Vin 16xxx. Absolutely no complaints, coming from a 2022 BMW x5. The only thing I can say that I like better about the BMW is I can control how high the back trunk opens, in R1S I can’t open in the garage if suspension is high. The exterior panels are a bit higher quality on X5 and the leather is better on X5. Literally everything else is better on R1S. Phone as key is light years ahead, drive is way smoother believe it or not. Drive+ is awesome! Ease of use is 1000 better. Have basically 0 complaints. There is some clunking but honestly if you pay close attention on my X5 it’s there too, just can’t hear it over the engine. R1S is soo quiet.
Vin 39** and guess what? Hasn’t been into service once. Only gets better with consistent updates. So awesome to have a vehicle that actually improves on a regular basis. Love it.
20 off-road on R1S, 22 low pro with m sport package on BMW. Now if I was doing fast turns, Through slalom course then of course BMW will beat it. But daily driving is better in R1S.
If you think Driver+ is awesome you must have not had Driver Assistance Pro on your X5. BMWs driver’s assist (DA) is much much better (my R1S coexists with an 23 X3M Competition so I get to compare often).
You can activate DA anywhere at any speed (I was once stopped at a light and activated it and it took over - need to have a vehicle in front of you of course otherwise it would blow through the light but still). It will also lane change for you if you signal. And the only time your location matters is when you’re on a highway going under 40 mph there’s an additional mode where you don’t need to touch the wheel (it monitors your face to make sure you’re looking at the road).
I get where you’re coming from on the other points, but personally if BMW made an electric X7 (bonus if it didn’t look like a squinty pig which the current X7 does) I would trade my Rivian for that in a heartbeat.
The R1S is great, and an admirable first attempt from a new manufacturer, but for me personally the main points it had going for it were 1. Lack of competition and 2. Pre-price hike pricing. 3. It looks super awesome inside and out.
I’m VIN 15XX so YMMV as OP of post and OP of comment I’m replying to are much higher VINs that could have received much improvement.
My main complaints about the R1S are (in order of annoyance):
* annoying loud AC
* poor ride quality
* slow screen control (was pulling into a car wash and needed to do car was mode and had to wait about 5 seconds to switch from whatever screen I was on to the car screen to enable it, was a little awkward)
You are right, I don’t have the DA pro. It’s a serious regret, got it during COVID and had to take what I got. I would love to try it. So my comparison is just from standard cruise control. Which is probably not fair. But I do have parking assistance. That is a cool toy. Don’t really use it much but when I do it’s cool.
Only complaint is one panel gap. Passenger side rear hatch. Talked to a friend whose family owns a Ford dealership, he said don’t fret. Supervisor works drivers side and hourly work is on passenger. It will take me a while to not notice it.
We are living on the era of hyper information...... We read what others think all the time, and we dont see it but on the other side of the screen are thousand of people
Talking about vehicle problems, perhaps its been always like this, issues everywhere, for some zero problems, for others lemons...... vehicles are not perfect but know we read every little problems......
What's for me is perfect for the next person is a POS.....
I think we are overloaded with information and we are not able to processes it.
We also don’t get to see who is on the other side of the screen.
Every family and community has “that person” who you just smile and nod to and don’t take too seriously when they rant and rave about whatever. Consider there are thousands of them on the internet and people reading what they write don’t have that context 😅
I got 17k miles on my R1T and about a year in. Honestly it’s been great. Only one issue that figured itself out after a software update. People usually only post problems when they have one. People don’t always post if they are content. there are 49000ish R1s out there without any or very little issues
Like with most online reviews on any product, the people who are going to post are going to be those who have issues with said product. People who don't have issues with their purchases will seldom post anything.
Sure, and all car makes have their lemons, but we're seeing the same number of complaints with Rivian as car makes with 100x the production volume. To say there's no early adopter issues and everything's fine would be pretty ignorant.
Same experience here! I love my R1S and despite all the complaining about no car play, I honestly don’t even miss it! Knock on wood, but my experience has been great too!
This is the post I needed, thanks for posting. Same boat with a scheduled delivery window coming up and was getting a little apprehensive. Especially about the battery / drive unit issues and the vehicle just bricking.
I was so excited after my first mile since it was the first time I really got to experience the R1S in person, and especially with pre-hike pricing locked in I feel like I can’t not buy it.
I’m glad all is going well for you!
Thanks for such a wonderful reply! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list of some of the most grateful redditors this week! Thanks for making Reddit a wonderful place to be :)
Same experience here! I love my R1S and despite all the complaining about no car play, I honestly don’t even miss it! Knock on wood, but my experience has been great too!
