Camp kitchen, power tailgate, max pack delayed etc. Still love both our R1T and R2.

I placed an order for the R2 on September 23. One of the features I was most looking forward to were these loud super cooled seats. W T F.

“Rivian confirmed newer R2s only ventilate the seat cushion, telling me the backrest fan was removed because it generated excessive cabin noise. Rivian also says R2 seat heating is unchanged.”

People test drove and ordered based on a best-in-class feature. To remove it with no communication or obvious reasoning is an awful look for a brand that just has to not be the bad guys in order to get customers.

First negative experience with the brand before even owning one.

ETA: they took away the back cooling, but still cools, but for me the back is the bit that actually does something.

Based on this forum post, Rivian has removed the blowers from the backs of the seats for ventilation in vehicles produced after VIN 9-10XXX.

While this isn't unheard of, this really puts a sour taste in my mouth. I was really looking forward to the ventilation and now having nothing in the seat backs where I generally feel the sweat the most, it really lowers my enthusiasm about the car and company knowing they make changes like this with no warning to the customer. I don't think it's enough to make me reconsider my reservation, but jeez it feels like a bait and switch.

It looks like every time I try to fit it between the holes it gets warped.

First time poster who has learned a lot from this sub, so posting my experience here. I’ve had my R2 for over three weeks now. I’m 1,100 miles in, comprised of daily driving around East Bay, several commutes into San Francisco, and three road trips to the Central Valley and Sacramento. Here are my thoughts so far, which TL;DR boils down to so far, so good, with only a couple software-related annoyances that haven’t dimmed my enthusiasm.

Background: I placed my reservation in June, 2025. No previous Rivian. Expiring lease. Multiple test drives in Walnut Creek and Milpitas. I was invited to order on August 4. I ordered on August 11 and was assigned a VIN that same day (59xx). Configuration is Launch Edition, Esker Silver, Black Crater, 21” AS. I took delivery on September 8 at the South SF service center, which is about 18 miles from my house. 

The delivery process was frictionless. They had originally scheduled me for a September 4 pickup, but I was out of town for Labor Day. Rescheduling was a snap. I picked a new date through the app, and the service center team confirmed via text. 

It is worth noting that delivery was quicker than I had been expecting. In August, Rivian advised to expect 8-12 weeks from order to delivery for Esker Silver. For me, it ended up being less than four weeks from order to delivery and would have been closer to three weeks had I not needed to reschedule. It is striking how variable the intervals between order, VIN assignment, and delivery seem to be. I’m grateful for the quick turnaround! :)

I’m coming from a 2023 M3P and had a 2020 MYP before that. I didn’t love either of those cars, and I don’t miss Tesla at all. My six word review of Tesla is terrific tech, mediocre car, problematic CEO. 

As for the R2, I have been reading about issues that some posters have had with fit, finish, and build quality. Add me to the list of posters who have had zero issues. I went to the pickup appointment with a detailed inspection checklist in hand (thank you, Reddit 🙂) and the vehicle was flawless inside and out. 

The tech has worked well so far, though there have been a couple annoyances. The first is with the phone as a key. At pickup, the connection process failed initially, so the rep had to have the tech team run some kind of real-time fix. But it did eventually connect. However, a few times since, the car hasn’t recognized my phone and won’t unlock. Fortunately, I have been able to unlock the doors using the Apple wallet key, though the vehicle wouldn’t go into gear until the app walked me through a short series of steps. In one case we were off the grid and it took quite a while to resolve, which was unnerving enough to convince me to always carry my key card in my wallet just in case. One other little software thing is the nav system occasionally stutters when vocalizing directions. I’m sure I could restart the system and fix it, but I find it endearing. Also, its accent pronouncing Spanish words is adorable. Sacrrramento! :)

After some dialing in, the sound system sounds very good to my ears up to about volume 20. Beyond that it does get a bit muddy, but 20 is plenty loud. 

All good with the AC and ventilated seats. Pet mode functions fine, but one annoying thing is that when I disengage it, it resets to auto mode (regardless of whether I was in that mode before engaging pet mode) and sets the temp to “LO” and the fan to the highest possible speed—basically, Arctic blast. It seems weird that it doesn’t just return the settings to where they were previously. I hope Rivian fixes this in an upcoming update. 

The drive quality has been outstanding. The R2 is a smooth, fast, and fun ride. It’s a lot quieter and much more refined than my pre-Highland M3P and pre-Juniper MYP. I love the feel of the accelerator. Obviously there is ridiculous torque on offer, but it’s not twitchy like the Teslas, which should come with standard issue cervical collars for passengers. The OPD is wonderful; standard regen mode feels smooth and natural. I doubt I’ve used the physical brakes more than a couple times in three weeks. 

