[UPDATES IN NEW THREAD] Tow to Rivian Service Centers is now a Charged Fee (as of 10/6/22) ?

[atebit]

In 2022, I think it’s hard to compare Tesla’s SC experience with Rivian. When I got my first Tesla in 2014 I was literally five minutes away from the SC, so I had no worries. Initially, Tesla was high on the Ranger thing, but as that model got oversubscribed they backed down on it pretty quickly. But at the same time, they were expanding their SC footprint at a good pace.

Rivian on the other hand only has like, what, 20 SCs across the entire country? They should’ve realized that there would be a tipping point (and reasonably calculated what that would be) of the number of trucks on the road vs their ability to service them, at a local SC , via mobile service or through remote pickup/drop-off.
IMHO, they need to amp up their game on what mobile service should be capable of. If the work plan doesn’t require a lift, mobile service ought to be able to handle it. Heck, they could even work with Bendpak to come up with a Rivian-capable Quick Jack to handle minor jack-up work in the field.
People keep saying that Aglie requires “out of the box” thinking, but it seems like not enough of this reasoning is occurring before the decision’s made to just foist it all onto the customer.

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[SANZC02]

Were the Uber credits enough to fully cover your transportation costs?

I did not use them, I brought my bike and rode home.

 

[DaveA]

"Rivian Mobile Service
Rivian Technicians come to you.
Our fleet of Mobile Service vans are staffed with Rivian Technicians who can perform the majority of service needs right at your home or work, even if you're not there. If more extensive care is required, we’ll pick up your vehicle, bring it to a Rivian service location and return it to you, all with a flexible transportation program."

The above is what RJ and Rivian have been claiming and what we were expecting. I have been given the same commitment by Rivian sales folks in four separate visits to the Venice store. Ford, GMC, etc. have dealerships near most of us and we know what we are getting when we purchase one of their vehicles. As a new company, Rivian is a bit of a gamble as to its corporate longevity and product reliability. So the promise to have service vans or a pick up and deliver service is important promise. This is especially true when the closest SC is a long distance away. Many on this board have had Rivian warranty issues that require a number of repair visits which most certainly makes the new requirement to pay for transportation of the vehicle even more difficult to accept.

Well, based on RJs recent tweet…sounds like the mobile service vans are only just recently being deployed. I’m hopeful fewer and fewer SC visits will be needed once these vans are out in full force.

 

[connoisseurr]

IMO, no one should be towed anywhere on the company's dime unless the vehicle is undrivable. Towing vehicles to and from customers for alignment, cosmetic issues, or secondary functions was a nice idea, but not exactly scalable at the current rate of defects. Nor is it particularly good business when you're already losing money on every truck you sell.

I view the additional consumer-side friction as a good and necessary thing to help the company survive. People will more closely inspect vehicles knowing it will cost time or money to get it fixed, which will hopefully drive Rivian to reduce defects. And folks who live far from service centers (like myself) will have to ask themselves if they're willing to purchase an unproven vehicle that requires 4+ hours each way to get serviced. Expecting them to tow this distance is absurd.

I very much disagree, especially when all of this was present on delivery day. These vehicles are supposed to be inspected prior to leaving the factory, and again during PDI. Clearly none of that was done, or they just didn’t care because they needed to deliver as many units as possible. I’m going with the latter.

 

[GOFAST]

Rivian just wants to save money on all the tonneau covers it has to replace.

They better be making mobile calls for all the tonneau fixes. No way I’m driving 300 miles round trip to Richmond after they told me it passed all checks and then delivered it with a broken tonneau. My delivery rep told me they would come to my house.

 

[Dirty_B]

"Rivian Mobile Service
Rivian Technicians come to you.
Our fleet of Mobile Service vans are staffed with Rivian Technicians who can perform the majority of service needs right at your home or work, even if you're not there. If more extensive care is required, we’ll pick up your vehicle, bring it to a Rivian service location and return it to you, all with a flexible transportation program."

The above is what RJ and Rivian have been claiming and what we were expecting. I have been given the same commitment by Rivian sales folks in four separate visits to the Venice store. Ford, GMC, etc. have dealerships near most of us and we know what we are getting when we purchase one of their vehicles. As a new company, Rivian is a bit of a gamble as to its corporate longevity and product reliability. So the promise to have service vans or a pick up and deliver service is important promise. This is especially true when the closest SC is a long distance away. Many on this board have had Rivian warranty issues that require a number of repair visits which most certainly makes the new requirement to pay for transportation of the vehicle even more difficult to accept.

