Rear Window Trim Sticking Out on Both Sides

[Sevn86]

Hi RF members, Can y’all please post pics of the rear of your R1S? See mine below. I went to look at my R1S and for some reason it was the only one with the silver trim sticking out when you face the back of the vehicle. All 8 others were much more flush. Also noticed 7 other things wrong with my car that others didn’t seem to have, so I’m concerned.

I posted another picture of much newer VIN R1S with the silver trim being flush.

My R1S is a super early built 2023 model. 03xx

Sponsored

 

[Amped]

That’s unfortunate. You should definitely reach out to Rivian and have their service crew take a look. Our R1S had major alignment issues with its lift gate which is a long story that I need to make a separate post about. Ours is also an earlier VIN with numerous other gap issues throughout some of which Rivian techs have been able to fix and some they couldn’t.

 

[Guy]

That’s unfortunate. You should definitely reach out to Rivian and have their service crew take a look. Our R1S had major alignment issues with its lift gate which is a long story that I need to make a separate post about. Ours is also an earlier VIN with numerous other gap issues throughout some of which Rivian techs have been able to fix and some they couldn’t.

Sorry to hear this but looking at cars and bids and other sources almost all R1S tailgates have alignment issues both horizontally as well as not being flush with the body. Disappointing that nearly 10000 vehicles into manufacture they still have these issues.

 

[240vPlug]

I am coming from a Tesla...I owned two Model Y. I can tell you that lift gates on the Model Y were a problem. My 2nd MY was built 5/22 a full two years and nearly 500,000 units later.

My R1T is good mostly but the rear doors seem to stick out a little at the top. There is some wavyness near the door handles on both sides. I am not really too worried about this stuff and like with Tesla feel it may be more of a risk to try and have it fixed.

While disappointing I say let it go unless there is a functional issues with the car as a result.

 

[NineElectrics]

The same happened on my R1S. Service was able to bring it in a little bit, but it’s still a problem. They kind of shrugged it off with indifference. They don’t try very hard for the difficult repairs. Wish they would stand behind their work.

Lemon law?

 

[electruck]

I've got a 1/23 build with VIN 38xx and have the same. The trim is flush with the glass but not with the roof. It will likely only ever be flush with one or the other or split the difference between the two. It really doesn't bother me in the least. I did have the service center adjust the liftgate as at delivery it was sticking out a bit too far. That did bother me and was also an easy adjustment.

 

[Cuppie]

We are on our second VIN for R1S because of issues. A new car should be new. Factory flaws should be fixed as best as possible but you don’t have to accept a vehicle if it’s not how it should be. We’ve had window trim issues, tail light issues that lead us to seeing the vehicle has been damaged and they tried to fix it without informing us (legal if it’s under $10k I guess), abnormal wheel wearing, dents and scratches. On our second R1S we had to get the issues elevated up the chain of command because many of the issues were human caused issues, not factory problems. It has been 3 weeks and they are replacing the skid plate, window gasket, door threshold and fixing two dents.
It’s so unfortunate to get a new car that needs repairs and it’s even more sad that they deem these issues within their range of acceptable. Factory flaws are different than careless service or transport workers causing damage. Both of our vehicles should have never passed a new car inspection. I believe if customers call Rivian out on these issues and don’t accept a damaged new vehicle then they will start to pay attention to these unacceptable issues.

 

[LL75]

mine is march 2023 build. Tailgate alignment is the common one and they tried to fix it, but still a little off. Definitely make a ticket for it. It took them two days and was not able to corrected all.

 

[LL75]

The same happened on my R1S. Service was able to bring it in a little bit, but it’s still a problem. They kind of shrugged it off with indifference. They don’t try very hard for the difficult repairs. Wish they would stand behind their work.

Lemon law?

Yeap, so far my first visit to the dallas center was a dud !!! Only corrected 3 out my 7 problems. Seems like they r rushing to fix it.

 

[Sevn86]

Thank you everyone who has posted. My excitement quickly turned to disappointment. Thankfully I haven’t taken delivery yet. I scheduled a call with my guide for later today.

