Should I purchase R1S

[Rizzian]

Love my R1S and recommend it! I'm over 2hrs from my nearest service center and have only owned it for two months. It's had to go back for one long weekend (Friday-Monday) to address some panel and gasket alignment issues. If you are coming from a mid-sized SUV, like that utility but want an EV, there really are not a lot of options, particularly with 3 rows of seats. I came from a lifted Toyota 4Runner with a roof rack, so there wasn't any alternative for me. The Model X is nearly 10 years old at this point, has no usable roof for storage or racks (because of the "falcon wing" doors), and to me, looks like a pregnant Model Y. Admittedly I haven't tried the Kia EV9 yet.
With regard to BUYING an R1S, I'd say lease it unless you really want to do a lot of modifications. To me, EV hardware is advancing at such a fast pace, your Rivian is only going to depreciate (sorry buyers). Even with a lifetime of over-the-air updates, owners are already salty about Gen2 R1 capabilities that are not backward compatible. Throw in a +20% increase in range and performance after only two years into delivering vehicles...yeah that's pretty steep development curve. Your depreciation curve is going to be just as steep in the other direction for the "outdated" model. If you're the type of person that is still rocking an iPhone 6 and you're not feeling like a newer phone is worth an increased monthly payment... you should buy an R1S. If you trade in your phone about every 18mos (when your carrier offers an upgrade)- then lease.

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[mpshizzle]

Love my R1S and recommend it! I'm over 2hrs from my nearest service center and have only owned it for two months. It's had to go back for one long weekend (Friday-Monday) to address some panel and gasket alignment issues. If you are coming from a mid-sized SUV, like that utility but want an EV, there really are not a lot of options, particularly with 3 rows of seats. I came from a lifted Toyota 4Runner with a roof rack, so there wasn't any alternative for me. The Model X is nearly 10 years old at this point, has no usable roof for storage or racks (because of the "falcon wing" doors), and to me, looks like a pregnant Model Y. Admittedly I haven't tried the Kia EV9 yet.
With regard to BUYING an R1S, I'd say lease it unless you really want to do a lot of modifications. To me, EV hardware is advancing at such a fast pace, your Rivian is only going to depreciate (sorry buyers). Even with a lifetime of over-the-air updates, owners are already salty about Gen2 R1 capabilities that are not backward compatible. Throw in a +20% increase in range and performance after only two years into delivering vehicles...yeah that's pretty steep development curve. Your depreciation curve is going to be just as steep in the other direction for the "outdated" model. If you're the type of person that is still rocking an iPhone 6 and you're not feeling like a newer phone is worth an increased monthly payment... you should buy an R1S. If you trade in your phone about every 18mos (when your carrier offers an upgrade)- then lease.

Sadly a lease is not available in all states

 

[Doug]

38,000 miles on our R1T and no issues. In the year and a half we have owned it we had no reason to even go to the service center. I choose to go for tire rotations but they will come to you with mobile service or you can use discount tire I believe for tire rotations. We live two plus hours to our service center and we would not hesitant to buy another Rivian.

 

[PrairieColonel]

Our R1S will be 1 year old on August 4th, it has 13,500 miles on the odometer. We have not experienced a do not drive condition. The closest service center to us is Olathae Kansas, 3.5 hr drive, we have had 2 service center visits, each repair was completed as expected, and we were provided with an R1T loaner. We have had 2 mobile service calls, one for miner adjustments, and one for the 5,000 mile service both completed as expected including tire rotation. The mobil service truck is within 1&1/2 hr. drive. Mobil work was performed in our driveway. Each interaction with Rivian employees was pleasant and professional. We have truly enjoyed our R1S.

 

[twraps]

So I’ve been looking at the R1S for a while and I love the way it looks, as well as what I’ve seen it do. That said, I’m curious what everyone’s experience is with the frequency of issues that prevent drivability or require a service center visit?

I’m in south central PA and the closest service center (currently) is in Gaithersburg, MD, which is 2 hours away. For the reason, I’m a little concerned with how any frequent issues might derail my ownership experience.

That said, otherwise the size, design, range, performance and cost effectiveness fit my lifestyle better than other EV’s.

So I’d love to hear opinions/experiences on ownership.

Short answer to your question - Yes, get a R1S! Amazing vehicle!
Issues - it's never been underivable, but some small annoyances do occur every now and then. SC tends to be with a long wait time for me (Bay Area - 3+ months of waiting for SC) but knock on wood I've never had a critical issue.

 

[hyzerfool]

We're 9 months in on R1S and love it. No problems. Drives better now than when we got it.

 

[defcon888]

We are at 21k miles on our R1T. We are a May 2023 delivery. About 1 month after getting it we had a "Headlight system" error. It didn't prevent us from driving it.....in the daytime but at night we couldn't.

We made an appointment and took it in. They had it for 4 days and when we picked it up, within 10 miles, the issue popped up again. So, we called and 3 days later they came to our house, picked up the R1T and left a loaner R1T. They had it for almost 3 weeks and the service manager (West Sacramento) was constantly letting us know what was going on.

Long story short, they had to fly in a technician from Normal Illinois to diagnose it. They had to use a camera and scope the wiring and found that a part was shorting out....this was last June/July. Since that time we have only had a 12v battery issue and that was fixed within 3 days with a mobile appointment.

When we had our Volvo XC40 Recharge, it was a nightmare and we ended up getting rid of it after 10 months and a month before we got our R1T.

