3 month service wait for truck with hood stuck open!? - time to move on from the R1T

[Quick]

So I’ve had my R1T since March. It’s been to the service center in Brooklyn (an hour and a half away from me in traffic) 5 times. The last time I was so angry they towed it back to my house.

Yesterday morning at 6am, I’m leaving on a trip and packing the stuff in the R1T. I put a few things in the frunk, but it wouldn’t close the frunk and gave me an error about an obstruction (even when completely empty) - refusing to close even if I pushed the hood down. Unpack everything and put int in the Ram 1500 for the trip instead. Left R1T with hood up in my driveway.

Scheduled an appt on the app and the first appointment is NOVEMBER 13th!!! This is absurd. Rivian needs to get their service situation in order.

At this point, I love the truck. But it’s hard to justify when I’ve had this many problems and it’s proven to be unreliable. I think it needs to be sold not because it has issues, but due to their inability to resolve them in a timely manner.

And, btw, I got home at 5pm and the hood closed without a problem on the first button push. So this is clearly a software/transient issue. But since it wouldn’t close when I needed it to 10 hours earlier, it’s useless.

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[diehlryan]

1. The app isn't triaging the severity of your need. Call in.
2. Somebody on some forum (Reddit, discord, here) posted about why this happens. The heat makes the plastic trim around the frunk expand and get out of alignment. This causes the sensors to trip.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Sometimes the interior plastic shrouds can get out of place and cause this. Especially if you have a tendancy to set heavy stuff on them while loading the frunk.

 

[R1Tom]

To the OP point, regardless of the cause....potential customers should be fully aware before buying a Rivian right now, that at least in some regions, service is
really backed up.

 

[Quick]

1. The app isn't triaging the severity of your need. Call in.
2. Somebody on some forum (Reddit, discord, here) posted about why this happens. The heat makes the plastic trim around the frunk expand and get out of alignment. This causes the sensors to trip.

Sometimes the interior plastic shrouds can get out of place and cause this. Especially if you have a tendancy to set heavy stuff on them while loading the frunk.

I called this morning. Best case is still late Oct.

Nothing was sat on the plastics (unacceptable for any of my vehicles) and it was 55 degrees at 6am. Frunk worked fine the day before. Reported issues are apparently with the camera and sensors on the windshield - which did have dew on it. Apparently they have made the hood too complicated to close.

Again, this post isn’t about the issue itself. It’s about their lack of service and inability to provide service to their customers.. I used to get appointments within a week or two, now it’s three months. (Sad that I’m even excited about an ability to get service appointments quickly with a brand new 90k truck). All that tells me is that they are delivering more vehicles that have to go back in for service. Not a good sign

 

[Dark-Fx]

As long as there isn't an actual obstruction, you should be able to turn off the power hood and just raise/lower it by hand. Obviously not a permanent solution but one that could get you back on the road.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

To the OP point, regardless of the cause....potential customers should be fully aware before buying a Rivian right now, that at least in some regions, service is p
really backed up.

This exactly! We bought ours fully expecting there would be issues and that a new company would have some growing pains for a while. Tesla went through similar struggles.

Doesn't make the OP issues any less frustrating though. To the OP, I would call in and let them know its a safety issue because the hood will not close and the vehicle cannot be driven safely in this condition. Hopefully they can fit you in for just that issue.

 

[Quick]

This exactly! We bought ours fully expecting there would be issues and that a new company would have some growing pains for a while. Tesla went through similar struggles.

Doesn't make the OP issues any less frustrating though. To the OP, I would call in and let them know its a safety issue because the hood will not close and the vehicle cannot be driven safely in this condition. Hopefully they can fit you in for just that issue.

The whole “new company” argument is a copout. That only holds water if you also received some sort of benefit to allowing them to use you as a beta tester. The last time I looked, I paid full price for the truck and get no special services.

Companies fail every day because they can’t service their customers. It’s unclear to me why Rivian gets a pass on this. Unless they give me back some $$ to make me a partner in this agreement. Otherwise I’m just a customer with a faulty product.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

The whole “new company” argument is a copout. That only holds water if you also received some sort of benefit to allowing them to use you as a beta tester. The last time I looked, I paid full price for the truck and get no special services.

Companies fail every day because they can’t service their customers. It’s unclear to me why Rivian gets a pass on this. Unless they give me back some $$ to make me a partner in this agreement. Otherwise I’m just a customer with a faulty product.

I hope you don't think I am giving them a pass...I am certainly not. I set my expectations based on what happened with Tesla when they were ramping up. I am absolutely not saying its ok.

What I am doing is pointing out though that anyone buying a new car from a new car company should not expect the same experience they would get from a traditional auto maker who has been in business for 100 years or more...from day 1. It will take time.

