If you missed it, here was our more thorough review from a few weeks back, hope you're well! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hySr6khNP4M.html
I think your door won't lock with the remote inside cause it doesn't want to lock you out of the vehicle. It doesn't necessarily know if you have your phone with you. Other manufactures that have smart keys-push button starts do the same thing.
Bro Hows are the safety features? , I live in OC and wanted to know if the Battery can survive extreme heat when parked outside from June - Sep every year.
Thanks Ben. Got my R1T probably the same week you did in San Diego. You absolutely nailed all the good and the bad. I cannot emphasize how bad the navigation is on this truck. Tried going to the airport using it and it routed me twice through a secure marine base with armed guards. Being able to watch the bed camera as you haul is a must. I hope Rivian adds that soon. Another urgent update is the lane keeping on driver+. Multiple occasions on the “mapped” highway the truck will just lunge towards the median or the next lane. Very scary.
Not a leak. If you watch all the other videos, most complain of the same thing. It just needs to be reprogrammed from factory. Hopefully they will offer soon.
Mine did the same thing, tech came out to the house. Did some computer stuff, then said it needed to go into the shop. Flatbed took it for 10 days! I bitched and got it back to the house. Then, sold it with 170 miles and pocketed 39 k after wards! Just paid off my GT3 balance.. thanks Rivian🤘
Thanks for the review! I have had an R1T for the past 2 1/2 months and have tried to adjust to and look past all of the same things (the locking, crazy acting suspension and software frustrations). I kept my 2020 Ram Limited during this time and I have found myself using it more than the Rivian because of the frustrations and the lack of trust in the vehicle (particularly the locking / security issue). I love the truck in SO MANY ways but, there has not been a single time that I have driven it that I didn't get extremely frustrated with some of these shortcomings. I'm really sad to say it but, it's time for the Rivian to go. I wish nothing but success, growth and profitability for Rivian!! I'm an early adopter, share holder and believer and I want to see them thrive!!! The engineering is AMAZING!!!!! They just tried to get too clever on the software side of things and it just doesn't work for me right now.......
On the plus side.. if you’re not familiar with OTA updates like Tesla.. IF Rivian built the subsystems right.. they can fix EVERYTHING you’re talking about, without the Truck needing to leave your garage.
I am waiting for an honest review that just says...this thing is a toy and not well thought out, I mean a truck with no rear bumper step??? really? Lots of stuff to break. That front truck looks not user friendly, it needs a drop down in the front for easy access without LIFTING everything to armpit level, silly that this wasn't done.
I used Android Auto for many years, but I found Tesla's built in system personally to be far superior. Android Auto was decent but it's a general solution whereas Tesla is able to tailor the software to their specific needs and vehicles so I find it all just works and flows much better. I don't know about Rivian's setup though and I've never use Apple's Carplay so I can't comment on those, but I easily prefer Tesla's system to Android Auto and would never go back.
Android Auto, specially old versions, is not even comparable, I don't think. The comparison would be against current Android automotive software, like the one found on a polestar 2, that's a completely different take, way closer to Tesla's. The future Apple Carplay also seems like a decent alternative.
@John Kim I find that even on multiple hour long journeys it's usually within a few minutes at most, and within 2% charge of what it estimated. Especially now that they include weather in the estimates! Maybe the only issue I run into is like you said, it won't reroute unless you go off route. It's good at avoiding traffic at the start of the journey, but on a long journey it would be nice for it to suggest a reroute if the traffic gets bad up ahead. Maybe if the journey time increases by say 10 minutes, look for a different route.
My guess is the main factor that keeps new companies from supporting Apple CarPlay and AndroidAuto is licensing fees. I've no idea about the financials but I bet it would be a significant cost, which they would have to add to the price of the vehicle.
Yeah I’m sure it’s annoying but they’ll figure that out and get a fix for it.. just give ‘em time. Think they’re currently overwhelmed with just not going bankrupt in the next couple years. Production is hard.. as someone is well known to say
I got into a Tesla and I thought the infotainment system was really good and smart despite being the first time in it, Tesla definitely did their homework. Rivian either had to have a very good software implementation on their own and not rely going through different platform like Alexa that can’t talk to the car properly. so my take is either built something very intuitive yourselves or let the people to have the option to use Apple CarPlay or android auto.