Bottom line......the quality of the R1's has only got better over the last couple of years.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

I have both. My wife drives the S mostly. I have had some service center visits. My truck has been trouble free mostly except for some small items. The S had a water leak from HVAC (Rivian has a revised part now so this is no longer an issue) and the S wound up being replaced by Rivian because of the delays in getting it serviced it got mold/mildew. Not a problem with the vehicle...any vehicle will have this problem if it sits with water.

Rivian treated us really well and the folks at the service center are great also. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another or recommend them which I do.

I have heard through the grape vine that Rivian is opening two new service center. One in Chester county PA and one in Glen Burnie, MD. Service is getting better.

What I would suggest is using my checklist that's available on my website. Thoroughly go through the vehicle on delivery day and plan on going back to the service center at least once to address little issues from delivery. You may not have any even on the replacement. We had some little issues like scuffs on the wheel and a piece of the Halo trim was misaligned and needed to be replaced.

But as I said before, service requires a lot of patience currently. While this will improve with time, I'm still telling folks that if Service is a big concern. Whether it's distance or waiting for an appointment, it might be best to hold for a little bit. It's much better when folks know what to expect going in.

 

[BearMan123]

Hey gents,

I am 2 weeks into Gen2 R1S and have a BMW ix Xdrive 50 sitting next to it in the garage.

The Regional Manager at Rivian reached out to me today with particular questions on rhe NVH/vibrations from the heat pump. One can feel this under your feet, in the steering wheel and open the window to enjoy listening to it.

I've reached the point since I own another EV with no similar problems that they either come up with a solution for the NVH from the new heat pump, or I'll push it back to them nicely or the hard way lemon law. My build was $97k and I've never had even a gas car with this much NVH. My diesel Range Rover was vastly more quiet.

I'll keep you posted. I can handle some quirks, although mirrors losing settings evety day presents safety issues which I suspect will be fixed. On this one, if they can't fix, I am no longer interested in owning no matter how cool the car is in many other areas.

 

[ads75]

Nov 2022 delivery, 22k miles, about 30 minutes from Lancaster, 3 service center appointments at 3 different service centers in a year.

1. 12v batteries died in my driveway last summer. It took close to 3 weeks for mobile service to "be in my area" to replace them. When they replaced them, something wasn't reconnected correctly, resulting in errors, Rivian towed the R1T to Brooklyn and back to me. When I reported the errors, they had the truck towed into Brooklyn in within a couple days, and returned a couple days later. I do not remember being offered a loaner/rental for this, but I also did not ask for one since I had another vehicle.

2. Truck would get errors and lockout/turtle mode after high speed charging (sometimes). First time it happened, I was around 400 miles from home, Rivian began making arrangements to tow to my nearest service center and arrange a rental for me. The truck eventually reset after I left it for more than 30 minutes to allow it to go into a sleep cycle. The weather was in the low 30s, I was glad there were open stores I could go to when this happened to warm up, and not late at night. Also glad I didn't have a dog with me I would have to worry about (probably can't bring a dog into the stores). The second time this happened I got an appointment in Gaithersburg (2.5 hours away), I think they took just under 2 weeks to fix it, had a Ford Excursion as a rental. I have not experienced this issue since they fixed it (I think I have only used high speed charging 2-3 times since then)

3. A couple months after going in for Gaithersburg, Rivian called me to replace my tonneau cover. I brought it into Trenton (temporary facility, 1.5 hours away). They told me it would take 7-14 days, it took 13. There was no troubleshooting needed for it, they had the parts on hand, it just took them that long to get to it. Had a smokey F-150 as a rental. I have to admit it bothered me they couldn't do the tonneau cover a couple months earlier when it was in Gaithersburg, but they didn't either have the parts or the time then. The tonneau replacement won't bother new R1T owners since its a new design, or R1S owners since they don't have one. But this is still an example of current service times.

People say Rivian should be opening a new facility in/near Malvern Pennsylvania. That location would be great. But it isn't open yet. Rivian may change their plans on that location based on state laws, local laws, building difficulties, or financial concerns.

I do admit the 3rd service center visit in a year does have me considering potential replacements. I think my R1T has been unavailable to me for about 6 weeks in the last year.

Edit: I forgot to add, I never had a problem talking to or dealing with anyone at Rivian. And every time it has been in for service, I never expected or required a follow up call. I have always had the attitude “call me when it’s ready”.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

Short answer to your question - Yes, get a R1S! Amazing vehicle!
Issues - it's never been underivable, but some small annoyances do occur every now and then. SC tends to be with a long wait time for me (Bay Area - 3+ months of waiting for SC) but knock on wood I've never had a critical issue.

SSF SC?

 

[twraps]

SSF SC?

Yes. I am in East Bay and this is the closest one. I see Sacramento has a little bit less of a wait time but it's 1.5hrs each way (SF is "only" 1hr each way, similar to SJ).

 

[JamesR]

Hell yes you should!

Personal opinion: save a little $ and get a 24 Gen 1

I have the R1S and absolutely love driving it. No issues since I bought it. I live in Reno and the Service center is 6 1/2 miles away from me in Sparks,NV which is a bonus if something is up. I have the dark green, dual motor, large battery, adv, with 21 wheels and tires and I'm getting on a full charge 351 miles of range.

 

[runwithscissors]

I would lease and get the $7500 credit and in 3 years look to purchase when it will be much better with battery tech etc... A lot of us were forced to buy since the leasing option wasn't available at the time but to me it's a no brainer to lease them now.

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