Great Truck - Unrealistic to Maintain

[s4wrxttcs]

Ultimately whether I keep my Gen 1 Rivian R1T much past expiration of the warranty is whether Rivian Care comes to WA or if I became more comfortable with a third party extended warranty option.

In all honestly aside from SW bugs and small annoyances I really haven't had much issue since the early days of the tock issue.

It's been pretty smooth sailing towards 57K which I'm now at.

The funny thing is this is the first vehicle in nearly my entire adult life that I've put more than 50K miles on.

But, now its the one time I want to keep a vehicle versus trading it in. DOH!!!

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[DD4ST]

This.

"Maintenance" and "Repairs" are two separate buckets. "Maintenance" should be minimal for a fleet. New tires, occasional system checks.

"Repair" - really shouldn't have any with significant cost during warranty period, of course. After warranty, there aren't many major failure points to cause expensive repairs.

Crash-related repairs will be more expensive, due to it being a "premium" vehicle, just as crash-related repairs would cost more for a Land Rover than a Jeep.

I think what the OP was insinuating is “Repair” (likely what he called “Maintenance”) is an issue in a business setting where you have a dedicated fleet sized to what you need. It is not the cost, but the downtime, where rental car substitutes can’t do the job. You need a bigger fleet to cover this downtime.

Rivian does not have the supply chain or service model to support critical operations like this in business, and I don’t think this would be that hard to understand if you’ve personally owned a Rivian. I thought the OP was particularly harsh in panning Rivian for this use case. That being said, Rivian is the first vehicle I’ve owned where the only repair option is to take it to Rivian. I’ve never done an extended warranty, but when my Gen 1 R1T lease is up next year, I plan to do a trade off analysis that includes this because the real potential is there for costly issues post-warranty. In fact, I’m wondering when this factor will start directly influencing resale values.

 

[CrazyOne]

Ultimately whether I keep my Gen 1 Rivian R1T much past expiration of the warranty is whether Rivian Care comes to WA or if I became more comfortable with a third party extended warranty option.

In all honestly aside from SW bugs and small annoyances I really haven't had much issue since the early days of the tock issue.

It's been pretty smooth sailing towards 57K which I'm now at.

The funny thing is this is the first vehicle in nearly my entire adult life that I've put more than 50K miles on.

But, now its the one time I want to keep a vehicle versus trading it in. DOH!!!

Per Gemini, None of the third party warranties including XCare will cover the dampers themselves. Relayed suspension components, yes.

I might sell this just before warranty, if they don't come up with Rivian Care in WA. I usually keep my vehicles for 10 years, but if I have to sell, I am never coming back to Rivian brand. I cannot spend $19k to $28k on dampers alone when they fail every 3-4 years. My front ones were already replaced once at 25k miles.

 

[Indy avocado]

Per Gemini, None of the third party warranties including XCare will cover the dampers themselves. Relayed suspension components, yes.

Gemini is probably wrong.


Under "Coverage overview → Parts," the brochure lists Suspension dampers and Air compressor by name as example covered parts.

Under "Mechanical components," it repeats Suspension dampers (with a $4,950 illustrative out-of-pocket cost example) and specifically "Air compressor (suspension)" (~$1,150 example) as things a covered breakdown would pay to repair/replace.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/attachments/rivian_care_vsc_brochure_v1-0-pdf.136601/

 

[iansriv]

I'm at the mid point with about 27k miles on a '23 R1S. Lately, my car has had some warranty work done (half shafts, 12v etc). Most of my previous cars did not need a lot, if any, major repairs. However, the annual maintenance was much higher compared to the R1. I will either switch after warranty is over or get an extended warranty.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

Aren’t the battery and drivetrain components covered by the warranty out to 150000 miles?

My biggest concern with the R1 has always been that suspension. I’ve never liked air suspensions because the components are expensive. It’s one reason I’m going to buy an R2, or preferably an R3X, when my lease is up.

 

[Jeff B.]

Ad me to the list of early Gen1 R1T owners who have had little to no issues of concern. I am at 4 years 50,000 miles and still one the vehicle. I have had lots of service center visits, 13 in total. 2 of which were in 2022, 8 were in 2023, 1 in 24, 1 in 25, and 1 so far in 2026. All resolved promptly to my satisfaction. I purchased the XCare extended warranty for $5k to cover some of the out of warranty concerns, because I really enjoy this truck and I would like to get several more years of use and enjoyment out of it. The XCare coverage will cary me to mid-2030 or 100,000 miles at which point I hope to see a Gen3 R1T. I am hoping the gremlins don't come out in the near future, but when they do, I am counting on XCare to take care of them to limit my out of pocket.

 

[Count Orlok]

The Count says, please don't buy a 911 and keep it for over 10 years...

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

The Count says, please don't buy a 911 and keep it for over 10 years...

So this is why used 911s are so overvalued? /s

 

[SolartoEV]

Interesting part we will be seeing soon is all the low mileage 2022 R1's in the next year that will have warranties expiring at the 5 year mark and not at 60,000.

 

[cohall]

Per Gemini, None of the third party warranties including XCare will cover the dampers themselves. Relayed suspension components, yes.

I might sell this just before warranty, if they don't come up with Rivian Care in WA. I usually keep my vehicles for 10 years, but if I have to sell, I am never coming back to Rivian brand. I cannot spend $19k to $28k on dampers alone when they fail every 3-4 years. My front ones were already replaced once at 25k miles.

Xcare is an exclusionary style contract, and it doesn't explicitly exclude dampers, so they would be covered. Rivian Care's contract is inclusionary is also exclusionary, and does not explicitly exclude dampers so they are covered. Their marketing material also specifically mentions dampers as covered.

EDIT: I received clarification from Rivian Care that their contract is also exclusionary.

 

[Holler Wanderer]

My 2023 R1S only has 21k miles, but if I get that high, I will be buying Rivian's extended care just in case.

 

[Noplacelikeloam]

For me, this is where Im going to land. Makes no sense to own one of these off warranty. But with an extended warranty, albeit expensive, Im not spending anymore than the hidden cost of changing the truck (taking a hit on sale and initial new car depreciation). And then I think about what Im going to get. My truck while niggly at first, right now is almost perfect and I feel lucky as heck that I have a good one. Do I roll the dice and see what Rivian rolls off the line or keep the one I spent time to make perfect. Dont get me started on the idea of switching to BMW or the Range Rover, for the love of god no. You think this is bad? LOL.

 

[CrazyOne]

Xcare is an exclusionary style contract, and it doesn't explicitly exclude dampers, so they would be covered. Rivian Care's contract is inclusionary, and does not explicitly include dampers. However, their marketing material specifically mentions dampers as covered.

That's a relief. I was already planning my next vehicle in an year when warranty expires .

Also signed up for Rivian care wait-list on Rivian. Not sure if it matters, but may help push Rivian to make it available in WA.

 

[cohall]

That's a relief. I was already planning my next vehicle in an year when warranty expires .

Also signed up for Rivian care wait-list on Rivian. Not sure if it matters, but may help push Rivian to make it available in WA.

Agreed- Will definitely be adding an extended warranty to mine shortly, as my warranty expires next May. FYI - I've thoroughly compared Rivian Care vs Xcare coverage, and it's basically a toss up. Each has a few benefits over the other, but nothing crazy. Costs are very similar as well, so if Rivian Care doesn't make it to WA in time, I would definitely consider Xcare.

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