Thank you for spotlighting the charging experience up front. The narrative on EVs is to wake up with a full charge, but these giant pack EVs do not fit that.
It is an issue in the US. In Europe, especially in Germany basically all homes have a 3-phase 400V grid connection so you can easily run a 22kW wall charger off that and the bigger cars all have or at least offer optionally a 22kW 3-phase onboard charger. the 120V / 240V split phase system really does not help. I feel that electric mobility really should shift homes to the US industrial standard of 480V 3 phase connections. it will also help a lot with dryers and ACs and would reall reduced the cable diameters/ amount of copper that’s needed.
@@philipptielmann in UK most homes only have single phase 240 volts, but this rivian thing will not be sold in UK (at least in any numbers) as it wouldn't fit down our roads.
Glad you’re liking the truck! The Rivian interior just blows Tesla out of the water imo. Very impressive! Completely agree with you on the CarPlay situation. Needs to be resolved with Rivian and Tesla.
If this is related to the complaint that Tesla and/or Rivian should support Apple CarPlay in their vehicles, I think this is a really really naive request/expectation. These vehicles need tight integration between the OS and the vehicle. Supporting CarPlay would be a massive complication and would hand over “control”, in a sense, to Apple. And I don’t know Rivian’s roadmap, but given Tesla’s obvious self-driving roadmap, they need their OS to be doing all the navigation and they need every CPU cycle to be dedicated to processing/interpreting the visual environment. And for Tesla to hire extra developers to implement CarPlay support, those are requisitions that should be dedicated to increasing headcount in the FSD effort.
@@peters6454 tesla does 5000 a week and i get its a start-up but still if u are comparing it to Tesla in terms of interior quality it isnt fair because rivian is still a bespoke product compared to tesla which is mass market
Isn’t it pretty rare to need to charge from empty to full over night? If you can gain 120 miles of range in 6 hours, isn’t that only an issue if you average more driving per day than 120 miles?
Uhh wouldn’t that depend on the person? Also ev miles are not exactly indicative of actual miles driven. City yes highway no. Spring and fall maybe, summer and winter no.
@@billm1651 yes it would certainly depend on the person. And people should interpret based on their needs. But a failure to talk numbers doesn’t allow this. And the average American drives more than 100 miles in a single day only 3 times per year. If that’s not you, you will know, but it is the vast majority of people.
I find it odd you mention the "weirdness" with the locking. Essentially you are annoyed you can't leave your car keys in the car and then leave. I wouldn't be surprised if the unlock thing was intentional to not have you leave the keys in there at all.
100% thought this myself. You are essentially carrying 2 keys with you and leaving one in the car. Phone as a key was designed so you did not have to have the FOB with you at all as the phone takes it place. Strange he thinks this is an issue and not working as designed/intended. Even stranger that Rivian did not tell him this when he reported it as a bug.
I feel like that’s standard though my 2011 Toyota gave me a warning sign when the key was inside and I tried to lock it… I loved that feature! With my 2020 Jeep I came out of the store a couple of time just to see my keys in the middle console and have an oh shit moment…
Thanks Ben! Great honest and thorough comments. I’m waiting on an R1s with an august/September window so I’m tuning in closely to those who’ve gone before me. I couldn’t agree more re CarPlay … I’ve felt that from Day 1 I asked customer service about it when I asked them last year and couldn’t believe they weren’t supporting it. We need to put the heat on them to open that up regardless what AMAZON THINKS about it 😂
Jennie really pulled this together for me once again! I swear when I’m on the fence her point of view helps out so much! I can’t get rid of my Tesla because I love my car, but now I’m going forward with my original pre order! Thanks Jennie!
