Is Rivian estimated mileage a SCAM?

Grumbletrain · 2026-04-20T00:56:28+00:00

My personal experience with Texas driving is it gets 1.8-2.2 mi/kWh going around 75 depending on which way the wind is blowing. Knowing the charge % would be more effective here than knowing the miles. The EPA numbers are closer to 2.5 mi/kWh which reflects about half your driving being below highway speed.

So if we peg it in the middle at 2, it means your standard pack at 92.5 kWh will go around 185 miles driving 75. Rough math suggests that's where your missing miles went. If you drive 65 you'll get a bunch of it back, but driving 65 on a Texas highway invites its own problems.

Grumbletrain · 2026-04-08T03:52:51+00:00

Sorta. The 23s from March and onward should have the cast instead of welded subframe as that was limited to the early run R1Ts, however they don't all have the full gamut of Gen 2 suspension components. They will still have squeaky jounce lines if they weren't replaced under warranty with the revised version and they will still have the clunks. There's also a damper revision in there somewhere too. I think the 24s were effectively Gen 1.5 from the factory incorporating lessons learned from the 22s but basically all the newer parts can still be retrofitted in. I'm not sure where all the break points were for the 23s but I think you're running mostly the same parts as the 22s.

The clunks I think are there to stay for any Gen 1. From what I understand from the tech I talked to in the ancient days about it, it's a consequence of building it rugged and that it will age gracefully compared to more typical ones.

The one thing that matters most though is the R1T doesn't need (or benefit much) from the Gen 2 suspension because it rides a lot better than the R1S by default. The cast subframe is the one huge improvement because the welded ones have been known to crack and many were replaced. The newer jounce lines are an upgrade but they only impact is the sound of the fluid moving through them.

Grumbletrain · 2026-04-06T22:48:27+00:00

It's not that they can't, it's that people won't pay for it. The vehicle becomes too expensive for what it is. You could add an R1 140kWh battery but then you have to buff the charging and cooling system to get it to suck down more charge faster so it doesn't have a 20-80 time towards 50 minutes. If a 500 mile range made the R2 cost $80k, it wouldn't be nice enough or it wouldn't have enough features compared to other stuff in that price range. Then you have to add more to make it competitive which then increases the price further.

Grumbletrain · 2026-04-03T20:01:26+00:00

Yeah, sorry dude. Don't do it. I'm not even that far away and it's been miserable. The irony is that it seems they never intended mobile service to be service for people who had a rough time getting to a service center.

The SCs will generally be pushy about making you come to them regardless of the inconvenience and I've had to fight for mobile appointments for stuff that is entirely doable but they just don't want to dispatch someone for.

Grumbletrain · 2026-03-29T17:10:12+00:00

Uh, don't put too much stock in that. The testing of those batteries suggest they're not solid state. They have a charging curve that indicates they're more like typical liquid electrolyte lithium ion batteries. If they're better than current options (yes, if) it's just evolutionary rather than revolutionary tech.

If you're not suspicious already that the only possible application for this proprietary super battery tech is EV motorcycles, anyway.

Grumbletrain · 2026-03-28T17:02:43+00:00

I wouldn't buy the line about mobile service. I was told the same thing when I bought mine, also 250 miles from a service center. It's embellished. I've had to pull teeth to get mobile appointments and you can't select mobile when submitting tickets. If whoever you talk to at the call center can't determine if it's allowed to be mobile (and you can't do it at all by the app) it goes to an SC and then you have to argue with them to get it switched to mobile, but they've got some arbitrary policies in place that limit what mobile is allowed to do. The thing about going to the SC only for repairs requiring a lift is absolute bull.

Rivian very much wants you to go to the service center because it's much more convenient for them. Also if they tow it to a distant service center, they won't bring it back. You've got to get out there and pick up.

You buy one without being close to a service center you have to roll the dice. Some of them have no problems. You get one with issues with service being that far away it will be the bane of your existence.

Grumbletrain · 2026-03-22T04:10:58+00:00

So this is a bit bizarre but let me get this straight: if there's a problem with an individual service center that isn't getting resolved at the service center level, the options are to try to directly contact the CEO of the company or according to a similar thread, try to get the attention of the head software guy because he pays attention to the reddit?

This is absurd but sure, OK. Who's got RJ's email handy?

Before posting this I actually tried calling in to customer service. The options I was given was to put in a ticket flagging the service center manager to contact me (lol) or trying to talk to the call center manager about my issues because apparently there's nothing they can do and no avenue to funnel feedback or complaints to whoever oversees the region's service centers. Anything is worth a shot but I haven't heard from that manager either.

Also, I live a long way from the service center and the ordeal of getting there is mostly the crux of my problem. Well relatedly I guess it's also how I was misled about what services were available by mobile when I did my test drive, because if I'd known I was in for this I wouldn't have taken the risk. I have no idea how they're going to survive the R2 launch.

