DougAz
Active Member
- Thread starter
- #1
I found this forum really beneficial to keep me informed of all things Rivian. Time for me to give back. Took delivery four week ago and truck has over 1k miles. I will try to be as objective as possible and won’t spend much time on things that have been already discussed multiple times.
DELIVERY
Closest service center is 250 miles. I decided to pick it up for faster delivery. Employees at the service center were very courteous. Typical paperwork and truck introduction; I was done in 25 minutes, and honestly my inspection took the longest. I was so excited that my inspection was not as meticulous as I had planned, but the truck was in pretty good shape. I am not new to EV. I was one of the early Tesla Model 3 adopters. If I compare my two experiences, the Rivian was superior hands down. The Tesla had deep scratches in the rear door that required major paint repairs. One of the bumper’s sonic sensors was missing, damaged front spoiler and light scratches in several body panel. Panel gaps were surprisingly good, and interior trim was perfect.
Going back to the Rivian. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the R1T during delivery. That was until I got on the freeway. Over 60 mph, I experience excessive wind noise coming from the driver’s vent window.
Positives: the interior had no rattles; wheel alignment was perfect and did not leave me stranded during the first five miles (a few of those horror stories I read in this forum). Drive home sucked a bit; sucked a lot for my wife because she wasn’t driving the Rivian lol. Remember, home is a 250 miles drive. Conserve model will give my 296 miles, so I told myself “just drive like a grandpa and you will be fine”. Mmm wrong. Truck asked me to take an alternate route because according to the computer I was not going to make it home. Added an hour to the trip. That was a bit of a bummer; Tesla had similar range and that was never an issue. I did not want to risk it, so I followed instructions
Many people here mentioned that software was not as good as Tesla’s (yet). That was my first experience. It will be nice for the truck to provide the battery deficit. If total energy to get home was -2%, I’d be telling a different story. At the end, it is not a big deal. I am sure this is going to improve with OTA updates. I went thought the same thing with the Model 3. The software was not very good at the beginning, but after two years it was amazing. I have the same expectation for Rivian.
EXPERIENCE
Let me start with this: Is the truck perfect? No. Is it worth it? Yes. I mentioned at the beginning that I was going to be objective. Also, my comments are based on my own experience and my truck. Every truck is very similar but not the same. After reading many reviews, I had some ideal of what to expect and look for. Excessive wind noise from vent window; yep. Weird noises from the suspension; yep. Faster and more violent acceleration than Model 3; yep ?. More compliant ride quality; yep. Good sound system after messing with EQ; yep. “Don’t touch me that I break” tonneau cover; yep. Get anxious with that thing every time I open it? yep.
Anyway, I live in a rural area, so I have easy access to rivers, mountain and desert. Heck, I drive on a dirt road to get to work, which implies more vibration than the city folks with their paved road. I knew I was going to experience rattles, but not after the first week. Week four and I have rattles in the dashboard and both front doors. The one from the dashboard is coming from the speaker grill. How I know this? I apply pressure on it and that takes care of it. Experience same rattle during the demo drive. About the doors, I am not sure. I will let Rivian figure that one out. I should not be taking door trim apart this early in my ownership. And, that is one of the disappointments.
This truck’s interior and suspension are noisy, more than the 8-year-old SUV it replaced. I have no previous experience with off-road capable vehicles, so not sure if suspension noises are normal. Not sure what to think. A lot of people are experiencing this, including my friend who also drives an R1T. Something I liked about Rivian a lot is that they did not rush the product. They had plenty of time to bulletproof the design, so I am not too happy about the issues with the tonneau cover, suspension recall and rattles. We are beta testers, and I am okay with that. I just wasn’t expecting that many issues this early. And just yesterday, it was pouring on the way home and one of the wipers decided to stop working. My friend’s experience is somewhat similar too (and he also loves his R1T).
If you are on the fence about buying this truck, I don’t want to discourage you. Just keep in mind that the truck is not perfect. Many YouTube reviewers get to drive the vehicle for a couple of hours/days. That is not enough time for a comprehensive review. Heck, four weeks is not a great timeline either. There are R1T owners that had bad experiences, that is for sure, but remember that humans have a tendency to complain more, praise less. There are a lot of happy RIT owners out there; they are just not vocal.