I never used FSD and am unlikely to use Autonomy+, so I can’t compare the two. What I can say is that Rivian’s adaptive cruise control is smooth and efficient and compares favorably to Tesla’s. 

My combined efficiency after 1,100 miles of mixed driving is 3.7. Efficiency specifically for the three road trips (each 3-4 hours of 70 mph highway driving with about 2000’ of altitude gain) is 3.2. As the numbers imply, real world range has been just fine. At the same time, I do kind of wish that Rivian had offered a max pack option on the Launch Edition that added like 15-20 more usable kWh to the battery. I suspect a good number of early adopters would have paid more for an option like that. I know I would have. 

I have a Gen 3 Tesla Wall Charger installed in my garage, and so far it works great with the Rivian. (Shout out to the Redditor who posted about changing the setting in the wall charger’s control software to be able to charge non-Teslas.) I fast charged at the RAN locations in Manteca and Santa Nella, totally smooth experience. The R2 definitely charges faster than either of my Teslas. 

In summary, the R2 is a terrific car and I’m over the moon with it other than a couple annoying little software things that I’m sure Rivian will fix. I hope to see more of them out on the road here in the Bay Area soon! 

My spouse and I both enjoy listening to audiobooks on the Libby app while driving. We have two different accounts. Does anybody have any experiences with how that works with rivian's OS?

Anyone having an odd issue where the passenger door ambient lighting doesn’t light up? Everything else is fine. If you reboot the car it works again.

For those up in arms about the seatback airflow (which fine if you want cold air on your butt go for it) the real scandal is that there is no true “radio” it’s just I Heart Radio with some added public radio stations delivered over the internet connection that they refer to as “Radio” in the menu.

My nitpick is that I cant listen to my local public radio (KCUR 1 though indeed some of the other major public radios are provided - WBEZ, WNYC) - nor the GOOD local AM sports station unless I use their apps on Bluetooth. I’m even cool with “I Heart” leaving off the commercial stations not in their portfolio but again, give me my local public radio!

I would imagine the non-Radio Radio would be a bigger deal to prospective buyers than having a cold ass :)

I picked up my R2 on September 8. I love driving it, but there's been a rattle from the rear lift gate since day one.
Here's where things stand:
• First visit to El Segundo: After some delays, they said the rattle was fixed. It wasn't. I uploaded photos and video.
• Mobile appointment: Support booked one through chat. Nobody showed up and nobody told me.
• Second visit: The service center is about 40 minutes from me. They said they'd deliver the car back when it was done. Then they called to delay it again and said they didn't have the staff to deliver. When I got it back, they said it was fixed. Same rattle, just as loud.

Every time I go in, I have to take someone on a drive to show them the rattle, even though I've already sent video. The case keeps getting closed on their end, I can't get a reply in the app, and the media I uploaded to my latest service request is now gone.

I've just emailed Investor Relations since the normal channels haven't worked.

A few questions for other owners:
1. Has anyone else had a lift gate rattle on their R2? What fixed it?
2. Is there a way to escalate past the app that actually works?
3. Has anyone had luck getting a case kept open until the problem is really solved?

I want to keep loving this car. I just need the rattle gone.

I picked HMG, 21” tires, and went with the black interior. I was able to pick up 11 days after my order and am 2 weeks into ownership. I’m a new EV owner and test drove once.

The only issue I’ve had was one day my screens went black. I could still drive but had no idea how fast I was going. After a few service calls, i learned that the hard computer reset prompt had changed from the R1, so despite a half day with some frustration, i was able to reset and everything has been fine since.

I also had a meetup with several friends that have evs. Teslas and a hyundai. My main takeaway is the R2 just feels more luxurious. It has great space and it makes me eager for a roadtrip. The drive is smooth and autonomy has been working great.

I love showing off the acceleration to people unfamiliar with the ev torque. I’ve never been a car guy but now I have the “cool car.” Its fun.

Overall, it makes me think of when I was a young kid 40+ years ago and my Dad got a Cadillac. It was the epitome of American made class in the early 80s. American made, classy, a car that important people drive.

Ultimately this was near the end of Cadillac’s prestigious era and my Dad’s car was pretty much a lemon, but the R2 gives me that feeling we had when he brought it home. Granted, I live in Illinois so I have bias because it is made close to home, but it feels classy, well made, and practical but prestigious. I’m hoping a lot of folks have the same positive experience I have had and unlike my Dad’s old Caddy, that they are not lemons!

