- Rivian made a brand-new powered tonneau cowl for the R1T.
- The troubled automated mattress cowl is now at its third iteration.
- The primary model began having issues quickly after it was launched, and the second model was rapidly dropped.
Rivian R1T homeowners can lastly get a brand-new powered tonneau cowl that truly works, because the California-based electrical automobile startup has formally launched the third era of the troubled mattress cowl in its on-line Gear Store.
The brand new model of the powered tonneau, which is priced at $3,300 (together with set up), has been lengthy within the making. The primary model, launched in 2022 with the primary batch of customer-spec R1Ts, was instantly riddled with points.
Photograph by: Rivian
Homeowners like Zack Nelson, who’s finest generally known as JerryRigEverything on YouTube, skilled a tonneau cowl failure lower than 1,500 miles into his R1T possession. The duvet was loud, and it jammed both when closing or opening it, so Rivian ultimately stopped making it altogether.
The automaker promised a revised model would develop into out there quickly, with CEO RJ Scaringe even showcasing it in a brief social media put up alongside a guide tonneau choice. The second model of the powered cowl began reaching clients in December of 2023, as famous by some Rivian Boards customers. The service technicians who had put in the revised model mentioned on the time that the mechanism had upgraded springs, an up to date backside panel system and bolstered gearing.
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Supply: Rivian
That mentioned, some homeowners who obtained the second-generation tonneau mentioned that it sounded precisely like the primary one, and questioned what really modified beneath the pores and skin.
Effectively, that model didn’t final lengthy. After homeowners reported ongoing issues, Rivian stopped putting in it final 12 months. Now, a 12 months later, a brand-new model of the powered tonneau has surfaced on the corporate’s web site. The EV maker says that the brand new variant is water resistant, opens easily in seconds, and is “just about noise-free.” That final half is especially fascinating, because the earlier variations have been fairly noisy.
The primary two iterations of the powered cowl had eight large slats that retracted on the push of a button. The newest, and hopefully a lot improved, model has smaller 36 roll-up slats. In keeping with Rivian’s web site, not all R1Ts are appropriate with the redesigned tonneau cowl. Some automobiles that got here with a guide tonneau or with no powered tonneau may not be appropriate with the brand new automated cowl on account of wire harness limitations.
The $3,300 price ticket consists of the aluminum meeting, mounting {hardware} and substitute trims, in addition to the set up, which will be carried out at a Rivian service middle by appointment solely.
