UPDATED RANT: Rivian Service Centers are a poorly managed drain on the company

[Mister Person]

I have a cold and feel grouchy. Rivian Service Centers waste precious capital and customer goodwill. They rent vehicles for customers when their R1s are in the shop for way too long, and they are inefficient and communicate poorly leading to customer aggravation and burnout.

Took my R1S in to the Chicago Service Center for an appointment that had been scheduled since delivery in late August. Mostly fit and finish issues:

Glue on B pillar, would not come off. SOLUTION: B-pillar trim replaced.
Hood misaligned. SOLUTION: Hood realigned. Looks a lot better.
Lift gate misaligned and rubbing on antenna trim. SOLUTION: Lift gate realigned.
Charge port door misaligned and rubbing on bumper when opening/closing: SOLUTION: charge door realigned.
Gap between the charging pad and wood trim in console. SOLUTION: Reinstalled console trim.
Squeaky front suspension going slowly over rough pavement. "As designed" (the rear suspension is silent though).
Wind noise at highway speed. "Within spec". I won't argue.

The above took 8 days. I drove back to the service center on the 9th day and was about to happily drive home when depressing the brake pedal threw an error message to the driver display, "Service 12v Battery System Soon". Never saw this before taking it in for service. I go back into the building and mention this to them, and they open a new service appointment. Did they not see this when they were driving it around the building to bring it to me? So now the R1S is back in service for...who knows how long? They were unable to give me any idea of what is causing the error message. My other concern is that I only ever got an update if I called the Rivian Service general number and waited for a call back from the local service center.

Anyway, Rivian is working very hard to increase efficiency in the Normal plant. They could do a lot at Service Centers, too. /endrant

UPDATE TL/DR: I have the R1S back. Communication and service quality improved by the end of the 12 day service.

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[Dark-Fx]

Yes, they could. Well known problem right now.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Rivian has problems. They are trying to keep customers happy .... but its not really working too well.... its costing them a ton of money..... And customers cars are sitting in the service center for many days. This on top if having to wait 2+ months for an appointment.

I really hope Rivian is able to improve service soon. The service situation is not workable for the vast majority of auto consumers.

 

[Forager]

The suspension noise is so loud and squeaky. The ride is better after the last update, but it still sounds like all the control arms are loose and rattling around. My wife’s Polestar is incredibly silent over the same roads.

 

[Throwdown]

Most service departments are backed up, ours is 6 weeks to get a Loaner and then about 2 weeks after you get your Loaner before your car even gets in the shop. And btw, our cars cost double, triple and even 10 times what Rivian's cost. 8 days and you got your car back is nothing, and if you have a Loaner or rental why does it matter? Loaners and rental costs are built into the cost of the cars and the parts when they break.

 

[Throwdown]

The suspension noise is so loud and squeaky. The ride is better after the last update, but it still sounds like all the control arms are loose and rattling around. My wife’s Polestar is incredibly silent over the same roads.

I agree, it's the only thing I don't like about my truck, but they say it's within spec because it's done it since day one, in my opinion mine sounds louder and feels looser since the update, although it is more comfortable and smooth now

 

[SDH]

I kind of agree, I think Rivian needs to get a grip of the quality control leaving Normal and not 'do a Tesla' and think that the only KPI is how many cars roll off the production line, regardless of quality. This is a short term gain that's going to come back bite them in the ass.

I couldn't fault the effort by my local SC recently, but they even admitted they were under the pump. They issue out credit for the local Enterprise car hire like candy. This is not sustainable for Rivian.

 

[tate16t]

Tesla went through the same thing. Some will say they still are.

 

[Redline]

Its also a staffing issue. They have 218 service openings right now. They simply can't fill the roles fast enough.

 

[RNFinCA]

Sorry folks, my experience has been the total opposite. The service centers have been exceptional. Best car experience I have ever had, including some very expensive cars. And Tesla is the very worst. Black and white really. My guess is I live in Southern CA and the rest of the country is catching up with Rivian’s growth.

 

[Mathme]

From my experience, its likely a combo of staff availability and training.

I got my R1T in June and reported my first issue within the first week. The second issue was reported in July and the first available appointment was for this next week. By now, there are about 6-7 tickets open for minor things. Unfortunately I had to cancel the appointment this week because I need the truck next week for a trip. The next-available time is December 29th (which I'll be out of town for the holidays) so effectively January 3rd it is. This is a staffing issue and they obviously don't have enough people to do the work.

I also had a recall on it performed this past week (was able to get an appointment the next day). This was specifically to drain and refill the AC/battery coolant and the comms from Rivian HQ said it should take "<1 hour" so my plan was to just wait for it. Well, this service managed to get stretched out to three hours because I had to wait for the vehicle in front of me to finish with the machine that does the drain/fill. When it was my turn, the hooked the truck up but it didn't complete the fill because "the machine ran out of refrigerant during the process" and they had to start all over again. To me, this says someone plugged the machine in then walked away to work on another vehicle without first checking that there were enough supplies in said machine to complete the work. The guys up front offered me Uber credits or a rental so I could continue with my day, but that's just silly as I live 30+ minutes from the Service Center and I wasn't about to drive back during Ruch hour traffic on a Friday. This is just sloppy, sloppy, sloppy and not necessary.

This also makes me nervous for more serious repairs that need to be done, and with about 10,000 power tonneau covers that will need to be changed, I don't see this service backlog getting any better any time soon.

 

[Ecupip]

Most service departments are backed up, ours is 6 weeks to get a Loaner and then about 2 weeks after you get your Loaner before your car even gets in the shop. And btw, our cars cost double, triple and even 10 times what Rivian's cost. 8 days and you got your car back is nothing, and if you have a Loaner or rental why does it matter? Loaners and rental costs are built into the cost of the cars and the parts when they break.

I second this. Visit just about any auto forum and this is the case across many brands these days.

 

[moosetags]

It seems that the Rivian Service experience is totally dependent of the luck of the draw If, by happenstance, you live in a certain location, the service experience is excellent. If you live in certain other locations, the service experience is atrocious. Rivian needs to figure it out. Their long term success is is dependent upon it.

Brian

 

[goldburger]

8 days to get your truck back is phenomenal, it seems like you had a great service experience! You as assuming the 12 volt issue presented itself before you saw it, it's just as likely it didn't.

My 12 volt issue was a very fast mobile fix, fwiw.

 

[madgrey]

Vehicle service, in general, has been a mixed bag. I had a fob returned with a chunk of rubber missing. I can't even imagine how that could happen and the service advisor didn't even seem to believe they didn't get it from me that way. I've had service remove items that I specifically said I wanted saved go missing (ARP studs after a head replacement). Once they didn't properly tighten the oil plug which resulted in a turbo overheating and a followup service for an engine overhaul. These are obviously non-Rivian experiences. Over the years, I had many o.k. experiences also but only a few that I'd rate as excellent, even from high-end brands.

Rivian service has been decent. For both of my encounters at the SC, drop-off and pick-up were about as seamless as possible. Much less time was spent waiting on others or going over service contracts, etc. The work performed went well, except for my wind noise issue. They did try... I had the tech drive the vehicle and he was able to identify the issue, but whatever they did to fix it wasn't successful. The conversation with the tech was interesting. He just came from Tesla only a few weeks prior. He indicated the SC was going through some growing pains.

My main issue is wait times and drive times. A six week wait for my first service, three weeks for the second. The 80 minute drive isn't ideal either. I have to be careful how I time it to avoid being stuck in a 3 hour gridlock... but I know others are looking at much longer drives.

I think RIvian will get there.

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