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R1T vs Model Y, a ridiculous comparison review

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A couple more things I thought of while driving last night:

Noise comparison
My vehicle was probably a worst-case scenario in terms of noise. It was a relatively early build using their brand new mega casting. I wouldn’t be surprised if German and Texas-built Model Ys have some changes that make a number of things better. This was also before Tesla added double-glazed glass to the car in Dec 2020. Knowing Tesla and their continuous improvement mindset, I’m sure there are other little things they’re done to improve as well. That’s not taking anything away from the Rivian’s outstanding build quality, but your later-build Model Y may not have as dramatic a difference in noise as mine did.

Heated wheel
Believe it or not, we’re still having cool, gloomy days here in the Pacific Northwest. I remembered to turn on the heated steering wheel for the first time yesterday. Wow–what a nice bonus feature! I wouldn’t call it a necessity here as it doesn’t get TOO cold, but I could see it being a must-have in colder climates.

Hand detection
I’m not 100% sure, but I think Rivian uses a non-resistive for Highway Assist. Not sure if this is capacitive thread or some other sort of impedance sensor, but unlike Autopilot, you won’t get constant reminders to “apply slight turning force to the wheel”, which is great. In the Tesla, I was constantly accidentally taking myself out of autopilot because the hand detection wouldn’t activate. I just wish Highway Assist was more generally available so I can take advantage of it!

Paint quality
The paint on my Tesla was pretty terrible. As delivered, I think there were 6 small spots where you could see down to the metal, and the entire front lip of the bumper appeared to be missing the final layers of paint and/or clear coat. There was also a hand-sized thin patch on the hood you could see on cloudy days. Like everyone’s white Teslas, the bumpers were significantly more yellow than the rest of the car.
On the Rivian, there’s definitely orange peel, but no more so than on other cars. I did a pretty thorough inspections for chips, scratches, and other imperfections, but I couldn’t find any. I’m not going to torture myself by looking for swirl marks and other imperfections–ignorance is bliss! The paint is definitely more than good enough for me.

Curb rash
I only managed to curb my 20” Induction wheels 3 times in 2 years, but man was that an ever-present anxiety. It’s actually not that hard to touch them up with some sandpaper and a paint marker, but still, there’s nothing more demoralizing than pulling into a curb and hearing your wheels grind. No such problem in the Rivian–even though the 21” road wheels don’t have as much sidewall as the 20” ATs, there’s more than enough height and pudge for curb rash to officially not be a problem.
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wsgrunner

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A couple more things I thought of while driving last night:

Noise comparison
My vehicle was probably a worst-case scenario in terms of noise. It was a relatively early build using their brand new mega casting. I wouldn’t be surprised if German and Texas-built Model Ys have some changes that make a number of things better. This was also before Tesla added double-glazed glass to the car in Dec 2020. Knowing Tesla and their continuous improvement mindset, I’m sure there are other little things they’re done to improve as well. That’s not taking anything away from the Rivian’s outstanding build quality, but your later-build Model Y may not have as dramatic a difference in noise as mine did.

Heated wheel
Believe it or not, we’re still having cool, gloomy days here in the Pacific Northwest. I remembered to turn on the heated steering wheel for the first time yesterday. Wow–what a nice bonus feature! I wouldn’t call it a necessity here as it doesn’t get TOO cold, but I could see it being a must-have in colder climates.

Hand detection
I’m not 100% sure, but I think Rivian uses a non-resistive for Highway Assist. Not sure if this is capacitive thread or some other sort of impedance sensor, but unlike Autopilot, you won’t get constant reminders to “apply slight turning force to the wheel”, which is great. In the Tesla, I was constantly accidentally taking myself out of autopilot because the hand detection wouldn’t activate. I just wish Highway Assist was more generally available so I can take advantage of it!