Not to knock you out Jennie, but her whole statement about what she liked was the bracelet and the gear tunnel. It made me chuckle as realized men and women can be so different. It's good to have the woman's take! Cheers
Charging is a big deal and if you have to charge this truck everyday that is going to be extremely expensive and inconvenient. I knew this would be a problem and most people who review this vehicle and the F150 lightening don’t even talk about it. Glad you brought it up. It takes too long to charge because of the size of the battery. 20 miles on level 2 is laughable.
FYI: Level 2 charging a Tesla adds about 25 miles per hour. Level 2 charging a Chevrolet Bolt adds about 24 miles per hour. I have never had to charge my Bolt from 0 miles. I don't have to charge the car every night if I don't want to. I mostly charge every night for the convenience of having the full range that is available when I leave the house. It all depends on how many miles one drives a day. As for me, both my wife and I enjoy the convenience of being able to charge in the safety of our garage. I'm glad we made the switch to an EV and have a Level 2 charger.
@@TwoHawksHunting a model y or dual motor model 3 would charge at 44 m/h with the 48 amp out system Ben uses. The issue stated will affect all ‘low’ efficiency ev (which then need large battery packs) and therefore require longer charge times. I do agree for most days this is not an issue as even the slower charge speeds will be plenty. My bigger concern with non Tesla vehicles is the availability of fast charging network. I looked at EVgo in my area (San Diego) and there are only a handful of 100/350kW stations (none in north county?) the vast majority are 50kW. That is slow if you are used to Tesla superchargers.
1. The lack of a rear bumper improves the departure angle without shortening the bed space even more. It also keeps the overall length down which barely fits in some garages as is. The hitch step is a good quick fix for those that need it and it's simple to take off when you don't. Maybe they should integrate a pop out step there like other truck manufacturers 2. The air suspension is lowering for ingress and digress purposes. It's not a bug but should have an option to disable if not desired 3. The locking is clunky yes but you should really decide what key device to use and stick to that for the outing. Most manufacturers will prevent you from locking the fob in the vehicle accidentally so that behavior wasn't surprising to see. I also don't think turning off the bluetooth to leave you phone in the car is that difficult or cumbersome. You will take the time to make sure it's not visible, just add one extra step for getting to leave it there. 4. The rear bed camera is a must Rivian geez get on that 5. While I understand their reasoning for excluding CarPlay/AndroidAuto it is very inconvenient for the consumers who have built a dependency on using it . Rivian navigation technology is quite lacking and will be for quite some time.
Not having Apple CarPlay in my Model 3 is my main gripe about the car. Really wish Tesla and Rivian would just accept that people want this and give us a window on the screen we can open which runs CarPlay.
Serious question... what do you feel car play would add? I make calls, get directions, listen to spotify all with the Tesla OS. Am I missing something?
@@druiz012 I guess people want carplay so they can use different maps other than Google maps I don't know what the big hype is about carplay eitherl I'm happy with my Tesla OS. What if Tesla did have carplay and Android auto man you can watch movies on the go with a thing called magic box
@@manuelias86 this kind of thing happens all too often unfortunately. The result is they think that is what road tripping in an EV is always like, and they trade it in for another gas car and swear off EVs forever.
Wow, our service experience has been the polar opposite of yours. We find their service incomprehensibly awesome! We are 250+ miles from the service center in Denver, yet they were willing to send a flatbed, take it to Denver, fix the smallest of a paint chip, and bring it back. That's a 1,000 mile service call. You could fill this chip with 1/3 of a drop on the end of a toothpick. We said no way to that, it's just not that big of a deal and I'm sure that won't be the last chip. They are sending mobile service out to replace the Qi charger, because it only works with one Android phone in the landscape position, as as opposed to 2 of them side by side in the portrait position (front to back on the pad). And also to take a look at a sometime loud driver side seat ventilation fan. 500 mile round trip from the service center. Just for us. Man, that service to the customer is beyond anything we would have expected. Cheers to Rivian!
That's great that were able to do that for you (and it's necessary early on to go to extremes like that) but it does speak to how will this company possibly make a profit? These aren't the early Model S days were EVs are just catching on and prices were much, much higher than today. Rivian has to become profitable within about 2 years...
