Rivian is gearing up to introduce the R2 next month and the company is preparing for its arrival by announcing plans to open dozens of new service centers. This should help the company deal with the influx of new customers caused by the roughly $45,000 EV.

While the automaker didn’t give firm numbers, they said more than 50 new service centers are scheduled to open through next year. This will push the total number of facilities past the 150 mark.

More: Rivian Owner’s Quality And Service Nightmares Expose The Pain Of Being A ‘Beta Tester’

Rivian didn’t say where these centers will be located, but confirmed “multiple locations and larger sites” with higher capacities are planned for markets where their vehicles are popular. On the flip side, in remote areas, the company will focus on mobile service.

Speaking of mobile support, Rivian plans to increase its fleet of service vans by 50% this year. The company noted this is what customers prefer and they’ll be “enhancing onboard tools and technician training so we can perform more services remotely, including routine maintenance like tire rotations.”

More: That Rivian Bumper Tap Didn’t Look Like An $11,000 Oopsie, But Here We Are

The company has also hired and trained more than 1,000 service specialists in the past year and that practice will continue. This has reportedly resulted in a 35% reduction in wait times for service.

Software Updates

In other Rivian news, the company recently announced a handful of software updates including a new Apple Watch app. It enables users to lock and unlock doors, vent the windows, and adjust the climate control system – among other things.

The automaker also updated software in Gen 1 Quad-Motor as well as Gen 1 and 2 Dual-Motor R1s. Thanks to the change, Sport Mode now has a higher ride height option known as Standard. The company also extended Sport mode to Dual-Motor variants, which “unlocks optimized power delivery and quicker acceleration.”

Other highlights include Launch Mode as well as a “Lower” setting, which reduces the ride height by about an inch to ease entry and egress. There’s also a new cold weather indicator that shows “exactly how much energy is being used to keep your battery warm.” It will also show how much range is “temporarily unavailable until the [battery] pack reaches its optimal operating temperature.”

California is known for its beach vibes, but the state’s climate offers a little bit of everything. That’s especially true in the mountain town of Truckee, which reportedly received more than 10 inches of snow in the past 24 hours.

While snow is a fact of life in the Sierra Nevadas, some people aren’t used to the cold conditions. That appears to include a Rivian R1S driver, who discovered how weather can impact range.

More: Louisiana Town Threatens Drivers Without AWD, Then Mocks The Backlash

On Facebook, the California Highway Patrol posted a short clip of an R1S that apparently ran out of juice in the middle of a snow covered intersection. Authorities didn’t say what happened, but the video was accompanied by a message saying “Cold weather drains batteries faster than you think. If you’re rolling over the Summit, make sure your charge level matches your confidence level.”

They also advised drivers to charge up, slow down, and carry snow chains. While that’s a good reminder, police appeared to mock EVs and the driver as the post was tagged #ItsElectric and #MakeGoodDecisions.

Last week, they joked about a Tesla driver who lost control and went down an embankment. In that post, they said “Chain control was lifted earlier this morning and some of you took that as a personal challenge to full send anyway.” It was accompanied by an assortment of tags including #MakeGoodDecisions, #DonnersGonnaDonner, and #SlowYourRoll.

This appears to be a common theme with the Truckee post, but the criticism isn’t limited to EV drivers. Some people seem to get a kick out of this as one popular comment was “My new winter goal is to not be featured on your social media page.”

Modern vehicles may be packed with advanced engineering and clever design, but even a minor fender-bender can sometimes trigger catastrophic repair bills. If you own a Rivian R1S or R1T, you might want to keep your fingers crossed that one of the rear quarter panels is never damaged. If it is, repair costs can climb past $50,000, prompting some insurers to write off vehicles that, at least on paper, could be repaired.

An R1S owner recently took to Reddit to share the bill shock he experienced after someone hit his wife’s SUV while it was parked. A photo posted on the forum shows a large dent in the rear quarter panel, along with damage to the wheel and, as it turns out, the frame and suspension too.

Read: Paintless Dent Removal Magician Saved Rivian R1 Owner From $41k Bodyshop Invoice

In the grand scheme of things, the damage does not appear catastrophic. You might reasonably assume the repair would run a few thousand dollars. That assumption would be wrong.

An authorized Rivian repair facility quoted the owner $53,736 to fix this R1S, or more than half the MSRP of a 2026MY that in this configuration, retails for around $100,000. Of that sum, $29,856 is attributed to labor alone. Insurance would cover close to $40,000, leaving the owner responsible for a little over $14,000.

Why Does It Cost So Much?

It appears much of the cost is related to the complexity of replacing the quarter panel, as it can’t simply be removed and replaced with another. Previous cases of similar damage indicate that much of the SUV’s interior must be stripped and that most of the R1S’s side must be removed, cut, and reassembled. In some cases, it’s been reported that the panoramic glass roof may also have to be removed.