Paint quality
The paint on my Tesla was pretty terrible. As delivered, I think there were 6 small spots where you could see down to the metal, and the entire front lip of the bumper appeared to be missing the final layers of paint and/or clear coat. There was also a hand-sized thin patch on the hood you could see on cloudy days. Like everyone’s white Teslas, the bumpers were significantly more yellow than the rest of the car.
On the Rivian, there’s definitely orange peel, but no more so than on other cars. I did a pretty thorough inspections for chips, scratches, and other imperfections, but I couldn’t find any. I’m not going to torture myself by looking for swirl marks and other imperfections–ignorance is bliss! The paint is definitely more than good enough for me.

Curb rash
I only managed to curb my 20” Induction wheels 3 times in 2 years, but man was that an ever-present anxiety. It’s actually not that hard to touch them up with some sandpaper and a paint marker, but still, there’s nothing more demoralizing than pulling into a curb and hearing your wheels grind. No such problem in the Rivian–even though the 21” road wheels don’t have as much sidewall as the 20” ATs, there’s more than enough height and pudge for curb rash to officially not be a problem.
Tell me more about how you touched up your induction wheels? I have done the same. What kind of marker did you purchase and any specific sand paper? Thanks!
 

Engi_Nerd

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Great writeup. I agree that it does make sense to compare these right now given the EV landscape. Our family is on the fence whether to go forward with our pre-March R1T preorder versus buying another Model Y. The Model Y is now probably about $10K overpriced for what it is. Our 220K VIN with acoustic glass is exceptionally quiet inside and actually pretty well built, though I've learned that Tesla build quality never really gets better overall. Instead it seems to oscillate based on when during the quarter it's built, parts availability, and rolling build changes, with new issues seemingly working their way in as they solve older ones. Tesla's rolling changes also make it really hard to actually know what you're getting for your money. Will the suspension in newer models be less harsh? Some people say so, but you won't know until you're driving it home.

I also think it's full on ridiculous horse shit that Tesla still refuses to offer any form of V2L on the Model Y, even as competitors like Hyundai roll it out on much cheaper BEVs.

All these considered, my reasons for still considering another Model Y over the R1T are:

1) It really seems like non-Tesla DCFC network is getting worse, not better

2) Tesla's FSD is crap but is always improving. If it keeps at the current pace, it could really increase vehicle resale value long term.

3) The Tesla's resale value overall is more or less guaranteed to be solid long term, where the Rivian will be a function of the company's success and how it's perceived in the media. Yet to be released crash test ratings will also impact this.

4) The bed access on the Rivian is kinda crap and it will actually be harder to load and remove things across the tailgate versus in the trunk in the Tesla. Really needs a Ridgeline-type gate.

5) Tesla's HVAC is now crazy good. We recently slept in the Y and it was super quiet and very comfortable. Some of the fan noises I've heard on the R1T videos seem bonkers loud, like the trucks thermal system is screaming for mercy.

6) The wife can barely drive the Model Y without hitting curbs / might be a menace to society in a truck.
 

danielvdm

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A couple more things I thought of while driving last night:

Noise comparison
My vehicle was probably a worst-case scenario in terms of noise. It was a relatively early build using their brand new mega casting. I wouldn’t be surprised if German and Texas-built Model Ys have some changes that make a number of things better. This was also before Tesla added double-glazed glass to the car in Dec 2020. Knowing Tesla and their continuous improvement mindset, I’m sure there are other little things they’re done to improve as well. That’s not taking anything away from the Rivian’s outstanding build quality, but your later-build Model Y may not have as dramatic a difference in noise as mine did.
I traded in a late 2021 MYP for my R1T (with double paned glass), definitely didn't have the noise/rattles you're describing. I think the R1T is still a little quieter, but not by such a wide margin.

Incidentally, my R1T actually had a bunch of rattles at delivery that they've since fixed.
 
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Tell me more about how you touched up your induction wheels? I have done the same. What kind of marker did you purchase and any specific sand paper?
Just a multipack of wet-sand paper in various grits. Worked through the grits from about 225 to 1000 (I think). I might have needed to start with a diamond file for the first one 18 months ago, but I can’t remember for sure. I used a black Sharpie paint pen, though you can probably get a lot closer to factory color with a dedicated touch up pen in a similar color. It wasn’t a perfect match for the induction’s matte dark grey, but I really couldn’t tell if I wasn’t looking for it.