The Key situation is pretty normal for most normal ICE cars. Our Mercedes C300 would not lock if the key was inside either… My Jeep will not lock either with the key inside.
So for the keyfob thing you mentioned…its basic safety feature so you dont lock your car accidentally with keys in it(all cars do it , not just rivian)… you could ditch the keys and just use just the phone …problem solved
I hate "1 month" reviews but this video was great. All of those little quirks that I personally as an ICE truck owner (for now) we're addressed. Very cool, congrats on the R1T.
I don’t like that T-adapter in the hitch concept because most folks will probably leave it in and now you don’t have an actual bumper doing its intended job anymore in case of an accident, even a minor one.
The “key fob bug” is probably just good redundancy to have and is likely intentionally designed that way for folks that don’t have these smart devices with BT, lost them, damaged them, or ran out of battery life. If you travel very far away from society to go on a backpacking trip let’s say, and return with little to no food, or you have hypothermia and didn’t plan for inclimate weather, being able to get back into your vehicle could be lifesaving. Just take your fob and hide it somewhere where it won’t get wet in that situation before you depart from your vehicle. If you’re just going for a jog in the park or grocery shopping, just take the fob with you. Don’t rely on devices that are very prone to failure.
I agree, even my 22k Honda has a a proximity key where if you leave your key in the car, it will remain unlocked. In the off nominal situation where you don't have your phone and expect your truck to be locked with the key fob, you'd be SOL. Doesn't make sense to expect it to lock with the fob in there. Just use one method as primary and have the secondary available externally
That's simply wrong. My Ford allows me to leave my car key inside while locking it with my phone or the keypad. It's simply laziness. The proximity sensor needs to block out signals from within the vehicle. That's it.
Great video, Ben. I am experiencing all of the same quirky behaviors as you described in this video. I’d like to see the random suspension adjustments and proximity lock/unlock resolved ahead of most other bugs. I also really appreciated your advice to Rivian about embracing their community, improving communication and service and generally being open to feedback. The company has built a great product and support is friendly but execution across the post-sale services have to be 100%.
Do you think your suspension is leaking air and causing it to turn on and off? Doing that all the time could cause it to charge slower, get less range......
Now that you've owned the Rivian long enough to now it's quirks, do you think the Lightning would have been a better choice as it is based on an already popular established platform?
Jeannie said it all… ‘it’s not a work truck’ aka mall cruiser. And I’m okay with that and so should Rivian. They need to stop touting it as an adventure/off-roader.
Some vehicles with air suspension will slightly lower when parked and locked, which then causes the vehicle to raise when unlocked. Apparently, it helps take the pressure off the airbags. Perhaps that's what the Rivian is also doing? Also, if you park on an uneven surface, some air suspension systems will try and level the vehicle.
@@BenSullinsOfficial maybe it has something to do with the over the air updates then. Would that need apple approval and possibly cause delays in the release of updates?
Good review, I did not think of the camera being covered when the tailgate is down. Bed camera should be available, and the quality of that one is actually pretty good. I think it's the best camera on the car. Charging is longer because the battery pack is massive, I don't drive that much and I charge once a week over night. It's enough to put back 150-200 mile back. No issues there for me, if you drive a lot perhaps you want to hit that fast charger before heading home.
1:30 - Does this mean that you actually drive enough miles to need to charge many tens of KWh every day? After you factor out road trips (comparatively rare, and mostly not charged at home), most Americans drive only about 20ish miles per day. Relatedly, once you get in from a long road trip, you don’t have to charge to full immediately. If your normal daily overnight charge is, hypothetically, 10KWh, then you could charge 15KWh over the course of a week, say.
Reminds me of how you used to talk about Tesla. Giving a lot of credit to a product that isn't quite there because of what it could be. Hopefully they come along. We need everyone to succeed in this transition.
I think in your video you thought there were no plug-in 48Amp EVSE available. I have one. If anyone is interested, just do some searches and you’ll easily find it online.