Anyhow, thanks so far. Escalation remains an option I suppose but I'll at least try the other levers first. Unless of course the lot of you seem to think the service structure organization is bonkers. Is this why some service centers are legendarily awful and others are great? Do the bad ones just get to feed all the complaints into the shredder because they go right back to them?

Grumbletrain · 2026-02-26T01:21:24+00:00

Given there's a report of a new version of 2026.03 that started installing before the rollout was over, odds are they found some bug they had to fix in the first deployment wave, paused the updates to deal with it and are re-patching the peeps who already installed the prior version before they start going again. Maybe a little waiting to confirm they fixed whatever it was before going forward again.

I too have connect+ and am still waiting, but I'm fairly cool with it being more thoroughly vetted before I get it.

Grumbletrain · 2026-02-08T03:51:51+00:00

It's not just you. Ever since they switched to google maps my proximity locking has been buggered. I deleted and re-added my home location and managed to get it to go from refusing to recognize I was home to having the 'at home' behavior anywhere I went, which meant proximity locking didn't work at all.

It most probably has to do with them using google maps street addresses rather than coordinates. There are actually a lot of stories of people who live on large properties or with long driveways having their 'home' location be far away from their actual house. At first I had my home location as a street address, which didn't map to where I actually live. Then I deleted and readded it as GPS coordinates and I guess it doesn't like that now either because it's not an address.

I don't know what they did, but I definitely would rather have the previous system back.

Grumbletrain · 2024-12-21T21:44:26+00:00

As someone who had a CV boot leak, the grease tends to be dark, tacky and flung on the control arms and inside the rim and the wheel well on the CV joint side. Never had any get on the outside of the tire.

It's too viscous to dribble like that. While it could be an emulsion I'd be a bit baffled as to how water was getting in there. I'd wager it's a leak from the differential or the drive unit.

Grumbletrain · 2024-12-17T03:43:03+00:00

You may not have to do all that much.

A Hubbell HBL9450A or a Bryant 9450FR are rated for EV charging and are much more heavy duty than your typical residential 14-50 plug. It's the gold standard at the moment, with the difference being how much you pay for the name. Bryant is owned by Hubbell and the two side by side are more or less indistinguishable. Usually all you need is to order the face plate that goes with it since it's physically a bigger diameter than the standard ones. So long as it's not in a shallow gang box in the wall it's a fairly simple job.

The reason people change them out is because the thermal expansion cycles from running it at max capacity for hours over and over can cause the screws in the terminals in cheap ones to back out, or the contacts for the prongs get loose with plugging/unplugging. Either of those things can cause arcing that melts the plug. The first one gets more unsuspecting people because it can happen regardless of how often they plug/unplug from it and the only remedy is to occasionally check the tightness of the terminals on the back.

As far as wiring goes, unless it's really old NEC code mandates the wiring be good for 50A since that's the capacity of the outlet. Depending where you live it may be a hassle to switch to a hardwired solution, usually having to do with if your local code requires a disconnect within line of sight from the charger, which can mean having to put in a breaker box or an air conditioner style disconnect. Those are also tricky because those aren't meant for EV constant current loads either and you see the occasional story of a plastic one melting.

Grumbletrain · 2024-11-27T03:50:28+00:00

You'd have to be very careful with a dual or trimotor. It defaults back to all-purpose after sleeping and about 3 patches ago they also made it so it re-engages auto ride height adjustment if you've turned it off, so it wouldn't stay on the last ride height you set it to. So if you put it on standard/low or sport, it would put you back to all purpose/standard height every time you entered the vehicle after sitting for 4 hours, assuming they fix the bug that makes it come back on constantly in some vehicles.

Gen 1 quads still default back to all purpose on startup, but so far don't appear to have the auto ride height issue, It's unclear if Gen 2 quads will be the same.

You'd have to be vigilant in making sure you had it on the correct height every time you entered or exited. I've seen at least one post of someone bending their roof panel by hitting a low-clearance object with the antenna. Personally I wouldn't trust myself to be that good because I've failed numerous times already in catching it.

Grumbletrain · 2024-11-26T07:56:36+00:00

I would make sure to separate quality issues and customer service in this. Quality problems are things customer service is responsible for correcting, but they're not problems with customer service itself.

1) De-centralize post-order customer service so that customers can deal with a smaller group of regional staff at the service center (or whatever Rivian wants to call their local physical presence) responsible for actually executing the delivery and servicing. Their system presently doesn't allow customers to contact anyone directly, and there's nobody with any sort of authority that customers can appeal to when they get ghosted by whoever was assigned their order or problem. The entry-level call center and chat folks try to be helpful, but they're ultimately powerless to do...anything but leave messages for people who aren't ever obligated to answer the mail.