Things can be even costlier for owners of R1T models, as the rear-quarter panel is even larger and stretches up and over the side windows, ending at the A-pillars.

According to the owner, “replacing the quarter panel is the majority of that cost. No motor battery or frame damage”. Some commenters questioned the reference to frame damage because the repair quote specifically mentioned it in one line item. The owner, however, clarified that “the side of the vehicle is considered an integral part of the frame”.

He also explained that “suspension work was quoted as 13 total hours of labor vs. about 250 hrs total. So roughly thats 5% of the price”, adding that this was “one of the top Rivian certified shops in our area, who Rivian themselves recommended”.

Also: Can You Believe This Rivian R1T Damage Repair Cost $21,000?

Without a more detailed breakdown, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions. Still, this is hardly the first time we’ve seen excessively high Rivian repair costs, including a $21,000 estimate for what was described as a relatively minor backup incident.

A Pattern Of High Repair Bills

While this particular example appears to involve underlying damage, which may justify more extensive work, the total still sounds steep. In cases without structural or deeper damage, more affordable solutions do exist.

More: Rivian Owner’s DIY Repair Saves Thousands After Mishap And Teaches Us A Lesson

Many paintless dent removal specialists have repaired similar quarter panel damage for a fraction of the quoted insurance repair cost, restoring the panel rather than replacing it. Just pray that you don’t damage the taillight too.

Rivian introduced a wide range of updates to the R1S and R1T for the 2025 model year, focusing on improvements beneath the surface while keeping the exterior mostly untouched. But according to a newly discovered patent, the R1S might be in line for another tweak in the form of a revised tailgate featuring a glass section that opens on its own.

Read: Rivian Patents Removable Roof Panels For Its EVs

According to documents uncovered by Car&Driver, Rivian has patented a new tailgate design that appears to give the R1S the ability to open either the entire hatch or just the glass panel. It’s a setup familiar to anyone who’s used the Toyota Land Cruiser or the closely related Lexus GX. BMW’s 3-Series Touring wagon also offers a similar function.

The Toyota 4Runner also has something similar, although its rear window can actually roll down just like a side window, rather than opening out as Rivian’s patent shows. It’s a useful feature, allowing you to retrieve or store items without having to open the entire tailgate.

Rivian’s patent drawings show that this independently opening glass would be integrated into the current R1S split tailgate. That means Rivian could add the new feature without altering the SUV’s distinctive two-part rear hatch, maintaining the utility and visual character of the original design.

Buttons and Dials Coming?

There may be more than just hardware updates in store. The same filing, as noted by Car&Driver,, shows an interior equipped with actual physical buttons and knobs, something the current R1S doesn’t offer. It’s possible these would supplement the screen-heavy layout with tactile controls for climate or audio settings, easing day-to-day usability.

The patent also hints at gesture-based controls, potentially including the now-common feature that lets drivers wave a foot under the rear bumper to pop the tailgate.

There’s no word on when the R1S, and perhaps the R1T too, could be updated for a second time, but it probably wouldn’t be at least for a couple of more years, particularly since Rivian has to focus on building the R2 and R3 models.

Interestingly, recent spy shots of the R2 revealed it will get a roll-down rear window just like the 4Runner, so Rivian is clearly thinking about improving practicality with its future models.

USPTO

For the second time in as many months, Rivian has issued seatbelt-related recall in the States. While the last action involved nearly 35,000 units of its electric delivery van, this latest one affects a smaller number of consumer vehicles and specifically, the 2022–2025 Rivian R1T and the 2022–2026 Rivian R1S.

Read: Rivian Van Owners Are Learning A Small Habit Can Lead To A Big Problem

According to the company, the second-row seatbelt retractor bolt might not have been correctly installed during production. If improperly secured, the retractor could fail to restrain passengers in a crash, posing a higher risk of injury for those seated on the driver or passenger side.

Rattles May Hint at a Problem

In some cases, owners may notice a rattling sound coming from the area around the left or right C-pillar. Apparently, this can be an early sign that the seatbelt retractor wasn’t firmly fixed in place.

The recall affects a total of 869 vehicles, evenly split between both models. That includes 434 R1T trucks built from September 15, 2021, through April 10, 2025, and 435 R1S SUVs manufactured between May 9, 2022, and May 15, 2025.

Rivian reports no known accidents or injuries linked to the issue. The company first took notice on September 16, 2025, when a technician discovered a loose retractor during a routine service on an R1T. After months of follow-up, Rivian says it hasn’t uncovered additional defective assemblies but has still opted to move forward with the recall as a precaution.

Owners will be alerted to the recall from March 9. To resolve the problem, Rivian will properly secure the seatbelt retractor assembly in any affected vehicles free of charge.

This recall is unrelated to the earlier issue involving the company’s EDV vans. In that case, the problem stemmed from repeated misuse, where the seatbelt pretensioner could be damaged if the driver sat on the belt while it remained buckled beneath them.