I can't believe the audacity of you using their, RJ's, own words against them!! Where's Tony... anyone seen or heard from Tony? Get him in here stat!

Just kidding, great job quoting them.

Obviously super complex issue, and I don't think current ops are financially sustainable. But give people a freaking heads up.

 

[connoisseurr]

I’m not reading 12 pages of this thread LOL but the mods over at Reddit labeled this same post as “misleading” after some seemed to debunk it.


I do wonder how much “free” towing is being burned up by Rivian owners who hear a noise, read these forums, and think their wheels are about to fall off. Probably adds up.

It was marked misleading because of a few hecklers and lack of an official statement from Rivian. But again, call a service advisor and confirm. No more free tows to service centers for warranty work, unless the vehicle is disabled.

 

[SANZC02]

….No more free tows to service centers for warranty work, unless the vehicle is disabled.

In the 50ish years I have been buying cars, this has been the way it worked from every manufacturer I have purchased from.

 

[connoisseurr]

In the 50ish years I have been buying cars, this has been the way it worked from every manufacturer I have purchased from.

You are correct, because no other manufacturer has made statements that they will offer vehicle transportation to and from the dealership. Rivian did.

 

[emoore]

Rivian just wants to save money on all the tonneau covers it has to replace.

yep that’s it.

 

[Matty J]

It was marked misleading because of a few hecklers and lack of an official statement from Rivian. But again, call a service advisor and confirm. No more free tows to service centers for warranty work, unless the vehicle is disabled.

That was my experience last night when scheduling out two services for the R1S I took delivery of Saturday. Pretty bummed that these perks/services are changing as it makes owning a new car manufacturer with lots of small initial issues now requiring a two hour 32 mile drive one way in traffic for repair. But it might get better. They need to deliver cars. It comes at an expense. Resources are not unlimited.

 

[Engi_Nerd]

You are correct, because no other manufacturer has made statements that they will offer vehicle transportation to and from the dealership. Rivian did.

Rivian is a brand new manufacturer scaling 3 different vehicle lines in parallel, losing money on every unit sold all during a severe component shortage and looming recession. There will continue to be changes. Perhaps you didn't do your homework.

 

[connoisseurr]

Rivian is an unproven manufacturer scaling 3 different vehicle lines in parallel, losing money on every unit sold all during a severe component shortage and looming recession. There will continue to be changes. Perhaps you didn't do your homework.

I’ve been doing my homework, and longer than most. I believed in the mission and have been a preorder holder since January 2019.

I get there are growing pains and challenges to be endured, it what I don’t appreciate is being delivered a vehicle, being told it will get picked up no problem, then getting a fee dropped on me. I also wouldn’t be as disappointed if my closer service center was open (30 minutes, vs 2+ hours).

Luckily, I was able to speak with a manager in the service department who waived the tow fee for me; this one time. I will also say if the issues aren’t resolved, it’s getting right back on the truck and heading back to the service center.

 

[SoCal Rob]

In the 50ish years I have been buying cars, this has been the way it worked from every manufacturer I have purchased from.

That’s my expectation, too, and since I’ve had a AAA membership since I started driving, I never used a dealer or manufacturer to tow a disabled vehicle in for repair. However, some people located far from an SC made decisions to purchase based upon how Rivian was handling these issues until now. I can see why those owners are upset.

 

[BigE]

EDIT: Adding fee I was quoted:

$55 base fee, plus $6.50/mile.

FYI - as of 10/06/2022, Rivian is now charging customers a towing fee to and from a Rivian Service Center, regardless of reason for service center visit.

Let me tell you how much this rubs me the wrong way. I'm in Northern Virginia and our closest center was the Bethesda/Rockville location, which is temporarily closed. The vehicle now has to go to the Richmond Service Center, which is a 200 mile drive one way. I had an appointment that was scheduled a week ago for October 13 - no fee for the tow. Since I have to reschedule the appointment, I was informed that the appointment is to be cancelled and rescheduled, which will incur a fee

Just a heads up for everyone moving forward. Make your voices heard on this. I'm in firm believe that if the vehicle is going to the service center due to issues that are out of owner's control, there should be no fee for this - especially for those with alignment or wheel balance issues, as well as those who live 2-5 hours from a Rivian Service Center.

Did you read page 5 of Rivian's Warranty (just updated 9/30/22). Road Side Assistance: Rivian states (paraphrasing) if it's service work, it's on you, if it's Warranty work and you are working with Rivian, Rivian will cover towing.

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