Powered tonneau replacement prediction (it’s not positive)

[CheezyNachos]

That’s just a setting on the infotainment. You should be able to change that setting.

Nope. The tonneau controls are also removed from the infotainment.

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[Zoidz]

This replacement program is fundamentally different from other Rivian feature deletes. The tonneau is a delivered product with a warranty. They know what the problem is and have clearly stated a path. I find it hard to believe they would not follow through with the repair as stated. Yes, it will be costly, but damaging their reputation is even more costly and not repairing may open them to legal action. They know that.

As a WAG, I think the repair will consist of larger toothed drive gears and new or rebuilt slat ends to mate with the larger drive gears. That's a minimum cost solution and directly addresses what seems to be the root problem. I would be shocked if they completely rework the basic design and stacking concept. It will be interesting to see if this is a shop or mobile service. It would be to their advantage to make it mobile and not clog up the valuable and limited SC space with these repairs.

 

[astonius]

It will be interesting to see if this is a shop or mobile service. It would be to their advantage to make it mobile and not clog up the valuable and limited SC space with these repairs.

Doubtful on it being mobile serviceable. Mobile service couldn’t even force open my jammed powered tonneau at home. He said it’s pretty involved and needs to be done at an SC.

 

[bael]

Doubtful on it being mobile serviceable. Mobile service couldn’t even force open my jammed powered tonneau at home. He said it’s pretty involved and needs to be done at an SC.

The notice I linked to above says minimum service is mobile - would assume they make judgement calls on that per SC and previous experience

 

[astonius]

The notice I linked to above says minimum service is mobile - would assume they make judgement calls on that per SC and previous experience

I suspect the disabling of the mechanism is pretty straightforward, so it may be if you have it fully retracted and just want it deactivated they can do that mobile? Mine was pushed in on delivery, but they didn’t disable the buttons, so I accidentally attempted to close it which caused the jam.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I suspect the disabling of the mechanism is pretty straightforward, so it may be if you have it fully retracted and just want it deactivated they can do that mobile? Mine was pushed in on delivery, but they didn’t disable the buttons, so I accidentally attempted to close it which caused the jam.

If it's already in the position you want to leave it disabled, Rivian should be able to disable remotely. I think they insist on sending a tech or force owners to come to a service center way too often for things that shouldn't actually require a physical touch.

 

[Engi_Nerd]

I personally find these kinds of posts to be pretty surprising from early adopters. You've invested all this money in a product that more or less requires Rivian to stay in business in order for it to continue working properly, but are shocked and unsatisfied when they are forced to make concessions in attempt to stay in business. I get it, you're promised to get one thing for your money, but then, do you really want it if it means the company is more likely to go under?

IMO, Rivian's unwillingness to be as cut-throat with their customers as Tesla has me pretty skeptical about their long viability, no doubt trying to protect their cartoonish faux-friendly brand identity. Things that would have been feeling better about the company long term:

-The price cuts should not have been rolled back, they should have been announced sooner, and on a sliding scale based on order date. Or possibly offer folks dual motor standard pack at the OG price when it's released.

-The power tonneau should have been permanently discontinued as soon as it was found to be defective, releasing the bed slot geometry for third parties to offer their own solutions. Rivian does not have the luxury of dicking around with anything that isn't cost reduction/cheaper models, quality improvement, HVAC/thermal management, and software development. Anything else actively brings them further away from long-term viability.

-Their attempt at building out and maintaining their own charging network, much less a brand-exclusive one was a fool's errand and a huge waste of resources. Tesla baked in the cost of their supercharger network by using software and their brand cache to get away with pulling every single ounce/cent of "unnecessary" metal/componentry in their vehicles. Rivian is selling trucks with 5 radar modules and McLaren suspension hardware below cost.

-The vehicle release should have been regional from the start. No deliveries if your truck is further than 100 miles from a service center. This expands only as service centers expand or vehicle quality improves.

-The lack of concrete information regarding their subscription model is concerning and suggests to me they are relying on it as a hand-waving crutch to prop up their financials. "Sure we're losing acres of money now, but everyone will want our hands-free driving for $200 per month!". Nope.

Again, just my two cents, but I really feel like Tesla's success and Amazon's backing has given everyone a false sense of security about the prospects of starting a new vehicle manufacturing company. Things are only going to get more tense as the their ramping manufacturing capability continues to increase their already prodigious cash burn rate.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I personally find these kinds of posts to be pretty surprising from early adopters. You've invested all this money in a product that more or less requires Rivian to stay in business in order for it to continue working properly, but are shocked and unsatisfied when they are forced to make concessions in attempt to stay in business. I get it, you're promised to get one thing for your money, but then, do you really want it if it means the company is more likely to go under?

