Software Team Needs a Revamp

[majorfriend]

I also came from a Tesla and am disappointed by the bugginess of the Rivian software. This is especially so when it comes to the app which is all but USELESS. It never seems to be able to do anything unless I'm physically next to the vehicle. Want to turn the AC on while you're in the store? Sorry, "vehicle is offline" (or some similar error). Want to view the gear guard cameras to see what's going on around your vehicle? Sorry, failed to load. 8/10 times, none of the functions work in the app.

Don't get me started on the litany of other random errors that pop up and go away on their own. I had a month or two where the adaptive highbeams were "unavailable, service soon." That was fixed with an update. Surround sensors unavailable, service soon. Occasionally I get a "trailer brake controller malfunction, service soon." All of these errors go away on their own but it isn't exactly confidence inspiring.

Totally different from my and most owner's experiences.

Rivian software is very widely considered to be miles ahead of everyone except Tesla (and maybe the Chinese).

Sponsored

 

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

Many people have reported issues after almost every OTA. Is it as bad as an MS OS update? No.

I have had my fair share of issues. I just deal with it, since I volunteered to be a guinea pig when I signed on the dotted line. Though most of us that purchased a Riv prior to 2024 should have a similar mindset, not everyone will. Anyone buying a Gen2 Riv would definitely expect better quality. Should they? I think not, but I am not going to judge them for thinking so.

Does the s/w team need to be replaced, fired, revamped like the OP posted? No. They sure need to improve.

 

[TM1]

Totally different from my and most owner's experiences.

Rivian software is very widely considered to be miles ahead of everyone except Tesla (and maybe the Chinese).

I've observed many people take their own personal experiences and project that the experience must surely apply to the majority of others. It is perfectly legit for everyone to say, "this is what I have observed", but one can only then generalize if one conducts an unbiased survey with a large enough sample size to say that it is most likely a general trend - one can then state error bars as to how likely it is to apply to the general population.

Even though we personally see many things, generalizing is a risky business as our circle of contacts and experience is just a drop in the ocean and may not represent the general state of affairs.

I don't doubt that Rivian is far ahead of others other than Tesla, but Rivian still has a lot of loose ends to clean up if it wants to be a premier brand. The fact that VW has picked them to partner with supports the view that Rivian is ahead of others - or at least ahead of others that it can team up with.

 

[riv-e-in]

For anyone experiencing issues with their car, when an issue occurs, long touch (6 seconds?? ridiculously long timespan of distracted driving to obtain a data capture) the driver name on the center screen until “vehicle diagnostics captured” appears on the upper part of the screen. This is a way for the techs to more quickly navigate to parts of the data stream where issues may be happening. They also like having the time and date logged for each issue, but that’s generally not possible while driving.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

For anyone experiencing issues with their car, when an issue occurs, long touch (6 seconds?? ridiculously long timespan of distracted driving to obtain a data capture) the driver name on the center screen until “vehicle diagnostics captured” appears on the upper part of the screen. This is a way for the techs to more quickly navigate to parts of the data stream where issues may be happening. They also like having the time and date logged for each issue, but that’s generally not possible while driving.

Tapping the hazards button does the same thing, but instantly.

 

[theonetruestripes]

For those saying they rarely reboot their computer, regardless of OS, do you ever install updates? Every OS I’ve ever used/use, and I currently develop on Fedora 42, requires a reboot after installing an update.

There is a huge difference between deciding to do an update and rebooting a system on your schedule, and having the system reboot because it fails, or failing and needing a reboot before it can actually be used.

This difference is magnified in things like cars where a reboot at some times poses a safety issue. Rebooting while parked in a parking lot is safe, but a reboot while driving can be problematic. Even if “all” you lose is say feedback about turn signals (and maybe the ability to operate turn signals), reverse cameras, any driver assistance features, and the speedo. Oh, and all HVAC controls like “defrost now!”.

If you think of computers as employees hired to do a job, Linux rarely calls in sick (maybe once every few years), and works with you to schedule his vacation time when nobody needs him. The OP’s Rivian shows up late. Leaves on long lunches. Steps out for a smoke break at 2PM or 3PM and doesn’t return for 3 hours.

You could work with someone like that, but it isn’t fun if you need to rely on them for something.

Also: have you ever updated the OS on a Tandem non-stop. They don’t reboot for it. They take migrate tasks to a subset of the CPUs, upgrade some of the system, flow the tasks back, and update the rest of the system. For 30 year old technology it is quite amazing. Also you can hot swap most parts of the hardware. Some tandem systems with decades of uptime are running on hardware that is all under a decade old (except I guess the backplane?). I mean, that isn’t exactly relevant, I’m not expecting Rivian to reinvent that kind of technology, and largely the world has moved on from wanting that kind of thing. Now we expect to address those kinds of applications with swarms of servers and you get a hold of one of them that is running and talk to it, and if it dies you talk to another. Far less expensive, and largely easier to manage the software for that sort of thing.

Sponsored