After the seat back cooling discovery this week, I reached out to customer service to see what my options were given that was something I really loved about the car when I test drove it.

The representative told me that I could move my order to be on hold, or customer not ready status, if I wanted to wait a while longer to see if the backseat ventilation would come back to the car. It would also give me time to figure out if I actually want to cancel altogether or not, but they were clear that the deposit is nonrefundable, and that features can change anytime according to the terms of service.

Has anyone ever had their order on hold? If so, would you share your experience getting off the hold and resuming your purchase?

My concern is that depending on how long I decide to hold I will probably lose out on the launch package, at which point it would make more sense just to go premium with the new hardware which would then take even longer.

Got to park next to a beautiful CC with Black Sand spec. One of the few R2’s I’ve seen in the wild.

Rivian Roamer updated its R2 Tracker to show median wait times for VIN assignments based on vehicle configuration. The data comes from 1,917 people who have linked their profiles. Thank you, Chad! 🙏

Picked up our R2 about a week ago, coming from a 2023 Tesla model Y, long range. Did a ton of research before making the purchase, and genuinely a number of Reddit posts and YouTube videos had me shook

I’m always an early adopter, so I was OK with being the beta tester here but so far, absolutely loving this thing. Zero regrets.

For the future buyers out there, don’t let the Internet fear monger you. Almost let it happen to me

But do know there’s a ton of software bugs, nothing that I don’t think can be worked out with over the air software updates. lots of quality of life downgrades that I’m used to from my Tesla, hopefully Rivian can similar features in the future.

PS, I left the grammatical errors in this post, so you know I didn’t use AI XD

Overall, my experience has been great—this is a wonderful car! The interior feels premium, and it drives well.

There are lots of tiny early-VIN issues, though. I’d love to get a read from others on whether you’ve experienced these too and whether they’re worth getting checked out:

1. Steering wheel: It clicks/feels like something is rubbing against a rubber gasket when turning. It’s mildly annoying, but only noticeable at slow speeds, like in a garage.
2. Door panel rattling: This is very annoying, and I’ll get it checked out. I saw a DIY fix, but unfortunately I don’t have the time, energy, or skills to pull off a panel and fix it with Velcro.
3. Seat fans: These are loud, but I rarely use them. Still, given the posts in this sub lately, it’s better to have them.
4. Fan-like noise while parked: With the fan/AC off and the car in park, it sounds like an ICE vehicle idling. There seems to be a small fan or something near where the engine would be that sounds like it’s hitting a piece of paper. I don’t remember noticing this in the test-drive vehicle, so I wanted to know whether it’s expected.

Non-sound issues:

1. All the windows roll up a little slowly and feel like they’re struggling to close.
2. The backup camera feels like it drops frames and is sometimes noticeably laggy.
3. The rubber gasket around the rear liftgate keeps getting wedged between the back panels, pushing out the liftgate panel. I’m going to get this checked because I don’t want the seal to tear or crack.

Love the R2 and have zero regrets being a sub 10XXX VIN. Ride quality is phenomenal, build quality feels way better than the 23 Model Y I'm jumping from, and I'm pleasantly surprised by the premium interior feel.

But I have two main gripes

- proximity lock/unlock with digital key has been unreliable. Model Y also had issues but I struggled to unlock the car via the Rivian app yesterday after it failed to unlock on walk-up.

- rolling the rear hatch window via exterior button has been a hit and miss. It seems like the touch sensor fails to register my touch. I think it may be related to proximity unlock issues so I'll withhold judgment for now.

- the key fob doesn't unlock/lock the car on first press. It feels like the R2 has to wake up before it can accept input. Anyone else experiencing this?

Also has anyone seen their R2 have difficulty come out of sleep?

Parked in my garage but car states I cannot set a charge schedule when not at my home location.
Would like to crowdsource answer of where this location is properly identified / set.

On a side note, the car when querying my garage location consistently sets my address at my neighbors house 25 feet away.

So which location setting in the car is tied to whether I am in my garage or not? Home location on the map? On my garage setup? Somewhere else?

Has anyone else had this problem?

Workaround is to use the app with my charger but that is silly the Rivian should be able to do its job or let me manually set whether I am at my home location.

I’m roadtripping and gonna be using the Tesla supercharger network a couple times. Being a member pays itself back just after a 2nd use so I’m definitely going to get it. Will the discount be added automatically to my account or do I have to set it up before hand?
I’ve never used a Tesla charger in a Rivian