IMO, Rivian's unwillingness to be as cut-throat with their customers as Tesla has me pretty skeptical about their long viability, no doubt trying to protect their cartoonish faux-friendly brand identity. Things that would have been feeling better about the company long term:

-The price cuts should not have been rolled back, they should have been announced sooner, and on a sliding scale based on order date. Or possibly offer folks dual motor standard pack at the OG price when it's released.

-The power tonneau should have been permanently discontinued as soon as it was found to be defective, releasing the bed slot geometry for third parties to offer their own solutions. Rivian does not have the luxury of dicking around with anything that isn't cost reduction/cheaper models, quality improvement, HVAC/thermal management, and software development. Anything else actively brings them further away from long-term viability.

-Their attempt at building out and maintaining their own charging network, much less a brand-exclusive one was a fool's errand and a huge waste of resources. Tesla baked in the cost of their supercharger network by using software and their brand cache to get away with pulling every single ounce/cent of "unnecessary" metal/componentry in their vehicles. Rivian is selling trucks with 5 radar modules and McLaren suspension hardware below cost.

-The vehicle release should have been regional from the start. No deliveries if your truck is further than 100 miles from a service center. This expands only as service centers expand or vehicle quality improves.

-The lack of concrete information regarding their subscription model is concerning and suggests to me they are relying on it as a hand-waving crutch to prop up their financials. "Sure we're losing acres of money now, but everyone will want our hands-free driving for $200 per month!". Nope.

Again, just my two cents, but I really feel like Tesla's success and Amazon's backing has given everyone a false sense of security about the prospects of starting a new vehicle manufacturing company. Things are only going to get more tense as the their ramping manufacturing capability continues to increase their already prodigious cash burn rate.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I think being "cut-throat" and doing most of what you've suggested would kill Rivian.

 

[SASSquatch]

This replacement program is fundamentally different from other Rivian feature deletes. The tonneau is a delivered product with a warranty. They know what the problem is and have clearly stated a path. I find it hard to believe they would not follow through with the repair as stated. Yes, it will be costly, but damaging their reputation is even more costly and not repairing may open them to legal action. They know that.

As a WAG, I think the repair will consist of larger toothed drive gears and new or rebuilt slat ends to mate with the larger drive gears. That's a minimum cost solution and directly addresses what seems to be the root problem. I would be shocked if they completely rework the basic design and stacking concept. It will be interesting to see if this is a shop or mobile service. It would be to their advantage to make it mobile and not clog up the valuable and limited SC space with these repairs.

Pay the man!

I think Rivian backtracking on the power tonneau replacement would be catastrophic to their reputation and potentially worse than the March 1 pricing debacle. This is an engineering problem, not even an especially challenging one that has a solution and it is a matter of implementing it and moving on.

Rivian is probably taking their time to:

1. Stress test the engineering change to make sure they don't end up in the same situation in 6 months
2. Secure the necessary parts to handle 10K repairs plus move into production
3. Tool their manufacturing to implement the change
4. Train their production and service staff

This takes time folks. Patience is a virtue.

 

[jjswan33]

Their attempt at building out and maintaining their own charging network, much less a brand-exclusive one was a fool's errand and a huge waste of resources.

I disagree with a lot of your thesis but in general just want to comment on the charging network.

On the scale how much resources is it really? Look at the network, Rivian does a lot of business along the west coast, and the network is already looking healthy on these corridors. Coming in March it will be a source of revenue, we shall see how they price it. My prediction is they build out the first wave (400-500 connectors or whatever). Then use the network, which covers some unique corridors to get funding to from uncle sam to help build out phase 2 and in return open their network.

 

[Marchin_MTB]

Nope. The tonneau controls are also removed from the infotainment.

That’s interesting. My SC told me that they couldn’t do that (disable the controls) and that I have to be careful not to accidentally hit the button.

 

[SDH]

Stuff the power tonneau .... what about the manual cover? How difficult can that be?

 

[mabowden]

Those are online text announcements. I think he wanted an audio message.

He wanted Tony shouting from the rooftops. Or going door to door of affected users.

 

[SASSquatch]

I disagree with a lot of your thesis but in general just want to comment on the charging network.

On the scale how much resources is it really? Look at the network, Rivian does a lot of business along the west coast, and the network is already looking healthy on these corridors. Coming in March it will be a source of revenue, we shall see how they price it. My prediction is they build out the first wave (400-500 connectors or whatever). Then use the network, which covers some unique corridors to get funding to from uncle sam to help build out phase 2 and in return open their network.

Exactly. They are in prime position to take advantage of the subsidies that the Biden administration is offering in order to offset the costs of expanding their network which would require, at least a part of it - like Tesla is planning - to be open to other EVs.

 

[mabowden]

Stuff the power tonneau .... what about the manual cover? How difficult can that be?

Obviously more difficult than releasing 3 new to market vehicles and designing an in house powertrain from the ground up.

Either that, or they just don't care about existing user problems. I'll let you decide.

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