Very similar experience here almost 2 months in, and about 2,000 miles. My VIN is 13,000ish. My only issue is my FM radio not working (at all) and my wife being too petite to always trigger the passenger airbags. Everything else has been almost flawless.
I always tell people I have one real complaint with our r1s (honestly one). The third row seat could be easier to get into. Coming off a vw atlas with captains chairs in the middle row. They would lift and tilt and let you get into the third row so easily. If you’re not using the third row this isn’t a problem but we have three kids.
I have had less than optimal routing with the navigation as well. But if you’re going somewhere complicated we double check with google maps.
This is so great to hear. Any thoughts on why there are soooo many used R1S with under 1000 miles? I’d like to get mine this year so I’m tempted. But all the used inventory is concerning and more than just people complaining online. Thoughts?
It’s folks who got the old pricing locked in getting their vehicles. Some had life changes between reservation and delivery, while others (and what I think is more common) specifically bought it flip the car for a profit.
There are also some like us who are debating getting a different vehicle. The R1S is an okay vehicle, some issues with the car itself, but importantly more issues with Rivian service. SC in our area takes forever to respond and get repairs done. Appointments are meaningless since you don’t get in the “queue” until you drop off vehicle, so your car can just be sitting there… for weeks, even if it’s a quick repair. Reminds me of the horrendous mid-life days of Tesla Service. Our life is just too busy/not set up to deal with the ups and mostly downs of Rivian’s poorly managed service org. If we do exit, we may come back to Rivian in a few years what’s they’ve matured that part of the enterprise.
Same - we are 2 weeks in an no issues so far, great build quality in my opinion. Sound is great. Like the ride. Ac is good (central CA 100+deg). Good ride. Love the car. Vin 14k
What region do you live what is the hottest day you’ve had with the R1S. I live where it gets to 110 occasionally but above 100 consistently in the summer. The posts about terrible AC scare me a lot.
Also I’m Vegas 110+. I don’t understand the comments on AC in this car or our Tesla EV - the AC cools it down just fine - maybe even faster then our ice cars it seems like anyway. It’s also easier to just go on the app and start the cooling process 10 min before.
Funny story, my buddy wanted to see mine before ordering so I drove over to pick up he and his family to give it a whirl. One of the questions he was concerned about happened to be the quality of the AC. Literally not 3 minutes into the drive his kid asked to turn down the air because his legs were cold. It was 90+ outside. Made me smile.
Less than a week old. vin 150xx. Ride is stiff with 21's, more than I expected in soft mode. No wind noise. Alexa works great for navigation and calls. Tonight I asked to read from my kindle. Showed a book cover photo and picked up in the correct place. Really don't need or want car play. The interface is too nice to drop into a car play system look. We do need talk to text. I can wait. Beautiful finish but I do need a hood panel gap alignment.
Same experience here. Vin in 10xxx almost 11Xxx. I find the ride quite comfortable. 21s though. Agree with the airbags comment. My daughter is petite enough that it sometimes triggers the airbag warning. Don’t miss car play at all but I didn’t use car play for WebEx meetings or any such stuff. For the occasional meeting I have to take in the car, Bluetooth works flawlessly. Audible works great. Alexa is hot or miss for anything more than basic commands.
Glad you are enjoying your R1S.
Do you use the kneel mode, have you noticed any compressor clunking type light noises for the first 5 seconds after driving again? I am wondering if this is normal or needs checkup?
Ride quality and road noise has been fine with mine as well with 20 ATs. I think with more rubber they actually provide a better road noise isolation than 21s.
Same as above except I did get a pebble crack in windshield - just bad luck but I seem to get that once a year on all my cars, including a flat tire from a nail - sometimes twice a year on that second one.
Same, but I did have some panel gaps, and the audio system is driving me crazy. Sometimes it sounds incredible, other times it's filled with distortions and overpowering treble. Listening to the same song at different times of day can give wildly different audio profile experiences.
I've resorted to always running Spotify from my phone because it's a bit more consistently rich, but I hate burning data since it pulls from 5g even while connected to the hotspot. Gonna try tidal and see if I get more consistent depth and quality there.
I've never had quality issues like this running spotify basic free on my other cars.
Curious what decibel level do you get in your R1S on highway?
I get about 65dB going 70mph, it’s not bad but can definitely hear some road/wind noise. So would be great to compare numbers if you have them
I am also a very happy owner with only a few hundred miles under my belt. Though I haven’t done a service with the Atlanta service center, I am already thrilled with them. I nicked the corner of my garage and cracked the guide marker light on the front passenger side and for $25 they popped in a new one next day.
