Hi all,
I’ve had my R1T for 30 days and I just wanted to share my thoughts and experiences so far. I got the R1T for more overall utility and to have a little more space for everything from sports equipment, bikes/gear, kids things (car seats, strollers, etc). The truck checked all those boxes coming from a Tesla Model Y. While the R1S probably would’ve been more suitable for someone with 2 kids in car seats, my wife has a Subaru Ascent if we need the extra seats. I ended up with something I can do everything I need to without worrying about whether or not it will fit.
The ride to me is a lot more comfortable than my Model Y. I’m 5’10 and the seats are comfortable. Although I do wish they were a touch wider or not as deep because at times I feel the compression on my thigh because it’s on the ridge of the seat. Not terrible, just reminds me to adjust my position. I like the fact that the suspension adjusts height while on extended high speed drives to be slightly more aero. So much more capable off road than the model Y, (I had A/Ts on my Y and did easy trails). It was always jarring with the Model Y but the Rivian rides so much smoother even on the 21” road tires. As far as space, I have the truck bed, I had the gear tunnel, I have the trunk. Eventually I’ll have the rear seat storage once the car seats are gone. Infotainment system is great, sure it’s not as responsive as Tesla’s but I haven’t had to do a soft reset or anything of the sort because it froze or anything. I’ve never had ventilated seats before so that’s mind blowing especially in Southern California. It’s interesting how much more committed to adventuring I’ve gotten since I’ve gotten the truck. I’ve been outdoorsy type, but more in the beach going, MTB type. Now I want to drive through national parks and camp (which my 4 year old is excited for). Eventually I’ll get some gear together for a trip and some time away from
the work grind. So far so good, even with some issues I’ve encountered.
First issue was with a license plate transfer. When I picked up the car they were unaware that I opted to keep the plate from my trade-in. They just needed to gather a form and a signature, but it should not have been an issue. The 2nd was that I wish they had the initial walkthrough of the car in a better lit area. I should’ve requested it but I was too wrapped up in the excitement of a new car. Because of it I missed some scratches to the interior metal trim of the driver’s door. But at this point I feel like it’s too late to point out and I don’t expect my cars to stay in perfect condition, especially with kids. My 3rd issue happened when I was testing out the air compressor. This could be user error, please enlighten me if I’m wrong lol, but when I was airing back up after a trail I set the pressure back to 48 psi and I hit start. I let it go until it stopped but when I started driving I noticed that 3 of my tires were between 57-59psi. I drove to the service center because I had to sign a form for my plates anyways and asked about it, they had no explanation and asked me to put in a service ticket. Gotta wait until October for that one.
Last thing is probably the biggest concern and just happened 2 days ago. I got the “service 12V battery” paired with “thermal fault detected, contact service if problem persists”. Luckily it happened before I was out of my neighborhood and drove it back to my house, during that time I realized that my A/C wasn’t blowing any cold air. I called service which took a couple calls to get through, but was able to get the earliest service appointment available which I had to wait a couple of days since it happened on a weekend, service centers only open on weekdays. We did go through trying to do the resets and that did not get rid of the error messages. They recommended that the truck be towed to the service center but they hit me with the “if Rivian finds that a tow was not needed, you’re liable for the cost of the tow”. I’m 90% sure it would’ve been fine, but I decided to drive the car in myself. Took the car into service today, I had an enterprise rental ready and set up (compact/mid-size SUV, Toyota Rav4 or something similar) with the service rep during my phone call a couple nights back. I asked for a loaner and they had a R1S Quad available. So now I’m in that until they figure out what’s wrong with my R1T, I’m thinking a short in the HVAC system somewhere. 12v battery is definitely worrisome because if it dies, I’d probably not be able to get into the car if it’s similar to Tesla. But overall I can’t complain too much since they were able to get me back into another Rivian until they fix mine. I know everyone’s experiences will vary but I just wanted to share my initial experiences.
