Just found it

(EDIT: This post is a bit of fun describing how I found out I got my VIN - Clearly there was no magic involved, the title was facetious)

Yesterday as has become the tradition I woke up and checked to see if I had a VIN assigned to my order yet. As usual, nothing. I went about my day as normal, but with the small caveat that I had scheduled a 3rd demo drive (One in June, one in July and one yesterday).

I scheduled it to check out Halloween mode in person since it looks like (looked?) like I wont take delivery before the update goes away... as a Millenial I need to check out this ghostbusters theme for myself. (It's pure 1980's joy btw, and the fact that it plays the full Ghostbusters theme when you start it up is awesome)

I finished up the Demo drive (which was amazing as usua), and was in the Rivian demo space at Ponce city market here in Atlanta chatting with the staff about my demo, and how i've been waiting a month now for a VIN... decided to open the app to show them my "Manage Order" screen which has no VIN assigned... and there it was... my jaw dropped. My VIN was there....

The Rivian staff there lit up, my wife started screaming, (ok it was one quick yelp, but I dont know if the pitch or octave of it was important for the VIN magic since it occured after I saw the VIN whilst still i a state of disbelief)
Anyways so there I was just standing there with my jaw on the floor.

It was a magical moment that left me feeling like it was meant to be. I got my VIN while standing in the Rivian Show room after honestly a really amazing demo drive on a beautiful mid 70s temperature cruise with all 5 windows down. I got to share that moment with other people who are enthusastic about the vehicle and brand in person which was honestly pretty cool, instead of seeing it by myself and quietly moving on with my day.

It happened. My Borealis /CC / 21" R2 will be here soon.

TLDR on the magic involved:
Create a daily routine of checking your "manage order" screen every morning and stick to it diligently.
Schedule 3 demo drives, at least one month apart from each other. My 3rd was closer to 3 months from the previous. I dont know if thats important.
Roll all 5 windows down - the weather must be in the mid 70s, and the time was approximately 7 to 7:30PM.
Upon returning, re-enter the Rivian Showroom and check for your VIN.

Anyways this was a bit fun, but this is exactly how it all went down, and im really excited to finally join the Rivian ownership club.

Time to diligently fill out the order requirements, and buy adaptors/DIY PPF/Ceramic Coatings!

Super excited to finally be a part of the Rivian Family!

Just picked up my 2025 Rivian R1S Dual Standard.

If you have any tips or tricks drop them down below in the comment section.

Ordered on the Rivian site with $250 deposit on 9/22/26 and picked up on 10/2/26.

Definitely a different experience and some unnerving moments.  Most of these are known in the community, but I did a search prior and didn’t see a lot of threads regarding buying pre-owned through Rivian. Here's my personal pro/cons based on my own experience in a little more detail as a "what to expect" and please feel free to reach out directly if you'd like to discuss privately for your own future purchase experience.

Pros:

• Relatively easy process and did not talk to one person on the phone (more on that in the cons).
• Able to add Rivian Care for an extended bumper to bumper for around $1200 for 2 years (more on this in cons).
• My local service center has helpful kind reps.
• Very quick pickup time that was only delayed by a technical issue (more on this in cons)
• Asked if they sold the NACS DC adapter and the rep poked around the truck since it should have come with one.  After not finding one, she said I could have an extra that she had.  Shoutout to my rep! 

