Rivian R1s

[Anonymous]

I have a friend with one and she loves it. I have 2 teslas and chose them over the rivian because of the lack of charging network. I take the teslas on long road trips (1500 miles round trip) a couple of times a year and didn’t want to deal with the headache of charging a rivian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend with one and she loves it. I have 2 teslas and chose them over the rivian because of the lack of charging network. I take the teslas on long road trips (1500 miles round trip) a couple of times a year and didn’t want to deal with the headache of charging a rivian.

Good thing you can now charge Rivians at most Tesla superchargers, with an adapter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:About 18 months in with our R1S. It's a fantastic vehicle, and the software updates continue to further simplify the controls and more importantly, improve the ride. The ride has been dramatically improved with multiple software updates. Vehicle weight requiring frequent tire replacement is def a downside, I replaced mine at 23k (and ditched the Pirellis, there are better replacement options). I've been lucky, only a minor window issue so far, but service appointments can take time.

I don’t understand how this is even possible, because it’s the same components in the suspension as it came from the factory with. You’re changing software, not the springs, struts, shocks and dampers. Those are all mechanical items and they have a finite amount of adjustment, if any adjustment at all.

I have a race car. I can change my suspension settings with adjustability in the components. I can increase or decrease spring rates by swapping springs, I can limit or increase travel by adjusting links and bump stops. But all this involves putting a wrench on something and turning it or swapping a part. I have one suspension for Summit Point and another for VIR and Pocono. But each involves removing and replacing parts.

I can conceive of adjustable suspensions for different ride modes - comfort, sport, eco, ect - that typically change the shock damping rates or ride height. Range Rover has a system that does this. And if this is what Rivian is doing - simply changing ride modes - then why the hell did they release the vehicle before those different modes were ready? Are they letting the customers be the beta test for suspension settings? Because that’s outrageous. And dangerous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About 18 months in with our R1S. It's a fantastic vehicle, and the software updates continue to further simplify the controls and more importantly, improve the ride. The ride has been dramatically improved with multiple software updates. Vehicle weight requiring frequent tire replacement is def a downside, I replaced mine at 23k (and ditched the Pirellis, there are better replacement options). I've been lucky, only a minor window issue so far, but service appointments can take time.

I don’t understand how this is even possible, because it’s the same components in the suspension as it came from the factory with. You’re changing software, not the springs, struts, shocks and dampers. Those are all mechanical items and they have a finite amount of adjustment, if any adjustment at all.

I have a race car. I can change my suspension settings with adjustability in the components. I can increase or decrease spring rates by swapping springs, I can limit or increase travel by adjusting links and bump stops. But all this involves putting a wrench on something and turning it or swapping a part. I have one suspension for Summit Point and another for VIR and Pocono. But each involves removing and replacing parts.

I can conceive of adjustable suspensions for different ride modes - comfort, sport, eco, ect - that typically change the shock damping rates or ride height. Range Rover has a system that does this. And if this is what Rivian is doing - simply changing ride modes - then why the hell did they release the vehicle before those different modes were ready? Are they letting the customers be the beta test for suspension settings? Because that’s outrageous. And dangerous.

Or they're just improving settings that were safe but maybe not tuned for comfort?

If you follow racing you know that upgrading software packages is a regular occurrence—it's not that the car couldn't race but over time as they collect data they understand how to tweak it better.

[Anonymous]

Love the R1S, love the interface and Spotify, the cabin room is great, and the fronk is totally underrated for additional storage. Charging it at home and never having to fill up at a gas station is life changing.

I just took it on a road trip (east coast) and while i had anxiety over charging before going, it was really easy. The Rivian network is great and you just plug in, used EVGo and it worked, and used a Tesla magicdock that doesn't need an adapter. Just plug in and have the family eat/stretch every 3 hours or so. Also the conserve mode really works and gives extra range, but is not great to run all the time due to front tire wear over time.

What maintenance is needed? Washer fluid. and rotate tires every 7500 miles. that's basically it.

Cons: Service appointment timelines, tire wear. Suspension isn't as good as the truck version but is fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About 18 months in with our R1S. It's a fantastic vehicle, and the software updates continue to further simplify the controls and more importantly, improve the ride. The ride has been dramatically improved with multiple software updates. Vehicle weight requiring frequent tire replacement is def a downside, I replaced mine at 23k (and ditched the Pirellis, there are better replacement options). I've been lucky, only a minor window issue so far, but service appointments can take time.

I don’t understand how this is even possible, because it’s the same components in the suspension as it came from the factory with. You’re changing software, not the springs, struts, shocks and dampers. Those are all mechanical items and they have a finite amount of adjustment, if any adjustment at all.

I have a race car. I can change my suspension settings with adjustability in the components. I can increase or decrease spring rates by swapping springs, I can limit or increase travel by adjusting links and bump stops. But all this involves putting a wrench on something and turning it or swapping a part. I have one suspension for Summit Point and another for VIR and Pocono. But each involves removing and replacing parts.

I can conceive of adjustable suspensions for different ride modes - comfort, sport, eco, ect - that typically change the shock damping rates or ride height. Range Rover has a system that does this. And if this is what Rivian is doing - simply changing ride modes - then why the hell did they release the vehicle before those different modes were ready? Are they letting the customers be the beta test for suspension settings? Because that’s outrageous. And dangerous.

I was a semi-pro racer in Europe and the Middle East. And yes, many suspension settings are software controlled now. Damping, spring rates, rebound much of which can be controlled from the wheel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About 18 months in with our R1S. It's a fantastic vehicle, and the software updates continue to further simplify the controls and more importantly, improve the ride. The ride has been dramatically improved with multiple software updates. Vehicle weight requiring frequent tire replacement is def a downside, I replaced mine at 23k (and ditched the Pirellis, there are better replacement options). I've been lucky, only a minor window issue so far, but service appointments can take time.

