Overhead (drone) and underbody video of a charging R1T

[EyeOnRivian]

When you lock the vehicle the door handles would retract.

Yes, I get that, but that's not the question at hand. It's when you don't lock the doors - how long do they stay protruded? It would seem reasonable to think at some point the handles would eventually retract after a period of time without locking the doors. Not a big deal, just an observation from the video and a behavior I have not read or seen before explained.

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[Lucanjo]

Yes, I get that, but that's not the question at hand. It's when you don't lock the doors - how long do they stay protruded? It would seem reasonable to think at some point the handles would eventually retract after a period of time without locking the doors. Not a big deal, just an observation from the video and a behavior I have not read or seen before explained.

Not sure I agree with that logic, if my vehicle is unlocked, let's say I'm waiting in the driveway for my (always running late) wife or kids to get their shoes on (which seems to take longer every day) I don't want them to come out and not be able to get into the car unless I hit unlock again. Seems more straight forward to retract when locked and lock when you hit a certain speed like other cars do. The risk of them getting caught is very small. The mirrors extend further than the handles do.

 

[ElectricDan]

Yes, I get that, but that's not the question at hand. It's when you don't lock the doors - how long do they stay protruded? It would seem reasonable to think at some point the handles would eventually retract after a period of time without locking the doors. Not a big deal, just an observation from the video and a behavior I have not read or seen before explained.

That's a good point. If I forgot to lock my vehicle in a public place I'd rather not advertise that error and highlight its vulnerable. But on a side note it would also be irritating if a piece of clothing, bag, or something else were to catch on the handle and potentially damage it if I were just walking next to it in my driveway.

It seems like I have something catch on the handles on my kitchen cabinets/drawers nearly daily, and that is slowly starting to cause damage in that the hinge is pulling out the screws that hold the door in place.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I think there will be good logic here. I am not worried about it.

What occurred to me is that the handles will need to retract properly in almost all conditions because if being unlocked results in handles extended, uh oh. I can tell immediately if your Rivian is unlocked and I am gonna get all those Tom Jones CD's on your sun visor.

I don't think that Rivian is including a CD player. /sarcasm

You can already tell if many vehicles are locked or unlocked because their mirrors power fold based on the lock status. Both my wife and my vehicles are like that.

Moral of story: Just lock your car.

Hopefully Rivian will have an "auto lock if key moves away from vehicle" feature like Acura/Honda has.

 

[EyeOnRivian]

Not sure I agree with that logic, if my vehicle is unlocked, let's say I'm waiting in the driveway for my (always running late) wife or kids to get their shoes on (which seems to take longer every day) I don't want them to come out and not be able to get into the car unless I hit unlock again.

That's another good scenario. Apply that scenario to my current SUV, if I remotely unlock the doors and don't enter it after a given amount of time it relocks the doors. Not a big deal (for me) to hit unlock again from the fob but I get your point with the whole family angle.

Seems more straight forward to retract when locked and lock when you hit a certain speed like other cars do.

Couldn't agree more. But there are still other scenarios not covered by this as previously mentioned.

 

[timf]

I'm anticipating the handles operate similarly to the Tesla Model S auto-presenting handles. When you first unlock the car, all the handles extend. After a period of time if there is no activity with the handle, they retract. However, as long as the car is unlocked, you can press on the handle and it will re-extend. The only downside to the Model S is there's no easy way to manually access the handles if the auto-present function fails to operate. The Rivian handles have an obvious place to press them if they are not already extended in order to get them to pop out, similar to how the Model 3 and Model Y handles work. Rivian combines the best of both with auto-presenting and manual presenting.

 

[EyeOnRivian]

Moral of story: Just lock your car.

Ditto! Growing up in Chicago and delivering pizzas to help pay for college expenses, one learns to ALWAYS lock your car doors. Funny thing, I still subconsciously lock the car even when it's in the garage.

Hopefully Rivian will have an "auto lock if key moves away from vehicle" feature like Acura/Honda has.

Good point. Could explain in the video why the handles remained protruded since, I believe, the driver was in the vehicle and it detected the fob and/or his phone.

 

[Moonjock]

Haha, I live in a town that almost no one locks their car and lots of folks even leave the keys in the ignition. Sometimes small town living is good.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Funny thing, I still subconsciously lock the car even when it's in the garage.

Volvo made a big deal about pointing out that we should be doing that because new vehicles have so much electronics and some systems stay in a semi-ready state while the vehicle is unlocked. Locking the vehicle triggers some of these systems to go to sleep and decrease their power demands -- saving your battery.

 

[SANZC02]

I'm anticipating the handles operate similarly to the Tesla Model S auto-presenting handles. When you first unlock the car, all the handles extend. After a period of time if there is no activity with the handle, they retract. However, as long as the car is unlocked, you can press on the handle and it will re-extend. The only downside to the Model S is there's no easy way to manually access the handles if the auto-present function fails to operate. The Rivian handles have an obvious place to press them if they are not already extended in order to get them to pop out, similar to how the Model 3 and Model Y handles work. Rivian combines the best of both with auto-presenting and manual presenting.

My Model S, all I do is touch anywhere on the handle and it will open up. There is not a particular touch point.

I will say, the Model S does tend to close faster than I would prefer. Not a problem usually in pupblic but I guess I dilly-dally around more in the garage and seem to need to re-present the handles frequently. Personally I would much prefer open when unlocked and closed when locked.

 

[skyote]

I hope they make as many features as possible user-configurable, but only time will tell. The power of software...

 

[RobBot]

I'm personally hoping they work like Model 3 door handles and them sticking out is just a weird pre-production quirk.

 

[Gshenderson]

I'm personally hoping they work like Model 3 door handles and them sticking out is just a weird pre-production quirk.

I just hope they are more durable than the Tesla ones. I had to have my drivers door handle replaced. Fortunately it was under warrantee (barely). Would have $1,000 otherwise. I’ve heard many horror stores of folks having to pay that. It’s a known flaw, but Tesla refuses to recall them.