A leap of faith that ends up with regret (Critical Battery).... by shipping R1T to Kuwait

[johhn14]

I’m rooting for reviving this like everyone else but Rivian should not be flying anyone anywhere to resurrect this. They have their hands full with their core operations at the moment.

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[shrink]

I would love to have their emails please send them over

Sent. Good luck!

 

[myboodai]

Hello brother, how are you I was happy to know that there is a Rivian owner here in Kuwait so that I can connect with him before I get my region after one year hopefully but I feel sad that your experience did not go well so far I hope that it is solvable remotely, my suggestion is to contact the telsa kuwait group owners here who may help or find someone in Dubai I am pretty sure it is not rocket science and someone with expertise in electric vehicles should be able to solve it without sending the car back to the US, I really understand how crazy it is for rivian support to tell you to send the car back to the United States which will take two months at least and more than US$8000 in shipping costs just to fix something that can be solved remotely!

Absolutely!! I just don’t understand why wont they diagnose it remotely at least and let me know wether its a software or a hardware issue, thanks for the advice i will get in touch with them asap, never thought that there is a tesla community in Kuwait.

thanks for the great advice and before you get your R1T you can always test drive mine if ur interested once its fixed hopefully

 

[myboodai]

I admire what you have done. It's crazy cool! I can't add more to what has already been said. My only suggestion is to use this "opportunity" to video your experience and post it all over the internet. That will create a lot of awareness and perhaps support for you. I vaguely remember an outfit in Dubai that had a TV series of sorts about exotic cars. The guys were very cool. Perhaps you could partner with them to do the video.

Please, stay in-touch as you are on an incredible journey. Best of luck!

Lol! I can lend them the truck to showcase it but it will definitely get Rivian’s attention if the video goes viral and shows that their support sucks.

il play this card at the finale

 

[myboodai]

long thread, has anyone suggested:
1) Pay Rivian to fly out a tech with necessary equipment to revive a bricked vehicle. That person could perhaps be from their operations in Kenya.
2) While exporting a vehicle might void it's warranty (when overseas) it does not necessarily void support.

I think if Rivian chose to refuse to support this vehicle it would be creating a public relations failure. That's not to say they should work for free, etc. The buyer has no contract with Rivian, only the seller may have neglected to adhere to some fine print in the purchase agreement.

I imagine Rivian would want some bonafides and assurances the vehicle was not purchases for reverse-engineering or competitive purposes.

I assume the vehicle has been connected to a wifi hotspot and left on for at least 24 hours for it to call back to the mothership (which would allow Rivian some potential for remote diagnosis and perhaps remotely allow the vehicle to charge.) I assume the state of the battery is still healthy and that it is protecting itself from being depleted.

theTruck is connected to the network for atleast 3 weeks and i have opened more than 3 tickets in the service center explaining exactly what happened they just end up telling me send it over.
lets assume i was reverse engineering it would show up in their systems that i have disconnected major vehicle components such as main Battery or some computers ets.

 

[myboodai]

I’m rooting for reviving this like everyone else but Rivian should not be flying anyone anywhere to resurrect this. They have their hands full with their core operations at the moment.

I just think some times what happens if some one is in a remote location at the us territory and had the same problem that im experiencing which is a possibility while camping what would they do? Sending a technician going up hill for miles away from his base and climbing a steep hill might be dangerous, thay have to have a remote diagnostics to minimize logistics costs, time and hassle if its a software related issue.

 

[the long way downunder]

I’m rooting for reviving this like everyone else but Rivian should not be flying anyone anywhere to resurrect this. They have their hands full with their core operations at the moment.