I don’t understand how this is even possible, because it’s the same components in the suspension as it came from the factory with. You’re changing software, not the springs, struts, shocks and dampers. Those are all mechanical items and they have a finite amount of adjustment, if any adjustment at all.

I have a race car. I can change my suspension settings with adjustability in the components. I can increase or decrease spring rates by swapping springs, I can limit or increase travel by adjusting links and bump stops. But all this involves putting a wrench on something and turning it or swapping a part. I have one suspension for Summit Point and another for VIR and Pocono. But each involves removing and replacing parts.

I can conceive of adjustable suspensions for different ride modes - comfort, sport, eco, ect - that typically change the shock damping rates or ride height. Range Rover has a system that does this. And if this is what Rivian is doing - simply changing ride modes - then why the hell did they release the vehicle before those different modes were ready? Are they letting the customers be the beta test for suspension settings? Because that’s outrageous. And dangerous.

I was a semi-pro racer in Europe and the Middle East. And yes, many suspension settings are software controlled now. Damping, spring rates, rebound much of which can be controlled from the wheel.

Yes, I understand that.

My point is that all the possible settings and all the possible adjustability of the components are already IN the components themselves to begin with. If, for example, a shock has 50 mm of travel, then nothing is going to change that, short of swapping in a longer shock with more travel.

So all these “settings” are really limited by the components themselves, and the range of settings is limited to what the components allow for.

And if the range of settings is limited - as it is - then there’s no excuse for a manufacturer to release a product where settings haven’t been completely evaluated beforehand based on the limits of the components. There should be no mystery or further room for improving or refining existing installed components.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend with one and she loves it. I have 2 teslas and chose them over the rivian because of the lack of charging network. I take the teslas on long road trips (1500 miles round trip) a couple of times a year and didn’t want to deal with the headache of charging a rivian.

Good thing you can now charge Rivians at most Tesla superchargers, with an adapter.

Non teslas get upcharged or have to pay a $13 monthly membership fee to get Tesla pricing. I don’t supercharge expect on road trips and wouldn’t want to pay the monthly fee. The upcharge is not great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love the R1S, love the interface and Spotify, the cabin room is great, and the fronk is totally underrated for additional storage. Charging it at home and never having to fill up at a gas station is life changing.

I just took it on a road trip (east coast) and while i had anxiety over charging before going, it was really easy. The Rivian network is great and you just plug in, used EVGo and it worked, and used a Tesla magicdock that doesn't need an adapter. Just plug in and have the family eat/stretch every 3 hours or so. Also the conserve mode really works and gives extra range, but is not great to run all the time due to front tire wear over time.

What maintenance is needed? Washer fluid. and rotate tires every 7500 miles. that's basically it.

Cons: Service appointment timelines, tire wear. Suspension isn't as good as the truck version but is fine.

I love carplay more. It's the biggest reason I won't get a Rivian or Tesla

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The worst thing to happen to Rivian is having to part ways with Ford. Instead, the are tying up with Volkswagen because if anyone knows the American truck market, it’s VW.

Don’t listen to this guy… Rivian isn’t trying to benefit from these relationships in any way other than needing cash as they grow. Ford, now VW, are interested in Rivians software stack for operating electric vehicles. It’s very complicated to develop this tech and the investment can make a lot more sense than doing your own R&D. Rivian’s EV stack is great (their autonomy stack is not though, it’s way behind Tesla, Mercedes, etc).

Rivians are marvelous vehicles. They are well engineered and built like tanks. A lot of the early kinks have been worked out. Yes they are heavy (all EVs are) and you have to replace tires more often (~25k like someone else said) but that is about the only maintenance cost for EVs, and you do get charging/fuel savings after accounting for the L2 charger home install (break even is typically between 18mo and 2 yrs but depends on how much you drive).

How is that the only maintenance cost? Being a heavy vehicle, doesn't it go through brakes faster, too? Is it impossible for the suspension to fail?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend with one and she loves it. I have 2 teslas and chose them over the rivian because of the lack of charging network. I take the teslas on long road trips (1500 miles round trip) a couple of times a year and didn’t want to deal with the headache of charging a rivian.

Good thing you can now charge Rivians at most Tesla superchargers, with an adapter.

Non teslas get upcharged or have to pay a $13 monthly membership fee to get Tesla pricing. I don’t supercharge expect on road trips and wouldn’t want to pay the monthly fee. The upcharge is not great.

If you don’t supercharge except on road trips, the yearly additional cost is minimal.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:My friend bought one and had continual problems with it and finally returned it under Virginia's lemon law. I don't know how common that experience is however.

Can you elaborate on this? Did they share the specific issues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
DCUM-

Do folks have any first hand knowledge about the R1S?

How is service in general for Rivian?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

I think they look so cool, especially the generation II 2025 model year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
DCUM-

Do folks have any first hand knowledge about the R1S?

How is service in general for Rivian?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

I think they look so cool, especially the generation II 2025 model year.

I think they just copied the styling cues from a Jeep Wagoneer.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:My friend bought one and had continual problems with it and finally returned it under Virginia's lemon law. I don't know how common that experience is however.

Can you elaborate on this? Did they share the specific issues?

Yes, the problem was electrical issues. I don't know all of the problems but one was that the turn signals would not work. He kept taking it in for service, they would have it for a while, but then when he got it back the problem was still there.