Rivian Customer Service: SiriusXM Radio will not be native part of the entertainment system

[DucRider]

That is not the biggest issue. The bigger issue is the lack of communication about if Sirius/XM is or isn't in the vehicle. This is a binary answer, either yes it is or no it isn't.

From the original post

Chatted will a CS rep today and asked if XM radio would be included. They confirmed to me that XM will not be a part of the entertainment system but an app could be used with Bluetooth. Rather disappointing.

What is ambiguous about that statement?

Everything that follows has been about the merits/usefulness of Sirius (or lack thereof).

Every design decision they made (and will make in the future) will have people passionate both for and against. In the end, each individual will weigh the pros and cons as they see them and make a purchase/no purchase decision. Some wants/needs - like Sirius - have aftermarket workarounds. Many do not.

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[Richland Scott]

Perhaps you haven't been watching the evolution (or lack thereof) of Rivian communications as closely as I have. It is undisputed that just because "customer service" confirms or denies something doesn't make it so. "Customer Service" has been repeatedly wrong. What a first class comms operation does is anticipate questions and then gets ahead of those questions. To that end, questions like "Will there be Sirius/XM in the vehicle?" should not be answered in an ad hoc manner. Transparency, transparency, transparency.

I am ok with some folks settling for mediocrity when it comes to Rivian, I just expect more from them.

 

[DucRider]

Perhaps you haven't been watching the evolution (or lack thereof) of Rivian communications as closely as I have. It is undisputed that just because "customer service" confirms or denies something doesn't make it so. "Customer Service" has been repeatedly wrong. What a first class comms operation does is anticipate questions and then gets ahead of those questions. To that end, questions like "Will there be Sirius/XM in the vehicle?" should not be answered in an ad hoc manner. Transparency, transparency, transparency.

I am ok with some folks settling for mediocrity when it comes to Rivian, I just expect more from them.

Apparently your close watching hasn't given you a very a good grasp on their corporate culture.

 

[Autolycus]

Some of the complaints about communication have gotten just strange. This feels like the argument over a glove box, only worse. None of their materials suggest there's a SiriusXM tuner in the car. A Customer Service rep was asked and said pretty clearly that there isn't going to be one in the car. Somehow that's been turned into a complaint that Rivian isn't communicating clearly?

Do you really want or expect the website to have an entry like this in the car's feature list: "There will not be SiriusXM functionality." or "There will be no glove box." That seems like an absurd expectation. No manufacturer is going to go out of their way to list features that are NOT in their car.

 

[DuckTruck]

I'm just gonna say it... XM is trashy and it should die and no lux car should have it as a persistent option and it doesn't make sense to have the hardware to receive it and I hate XM and I'm happy I don't ever have to see it in my upcoming truck.

Carter, Just to confirm, you're not a big fan, right?

 

[Jarico75]

I know what you mean. A lot of shows stream on SXM, especially from festivals different clubs. They have a lot of exclusives, and I’ve more than once found myself not able to find sets from SXM online- it amazes me at times that someone wasn’t pirating it.
Now that I think of it - it is a no brainer. Out in the Rivian, no mans land, no cell service, but you are able to bump the tunes because....SXM.

I understand this doesn't fix the cell coverage issue, but doesn't SiriusXM have an app that you can stream your favorite stations.

 

[Richland Scott]

Apparently your close watching hasn't given you a very a good grasp on their corporate culture.

The "corporate culture" of Rivian concerning communications has been to release as little information as possible to the detriment of both Rivian and Rivian customers. This has been specifically acknowledged by RJ. Rivian is a great startup. Even great startups make mistakes. Some on these forums are unable to take constructive Rivian criticism. Likely the same people that love participation awards and no accountability. I want Rivian to be a company that is accountable and wants to be the best, not just a participant.

 

[Richland Scott]

Some of the complaints about communication have gotten just strange. This feels like the argument over a glove box, only worse. None of their materials suggest there's a SiriusXM tuner in the car. A Customer Service rep was asked and said pretty clearly that there isn't going to be one in the car. Somehow that's been turned into a complaint that Rivian isn't communicating clearly?

Do you really want or expect the website to have an entry like this in the car's feature list: "There will not be SiriusXM functionality." or "There will be no glove box." That seems like an absurd expectation. No manufacturer is going to go out of their way to list features that are NOT in their car.

Some of the responses to criticism about communication are even stranger!