Below were the other issues I noted.

- The rear top tail gate piece has a bulge and is wavy with deep scratches
- Passenger side roof has deep scratches
- Middle painted piece between the two glass roof panels also has deep scratches. Looks like a tree branch scraped it and caused them.
- Wheel arch trim pieces misaligned
- Both side emblems are misaligned within the indention for it.
- faint body panel dent above passenger side rear wheel arch
- Driver side rear door paint chipped
- Walking up to the vehicle I noticed the tail lights randomly flash. Happened twice while I was there.
- Crappy body panel caulk/ paint in the inside corners where the outer tail lights meet the body
- Right side of tailgate edge paint is rough and bumpy

The crazy thing is the dash had a sticky note that said paint. I really don’t want a new vehicle that needs to have the whole top resprayed.

 

[Amped]

Sorry to hear this but looking at cars and bids and other sources almost all R1S tailgates have alignment issues both horizontally as well as not being flush with the body. Disappointing that nearly 10000 vehicles into manufacture they still have these issues.

Totally agree. For us, it really sucked going through the process of trying to have Rivian realign the lift gate. A month and four attempts later two of which Rivian had to outsource the car to a bodyshop for. Still not 100% aligned but it does function - so far. The lift gate assembly is what has stalled the production and delivery of R1Ss we were told. Such an amazing piece of machinery to be haunted by what seems like a well established technology -- the lift gate.

 

[NineElectrics]

Thank you everyone who has posted. My excitement quickly turned to disappointment. Thankfully I haven’t taken delivery yet. I scheduled a call with my guide for later today.

Reject it. You’re not going to own this car forever, and any buyer is going to notice the same issues. If they take 5% off the resale price, that’s thousands of dollars. I would personally knock more like 20% off, because it hints that the mechanical insides of the car (which are hidden) will also be problematic. These issues substantially affect the value of the car, thus my lemon law comment.

 

[NineElectrics]

Such an amazing piece of machinery to be haunted by what seems like a well established technology -- the lift gate.

Rivian has no real manufacturing talent to speak of. They’re n00bs. I imagine they’ve also screwed up some of the hidden stuff you can’t see, too.

 

[Amped]

Reject it. You’re not going to own this car forever, and any buyer is going to notice the same issues. If they take 5% off the resale price, that’s thousands of dollars. I would personally knock more like 20% off, because it hints that the mechanical insides of the car (which are hidden) will also be problematic. These issues substantially affect the value of the car, thus my lemon law comment.

Our excitement turned into a disappointment too. And that was a month into owning our R1S. It's also hard to justify such a hefty price tag for a poorly built vehicle. I know we've all waited and anticipated but....

Yes it is common to say well it's an early production model so it'll come with a lot of quarks but that excuse is getting old especially in 2023 with the advancement of tech and our manufacturing production knowhow. There needs to be some sort of compensation here. Rivian is knowingly selling cars with misaligned panels and doing so at full price. Can you imagine any other manufacturer doing that? Would we pay full price for a bike or a stroller or an appliance with some visible defects? I've reached out to Rivian and our guide and we're still awaiting a response from their "leadership team". The service department can't help us any more than they have. We're also consulting with a lemon law attorney.

Rivian has a really good script for service and that I can speak highly of. Their service folks are great. What they're really lacking are chops and capabilities on the floor at the factory in Normal and to some extent at their Centers were the techs, most of whom are young and relatively inexperienced, are still learning. When it comes to quality control, the factory is really setting up the staff at Rivian and their service centers for disappointment and these poor employees are trying to compensate and apologize for the work!

 

[LL75]

Rivian has no real manufacturing talent to speak of. They’re n00bs. I imagine they’ve also screwed up some of the hidden stuff you can’t see, too.

^^^ this. I took it in once already but they didn't really fix the problem probably because they don't know how just yet. I'm delaying the 2nd visit to see if they learn anything new since two months ago. !! In the meantime, I'm just trying to enjoy the car. It is an awesome car to be honest.

Sponsored