Rivian’s 2024 R1T is the only EV to earn the Top Safety Pick+ rating in the pickup truck category. This is a significant achievement, as the Top Safety Pick+ rating is awarded to the safest of the vehicles.
IIHS is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is an independent non-profit that tests vehicles with the goal of reducing accident-related deaths. They provide safety ratings to a wide range of vehicles. IIHS tests for crashworthiness – how well a vehicle protects occupants in a crash, as well as crash avoidance and mitigation – the technology on board to prevent a crash, or reduce its severity.
Top Safety Pick+
The criteria for earning a Top Safety Pick+ is challenging. It requires “Good” ratings in 2 of the tested categories – the small overlap front test and the updated side test. It also requires Acceptable or Good ratings in the updated moderate overlap front test, headlights standard, and pedestrian front crash prevention test. A “Good” rating is IIHS’ highest rating, with the ratings below it being, Acceptable, Marginal and Poor being the lowest rating.
The R1T achieved a Good rating in every category, except the Front Crash Prevention for Pedestrians, where it achieved an Acceptable grade. Other than a few small outliers, the R1T achieved the best ratings of any pickup truck tested.
IIHS
Improving Ratings
Rivian’s next target for improving the R1T’s safety will likely be to hone in and focus on software for forward collision avoidance to better keep pedestrians safe. Rivian has already included a new computer, as well as a new MobilEye package on their Gen 2 vehicles, so an improved rating will likely be a matter of waiting for Rivian to gather data and train their software to better identify what is in front of the vehicle.
As Rivian continues to improve their tech, we can only expect that they’ll be picking up this award year after year. Rivian has won the award on the R1T in 2022, 2023, and now in 2024.
The other contenders for the Top Safety Pick in the pickup truck category for 2024 included the Toyota Tundra 2024 crew cab, and the Tundra once again – in its extended cab model. Both scored fairly highly, but the extended cab scored much better for rear passenger safety, unsurprisingly. What’s key here is that the R1T handily beat them both in safety across the board.
Most interestingly, the R1T is the first pickup truck to achieve the Top Safety Pick+ award and the only one of the 31 vehicles that was tested by IIHS to achieve such fantastic results. Rivian is clearly putting safety high on their list of priorities, and we’re happy to see the R1T be the truck that achieves such positive results for the first time.
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When purchasing a new Dual Motor Rivian, you might have considered the Performance option, which was offered as a $5,000 upgrade at the time of ordering. However, Rivian is now offering the Performance upgrade as an in-app or in-car purchase for Dual Motor R1S and R1T owners.
The Performance upgrade boosts the vehicle’s horsepower and torque, while also introducing new driving modes.
Dual Motor Performance
The Dual Motor Performance upgrade adds additional features to the R1S and R1T vehicles, with the most notable being a major performance boost.
This upgrade increases both horsepower and torque, reducing the 0 to 60 mph time from 4.5 seconds to an impressive 3.4 seconds.
In addition to the power boost, the upgrade introduces new driving modes: Sport, Soft Sand, and Rally. Each mode adds specialized capabilities—Sport for track performance, Rally for off-road adventures, and Soft Sand for tackling sandy terrains.
Config
Dual Motor
Dual Motor Performance
Horsepower
533 hp
655 hp
0-60 mph / 0-100 km/h
4.6 seconds
3.5 seconds
Torque
610 lb-ft
829 lb-ft
Launch Mode Reserved for Tri and Quad
Even if you’re familiar with the roller-coaster-like feeling of launching an EV, the performance upgrade is going to be a big step up, and it’ll be a useful upgrade for off-roading too. The noticeable increase in horsepower not only helps you launch with more power but also makes crawling over rocks or pushing through water more effortless.
However, for owners hoping to take their R1 series vehicles to the track, there’s something to keep in mind—this upgrade, just like buying a Dual Motor Performance model, doesn’t include Launch Mode. That feature is only reserved for the Tri and Quad configurations.
Price
If you’re craving a bit more power or want to relive the thrill of launching your Rivian for the first time, the Performance upgrade is likely a great choice. It adds over 120 horsepower, giving you about a 25% boost in performance.
The upgrade costs $5,000 USD / $7,000 CAD, whether purchased over-the-air or at the factory. If you own a Dual Motor Rivian, you can easily buy it through the app or the vehicle itself, available with software update 2024.06 or later.
If your Rivian is experiencing odd issues or the screen has become frozen or unresponsive, a reboot of the infotainment system may fix the issue.
There are several ways to reboot the computer that powers all of Rivian’s screen, including the rear display for passengers in the back. It doesn’t matter which Rivian you have, as these reboots are applicable to both Gen 1 and Gen 2 vehicles.
Fix Frozen Display - Infotainment Reboot
Rebooting the infotainment unit is the simplest reboot and should be your first choice when you encounter an issue with your Rivian. Infotainment reboots, also known as the “two-finger salute,” involve holding the far left and far right buttons on the steering wheel down. These are the outermost buttons located next to the scroll wheels on the steering wheel. Press them and down them down for 15 seconds to reboot the computer.
The vehicle will beep, and a graphic will be displayed on the driver’s display. Continue holding the buttons down until the screens flash to black. Once the screen goes dark, you can let go of the buttons and the infotainment unit will reboot. The whole process takes about 30-45 seconds, and you’ll soon see the displays come back on with the Rivian logo.
While this reboot can also be done while driving, we don’t recommend it, as you’ll lose access to key vehicle information during the reboot.
This reboot should be your first step when encountering an issue, especially if it’s due to the display being unresponsive or frozen. Other reboot types focus on restarting specific vehicle subsystems, so if a particular feature isn’t functioning correctly, a different reboot method may be necessary.
Sleep Reboot
Begin by unplugging everything from your vehicle, including any USB cables, devices, and the Rivian Guard USB drive. Remember to disconnect any items plugged into the Utility Panel and ensure the Gear Guard Cable Anchor (if applicable) is detached.
Next, unbuckle all seatbelts and remove any child seats or heavy items from the vehicle. If the vehicle is plugged in, disconnect it, then lock the doors. Make sure to keep all keys—including phone keys—away from the vehicle for at least 30 minutes.
This sleep reboot is simple and effective, although it could be more of a hassle, especially if you have car seats installed.
Full Reboot (1 Hour)
The full reboot resets all of the vehicle’s systems, essentially rebooting everything from the ground up. Important: Rivian support advises against performing this procedure multiple times in a short time period. You must wait at least an hour between full reboots to ensure all systems initialize correctly. Attempting back-to-back reboots may result in some vehicle systems not fully starting, which could require a service visit.
To initiate a full reboot, hold down the far-left button on the steering wheel and the emergency flasher button near the ceiling for 15 seconds. This will reset all vehicle systems. While it’s possible to drive immediately after the reboot, Rivian recommends letting the vehicle sit for at least an hour before resuming your journey to ensure everything is functioning correctly.