1. First, we don't know why Rivian is service snafu, but they say it's parts and logistics, not a staffing issue. Staffing takes months to build.
2. The type of team they'd send is not from a field service center, not techs with wrenches fixing factory defects.
3. The fly-out crew would be people benefiting from, and capable of dealing with, the specific problem, assuming they can diagnose remotely to plan ahead.
4. It's not a week long project, it's a fly-in, fix, fly-out. Three or four days including travel.
5. I wouldn't send people on the critical path of high priority projects or deliverables.
6. It's a legit vehicle eligible for support. Since the support is a day's flight away, the customer could be asked to pick up the tab for the overhead.
7. Rivian is a big ship already 10,000+ people. Sending two R&D engineers, such as the people who design the field service operation (equipment, tools, processes, software, diagnostic procedures, documentation) is of no impact to corporate goals.
8. I'd even offer it as a perk, as paid vacation time, for a larger team (say five people, one super-skilled, four new hires, as a field training exercise.)
9. I'd consider sending a business development person to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to look for both billions in backing and potential sales and service. Not that billion dollar deals tend to unfold by happenstance, but where there's demand for your product, it's a simple thing to set up field service as an organized process. If you want to buy a used R1T, fly it to the Emirates or wherever, here's our service contract to support that vehicle. I imagine there could be US technology export laws and other trade agreement red tape, but "everyone" does business in the Middle East … Rolls Royce wouldn't exist if it couldn't sell 100 Rolls in 100 colors to the same prince (Sultan of Brunei.) : )

 

[Sattman69]

Color me skeptical. Not saying this is a scam but there’s a possibility. I frankly can’t see Rivian simply saying “good luck sucker”. Sending back to US is just stupid. If OP has agreed to pay, then it would make for great PR.
Also, where is the auction in all this? Unless it is an “as was” sale, meaning it ran when we crated it, then it should be their problem to correct.
Lastly, I think the Munro recommendation was great and I also think Magna would be another contact. They seem to have folks and contacts everywhere. And while the core focus of Rivian is production at this time, I feel like 3rd parties would be willing to accept the mission for $.

https://www.magna.com/products/power-vision/powertrain-contact-form

Best of luck OP. I’m routing for you too.

 

[miasm]

Call your equivalent of AAA, that has DC fast chargers on wheels for recharging stranded Tesla's, etc and have one come by. The DC fast charging initiating a charge might kick it online.

 

[Guy]

1. First, we don't know why Rivian is service snafu, but they say it's parts and logistics, not a staffing issue. Staffing takes months to build.
2. The type of team they'd send is not from a field service center, not techs with wrenches fixing factory defects.
3. The fly-out crew would be people benefiting from, and capable of dealing with, the specific problem, assuming they can diagnose remotely to plan ahead.
4. It's not a week long project, it's a fly-in, fix, fly-out. Three or four days including travel.
5. I wouldn't send people on the critical path of high priority projects or deliverables.
6. It's a legit vehicle eligible for support. Since the support is a day's flight away, the customer could be asked to pick up the tab for the overhead.
7. Rivian is a big ship already 10,000+ people. Sending two R&D engineers, such as the people who design the field service operation (equipment, tools, processes, software, diagnostic procedures, documentation) is of no impact to corporate goals.
8. I'd even offer it as a perk, as paid vacation time, for a larger team (say five people, one super-skilled, four new hires, as a field training exercise.)
9. I'd consider sending a business development person to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to look for both billions in backing and potential sales and service. Not that billion dollar deals tend to unfold by happenstance, but where there's demand for your product, it's a simple thing to set up field service as an organized process. If you want to buy a used R1T, fly it to the Emirates or wherever, here's our service contract to support that vehicle. I imagine there could be US technology export laws and other trade agreement red tape, but "everyone" does business in the Middle East … Rolls Royce wouldn't exist if it couldn't sell 100 Rolls in 100 colors to the same prince (Sultan of Brunei.) : )

Rivian are not liable for a vehicle being sold to an area of the world they do not support. That is obvious, just like if a Ford made its way into Iran or North Korea they would not service it due to sanctions. The buyer was being very risky having this shipped half way around the world with no local support for such a new vehicle.

I am sorry for his situation and while not directly his fault (seems to be the auction house) he was asking for problems when support is 5+ thousand miles away.