Thanks for reading
I’ve had my R1T for 30 days and I just wanted to share my thoughts and experiences so far. I got the R1T for more overall utility and to have a little more space for everything from sports equipment, bikes/gear, kids things (car seats, strollers, etc). The truck checked all those boxes coming from a Tesla Model Y. While the R1S probably would’ve been more suitable for someone with 2 kids in car seats, my wife has a Subaru Ascent if we need the extra seats. I ended up with something I can do everything I need to without worrying about whether or not it will fit.
The ride to me is a lot more comfortable than my Model Y. I’m 5’10 and the seats are comfortable. Although I do wish they were a touch wider or not as deep because at times I feel the compression on my thigh because it’s on the ridge of the seat. Not terrible, just reminds me to adjust my position. I like the fact that the suspension adjusts height while on extended high speed drives to be slightly more aero. So much more capable off road than the model Y, (I had A/Ts on my Y and did easy trails). It was always jarring with the Model Y but the Rivian rides so much smoother even on the 21” road tires. As far as space, I have the truck bed, I had the gear tunnel, I have the trunk. Eventually I’ll have the rear seat storage once the car seats are gone. Infotainment system is great, sure it’s not as responsive as Tesla’s but I haven’t had to do a soft reset or anything of the sort because it froze or anything. I’ve never had ventilated seats before so that’s mind blowing especially in Southern California. It’s interesting how much more committed to adventuring I’ve gotten since I’ve gotten the truck. I’ve been outdoorsy type, but more in the beach going, MTB type. Now I want to drive through national parks and camp (which my 4 year old is excited for). Eventually I’ll get some gear together for a trip and some time away from
the work grind. So far so good, even with some issues I’ve encountered.
First issue was with a license plate transfer. When I picked up the car they were unaware that I opted to keep the plate from my trade-in. They just needed to gather a form and a signature, but it should not have been an issue. The 2nd was that I wish they had the initial walkthrough of the car in a better lit area. I should’ve requested it but I was too wrapped up in the excitement of a new car. Because of it I missed some scratches to the interior metal trim of the driver’s door. But at this point I feel like it’s too late to point out and I don’t expect my cars to stay in perfect condition, especially with kids. My 3rd issue happened when I was testing out the air compressor. This could be user error, please enlighten me if I’m wrong lol, but when I was airing back up after a trail I set the pressure back to 48 psi and I hit start. I let it go until it stopped but when I started driving I noticed that 3 of my tires were between 57-59psi. I drove to the service center because I had to sign a form for my plates anyways and asked about it, they had no explanation and asked me to put in a service ticket. Gotta wait until October for that one.
Last thing is probably the biggest concern and just happened 2 days ago. I got the “service 12V battery” paired with “thermal fault detected, contact service if problem persists”. Luckily it happened before I was out of my neighborhood and drove it back to my house, during that time I realized that my A/C wasn’t blowing any cold air. I called service which took a couple calls to get through, but was able to get the earliest service appointment available which I had to wait a couple of days since it happened on a weekend, service centers only open on weekdays. We did go through trying to do the resets and that did not get rid of the error messages. They recommended that the truck be towed to the service center but they hit me with the “if Rivian finds that a tow was not needed, you’re liable for the cost of the tow”. I’m 90% sure it would’ve been fine, but I decided to drive the car in myself. Took the car into service today, I had an enterprise rental ready and set up (compact/mid-size SUV, Toyota Rav4 or something similar) with the service rep during my phone call a couple nights back. I asked for a loaner and they had a R1S Quad available. So now I’m in that until they figure out what’s wrong with my R1T, I’m thinking a short in the HVAC system somewhere. 12v battery is definitely worrisome because if it dies, I’d probably not be able to get into the car if it’s similar to Tesla. But overall I can’t complain too much since they were able to get me back into another Rivian until they fix mine. I know everyone’s experiences will vary but I just wanted to share my initial experiences.
Thanks for reading