A couple of things....first, I've owned several air suspension vehicles (mostly SUVs) and they all activate the compressor after you park them. With my Jeeps, sometimes that happens a half hour or more after I've parked it. And if i go back to the vehicle to take something relatively heavy out of the back, it will for sure adjust the air suspension again. Secondly, the quad motor trucks are not just avout onroad performance. If you want the best possible offroad ability, then quad motor is the only choice. For that reason alone, I'd choose quad motor every time.
It’s Going to be a challenge for me when I get my first electric car, because I really don’t like the software they have on their screens. I’ve been using the iPad 11 pro on my car for about 4 years now, and it’s just a blast. I managed to install in a way that it looks factory made. The F150 never looked so good. I’m hoping by the time I change my car they have a better solution than they currently have.
In northern California PG&E offers an EV time of use rate plan that runs at the lowest rate from midnight until 3 PM so I have 15 hours I can charge at the lowest rate
Hey Ben, great video, thinking about getting the R1S or the Hummer EV SUV......however I may wait at least 1 year, so they get all the bugs out, hate to see you guys having issues at the cost of 100Grand!!!!!
I also thought Rivian had built in Spotify which you log into once with your Spotify account. Wouldn't that eliminate music listening problems as long as you have a Spotify account ? Its also kind of shocking to me since Amazon has its own music streaming service which I assumed Rivian would be forced to prioritize. So glad they didn't.
9:35 My guess is the air suspension is leaking somewhere. Combined with people complaining about compressor overheating and large phantom drain, it kind of makes sense. You (or Rivian) should get something to monitor the air pressure in the tank. I don't think it will be too hard. Thank for the review. I really needed detailed usage reviews like this. I'm the kind of person that gets annoyed by these easily.
@@MrDieselfitter not temperature. Air pressure leaking out / loose fitting somewhere etc. cracked hose , leaking seal on levelers etc. pin hole in air bags. Air pressure transducer faulty / leaking / cracked.
Starbucks navigation issue might actually be a problem with map services. “Hey google” does the same. It kinda makes sense why would I navigate to a Starbucks I am already in?
Would you still get the Cali EV rebate and the $7500 from federal? Would knock the price down to $73k ish if I’m not mistaken. Good call though, more practicality than the Model S but the charging network isn’t quite there. Focus should be major highways, none in cities where EA exists
Nice details to know before I get my R1T! One thing: Don't drive with that hitch step attached. If someone rear-ends you and hits that, you and your occupants are going to get whiplash! You're losing the impact energy absorption of the bumper.
Not really. Its just a small extension of the tow hitch. Its not going to make any discernible difference in a rear collsion. And the other guy's front bumper also absorbs the impact as well.
What I truly believe is that Tesla and Rivian don’t want to give Apple and other 3rd party software company’s access to their API because they will dominate them! By way of offering their own self driving, security services, and other automated features.
The car is the next big opportunity for these companies. Huge data points to collect and an even larger opportunity with the App Store. So yeah no one wants to open their doors to Apple. It’s basically asking to be put out of business eventually. The legacy oems basically have no other choice tho since they are so far behind on software.
You do not need the Bluetooth button gizmo to activate voice assistance when using iPhone /android that is connected to car’s stereo via Bluetooth. You just hold down the “talk” button in the car for about 3 seconds (for Siri). On tesla you push in the right wheel button on steering wheel. Chevy Volt and Bolt have similar button. My wife’s Prius with third party cheap Bluetooth installed by Toyota has same functionality. I’m suspecting this is a standard feature in Bluetooth protocol and Rivian has it built in too.
I have curiosity after owning 3 other electric cars… Is it possible the car just isn’t off yet and just in standby mode because your driver door wasn’t closed when that air compressor was going…
strange: I run Spotify on my phone Bluetooth to my Model Y screen no problem... Not sure what you're saying about not being able to use your phone in the Tesla..?
We literally just plugged our charger cord into the Dryer plug. Since we have a gas dryer. Now we have the same charging rate as yours. Actually slightly quicker.