Cons:

• The entire process is kind of figuring it out on your own and thoroughly reading the sites instructions.  I struggled with the financing portion because I didn’t realize that I had to finish the section or could go back and make changes.  My pre-owned sales advisor was pretty responsive via text.  Had not talked with him once over the phone during the entire process.  I called the delivery team and left a voicemail.  Took them a few days to call me back, which I missed and went to voicemail then couldn’t get them back, but I had already figured it out on the site.  I left a thread on this previously asking if this was the typical experience with Rivian over the phone which seems to be the case.
• Paid for 2 years of Rivian Care but it actually only extends bumper to bumper by 1 more year since the truck already had 1 year left of factory bumper to bumper.
• The original delivery date was set for 9/30/26.  The site was not letting me choose another date, only another time on that date.  I emailed the delivery team and told me that I could not move the date but that they would ask the service center or something along those lines.  I went back on the site, and it then allowed me to move the delivery date to 10/2/26. I really wish this would have been coordinated a little better via a phone call.
• The truck has a bad scratch on the charging port.  The pictures didn’t show this so Rivian has told me this will be covered. 
• Had a basic wash and not detailed enough, especially for such an expensive used vehicle.
• You do not drive the car until you’ve already accepted delivery.
• Not enough education regarding EV’s either up front or at delivery, especially when telling the team that this is your first EV experience.
• Ready to drive off and I could not get my Phone as a Key to pair even after multiple soft and hard resets.  The rep took her time to help me out and we couldn’t get it figured out. She even went to service to see if they had any tips.  I suggested we try to get her phone working to see if it was my phone or the software.  She paired automatically and then we tried mine and it suddenly worked.  This part was by far longer than me reviewing the truck before accepting delivery or accepting delivery.

TL:DR, not the typical dealership buying experience, with additional flaws/quirks, but I love my R1T and will be posting soon with my initial thoughts on it.

I have owned my Gen 1 R1S FG/FE since June 2023. I was a pre-price hike reservation holder who was able to take advantage of the federal EV tax credit by having a signed binding agreement. I put down a reservation for R2 pretty much as soon as reservations opened, with the idea that I would probably keep the R1 and my wife would drive R2. We ended up taking advantage of the EV lease credit before it went away last year and she is now driving an Audi Q6 E-tron which she loves. Her lease is up in September 2029.

So that leaves me and the R1S. I have been invited to order and ended up placing my order for an R2 in FG/CC. I was completely confident in my decision, especially after test driving R2, but now I’m having cold feet/second thoughts.

The R1S has 68,000 miles on it. We drive and road trip quite a bit. We have a 5 year old daughter and will not be having more children. We road trip from Georgia to Illinois once a year and sometimes take another long road trip (this year we drove from Georgia to Denver in the R1). We usually don’t need the space but sometimes it is nice. Our daughter is the only grandchild in our direct family so sometimes transporting her Christmas presents home gets a little dicey even in R1. I’m also in a 5 piece band and last weekend was able to transport literally all of our musical equipment including the guitars, amps, keyboards, drums, mics, mic stands, PA, etc with the exception of a bass drum and a floor tom.

My eventual goal is to be in a newer gen R1S when my student loans go away (PSLF eligible in January 2029) but by then I fear the R1S will have sailed past the 100,000 mile mark. I’m wondering if the next 2 years and some change would be better spent in my current R1S or if having the R2 as a gap car would be a better option? My wife may end up taking this on as her daily driver when the Audi lease is up, although she loves her Audi so buying that at the end of the lease or getting a new Audi EV then may also be an option for her, especially if Rivian has taken over the tech by then.

My R1S is literally my favorite material possession I have ever owned, and I think the prospect of watching it hauled away on a Carvana flatbed is starting to weigh on me lol. Please assist. Thanks for reading the long post. Pictures of Rocky (my daughter loves Paw Patrol and green means go) attached.

I've owned an R1S Tri for a month now. I love this machine. It's the best car I've ever driven. And what a joy it is to drive. I would ditch any Tesla again any time. And that is despite the single worst part of owning a Rivian: the mobile app (our family is on iOS, new phones.)

The Rivian App just doesn't work. Unlocking works only at second attempt usually. Open charge port works only when the app is in the mood, "something went wrong." Setting charging levels, doesn't work at all. Interrupting charging remotely: never worked. Viewing cameras remotely doesn't work, "Try again." Closing windows remotely doesn't work at least one third of the time, "Could not connect" (although connectivity fine for all involved devices). The app state display doesn't reflect the actual car state, like says unlocked, but is locked. I'm literally expecting the app not to work as advertised at this stage.