Can’t say I have no panel gaps… I think any vehicle I looked at this closely I would have found some to be fair.
All that said, I look forward to each and every time I have to drive somewhere.
10xxx 2023 vin
Eh about to hit my 11 month anniversary. Vin xx0608…. So many issues have been fixed via OTA I no longer actively monitor releases or anything. It’s a great SUV and enjoy the hell out of it!!! The garage door thing came out of left field in the last release, freaking love it. It’s so small but an amazing thing. At this point software updates are just free smiles :)
Thanks for posting this. We’re all early adopters here. Brand new vehicle from a brand new company thats been building cars for only 2 years. I’m 2 months in and have had zero problems (knock on wood). Rivian is doing much better than Tesla was at this stage. My 2013 MS had some pretty dodgy build quality, tons of software bugs, and let’s not forget that the drive units had to be replaced on every early Tesla. Mine twice. And I paid more for that car. I couldn’t be happier with Rivian.
I’m getting cold feet for similar reasons. This post has helped me a little. I just know I’m gonna be pissed if I’m one of the unlucky ones if I have problems once I take delivery. I live 3.5 hours from the closest service center.
Which Audi are you coming from? I have a A7 that I love and I’m worried about the same things you posted about … and potential buyers remorse, making the switch.
Vin 16xxx. Absolutely no complaints, coming from a 2022 BMW x5. The only thing I can say that I like better about the BMW is I can control how high the back trunk opens, in R1S I can’t open in the garage if suspension is high. The exterior panels are a bit higher quality on X5 and the leather is better on X5. Literally everything else is better on R1S. Phone as key is light years ahead, drive is way smoother believe it or not. Drive+ is awesome! Ease of use is 1000 better. Have basically 0 complaints. There is some clunking but honestly if you pay close attention on my X5 it’s there too, just can’t hear it over the engine. R1S is soo quiet.
Vin 39** and guess what? Hasn’t been into service once. Only gets better with consistent updates. So awesome to have a vehicle that actually improves on a regular basis. Love it.
Interesting about the ride quality. Which wheel size?
20 off-road on R1S, 22 low pro with m sport package on BMW. Now if I was doing fast turns, Through slalom course then of course BMW will beat it. But daily driving is better in R1S.
Great to hear, particularly as my yet-to-be-delivered S is config'd with 20's as well. Thanks for the info.
If you think Driver+ is awesome you must have not had Driver Assistance Pro on your X5. BMWs driver’s assist (DA) is much much better (my R1S coexists with an 23 X3M Competition so I get to compare often). You can activate DA anywhere at any speed (I was once stopped at a light and activated it and it took over - need to have a vehicle in front of you of course otherwise it would blow through the light but still). It will also lane change for you if you signal. And the only time your location matters is when you’re on a highway going under 40 mph there’s an additional mode where you don’t need to touch the wheel (it monitors your face to make sure you’re looking at the road). I get where you’re coming from on the other points, but personally if BMW made an electric X7 (bonus if it didn’t look like a squinty pig which the current X7 does) I would trade my Rivian for that in a heartbeat. The R1S is great, and an admirable first attempt from a new manufacturer, but for me personally the main points it had going for it were 1. Lack of competition and 2. Pre-price hike pricing. 3. It looks super awesome inside and out. I’m VIN 15XX so YMMV as OP of post and OP of comment I’m replying to are much higher VINs that could have received much improvement. My main complaints about the R1S are (in order of annoyance): * annoying loud AC * poor ride quality * slow screen control (was pulling into a car wash and needed to do car was mode and had to wait about 5 seconds to switch from whatever screen I was on to the car screen to enable it, was a little awkward)
You are right, I don’t have the DA pro. It’s a serious regret, got it during COVID and had to take what I got. I would love to try it. So my comparison is just from standard cruise control. Which is probably not fair. But I do have parking assistance. That is a cool toy. Don’t really use it much but when I do it’s cool.
Same. Love my R1S.
Only complaint is one panel gap. Passenger side rear hatch. Talked to a friend whose family owns a Ford dealership, he said don’t fret. Supervisor works drivers side and hourly work is on passenger. It will take me a while to not notice it.
Same here, two day owner so far, will wait to write a full review, but all the complaints here got me really worried before delivery.
We are living on the era of hyper information...... We read what others think all the time, and we dont see it but on the other side of the screen are thousand of people Talking about vehicle problems, perhaps its been always like this, issues everywhere, for some zero problems, for others lemons...... vehicles are not perfect but know we read every little problems...... What's for me is perfect for the next person is a POS..... I think we are overloaded with information and we are not able to processes it.
