not in the bed, gear tunnel or Frunk. Have to pad things in so they don't go bouncing / flying around while driving. Absolutely should be hooks in all three areas.

13. No 110v plug in the Frunk? Perfect place for portable refrigerators. Has only a 12V plug. 110 plugs would have been extremely useful.

14. This thing needs, at least optional, running boards or step bars. Truck is relatively high. Most people under 6 feet will have to ride the seat edge to get out. Going to cause a lot of extra wear on the seat edges.

15. Even the Ford has some entertainment items in its UI. Not bad when sitting for an hour at a charger. Would be nice if Rivian added something. Tesla has gone a bit extreme and not necessary, but a few, even basic sort of games would be nice. Ford added 4 or 5 to it. A video function wouldn't be bad either.

16. Like the Tesla Falcon Wing doors on the Model X, the tailgate and frunk should have sensors to insure that the space is clear for these to open. I fear I'm accidentally going to hit the tailgate button and it's going to slam into the metal framing on my garage door and dent and/or scratch it.

OK, I'll stop there for now. Only a week into this thing. Some of the above I consider urgent. Other's are luxuries that would be nice. Unfortunately, the non-software one's can't be fixed on existing trucks, but the software one's should absolutely be updated as soon as possible.

I've had Model S's for the past 8 years, save for about 2 months in which I tried the Model 3 and absolutely hated it. Much of what I hated about it are in the list above. The Model 3, at the time, was a $40,000 car. This is a $70,000+ (closer to $90,000+ today) vehicle. Needs to be USER FRIENDLY. This is where I prefer the Ford as it has hard buttons for each instinctive use that you can feel, rather than having to look away to find these items on a screen. I get that's the way they wanted to go and that's fine, but at least improve the UI to make it as user friendly as possible. Especially for those like me that use their vehicle for work and are in and out of it 10+ times a day.

I love the interior, looks beautiful. Unfortunately, just not the most functional with the lack of storage space. The console would help a TON. The UI improvements would make it much more user friendly as well. Keep in mind, for every item I noted above, there are at least 2 items that they did a great job on. So, still love the truck, but it needs some improvements if it expects me to "put a ring on it". :)
 
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TheIglu

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I'm on day 2 of ownership and I agree with most everything you brought up.

None of it is a deal breaker for me, but def things that could be improved upon, and mostly via software.
 

mini2nut

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Nobody does automotive software better than Tesla. Nobody.

Software and the amazing Supercharging network are two huge competitive advantages for Tesla.
 

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rodhx

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Nobody does automotive software better than Tesla. Nobody.

Software and the amazing Supercharging network are two huge competitive advantages for Tesla.
wellā€¦ they do have ~15 year head start ;)
 

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Driver+
  • The shortest following distance is still way too far. I am sure this is out of an abundance of caution early on, but here in the northeast where everyone is always in a hurry, a 5+ car length following distance is an invitation for someone to rage-pass and cut you off, which only makes the truck back off even more.
  • The website describes lane changes using "Lane Change Assist" but as far as I can tell it is not possible to change lanes while using D+/Highway assist yet
  • Top speed should really be 90
  • And of course, I would like to see this work everywhere, not just "mapped" roads (which I suspect aren't really mapped at all - it does seem to use vision, and maybe just relies on the nav system to say it's a "restricted access road")

Total guess, but I think lane change assist is a marketing term for two features. First, if you signal with driver+ on, you can then change lanes and it maintains the speed with adaptive cruise, you then can re-enage driver. This enables you to easily change lanes without touching the pedal. Combined with the lane change warnings, I could totally see my marketing team bundling these as a feature.

Regarding the mapped roads, another guess, but what I think this means is that they have validated the vision on the road. The car obviously has the ability to do this in real time, but during this testing period they recorded these roads and trained or validated the vision model on them so they can be sure it works to avoid issues. Almost certainly they are collecting data from people driving on ā€œunmappedā€ now and will make more available over time.

I should point out that there is a new car pool lane on the freeway here (opened about 8 months ago) and driver plus will not enage in the new laneā€¦

For those reading this that donā€™t have theirs yet, btw, Driver+ is shockingly good for a new product. Very smooth, handles changes like people cutting in very well. I use it on 100% of my freeway time without issue.
 

rodhx

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But doesnā€™t Rivian say they have been around for 10 years?
Trueā€¦so back up that Tesla age a bit also šŸ˜„

But youā€™re on pointā€¦.you would think the software would be a bit more mature with a benchmark out there.
 

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I just emailed this suggestion to Customer Service after my first use with the rack:
ā€œI regularly use a hitch mounted bike rack and the constant alarm when backing up is not pleasant. Is there a way to scan the location of the rack (with or without bikes) and block that out when in ā€œhitch modeā€ or some such setting? This would be more than just disabling the alert as it may be possible to detect other object in motionā€¦ā€
 

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I love the truck. Have both, the Lightning and the Rivian and the Rivian just moves me. The Ford is great, but it's still a "Ford".

But, having experienced both, combined with coming from a Tesla and just simple common sense, my wish list of improvements is growing. Most of it software related, the rest is storage related.

1. Interior storage. Comparing it to the Ford is not appropriate as there simply is no comparison. Rivian screwed the pooch on this one, in terms of interior storage within driver reach. You can absolute tell they followed Tesla's playbook in so many areas. Apparently, this was one of them, but apparently they had Tesla's 2015 playbook instead of the current one.