I traded in a late 2021 MYP for my R1T (with double paned glass), definitely didn't have the noise/rattles you're describing. I think the R1T is still a little quieter, but not by such a wide margin.
That’s great to hear! The Model Y is the perfect vehicle for my mom, who gets even more aggro about squeaks and rattles than I do–glad I can recommend it to her with a cleaner conscience. That said, Tesla was never able to nail down the taillight rattle and said the frame flex noise was within acceptable tolerances.
 
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1) It really seems like non-Tesla DCFC network is getting worse, not better
I think the networks are probably not getting a whole lot worse in absolute terms, but as more and more electric vehicles get out there, the increase demand without corresponding (and proactive) supply of chargers will make the experience worse in terms of an individual’s experience. Component shortages sure don’t seem to be helping.

The diversity of use cases and charging protocols/vehicle handshakes also seems to be increasing, which is kind of a real missed opportunity–USB figured this out decades ago! (Though with thunderbolt, USB 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, etc they seem to be actively trying to unfigure it out…)
 

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You mention turning radius and I don’t know that I’ve seen much discussion about it. I wonder how the turning radius is and I regret not doing a u turn on my first drive I had in April.
 

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You mention turning radius and I don’t know that I’ve seen much discussion about it. I wonder how the turning radius is and I regret not doing a u turn on my first drive I had in April.
I think the R1T turning radius is pretty good. I can do a u-turn into the nearest lane on a standard road/intersection.
 
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I think the R1T turning radius is pretty good. I can do a u-turn into the nearest lane on a standard road/intersection.
Yep, I agree! It’s just not as tight as the Model Y due to physics.
 

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Thanks so much for this thorough review! I too currently have a 2020 Model Y (performance though) and am waiting for my R1T. My current estimate is March/April 2023 so now I'm getting anxious and doing more research LOL

I was planning to replace the MYP with the Rivian, but now having second thoughts on that for several reasons. Mostly, I'm concerned with how my wife will like driving it, since we mostly share one car since she works from home. Our secondary car is a 2004 4Runner (which she doesn't care for really) but is a good backup vehicle and it's cheap and paid off. She likes the Tesla overall and is a good size vehicle for her to drive. Obviously the R1T will be significantly larger, but I was hoping it would have a better turning radius as that's one of my complaints about the MYP (turning radius stinks for a car that size). The 4Runner is far superior in this department and thus is easier to park even though it's larger. I'm actually starting to compare the MYP to the R1S now as that may be a better vehicle for us, but I really like the truck :(

For those that switched from a MY to R1T, what all did you miss or concerns you with the R1T compared to the Tesla?

OP, curious if you can give your thoughts on the below topics of complaints I've had with the MYP since I've had it for 2.5 years now. Since you've had some time with your R1T now, I'd love to hear your thoughts on if Rivian does any of these things better than the MY!

Gripes with the MY over the years:
  • Squeaks and rattles have been pretty bad, both from get-go and over time
  • Rain sensing wipers don’t work well; needs a true rain sensor
  • Wiper washers are terrible (better with the upgraded 2022 driver's nozzle)
  • Auto high beams don’t work well compared to other cars I've had with this feature
  • Poor ACC; phantom braking
  • No cross traffic alert (no rear radar to do this)
  • No blind spot indicators
  • Poor wireless charging pad (doesn’t work with cases on larger phones)
  • Terrible suspension (ride quality; I ended up with aftermarket coilovers and still is rough)
  • No Apple CarPlay (obviously still an issue with Rivian)
  • Poorly thought out hitch cover and hitch access


 

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Thanks so much for this thorough review! I too currently have a 2020 Model Y (performance though) and am waiting for my R1T. My current estimate is March/April 2023 so now I'm getting anxious and doing more research LOL

I was planning to replace the MYP with the Rivian, but now having second thoughts on that for several reasons. Mostly, I'm concerned with how my wife will like driving it, since we mostly share one car since she works from home. Our secondary car is a 2004 4Runner (which she doesn't care for really) but is a good backup vehicle and it's cheap and paid off. She likes the Tesla overall and is a good size vehicle for her to drive. Obviously the R1T will be significantly larger, but I was hoping it would have a better turning radius as that's one of my complaints about the MYP (turning radius stinks for a car that size). The 4Runner is far superior in this department and thus is easier to park even though it's larger. I'm actually starting to compare the MYP to the R1S now as that may be a better vehicle for us, but I really like the truck :(

For those that switched from a MY to R1T, what all did you miss or concerns you with the R1T compared to the Tesla?