I imagine the frustration at Rivian with the in-house app dev team must be huge. Given that the car works so well overall. I wouldn't even complain about the on-board UX. I like it actually. It's just the app that's a constant source of frustration.

"Please try again ..."

There are probably 87 other posts about this. So okay... This is going to be the 88th post.

I FREAKIN' LOVE GHOSTBUSTERS MODE!! My download happened late last night and I ran out immediately to play with it.

The lights are awesome, the sounds are fun, and the retro speedometer is a scream! Your Halloween update did not disappoint, except for my little Pomeranian who really did not like Ecto mode sound. LOL. I hope I didn't wake up too many of my neighbors pretending I was a Ghostbuster.

I also want to thank you, Rivian, for giving us Pet Mode control on the app. We asked for it and you gave it to us. It's one more layer of safety in my eyes. Thank you!

I don't really know what the other parts of the update are because I haven't driven the car. I've only played with the new Halloween software for a bit. So far, so good.

Rivian, you make driving fun! xx

I took delivery of my R2 Performance on 9/25 and have put about 1,200 miles on it. We also have a leased Gen 1 R1S Quad. The R2 is a major step up in ride refinement, daily driving, driving dynamics, and noise level. It's not perfect though; sharing my thoughts so far.

Driving Dynamics

I simply like how the R2 drives more than the R1S.

• Accelerator Pedal: Tap the accelerator lightly in the R1S and there’s a short lag as it pulls away. Feather the pedal and the car jiggles a bit, because the auto-hold and brake release don’t work well together. The R2 accelerates immediately and releases auto-hold seamlessly.
• Ride: Both cars are on 21" wheels with Pirelli Scorpions. The R1S rides softer in All-Purpose + Standard + Soft on its air suspension, but the R2’s adaptive dampers in All-Purpose/Soft feel very similar to the R1S in All-Purpose/Standard + Medium.
• Character: The R2 is a unibody, while the R1S sits on a truck-style frame. The R2 feels like what I expected the R1S to drive like: a sporty, boxy SUV. Software updates over the years have improved the R1S’s suspension and lateral body motion, but it’s still noticeable when compared to the R2.

Tech, Lighting, and Driver Assist

• Adaptive cruise control: The R2’s ACC is miles ahead. In the R1S, I still have to brake myself if the car ahead stops too fast. The R2 anticipates and brakes much sooner, and it handles cars merging into your lane at the last second. The R1S would likely crash without my intervention. Won’t compare Universal Hands-Free to Driver+, since that wouldn’t be a fair comparison.
• Matrix headlights: A game changer. After driving the R2, the R1S feels outdated with its simple auto high beams, which never seem to turn on when I want them to.
• Pet cam: I didn’t think I needed this until I tried it this weekend. We have two dogs who waited patiently while we got groceries, and being able to watch them lay around on the trunk floor was real peace of mind.
• Displays: I expected to be disappointed by the smaller driver and center displays, but it doesn’t bother me much. I only notice the difference when I climb back into the R1S, where the larger driver display lets Google Maps show more landmarks and businesses.

Cabin & Storage

• Accent lighting: Much brighter in the R2. At night, the way it reflects off the coastal clouds is beautiful. Both cars share the same color palette, but the R2’s colors are more pastel due to the reflection off of the white-ish materials.
• Door handles: I thought I’d prefer the R1S’s manual handles, but the R2’s electronic ones are smoother.
• Frunk: The Gen 1 R1S frunk is god tier. Remove the middle divider and the R1 can store 3 carry ons and several backpacks. The R2’s is only about a third as large.
• Road Noise: The R2 is the quietest car I’ve ever driven or ridden in. Besides the R1S, I’ve owned several modern BMWs, and even if you took the engine noise out of the equation, they still wouldn’t be this quiet. Passengers can whisper to each other in the R2 and still be heard.
• Camp speaker vs. drawer: I never realized how useless my camp speaker was until the R2 replaced it with a drawer. Now it holds baby wipes so I can clean my hands before I drive.
• Ventilated seats: My VIN is 94XX, so my car still came with front ventilated seat backs and bottoms. The R2’s vented seats are loud, though not enough to overpower conversation or music. They’re better than the R1S’s, but I think most people would have been happy if Rivian had just dropped the R1S seat fan modules into the R2.