So what I am saying is to anyone considering a Rivian, you need to set your expectations accordingly, and assess based on those expectations if the Rivian will meet your needs. I fully expect in 2-3 years things will be much improved. So for example to folks who need prompt service ...the Rivian may not be the right vehicle at this time....until they can get more SC open to manage the workload.

 

[R1Tom]

The whole “new company” argument is a copout. That only holds water if you also received some sort of benefit to allowing them to use you as a beta tester. The last time I looked, I paid full price for the truck and get no special services.

Companies fail every day because they can’t service their customers. It’s unclear to me why Rivian gets a pass on this. Unless they give me back some $$ to make me a partner in this agreement. Otherwise I’m just a customer with a faulty product.

I agree with this. It is my opinion Rivian either is incompetent in the area of properly scaling up service or unwilling to spend appropriate money. But either of those can be fixed, and I keep hoping that at the appropriate level Rivian sees this and is implementing the fix.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Companies fail every day because they can’t service their customers. It’s unclear to me why Rivian gets a pass on this. Unless they give me back some $$ to make me a partner in this agreement. Otherwise I’m just a customer with a faulty product.

I warn anyone who asks me about the truck in person that their service turnaround has been downhill signficantly since I got the truck in Q1 of last year. That if they aren't in a position to deal with being without their vehicle for potentially months that they probably should consider going with another manufacturer, but that there really isn't any EV for sale today that compares in the breadth of capability. They have managed to fix my issues, it just hasn't been timely lately.

I think the majority of people on the forum already know service times are terrible so you're just preaching to the choir. I "give them a pass" here because it's more useful to give someone a workaround instead of just going into an agreeable rant about their service being awful.

 

[Quick]

I hope you don't think I am giving them a pass...I am certainly not. I set my expectations based on what happened with Tesla when they were ramping up. I am absolutely not saying its ok.

What I am doing is pointing out though that anyone buying a new car from a new car company should not expect the same experience they would get from a traditional auto maker who has been in business for 100 years or more...from day 1. It will take time.

So what I am saying is to anyone considering a Rivian, you need to set your expectations accordingly, and assess based on those expectations if the Rivian will meet your needs. I fully expect in 2-3 years things will be much improved. So for example to folks who need prompt service ...the Rivian may not be the right vehicle at this time....until they can get more SC open to manage the workload.

This seems fair. And why I will be selling my R1T. After 5 visits to the SC, I’m not interested in a 6th. And my schedule doesn’t permit this level of SC interaction. I will be selling this truck, and perhaps revisiting again in a few years after their quality and service improves.

I agree with this. It is my opinion Rivian either is incompetent in the area of properly scaling up service or unwilling to spend appropriate money. But either of those can be fixed, and I keep hoping that at the appropriate level Rivian sees this and is implementing the fix.

Agreed. It’s a time game for their business model. I’d like to see them successful, but they have to resolve this problem.

And seriously - what hipster genius put the SC in Brooklyn in the first place?

 

[R1Tom]

This seems fair. And why I will be selling my R1T. After 5 visits to the SC, I’m not interested in a 6th. And my schedule doesn’t permit this level of SC interaction. I will be selling this truck, and perhaps revisiting again in a few years after their quality and service improves.



Agreed. It’s a time game for their business model. I’d like to see them successful, but they have to resolve this problem.

And seriously - what hipster genius put the SC in Brooklyn in the first place?

Or downtown Chicago?

 

[R1Tom]

I warn anyone who asks me about the truck in person that their service turnaround has been downhill signficantly since I got the truck in Q1 of last year. That if they aren't in a position to deal with being without their vehicle for potentially months that they probably should consider going with another manufacturer, but that there really isn't any EV for sale today that compares in the breadth of capability. They have managed to fix my issues, it just hasn't been timely lately.

I think the majority of people on the forum already know service times are terrible so you're just preaching to the choir. I "give them a pass" here because it's more useful to give someone a workaround instead of just going into an agreeable rant about their service being awful.

Not sure I agree....seems most of time I jump into these service sucks topics, I get alot of pushback....

Tesla, BWM, Merc, etc... all suck too. No one will work in service for any level of money. Tesla took a decade to get things worked out, so anything better is winning. It's your fault as a consumer of a start-up brand. Blah blah blah....

All good to me.....as I am a consumer in a free country...I expected problems with the product. Just expected they would have enough hands on deck to deal with then alot faster than many experience.

If it doesn't improve by the time I replace mine, I will move on to something else with service capabilities.

I love my R1T....alot.....but I can't comprehend why they haven't fixed this service issue yet.

 

[Quick]

I love my R1T....alot.....but I can't comprehend why they haven't fixed this service issue yet.

Probably because servicing existing customers doesn’t increase their sales numbers or drive revenue. Service is a drawdown on revenue, especially while under warranty.

I love my R1T a lot as well. But only when it’s drivable and not driveway art.

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