OP, curious if you can give your thoughts on the below topics of complaints I've had with the MYP since I've had it for 2.5 years now. Since you've had some time with your R1T now, I'd love to hear your thoughts on if Rivian does any of these things better than the MY!

Gripes with the MY over the years:
  • Squeaks and rattles have been pretty bad, both from get-go and over time
  • Rain sensing wipers don’t work well; needs a true rain sensor
  • Wiper washers are terrible (better with the upgraded 2022 driver's nozzle)
  • Auto high beams don’t work well compared to other cars I've had with this feature
  • Poor ACC; phantom braking
  • No cross traffic alert (no rear radar to do this)
  • No blind spot indicators
  • Poor wireless charging pad (doesn’t work with cases on larger phones)
  • Terrible suspension (ride quality; I ended up with aftermarket coilovers and still is rough)
  • No Apple CarPlay (obviously still an issue with Rivian)
  • Poorly thought out hitch cover and hitch access

I've had our 2023 Model Y for a couple weeks now and took it on a road trip and it has ~1,500 miles on it now. R1T has ~13,000 miles on it so i'm pretty well versed in it. Here's my feelings on it regarding the 2023 Model Y vs the R1T:

Squeaks and rattles have been pretty bad, both from get-go and over time
- My model Y doesn't have any rattles that I've noticed, nor does my Rivian
Rain sensing wipers don’t work well; needs a true rain sensor
- Absolutely hate the wiper sensors in the Model Y, they're basically useless. I just control it manually. R1T has never been an issue with this and just works. I've probably had to manually clean the windshield because it didn't properly detect it less than 5 times.
Wiper washers are terrible (better with the upgraded 2022 driver's nozzle)
- Our Model Y is still useless in this department. Again never noticed it being an issue with the R1T
Auto high beams don’t work well compared to other cars I've had with this feature
- Same with the Rivian. The Rivian can't make up it's mind on what it wants to do and will flash the brights on and off making other drivers think i'm flashing my lights at them on undivided highways with curves. I've disabled auto highbeams on the R1T
Poor ACC; phantom braking
- ACC is okay, it does its fair share of phantom breaking on me but not anywhere near as bad as our Model Y when driving down windy undivided highways
No cross traffic alert (no rear radar to do this)
- Not an issue in the R1T
No blind spot indicators
- Also not an issue with the R1T
Poor wireless charging pad (doesn’t work with cases on larger phones)
- Model Y's is actually functional. R1T's isn't
Terrible suspension (ride quality; I ended up with aftermarket coilovers and still is rough)
- 2023 Model Y is "okay", but I miss the air suspension of the R1T when driving the Model Y
No Apple CarPlay (obviously still an issue with Rivian)
- Haven't missed it one bit in the Tesla. Getting back into the Rivian makes me feel like i've stepped back 10 years in infotainment options. Rivian really needs to step their game up on this ASAP
Poorly thought out hitch cover and hitch access
- I took mine off permanantly of the R1T so I can't really say if there's is better or worse
 

SANZC02

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Auto high beams don’t work well compared to other cars I've had with this feature
- Same with the Rivian. The Rivian can't make up it's mind on what it wants to do and will flash the brights on and off making other drivers think i'm flashing my lights at them on undivided highways with curves. I've disabled auto highbeams on the R1T
Curious if you have used auto-high beams on the latest OTA, I was driving around the back roads in MA last week and thought the auto high-beams worked incredibly well in the R1S. Even had my passenger comment on how well they worked.
 

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I think comparison reviews aren’t ridiculous at all.