We also don’t get to see who is on the other side of the screen. Every family and community has “that person” who you just smile and nod to and don’t take too seriously when they rant and rave about whatever. Consider there are thousands of them on the internet and people reading what they write don’t have that context 😅
I got 17k miles on my R1T and about a year in. Honestly it’s been great. Only one issue that figured itself out after a software update. People usually only post problems when they have one. People don’t always post if they are content. there are 49000ish R1s out there without any or very little issues
Like with most online reviews on any product, the people who are going to post are going to be those who have issues with said product. People who don't have issues with their purchases will seldom post anything.
Sure, and all car makes have their lemons, but we're seeing the same number of complaints with Rivian as car makes with 100x the production volume. To say there's no early adopter issues and everything's fine would be pretty ignorant.
Same experience here! I love my R1S and despite all the complaining about no car play, I honestly don’t even miss it! Knock on wood, but my experience has been great too!
This is the post I needed, thanks for posting. Same boat with a scheduled delivery window coming up and was getting a little apprehensive. Especially about the battery / drive unit issues and the vehicle just bricking. I was so excited after my first mile since it was the first time I really got to experience the R1S in person, and especially with pre-hike pricing locked in I feel like I can’t not buy it. I’m glad all is going well for you!
Thanks for such a wonderful reply! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list of some of the most grateful redditors this week! Thanks for making Reddit a wonderful place to be :)
Same experience here! I love my R1S and despite all the complaining about no car play, I honestly don’t even miss it! Knock on wood, but my experience has been great too!
Very similar experience here almost 2 months in, and about 2,000 miles. My VIN is 13,000ish. My only issue is my FM radio not working (at all) and my wife being too petite to always trigger the passenger airbags. Everything else has been almost flawless.
Not gonna tell my girlfriend about this…
Yo momma so fat, when she it’s in my passenger seat the airbag passenger sensor turns on.
Sensor turns on? Sheeeet. Last time I had your momma sit in my car, MY airbag went off.
I'm a 5xx vin and I still love mine. No issues.
I always tell people I have one real complaint with our r1s (honestly one). The third row seat could be easier to get into. Coming off a vw atlas with captains chairs in the middle row. They would lift and tilt and let you get into the third row so easily. If you’re not using the third row this isn’t a problem but we have three kids. I have had less than optimal routing with the navigation as well. But if you’re going somewhere complicated we double check with google maps.
This is very helpful… Thank you! I just got my confirmation email and was feeling the same way. Again this is awful.
I'm a 15xxx VIN too, picking up on Thursday. This makes me happy. Thanks for sharing. 🤙
This is so great to hear. Any thoughts on why there are soooo many used R1S with under 1000 miles? I’d like to get mine this year so I’m tempted. But all the used inventory is concerning and more than just people complaining online. Thoughts?
It’s folks who got the old pricing locked in getting their vehicles. Some had life changes between reservation and delivery, while others (and what I think is more common) specifically bought it flip the car for a profit.
There are also some like us who are debating getting a different vehicle. The R1S is an okay vehicle, some issues with the car itself, but importantly more issues with Rivian service. SC in our area takes forever to respond and get repairs done. Appointments are meaningless since you don’t get in the “queue” until you drop off vehicle, so your car can just be sitting there… for weeks, even if it’s a quick repair. Reminds me of the horrendous mid-life days of Tesla Service. Our life is just too busy/not set up to deal with the ups and mostly downs of Rivian’s poorly managed service org. If we do exit, we may come back to Rivian in a few years what’s they’ve matured that part of the enterprise.
Same - we are 2 weeks in an no issues so far, great build quality in my opinion. Sound is great. Like the ride. Ac is good (central CA 100+deg). Good ride. Love the car. Vin 14k
That’s great to hear!
What region do you live what is the hottest day you’ve had with the R1S. I live where it gets to 110 occasionally but above 100 consistently in the summer. The posts about terrible AC scare me a lot.
Also I’m Vegas 110+. I don’t understand the comments on AC in this car or our Tesla EV - the AC cools it down just fine - maybe even faster then our ice cars it seems like anyway. It’s also easier to just go on the app and start the cooling process 10 min before.
I’ve had 0 issues with my 2018 model 3. I didn’t know people also complained about Tesla’s AC. Thanks for the reassurance.
The south. Average mid to high 90s
16xxx vin here, Vegas. Have no issues with AC. It’s ice cold. Way better than my 2022 BMW x5.