 

[myboodai]

Color me skeptical. Not saying this is a scam but there’s a possibility. I frankly can’t see Rivian simply saying “good luck sucker”. Sending back to US is just stupid. If OP has agreed to pay, then it would make for great PR.
Also, where is the auction in all this? Unless it is an “as was” sale, meaning it ran when we crated it, then it should be their problem to correct.
Lastly, I think the Munro recommendation was great and I also think Magna would be another contact. They seem to have folks and contacts everywhere. And while the core focus of Rivian is production at this time, I feel like 3rd parties would be willing to accept the mission for $.

https://www.magna.com/products/power-vision/powertrain-contact-form

Best of luck OP. I’m routing for you too.

Thank you so much

 

[SASSquatch]

myboodai - your situation is terrible but I have to be honest with you, this is all due to very bad decision making on your part.

Even if the R1T that was shipped to you arrived in a state that you could charge it, what was your plan going to be if you ever needed any service? Rivian makes clear that they are only providing service for the vehicles in the US and Canada at the moment. You cannot even make a reservation for an R1T outside of the US/Canada.

Rivian has absolutely zero incentive to help you right now because they would be setting a precedent for providing support outside North America. What if someone else decides they want to ship an R1T to Asia and then expects Rivian to support them if they help you?

I wish you the best, and I hope that potentially there is something Rivian may be willing to do remotely, but even then you are absolutely going to encounter this issue again when your R1T needs service. It is a first year production model vehicle. It will have issues.

Your best bet is to cut your losses and arrange to have the vehicle shipped back to the US. Have Rivian work on the vehicle in the US and then sell it. You will lose money, there is no way around that, but at this point it is better to lose money then to have a very expensive R1T paperweight.

Good luck and godspeed.

 

[iansriv]

Rivian are not liable for a vehicle being sold to an area of the world they do not support. That is obvious, just like if a Ford made its way into Iran or North Korea they would not service it due to sanctions. The buyer was being very risky having this shipped half way around the world with no local support for such a new vehicle.

I am sorry for his situation and while not directly his fault (seems to be the auction house) he was asking for problems when support is 5+ thousand miles away.

Kuwait is not exactly "Iran or North Korea." The per capita income is the highest in the world. It is a very advanced country. Just happens to be a bit further away than say Bagdad, Florida. OP is not saying Rivian is liable. He's just trying to get some help to get the vehicle up and running. I respect the people that stepped up to try to help him. That's what this forum is about. I also love the fact that he's adventurous enough to do something like this.

 

[SASSquatch]

Kuwait is not exactly "Iran or North Korea." The per capita income is the highest in the world. It is a very advanced country. Just happens to be a bit further away than say Bagdad, Florida. OP is not saying Rivian is liable. He's just trying to get some help to get the vehicle up and running. I respect the people that stepped up to try to help him. That's what this forum is about. I also love the fact that he's adventurous enough to do something like this.

With all due respect iansriv, what does the per capita income of Kuwait have to do with Rivian making it crystal clear that support doesn't exist outside of North America?

The OP suggesting that they will make videos showing that Rivian support sucks if they don't help isn't productive either.

The best advice to the OP is to cut their losses. Even if Rivian provided some remote diagnostic service, the OP will INEVITABLY require service in the future that is non-existent in Kuwait.

This was a very bad decision by the OP. I sympathize that having a supercar fast EV truck, and maybe being the only one to have one in Kuwait, is an attractive proposition - but it was ill advised.
If Rivian is willing to provide some diagnostic service remotely to get the truck operational to get it shipped back to the US - I think that is the best outcome here.

To the OP: I would stress in your communication to Rivian that in order to even get it shipped back you need to get the thing started and loaded back into a shipping container to make the journey back.

That might be your only play for remote service - then please ship this back. Arrange to sell it while resale values are high enough that you might not take a huge loss.

Good luck.

 

[iansriv]

With all due respect iansriv, what does the per capita income of Kuwait have to do with Rivian making it crystal clear that support doesn't exist outside of North America?

Just trying to clarify that there is a distinct difference between Iran, North Korea and Kuwait. There are more resources to resolve issues. I'm not sure that the OP is arguing that Rivian should provide support. He's looking for solutions. He may have offered to pay for people to fly there to resolve this.

I respect your point as well. Not arguing a particular aspect, just sharing a different perspective. Cheers.

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