Typical reviews are just based on ann arbitrary bar (e.g. “the ride is firm” means nothing until you compare that to some other known reference): you can’t quantity that until you start pitting each element against those in another vehicle that others might have better understanding of.
 

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So I ended up getting my R1T used (had 15k on it) from a dealer on 2/23 in Iowa and drove back to Colorado Springs! I had a new one that was set to deliver March/April but since I was on new pricing (reserved in May 2022) and the tax incentives are in a weird limbo right now, I snagged up a good deal on a used one.

Anyway, I want to give my impressions after a few weeks, as well as comparisons to my 2020 MYP that we've had for 2.5 years (and still have, though possibly will sell in the next couple of months).

Auto Wipers: horrible on the Tesla, working pretty well on the R1T, though actually TOO sensitive with the snow/drizzle we've had. I do wish you could change sensitivity like I can on all other auto-wiper cars we've had (Ford, Jeep, Mazda). Wiper washers are pretty good on the Rivian, though, compared to Tesla. Not the greatest, but an improvement!

Auto high-beams: WAYYYY better on the R1T than the Tesla! Tesla is just plain dangerous here and useless TBH. I thought the R1T was on par with our old Jeep GC that had this feature and worked well.

Infotainment: The maps aren't great on the R1T. Tesla definitely wins here though I just wish they'd add CarPlay already! I was missing EA chargers that were near me in west Des Moines so it took me to a crappy Shell charger initially. A friend found me the EA charger when I complained about the charging speed. I should have trusted ABRP and PlugShare at the beginning. Lesson learned!

Music apps all worked very well for me and overall the UI is very snappy. Spotify is much better on the Rivian than the Tesla and so is TuneIn. Also, I thought the Tesla sound system was great, but the Rivian one is FANTASTIC! Much more bass and just crisper overall.

Minor quibbles on the software that are (mostly) easy fixes for Rivian:
  • Heated seats/wheel should remember your last setting when you park and come back (Tesla does this) and/or have an "auto" feature (Tesla has this)
  • Allow me to set it to show percentage left instead of miles left when you arrive at your destination. Side note; this feature didn't work that great anyway. Doesn't seem to update in real-time like Tesla, as one part of my adventure I got really low on battery and it suddenly dropped from 15 miles to 7 miles left as I was still a few exits away from my next stop. Had me white knuckling it!
  • Would love to see GPS-based Auto garage door opening like Tesla, and options to auto-fold mirrors when approaching garage (like Tesla). At least pop the window up for me or leave it up for a while so I have easy access to the button after I exit the garage!
  • Would love to see them add some games to the infotainment (and farting noises LOL). My son and I like to play them when at charging stops or waiting for "mom" to finish shopping LOL
  • Really want the dash-cam recording feature, but I read that is coming soon!
  • Would like more settings for scheduled charging, more like Tesla has. Would like to be able to set a destination time rather than just setting a time slot to be charging in. I don't want it to start until my TOU starts at night, but also don't want it to stay at 100% very long if I don't have to and have a trip set for the next day.
  • Need more adapters for the mobile charger. Mine came with a 14-50 to 6-50 adapter (I assume this is aftermarket) which is perfect since I use a 6-50 in my garage at the moment, but I don't see why they don't offer just a direct 6-50 adapter. But I also had various other adapters for the Tesla (6-20, 14-30, 10-30) that Rivian doesn't offer.
  • Wish Rivian would set up plug and charge with at least EA and others would be great too. I do love how easy it is to charge a Tesla on superchargers!
  • I noticed the infamous vampire drain and hope they get to the bottom of this soon!
  • CarPlay, CarPlay, CarPlay...PLEASE! :) If not yet, at least allow me to share a location to the Rivian like I can do with my Tesla. Very handy feature when you don't have CarPlay (as Tesla does not either).
  • As most people know already, the wireless charger isn't great. Though it actually does work with my iPhone 12 Pro Max. More than I can say for the Tesla and even the aftermarket pad I got in the Tesla that is supposed to have MagSafe built in! I just ordered the RivParts magsafe kit so that'll be a great addition for us