1a. No glove box, really? Why? The little, and I mean VERY little front seat pockets are good for a few pens at best. The center console, while deep, is very narrow and thin. Put something in the bottom, then fill it up, good luck finding the item on the bottom. A console tray would be nice for little things up top, big things on the bottom.​
1b. They left open floor space between the footwells. Tesla tried this and learned that less than 5% preferred it. They offered a console that could be installed a short time later, then not too much later, started making it standard on all cars. Who wants to leave all their stuff exposed and flying around? Praying they make one and soon.​
1c. The Ford has multiple storage pockets in the doors, the Rivian has these kind of flimsy pull out pockets. Not practical.​
1d. Cup holders. The slide out cup holder thing is not great. Something they can add to the console they build as noted in 1b.​
1e. Would be nice if they offered an optional drawer that could replace the camp speaker. It's something I'll NEVER use. Would be great for extra storage if it could be a slide out drawer instead or as an option.​

2. The Alexa integration is cool. Rivian said the truck was built around it, thus she can control everything. But, that's not remotely true. No window controls. No garage door controls. No seat adjustment controls. Can't open gear tunnel doors. etc, etc. Should all be software correctable.

2a. When Alexa speaks, it doesn't mute or lower the radio volume, as it does for phone or navigation. Thus, can't hear what she says if the radio is on.​

3. No Way Points. Elon Musk stubbornly held out on these for the first 8 years before finally releasing them to the Tesla. Such a necessary thing for those that use their vehicles for more than just commuting to and from work. Another dated Tesla playbook item that Tesla corrected, Rivian needs to as well.

4. No passive key fob? Really. Most $20,000 cars have this. Not all of us live with our phone at our hips. Key fob absolutely needs to auto unlock and lock the doors and allow you to drive without having to push the buttons. Another dated Tesla playbook item from the Model 3. One of the reasons I hated that car. Tesla again, corrected this issue and now offers passive key fobs for the Model 3/Y. Already did for the S&X.

5. Charging levels. Rivian gives you three choices. Almost every other EV allows you to set a specific charge level. The difference between 70% and 85% and 100% is pretty large. Should be able to set the percentage to an individual number anywhere in between.

6. Can't stop charging from the Rivian app. Maybe from the wall charger app (if you purchased the wall charger), but should be able to do this using the Truck app.

6a. Also can't change the charging level from the app. I've been charging to around 90% as that works best for me. Instead of being able to charge to 100%, then change the setting from the app, I have to go out to the truck to do it. #5 would be the better solution. #6 would be a secondary solution as well.​

7. Need to allow for more UI (icon location) configuration. Plenty of space on the bottom row to add icons. Again, as Tesla has done, should be able to put your most commonly used items in that row so they're just one touch away, rather than multiple taps via sub-menu's.

8. Need to allow more items to be displayed on the driver instrument cluster. Like the Tesla, should be able to display trip data, among other things

9. When leaving passive lock/unlock off at home (using phone as the key), the door handles stay open with the handle lights on 100% of the time. The lights should turn off.

10. App should have controls to open the Frunk, gear tunnel doors, tailgate, tonneau cover, windows.

10a. App should also allow for horn to be honked. Lights flashed. Allow it to be remotely started.​

11. Homelink to open garage door should be one touch away. Two steps is too many. Have to open homelink, then select "home" (or whatever you name it).

12. Unfortunately, not a software fix, but amazed that there are virtually no tie down hooks in this truck. Not in the bed, gear tunnel or Frunk. Have to pad things in so they don't go bouncing / flying around while driving. Absolutely should be hooks in all three areas.

13. No 110v plug in the Frunk? Perfect place for portable refrigerators. Has only a 12V plug. 110 plugs would have been extremely useful.

14. This thing needs, at least optional, running boards or step bars. Truck is relatively high. Most people under 6 feet will have to ride the seat edge to get out. Going to cause a lot of extra wear on the seat edges.

15. Even the Ford has some entertainment items in its UI. Not bad when sitting for an hour at a charger. Would be nice if Rivian added something. Tesla has gone a bit extreme and not necessary, but a few, even basic sort of games would be nice. Ford added 4 or 5 to it. A video function wouldn't be bad either.

16. Like the Tesla Falcon Wing doors on the Model X, the tailgate and frunk should have sensors to insure that the space is clear for these to open. I fear I'm accidentally going to hit the tailgate button and it's going to slam into the metal framing on my garage door and dent and/or scratch it.

OK, I'll stop there for now. Only a week into this thing. Some of the above I consider urgent. Other's are luxuries that would be nice. Unfortunately, the non-software one's can't be fixed on existing trucks, but the software one's should absolutely be updated as soon as possible.

I've had Model S's for the past 8 years, save for about 2 months in which I tried the Model 3 and absolutely hated it. Much of what I hated about it are in the list above. The Model 3, at the time, was a $40,000 car. This is a $70,000+ (closer to $90,000+ today) vehicle. Needs to be USER FRIENDLY. This is where I prefer the Ford as it has hard buttons for each instinctive use that you can feel, rather than having to look away to find these items on a screen. I get that's the way they wanted to go and that's fine, but at least improve the UI to make it as user friendly as possible. Especially for those like me that use their vehicle for work and are in and out of it 10+ times a day.

I love the interior, looks beautiful. Unfortunately, just not the most functional with the lack of storage space. The console would help a TON. The UI improvements would make it much more user friendly as well. Keep in mind, for every item I noted above, there are at least 2 items that they did a great job on. So, still love the truck, but it needs some improvements if it expects me to "put a ring on it". :)
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