24,000 Mile Rivian R1T Review Before Repurchase

This is a semi-detailed review of my truck before I returned it to Rivian. It was an amazing vehicle to use for commuting and ranching but after a few warranty issues related to a drive motor and the braking system, I worked with Rivian to return it. I don't think this issue is across all Rivian's, mine is a 1st Gen Adventure Edition and I believe they continue to learn, iteraete and improve.

[stevsadventures]

i've worked in the auto industry my whole career, this is how you take care of customers and building long term brand loyalty. rivian did the right thing.

[jonathonzacharias]

Such a well balanced and reasonable take, perhaps a bit generous. I appreciate the practical perspective from the use as a work truck. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[chrism]

Wow what an honest review. Thank you for being so balanced and for showing us how one can handle so many problems with such grace. Best to you and your family.

[FiddleyBits]

We have a Rivian R1T and 2 Ford Lightnings for the farm. You might look into a Lightning, since prices have gone down on them quite a bit. The Lightnings are for the farm mainly, while the Rivian is our adventure pickup. We have not had any serious problems with the Rivian and I'm so sorry to hear about your experiences. We have not had any serious issues with the Lightnings either. With fuel prices continuing to go up, the economics for the EV pickups on our farm have huge benefits. All our diesel/gas pickups, even new ones, are requiring lots of repair maintenance costs that the EVs are not.

[KevinWorrell]

You are a very likable person with a genuine personna thats refreshing and appreciated. Thank you for the great video.

[CurtiMado]

I have an R1T and use it regularly for farm duty.
Points you made that are consistent with my experience—
Under bed storage is only useful for things to which you don’t need regular access.
Gear tunnel is a home run.
Wind noise from A pillar is consistent and directly related to increased speeds.
The bed has been somewhat limiting for many jobs. But it does provide versatility.
Overall, it’s been a great truck. They’re evolving quickly. Like you said, their customer service is excellent.
Oh yeah — I wish they’d have been able to get the powered tonneau covered fixed by now!

[pearldiver]

Great, realistic review. Lots of good points. Sorry it wasn't a more positive experience for you with the Rivian, but as you said, they're new, they're learning, and they're taking the proper customer-focused path in how they improve the product.

[DavidLeee]

thanks for sharing your story. looks like you did get good use out of the truck as a work truck despite the issues. glad to hear Rivian is doing whats right and imo going above and beyond by buying it back at full price.

[thomaskim]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m glad Rivian takes customer service seriously. Tesla is just the polar opposite.

[mrrgt]

Very insightful perspective from someone who is actually using it as a truck. I was interested to see how an electric truck performs in subzero and snowy weather. As a non-electric F150 owner 4x4 and hauling are what I care most about. Rivian is most certainly learning and applying what they learn into truck design and manufacturing continuously. They will also certainly improve over product development time.

[jasonhawkins]

Really nice to find a review from someone using the truck as a truck! Thank you

[rford]

Great fair in balance review of the Rivian, good luck, feature vehicles and keep that ranch running!

[Eric-xpkl]

Good review...we've had our R1T for almost 1 year now and 19, 000 miles. We have had very minimal problems, the tonneau cover still works like day one, no parking brake issues. That being said, I can totally relate to your concerns. I used to worry more about when and if we would have a problem...after many 1, 000-mile trips, I no longer worry. DC charging on the road, at least in the states we travel is pretty flawless in our experience.

[evergonzalez]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Glad to see someone putting it to work! I plan on putting mine to work as well and do much more than what my poor little Model 3 P did.

[vantripping]

Thanks for your honest sharing of your experiences. Great to hear that they are buying it back from you.

[michaelgandy]

Great review and I appreciate your honesty. I'm still waiting for my R1T and I feel like any manufacturer has issues. Just like windows they say there's a 5% chance of failure but they don't tell you which 5% so you do your best to prepare for it when it happens. Our 2021 Tesla Model 3 had its main computer fail and it was so new that they didn't have parts available so it took a few days to get it in and back running. I think the way Rivian is dealing with your issue shows class and it makes me want to stick with my gut and get my R1T once they allow me to configure. Thanks for your review

[Paul-qeuf]

I too, really enjoyed this measured assessment, and I'm glad to see someone treat this truck..like a truck. I absolutely love mine - but it's babied, and I only drive it on the highway. I've had mine a little over a year (15k miles) and had a communication module that needed to be replaced. No issues other than that so far.

[jturkish]

Fantastic review, would love to see the same level of review on a lightning pro or XLT

[brianarant]

One note, the bed is as long as a standard crew cab bed when you put the tailgate down. My 2015 Ram is 7'2" with the tailgate down. The Rivian is 7' with the tailgate down. So if you mainly haul dirtbikes, plywood etc.. then you get about the same room.

[derpydestinies]

My grandfather swore that green cars were bad luck. He had so many issues with all his green cars. This man changed vehicles every 6 months to a year with his job and had the opportunity to own 20 something vehicles. I've started away from green vehicles my entire life because of him 😅 I always find anecdotes like this "proving" his theory (I'm aware this isn't proof) fascinating, though. Glad to hear Rivian is seemingly using this vehicle to learn from this gentleman's issues.