A Rivian owner was devastated when his R1T pickup truck rolled and ended up on its side. According to the owner it happened on a relatively flat piece of farmland, and he wasn’t even driving erratically.
The owner shared his ordeal on the Rivian Automotive Fans Facebook group, including multiple pictures of the damaged truck. The owner warned others that the R1T “will roll easier than you’d expect,” and before anyone could try and claim otherwise, he said there was “zero alcohol involved, zero”, and was not attempting to show off with a “hey y’all watch this” kind of stunt.
The owner said the incident occurred on Thanksgiving Day on his parent’s farm. Since he was driving in an open field he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. According to his description of the ordeal the R1T flipped onto the driver’s side, then onto the roof, and then came to rest on the passenger side.
Based on the photos it looks like the truck held up remarkably well during the rollover, and fortunately there were no major injuries involved thanks to the electric trucks’ multiple airbags which he said kept him inside the vehicle.
“Can’t say much about this situation yet but just wanted to warn everyone that these trucks will roll easier than you’d expect them to. It was such an unexpected thing Thanksgiving afternoon that I didn’t even bother with my seatbelt on the parent’s farm, rolled (driver, roof, passenger) and the airbags kept me inside the truck thankfully, no major injuries, zero alcohol involved, zero “hey yall watch this”. Just be careful out there folks! And I’m so bummed about the whole thing, 2+ years just for this,” the owner explained.
After reporting the accident to Rivian, the owner said the automaker dispatched two of its engineers to investigate the truck and the site to try and determine why it flipped. At this time we don’t have the whole story yet, but if Event Data Recording was turned on, Rivian technicians might be able to piece together what happened.
UPDATE Dec 24: Rivian reached out to Drive Tesla to comment on this story, saying that sending investigators to incidents like this is standard procedure and a valuable learning opportunity. Their full statement is below.
The Rivian R1T recently received the highest Safety rating, Top Safety Pick+, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The vehicle’s low center of gravity and rollover mitigation system provides unmatched stability. When possible and with permission, Rivian sends engineers to engage with vehicle owners after an incident. As a new product, this represents a valuable opportunity for us to learn. In this case, we’re examining the vehicle behavior leading up to the incident, examining the vehicle itself, and speaking with the driver. To protect driver privacy, we don’t share additional external information or results from incident investigations.
As for the R1T, it is up for auction in a North Carolina salvage yard, and it appears as though the truck can be returned to its former glory by a deft collision shop.
If the truck is eligible, it might benefit from a recent software update that boosted the driving range. However, buyers trying to pick up the truck for cheap at the auction must consider crashworthiness.
The Rivian R1T recently picked up the highest safety rating from the IIHS, but those tests did not include a rollover test.