In summary, it is great truck and I don’t regret buying it. Truck is fun to drive, easy to maneuver, makes off-roading easy, interior screams quality, good tech, solid powertrain, beautiful design and clever storage. And, kids (including this one) love it.
DELIVERY
Closest service center is 250 miles. I decided to pick it up for faster delivery. Employees at the service center were very courteous. Typical paperwork and truck introduction; I was done in 25 minutes, and honestly my inspection took the longest. I was so excited that my inspection was not as meticulous as I had planned, but the truck was in pretty good shape. I am not new to EV. I was one of the early Tesla Model 3 adopters. If I compare my two experiences, the Rivian was superior hands down. The Tesla had deep scratches in the rear door that required major paint repairs. One of the bumper’s sonic sensors was missing, damaged front spoiler and light scratches in several body panel. Panel gaps were surprisingly good, and interior trim was perfect.
Going back to the Rivian. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the R1T during delivery. That was until I got on the freeway. Over 60 mph, I experience excessive wind noise coming from the driver’s vent window.
Positives: the interior had no rattles; wheel alignment was perfect and did not leave me stranded during the first five miles (a few of those horror stories I read in this forum). Drive home sucked a bit; sucked a lot for my wife because she wasn’t driving the Rivian lol. Remember, home is a 250 miles drive. Conserve model will give my 296 miles, so I told myself “just drive like a grandpa and you will be fine”. Mmm wrong. Truck asked me to take an alternate route because according to the computer I was not going to make it home. Added an hour to the trip. That was a bit of a bummer; Tesla had similar range and that was never an issue. I did not want to risk it, so I followed instructions
Many people here mentioned that software was not as good as Tesla’s (yet). That was my first experience. It will be nice for the truck to provide the battery deficit. If total energy to get home was -2%, I’d be telling a different story. At the end, it is not a big deal. I am sure this is going to improve with OTA updates. I went thought the same thing with the Model 3. The software was not very good at the beginning, but after two years it was amazing. I have the same expectation for Rivian.EXPERIENCE
Let me start with this: Is the truck perfect? No. Is it worth it? Yes. I mentioned at the beginning that I was going to be objective. Also, my comments are based on my own experience and my truck. Every truck is very similar but not the same. After reading many reviews, I had some ideal of what to expect and look for. Excessive wind noise from vent window; yep. Weird noises from the suspension; yep. Faster and more violent acceleration than Model 3; yep ?. More compliant ride quality; yep. Good sound system after messing with EQ; yep. “Don’t touch me that I break” tonneau cover; yep. Get anxious with that thing every time I open it? yep.
Anyway, I live in a rural area, so I have easy access to rivers, mountain and desert. Heck, I drive on a dirt road to get to work, which implies more vibration than the city folks with their paved road. I knew I was going to experience rattles, but not after the first week. Week four and I have rattles in the dashboard and both front doors. The one from the dashboard is coming from the speaker grill. How I know this? I apply pressure on it and that takes care of it. Experience same rattle during the demo drive. About the doors, I am not sure. I will let Rivian figure that one out. I should not be taking door trim apart this early in my ownership. And, that is one of the disappointments.
This truck’s interior and suspension are noisy, more than the 8-year-old SUV it replaced. I have no previous experience with off-road capable vehicles, so not sure if suspension noises are normal. Not sure what to think. A lot of people are experiencing this, including my friend who also drives an R1T. Something I liked about Rivian a lot is that they did not rush the product. They had plenty of time to bulletproof the design, so I am not too happy about the issues with the tonneau cover, suspension recall and rattles. We are beta testers, and I am okay with that. I just wasn’t expecting that many issues this early. And just yesterday, it was pouring on the way home and one of the wipers decided to stop working. My friend’s experience is somewhat similar too (and he also loves his R1T).
If you are on the fence about buying this truck, I don’t want to discourage you. Just keep in mind that the truck is not perfect. Many YouTube reviewers get to drive the vehicle for a couple of hours/days. That is not enough time for a comprehensive review. Heck, four weeks is not a great timeline either. There are R1T owners that had bad experiences, that is for sure, but remember that humans have a tendency to complain more, praise less. There are a lot of happy RIT owners out there; they are just not vocal.
In summary, it is great truck and I don’t regret buying it. Truck is fun to drive, easy to maneuver, makes off-roading easy, interior screams quality, good tech, solid powertrain, beautiful design and clever storage. And, kids (including this one) love it.
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