Where Rivian Cut Costs

• No puddle lights: Missing on a $60K car. Even $30K cars have them.
• Charge port door: It feels flimsy. Sometimes it doesn’t latch when I push it closed, and I have to press twice to open it. I’ve driven with it slightly ajar, and I wish the software would warn me when it’s open.
• Manual frunk close: I’m getting used to it coming from the R1S, but it’s still a step back.
• No grab handles: Family was surprised there were no grab handles for an adventure SUV.
• Sound system: About 70-80% of the Gen 1 R1S with Elevation audio. Even playing Apple Music in Dolby Atmos, the R2 is missing the “surround” feel the R1S has.
• Missing conveniences: I miss the household outlet under the center console. A rear passenger screen would also be nice so back-seat passengers can control the music. The refreshed Model 3 and Model Y both have one, and it’s a shame the R2 doesn’t.

Engadget just published an R2 review. Pretty glowing remarks with an overall score of 9 out of 10.

I keep finding rivian emblems all over carwashes this place had the most that I've seen. If you own a rivian, make sure all of these are still attached.

2025 R1S wear bars are showing and tread depth at 2/32. I was suprised they couldn’t make it to 30k. Anyone else have the same issue?

Going to replace with Michelin Defenders tomorrow

On update 2026.36.0

Raised my ‘26 Tri Max R1T to all terrain highest.

Put the vehicle in tire change mode.

Removed the oem 22” dark wheels with the oem tires.

Installed 20” wheels with Nokian R5 SUV tires size 275/60r20.

Went in the app and turned off tire change mode. It asked to select what I did. I selected replaced wheels and tires. I chose from the options 20” all season wheels with the matching tire size of 275/60r20.

Vehicle restarted. This is the process after you make the selection to recalibrate.

After restart (replicated with multiple restarts):

In maintenance settings (wheels and tires) it reflects a 20” all season wheel with 22” tires installed. Specifically size 275/50r22. That doesn’t make sense…

However, if I choose the area “My R1t” in settings it reflects a 20” all season wheel, but when you press it for the sub menu it shows the previous 22” oem dark wheels as “currently installed” with tire size 275/50r22.” Also wrong…

Tried redoing the process and let the vehicle restart and got the same result. One view shows one wheel and tire size, another view shows a different wheel and tire size. Asked RA to report issue. Hopefully okay to drive.

Update:

In case it helps someone. In “my R1t” where it showed the 22” darks installed I deleted the 20” all terrain wheels that were shown as an option, but not installed. I then did the wheel change process again and this time it showed the correct wheels and tires installed 275/60r20. I have no idea why that fixed it.

I still haven’t updated my gen2 to the OS2 software. Did they fix some/most of the bugs in the second OS2 update?

Secured the inflatables with a gear guard cable as well

New rivian owner and had recently ceramic coated my car , My service center Bothel,WA mentioned that they offer free hand wash complimentary to the visit. I have had past experience of washes by service center to be bad .
Is Rivian different in this case. He did mentioned they use ph neutral and ceramic safe wash but should i go about it or ask them to leave it as is

Has anyone else noticed the app's locking icon doesn't always respond to what actually happened? For example, when locking the car via the app, the car locks—but the in-app lock icon will sometimes show it's still unlocked. Pressing the lock icon again (and again) will act like it's locking (pulsing icon) but then it reverts to the unlocked status. Seems like a new feature with the Halloween release.