No one is advocating a list of what is not included with the vehicle. What I think almost everyone is advocating in a list of what is included. A list or photographs of what is included in the vehicle allows one to use inductive reasoning to determine what probably isn't included. This is junior high logic. If Rivian informs us that the vehicle will have certain audio features and Sirius/XM isn't one of the listed features, then, by inductive reasoning, we can safely assume no Sirius/XM. When Rivian gives us little or no information on audio features, we can safely assume nothing.

As RJ himself has said, Rivian needs to step up their communication. Full stop.

 

[AndroidAppBundle]

So what you are saying is Rivian should run for congress? I do agree. A little "real talk" about the Rivian brand is needed. I am not an Amazon / Rivian fanboi that will eat up every service or offering that Amazon and Rivian try and push on me.

The fact I am even having to consider Amazon's influence on the Rivian brand is disgusting. I never thought that it would manifest itself in to exclusives with Audible, Alexa, Amazon Music and no CarPlay or SiriXM support. I am already imagining that any product or service that poses competition to Amazon will also be viewed as a competitor to Rivian.

....and I didn't want that kind of nonsense going in to my car purchase.

June 2019 preorder holder for R1S. I am a Rivian fan but also not Don Quixote. Would I prefer to have Sirius/XM built into the vehicle? Yes. However, it is not a deal breaker. That is not the biggest issue. The bigger issue is the lack of communication about if Sirius/XM is or isn't in the vehicle. This is a binary answer, either yes it is or no it isn't. Instead of Rivian just telling us what is or isn't included, they engage in this obtuse dance leaving everyone to guess. The same obtuse dance we have been subjected to for months on any number of subjects. RJ promised better communication, this is a promise he isn't keeping. Rivian must figure out its communications shop before there are even more "promises" left unkept.

 

[AndroidAppBundle]

You are spot on. Some of the mistakes Rivian is making with missing deadlines and feeling that there is a lack of progress being made on the R1S and R1T could be resolved with better communication and more transparency.

Especially when your customers are ponying up to spend $80,000 on an SUV......a category that has just 35k/yr sales volume (between Model X and E-Tron). There just aren't that many customers at this price point.

Transparency could go a long way to reassuring potential customers and reservation holders that this is worth it. While we're not Amazon - and investing billions in the company, while purchasing hundred thousand of the vehicles; we are still customers (or at least we are trying to be customers). The fact we even take the time to complain shows that we care. We have to care, to complain. If we didn't care; we wouldn't complain about this.

I still find it wild that we are like t-minus 25 days until the first R1T deliveries could begin, and R1T customers have zero confirmed specs about the vehicle. The $80k Hummer EV model won't have deliveries starting until 2023, and we know more about the Hummer EV than we do the Rivian R1 lineup.

Like how fast does it charge? I dunno...up to X in 20 minutes, but no one has actually seen this, or shared their experience. How does it perform? Who knows; we better take RJ's word on this. How does the infotainment work? Who knows, but we can maybe start to share what it can't do....

Don't worry though - you can checkout a youtube clip of how this collapsible cookware works......

The "corporate culture" of Rivian concerning communications has been to release as little information as possible to the detriment of both Rivian and Rivian customers. This has been specifically acknowledged by RJ. Rivian is a great startup. Even great startups make mistakes. Some on these forums are unable to take constructive Rivian criticism. Likely the same people that love participation awards and no accountability. I want Rivian to be a company that is accountable and wants to be the best, not just a participant.

 

[MIG]

Can we shelve this discussion until we get real and final information on the production vehicles?

 

[AndroidAppBundle]

That won't come until Q2-Q4 2024

In all seriousness, we're supposed to be 3 weeks out from deliveries, I think we can engage in healthy debate about what is what. If Rivian sees any gaps or inaccurate information; they can just start communicating to the world wide web.

Can we shelve this discussion until we get real and final information on the production vehicles?

 

[MIG]

That won't come until Q2-Q4 2024

In all seriousness, we're supposed to be 3 weeks out from deliveries, I think we can engage in healthy debate about what is what. If Rivian sees any gaps or inaccurate information; they can just start communicating to the world wide web.

Debate usually has some basis in fact, this is still just speculation.

 

[ajdelange]

The "corporate culture" of Rivian concerning communications has been to release as little information as possible to the detriment of both Rivian...

Are you sure about that? Everything they don't say will never be used as a basis for a lawsuit claiming deception on their part. That's just the way it is these days.

 

[ajdelange]

XM used to be a "razor blade business". You give the customer the razor for virtually nothing and more than recoup the associated loss by selling him blades. I think they used to give the receivers to the car companies for near nothing but this must have changed as now, for example, i think only the S and X Teslas have them.

I've always found the audio quality quite good. But when I punch the Met Opera button I get Elvis Presley. Ick!

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