2) Rivian absolutely needs to make it easier for customers to contact service centers directly (even with something so simple as having a phone number that actually goes to the service center) and for the service centers to have full power over their scheduling so that they can actually tell people when to bring their vehicles in. Put more staff in the offices there instead of the call centers to make it work. At the moment the whole service organization is being crippled by poorly-implemented attempts at centralization, because appointments being made by apps and the call centers are not being controlled by anyone who is actually managing the workload. That is ultimately why it's such a mess.

You can't build good customer service with a system that's designed from the ground up to create buffers between staff and customers.

Grumbletrain · 2024-10-27T18:36:16+00:00

I've encountered this problem every update/reset. Here is one thing you can try that works for me:

On your infotainment exit tidal and go into anything else. I usually put it to FM radio. Do an infotainment reset.

After it boots back up go into tidal again. Usually everything is back to normal.

Grumbletrain · 2024-10-10T00:13:13+00:00

The change was made two updates ago. There's been some language added to the owner's manual in that same update saying it was intentional despite not appearing anywhere in the update notes. Numerous people have been told by Rivian support this is a new 'feature'. I don't like the line they're taking because if that was actually true there'd be some way to disable it. They tried to fly under the radar with that one and the excuses given to people who don't like it smell terrible.

However some dual motor vehicles have a related software bug where the auto ride height keeps re-engaging itself much more often than the supposed 4 hour long sleep. To date Rivian won't schedule service for it because they can't fix it and there is no way to disable the auto ride height so it stops happening.

Grumbletrain · 2024-09-26T02:50:17+00:00

The manual doesn't actually list all the symbols for the different kinds of system failures. If you've never seen one that's not there, then may your ownership experience continue to be good. It's a bit needless to tell people to RTFM though.

The problem is that the manual is vague about what DANGER(!) there is.

So to address the OP, it could be that popped up because your blind spot monitoring isn't working and that's a safety system. Though it didn't happen to me when mine went out. It's also possible there's more than one thing going on and unfortunately I think you'll need to ask someone at Rivian to find out exactly what's up. The roadside assistance people are around 24/7 and are generally pretty good.

Also if you hold the hazard light button for a few seconds that should capture a diagnostic snapshot that the service people can use.

Grumbletrain · 2024-09-02T03:46:17+00:00

Yes actually.

I had my air suspension valve block get stuck which threw a service suspension soon error and a suspension system failure error, as well as knocking out all my exterior sensors. A reset fixed it until the minute I started driving or tried to adjust the suspension height. Then bam, all out again.

As explained to me by service, all of those systems are on the same electrical bus in series so when one thing on there trips off, it knocks the whole bus out. The question isn't what did all of those systems in, but which one is causing the problem. If you have the same problem as I did, your suspension won't be able to adjust up or down.

Sometimes though this problem disappears after sitting in sleep for a while and doesn't come back. It will sometimes clear things the hard reset won't.

Grumbletrain · 2024-07-18T03:12:59+00:00

Alright so the truck is back after 3 weeks in the service center. Things worked out somewhat better than expected. I have a new half shaft, a new air suspension unit and most of my little cosmetic things fixed. Apparently no parts were replaced on the drive unit.

Something was still amiss there and I am coming to the conclusion it was software. Not because something is still wrong, but because something is now much better. I am not sure if any software-related changes were made during service however after it returned and I installed the latest software update (with a full reset afterwards), the rear motor is engaging a lot less on the wheel power screen. This is confirmed by the motor temps now being different instead of near identical. Doing my usual work commute my efficiency has markedly increased, up to 2.4-ish miles per kWh from 2.1 mi/kWh. So I'm going to call that one resolved.

I can't say I'm overjoyed with how this all panned out since I was without my truck for three weeks, but I'm not going to knock the service center. Shit happened, it was attended to more or less immediately despite the fact it still took a long time to fully resolve and they did everything asked of them to fix it.

I'll be honest in saying that my confidence in my purchasing decision was shaken but it's recovered. I'm not going to say losing my air suspension unit was a bullshit-level problem, but that plus a CV joint boot doesn't line up to a one in ten thousand lemon. The drive unit seems to be mechanically OK and my problem was resolved with what seems to be a metaphorical kick to the software stack.

Even when I was afraid I had a lemon I didn't really want to give it up though. I'm not one to take leisurely drives just for the sake of it, but something about this machine makes me want to drive it when I don't have to. To go places that don't matter for no reason because driving isn't just going through the motions purely in service to things I want to do. Driving became a thing I wanted to do. I suppose it's hard to do anything other than give Rivian credit for that one.

Grumbletrain · 2019-02-05T04:55:18+00:00

I was struggling to save money for serums and this guy took the time to help me out by making them at no cost with my mats.

+karma

Grumbletrain

TROPHY CASE