Ben, how do you guys charge both of your EVs? Do you have an outdoor charger? Trying to figure out for myself as my garage can only fit one car since the rest is ocupied by junk :)
I need help interpreting something said early in the video. I don't have an EV yet, I'm doing my research, so I'm having trouble understanding why, there's mention of charging being more challenging in this vehicle compared to others. I get the time-of-day charging, and that you likely only want to charge during a specific window of the day. I guess I'm confused why a Rivian requires charging "everyday" or "all the time" compared to Ben's other example EV like a Tesla? Is it because the Rivian has a lot of vampire discharging? Is it because the Rivian's battery is just much bigger so requires more time? Is it less efficient so there's more energy loss and thus it takes more time? I can't tell how big a deal or not this is as someone that is looking at the R1S as a first EV for my family.
I have a ChargePoint HomeFlex EVSE on a 50 amp breaker with a NEMA 14-50. So its maxes at 40 amps. Your Rivian was showing 21 miles/hr. The ChargePoint has had my ID.4 charging at max 44 miles/hr and I frequently I see 38 to 42 miles/hr.
With any vehicle if you leave the key in the inside the vehicle won’t lock. It’s the same with my model Y. I had my phone key but left my card inside it won’t lock unless i force it to lock.
This video is super helpful especially for someone who is in the 100% look into buying the R1S as my family vehicle. Thanks so much for the review and quirk call out! I hope the software has been worked upon and you found other loopholes to fix those things! Hopefully the R1S is updated on some faults
Can you set the wall charger on a scedule/timer, so it only charges during a specific time, even if its plugged in? So if I come home at 5:00 pm and plug it in, but does not actually start charging until 10:00 pm during off peak rates.
Since you didn't let Tesla do OTA updates you are going to be stuck with the Rivian quirks for the rest of the time you own it. Unless you have changed your tune and will allow them to do OTA's.
@Ben Sullins - Great video about Rivian. I wanted to get your suggestion , given a choice to buy today between Model Y and Rivian R1S which would you recommend?
Why would you leave the key to an expensive vehicle in the car. Seems smart that it won't lock if it knows the key is in the car. I see it as a feature, but I don't have mine yet.
Rivian's navigation could definitely be better. Some routes make me scratch my head. Sometimes it can't calculate my estimated state of battery so it may suggest a charge I don't need. But I do prefer the manner in which it handles navigating better than Apple CarPlay. CarPlay frustrates me due to lack of detail, difficulty toggling between the overview route map and the navigating map, and then not easily telling me the next several directions coming up. So getting the right route in to Rivian's system can be irritating, but once it's there, I prefer it's UI over CarPlay for navigating. Spotify is not as smooth as I would like. Some saved podcasts never loaded the album art correctly and they have never loaded fully despite resetting the infotainment system. I have issues w/ Music on CarPlay too but I wish Spotify were better. Sometimes it takes a while to load a podcast or song. The shuffle icon also does not have enough contrast - I can't tell if it's "on" or "off" sometimes. And I don't know why it doesn't allow the ability to skip ahead 15-30s or rewind 15-30s nor does it let you play at increased rate. Bluetooth integration could be better. Lastly, it's a problem that the garage doors are erased whenever the infotainment system is reset. Oh, one more thing - regen braking is definitely a personal preference - I totally prefer high regen. I bet it depends on an individual's fine motor control of their foot and spatial awareness/ability to judge distances. I wonder if there's a way to set regen based on some kind of bio feedback that a person gives to the system.
22:00 is that your assumption OR their scenario? Because if I would design the process, if you leave the keyfob inside, the phone SHOULD NOT override the keyfob on it's own.
Do they have a service center or mobile units near your location for repairs? Or are all repair or bug patching done via the driver manual submissions remotely? Thanks for the honest review!!! Seen many rivian or lucid reviews in which the reviewer wasn’t candid or critical. Thanks for covering the pros and but especially the cons and wanted fixes.
I've had a lot of service issues with my Tesla Model S Plaid. It's been less than a year and I'm having to take it back for service every other month (airbag light keeps coming on and navigation often doesn't work). The service department has been aweful. Very little communication and they don't do what they say they're going to do. I've now ordered the Rivian R1T in the hopes of having a better experience. This video was helpful in understanding the R1T better.
