We have been telling our readers about quality control issues with Tesla vehicles for years. Everything suggested that Lucid would present better products, but recent reviews and customer complaints show the startup desperately needs to improve. We thought Rivian had escaped that. Kyle Conner and the Out of Spec Detailing YouTube channel show that this automotive newcomer also has a lot to learn.
Conner released a short video presenting all the panel gap problems he found on a Rivian R1S. The frunk lid has several misalignment points, such as close to the windshield and over the headlights. The roof seems to have been resprayed, and the upper extreme of the tailgate is not even with the top.
The right side appears to be the worst: both the rear and front closed doors look like they are not properly latched, with steps between them and the body. On the left, the driver’s door handle is defective. The title of the short video is “get your sh*t together, Rivian!”
Colton runs the detailing shop that Conner visited and presented another example of a problematic Rivian with an R1T. The more extensive video shows more problems with Rivian products than just uneven panel gaps, even if these are pretty evident. The charging port, doors, frunk lid, and tailgate all have problems, making it look like the body structure is slightly twisted.
The frunk lid misalignment can be connected to loose plastic parts underneath it. Colton discovered that the clips were not correctly fitted. That also happened with the rubber sills on the left side of the electric truck, which presented noticeable bulges around them and were easy to move. The right side sills and weather strippings were properly attached, which made the comparison even easier and more concerning.
The last thing Colton analyzes is the paint quality. Rivian vehicles used to come with sanding marks to remove dust nibs. After his channel started disclosing that, the Denver Rivian Service Center began to buff the paint in a clumsy way. That generated dual action (DA) haze in plastic parts, which is a pain to remove. In its will to deliver cars with better paint, the service center ended up creating a bigger problem, which takes more time to solve than the original one.
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