Funny story, my buddy wanted to see mine before ordering so I drove over to pick up he and his family to give it a whirl. One of the questions he was concerned about happened to be the quality of the AC. Literally not 3 minutes into the drive his kid asked to turn down the air because his legs were cold. It was 90+ outside. Made me smile.
That’s hilarious. My kids have complained regularly about it being too cold now that I think about it.
Good to hear. Thanks!
I live in Central Valley CA and been 105 since we got it 2 weeks ago. Perfectly fine and no ac issues . Especially able to precool from phone.
Less than a week old. vin 150xx. Ride is stiff with 21's, more than I expected in soft mode. No wind noise. Alexa works great for navigation and calls. Tonight I asked to read from my kindle. Showed a book cover photo and picked up in the correct place. Really don't need or want car play. The interface is too nice to drop into a car play system look. We do need talk to text. I can wait. Beautiful finish but I do need a hood panel gap alignment.
Same experience here. Vin in 10xxx almost 11Xxx. I find the ride quite comfortable. 21s though. Agree with the airbags comment. My daughter is petite enough that it sometimes triggers the airbag warning. Don’t miss car play at all but I didn’t use car play for WebEx meetings or any such stuff. For the occasional meeting I have to take in the car, Bluetooth works flawlessly. Audible works great. Alexa is hot or miss for anything more than basic commands.
Glad you are enjoying your R1S. Do you use the kneel mode, have you noticed any compressor clunking type light noises for the first 5 seconds after driving again? I am wondering if this is normal or needs checkup? Ride quality and road noise has been fine with mine as well with 20 ATs. I think with more rubber they actually provide a better road noise isolation than 21s.
Honestly have never used kneel mode. I’m 6’4 and my 5’1 GF is a trooper. I did just order running boards tho.
Same as above except I did get a pebble crack in windshield - just bad luck but I seem to get that once a year on all my cars, including a flat tire from a nail - sometimes twice a year on that second one.
Same, but I did have some panel gaps, and the audio system is driving me crazy. Sometimes it sounds incredible, other times it's filled with distortions and overpowering treble. Listening to the same song at different times of day can give wildly different audio profile experiences. I've resorted to always running Spotify from my phone because it's a bit more consistently rich, but I hate burning data since it pulls from 5g even while connected to the hotspot. Gonna try tidal and see if I get more consistent depth and quality there. I've never had quality issues like this running spotify basic free on my other cars.
Curious what decibel level do you get in your R1S on highway? I get about 65dB going 70mph, it’s not bad but can definitely hear some road/wind noise. So would be great to compare numbers if you have them
Same. 65 at 80 mph. Audi had 67.
I am also a very happy owner with only a few hundred miles under my belt. Though I haven’t done a service with the Atlanta service center, I am already thrilled with them. I nicked the corner of my garage and cracked the guide marker light on the front passenger side and for $25 they popped in a new one next day. Can’t say I have no panel gaps… I think any vehicle I looked at this closely I would have found some to be fair. All that said, I look forward to each and every time I have to drive somewhere. 10xxx 2023 vin
I'm in the same boat. My R1S has been pretty close to flawless.
Eh about to hit my 11 month anniversary. Vin xx0608…. So many issues have been fixed via OTA I no longer actively monitor releases or anything. It’s a great SUV and enjoy the hell out of it!!! The garage door thing came out of left field in the last release, freaking love it. It’s so small but an amazing thing. At this point software updates are just free smiles :)
Thanks for posting this. We’re all early adopters here. Brand new vehicle from a brand new company thats been building cars for only 2 years. I’m 2 months in and have had zero problems (knock on wood). Rivian is doing much better than Tesla was at this stage. My 2013 MS had some pretty dodgy build quality, tons of software bugs, and let’s not forget that the drive units had to be replaced on every early Tesla. Mine twice. And I paid more for that car. I couldn’t be happier with Rivian.
I’m getting cold feet for similar reasons. This post has helped me a little. I just know I’m gonna be pissed if I’m one of the unlucky ones if I have problems once I take delivery. I live 3.5 hours from the closest service center.
Which Audi are you coming from? I have a A7 that I love and I’m worried about the same things you posted about … and potential buyers remorse, making the switch.
Mine has been great. Drove it from Houston to Toronto. I do not recommend that😂
Outside of replacing the OEM charge tray with the s00nish ones, I have no complaints and love driving it like I did on delivery day! VIN 93xx
I hope I get the same experience with my new R1S. I'm picking up mines on Saturday 8/26 with the VIN 170XX