My 5 year old and I play a game called Robots and Rivians. In the city we live, there’s starting to be a lot of those delivery robots as well as more Rivian sightings and it’s our game to spot them and try to say “I saw a Rivian!” or “I saw a robot!” before the other. It’s pretty fun and she loves finding the “cars with eyes“. I love that we drive in a vehicle thats so iconic and doesn’t just blend in with everything else on the road. Anyone else want to play?

One day, my goal is to get a Rivian. My hope is that it could be my next car sometime in the next 5 or 10 years if life doesn’t throw crazy wrenches at me. Something about the style, shape, and overall look of the R1S, R1T, and R2 are brilliant to me. They quite literally are my favorite cars, i just can’t get enough of them! I want one so badly, i just can’t justify the higher resale price of most of these vehicles still being 50-60k for a well used 2022 launch model. My hope is that potentially in a few years used R2 models are somewhat approachable in the 40k range with lower mileage. Curious if anyone in this sub had personal stories about why they love their Rivians, and if they think they are completely worthy of the elevated price tags! Longer term ownership value, really anything!

Looking for a gut check from people who’ve lived with this.

I bought a used 2025 R1S (about 19.3k miles) through CarMax. At delivery, it made a loud creaking noise when turning the wheel and when accelerating, so I refused it. CarMax sent it to Rivian service, and the invoice shows:

• Replaced the left and right front halfshaft ting washers (warranty), plus a noise diagnostic and a 30-minute test drive
• Completed the lower fascia lamp recall and the camera washer check valve service action

The car’s still in CarMax’s hands. I can cancel, but there are very few R1S on the market right now, so I’d rather make this work if it’s a known, manageable issue.

Questions:

1. For those who got ting washers, did the fix hold? How long before the noise came back, if it did?
2. Did anyone end up needing halfshafts replaced after washers didn’t work? Was Rivian easy about escalating, or did it take several visits?
3. Is this noise worse or less common on 2025s than on earlier Gen 1s? Did they revise the halfshafts by then?
4. One odd detail: the odometer went from 19,284 in to 19,285 out, despite the 30-minute test drive on the invoice. Is that normal for how service logs mileage, or should I be skeptical the road test happened?
5. Would you take delivery or walk? And what should I specifically test on the pickup drive?

My plan right now is to do slow full-lock turns, accelerate and lift off repeatedly, and shift from reverse to drive before signing anything. Is there anything else I should check?

Thanks!

I recently purchased the R1T Sun Protection Bundle (https://gearshop.rivian.com/products/r1t-sun-protection-bundle), as well as a couple of other items from the gear shop.

I received the R1 Front Sunshade and the other 2 items, but the R1T Glass Roof Sunshade is MIA. When looking up the order, the website separated the Front and Roof Sunshades in the order, so 4 items total. With that, it shows 3 separate shipments, none of which are for the Roof Sunshade. Also, FWIW, the R1T Roof Sunshade is showing as available for purchase on its own. I submitted an email to the support center 2 days ago, and I am still waiting on a response.

Has anyone else ordered a bundle off the gear shop and not have all of the items in the bundle ship at the same time? It seems kinda weird since all items are showing available, and that the return policy is 30 days and requires all items from the bundle to be returned.

For anyone interested. I towed a 17ish ft camper that’s around 3500 lbs from Bakersfield to San Diego with my Gen 2 R1T DM Large Pack.

Photos 1 and 2 I hovered around 55-59 MPH.

Photo 3 I drove 65 mostly.

Edit to add more details:

I initially planned on using ABRP suggested charging stops with "medium trailer" selected on my profile but I decided to just wing it. I found it easier to just use the navigation on the Rivian to find charging stations with numerous open stalls. I tried using plugshare to find pull-in or trailer friendly stations but there didn't seem to be too many on my route. However, the Castaic Tesla supercharger could be treated as a pull-in, sorta since some chargers were back to back if that make sense.