Driver+ vs. Autopilot: Autopilot still wins here of course, though with some caveats. I did have EAP on the Tesla, and I paid $4k for it back in the day and only to get the auto lane changes. Kind of a rip off TBH, but I did like that feature. Standard AP sucks because you have to either jerk the wheel which shakes the whole car (wife hated that) or completely turn off AP in order to pass someone, then re-engage it and re-set the speed once you finish the pass. Very annoying. I love how smoothly I can disengage the Driver+ on the R1T and make a pass while keeping the ACC on, then just reengage lane-centering after I'm done! I do hope/wish Driver+ will update with lane changes soon, as I do miss that part of EAP, but this is way better than standard AP. I do feel like Tesla stays in the lane a little better; in the R1T I do feel it sway a little in the lane, but not enough to make me or occupants uncomfortable at least. Rivian get a huge bonus for not having torque-based driver attention, as the capacitive sense wheel is SOOOO much better than having to keep pressure on the wheel that Tesla requires! Though Rivian gets a huge negative for Driver+ not working on unmapped roads, though. Certain parts of highways it will shut off and I didn't find any state/US highways that it would work on yet. I love how I can turn on AP on the Tesla on nearly any road. Handy when I need to grab a snack for the kid or something else slightly distracting! Hopefully Driver+ will grow quickly and catch up to Tesla's AP. I did notice the Driver+ did not have any phantom braking events for me. Did freak out a little when a semi drifted slightly while passing, but i don't consider that phantom. Tesla will just randomly brake in the middle of nowhere with no one around on a perfectly clear day sometimes!

LOVE LOVE LOVE having blind spot indicators again and rear cross-traffic alerts! It even sees pedestrians really well for cross-pedestrian alerts! Tesla just assumes you should run them over LOL

Ride quality: My MYP was an early model so the ride quality was at its worst even when switching to 20s and all-seasons. In 2021 I actually installed a MPP coil-over luxury kit to help out, and it made a difference but the MYP is still a rough-rider. R1T is SOOOO much smoother of a ride. Both my wife and I love it. Seats are more comfortable as well.

Interior space: Rear legroom seems pretty close to the Model Y. I did like the R1S that you could slide the 2nd row back and tilt it, which is great for a car seat. We switched my son to a booster when we got the truck so it's better for him now. Definitely more roomy on the width in both front/rear.

Build quality: Interior squeaks and rattles are pretty minimal on the R1T, but my Tesla has gotten pretty bad over the years. I've had many addressed at Tesla but others they couldn't replicate. Hoping the R1T fares better after a few years! Exterior build quality, the R1T is definitely better than Tesla with regards to panels gaps, etc, but it isn't perfect. Headlights and hood are noticeably off a tad, but nothing I'm going to worry about.

Mobile App: Tesla is still ahead here. PAAK works really well on the Tesla, with only occasional hiccups where I have to open the app on the phone. The Rivian is not so smooth, but not horrible. Most of the time it will unlock the truck as I approach but it's probably only 60% of the time. I also had issues getting the cabin pre-heat to work at all for me for a while, but it seems after the last update it is good now.

Minor issues being addressed next week:
  1. Clunking sound in front left suspension. May be normal but sounds like when an older car has a strut going out
  2. Center console buttons are only working about 50% of the time. Driver's works better than Passenger's but both have issues
  3. Did have a motor failure warning on my drive back from Iowa when I hit some snow, but was able to pull over and do a hard reset and has been fine since. Having them check into it just to be sure.
  4. Alignment is off bad enough that the front inside tires are worn already to 2/32! Dealer didn't disclose this and I didn't look close enough initially, so they did give me some money back to help fund new tires. Though looks like Rivian is going to charge me $240 for the alignment next week.
  5. Rear tailgate stopped going down on its own when the button is pressed. I have to nudge it now.
  6. Tonneau cover (powered) met its demise after only 1-week of ownership. Oh well, I knew what I was getting into! At least they will fix it when they have the fix, and I was able to get it to go in all the way and leave it there.
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