Easing concerns about (early) Rivian manufacturing quality?

[Diddy123]

I'm hopeful that most people recognized that my point wasn't whether or not the vehicles come with a glove box, but rather my concern that a design choice regarding the glove box had not yet been finalized/confirmed/shared with CS/made it to production etc...

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[dleewla]

I'm hopeful that most people recognized that my point wasn't whether or not the vehicles come with a glove box, but rather my concern that a design choice regarding the glove box had not yet been finalized/confirmed/shared with CS/made it to production etc...

I think this lack of info on something simple as a glove box is just a symptom of a larger issue at Rivian. They haven't figured out the approach they want to take with communication. They obviously want to build high quality vehicles that will blow away customers. They seem to be hyper focused on the design and engineering. They are private so they aren't beholden to investors and public to share anything really. And they seem to want to provide great customer experience, hence the guides, service centers, mobile repairs. The one thing though that has become an albatross is communication. They have made mistakes with how they have shared about deliveries. Their social media posts, guide and CS reps and even the letter from RJ have inconsistencies. They hired guides but then hand-cuffed them about what they can and cannot share. Its like having a guide is not much than reading through a FAQ page.

I don't think these should be deal breakers and its the growing pains of a new company/CEO but I think they should spent a bit more energy and attention to improve communication if they want to build stronger brand loyalty.

 

[bowhunter]

Any nuggets that you can share? I'm sure these details will be directly related to production quality.

Sure, a couple of things he provided in response to questions I had (may be stuff other people knew, but was new to me):

• There are no delivery fees
• Notification emails will be sent out as RAN locations come online.
• The locations on the existing RAN map will convert to links with the location address as soon as a station is complete. (it doesn't sound like they are planning on sharing projected dates and addresses ahead of completion)
  • Map will also include level 2 waypoint stations at some point.
• Steering wheel has telescoping adjustment, but still don't know if it is mechanical/electric and auto-adjustable as part of saved driver profile seat positions.
• You can use a generator for charging, but they recommend against it. I asked as I have a 4kW inverter setup with low total harmonic distortion that I may take with me as an emergency backup on multi-day trips far from any electrical source and wanted to make sure that it's use wouldn't impact warranty if I used it.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

• Steering wheel has telescoping adjustment, but still don't know if it is mechanical/electric and auto-adjustable as part of saved driver profile seat positions.

This has been confirmed and is posted in their "Rivian Story" on the interior. It's power-adjustable and IS linked to your profile:

https://stories.rivian.com/r1t-interior-details

"When you unlock the R1T, your driver profile automatically adjusts the seat and steering wheel to your preferred position."

 

[Diddy123]

Sure, a couple of things he provided in response to questions I had (may be stuff other people knew, but was new to me):

• There are no delivery fees

That's an interesting tidbit, especially as it directly contradicts what's on their website. It would be awesome of they really did away with delivery fees. Hopefully they weren't just playing games to make a distinction between destination fees and delivery fees.

Are there any other fees and taxes in addition to the purchase price?
Yes, as is typical with vehicle purchases, there will be a destination and regulatory document fee in addition to sales tax.

 

[bowhunter]

That's an interesting tidbit, especially as it directly contradicts what's on their website. It would be awesome of they really did away with delivery fees. Hopefully they weren't just playing games to make a distinction between destination fees and delivery fees.

Entirely possible it is a matter of semantics, but that would seem a bit of a misleading response on his part which I wouldn't anticipate given his customer-focused and candid responses so far.

 

[crashmtb]

Entirely possible it is a matter of semantics, but that would seem a bit of a misleading response on his part which I wouldn't anticipate given his customer-focused and candid responses so far.

Perhaps it’s a launch edition perk, not paying a delivery/ destination charge?

 

[skyote]

Sure, a couple of things he provided in response to questions I had (may be stuff other people knew, but was new to me):

• There are no delivery fees
• Notification emails will be sent out as RAN locations come online.
• The locations on the existing RAN map will convert to links with the location address as soon as a station is complete. (it doesn't sound like they are planning on sharing projected dates and addresses ahead of completion)
  • Map will also include level 2 waypoint stations at some point.
• Steering wheel has telescoping adjustment, but still don't know if it is mechanical/electric and auto-adjustable as part of saved driver profile seat positions.
• You can use a generator for charging, but they recommend against it. I asked as I have a 4kW inverter setup with low total harmonic distortion that I may take with me as an emergency backup on multi-day trips far from any electrical source and wanted to make sure that it's use wouldn't impact warranty if I used it.

Thanks @bowhunter , great stuff & I hadn't heard any of it previously!

 

[Scooter8511]

At least in October 2019, there was no traditional glovebox.

 

[zipityzi]

From a chat no more than 5 minutes ago...

So while some of you may have been told no at certain events, it's definitely not yet confirmed, at least in the limited view of CS agents. PS, this was after the CS agent went looking through the specs to see what he/she could find.

I gotta say a little hilarious. For a $70k+ vehicle meant to ship in the next few months, they can't tell us if it has a glove box.

Who is that helping? Who is served by Rivian hedging its explanation? Simple answer: "No, it won't have a glove box. Thank you for the question."

We can leave the hype train mysterious secrets train, Rivian. It looks less spooky -> more insecure. It's OK for vehicles to not have a glovebox. Let's hope communication is better post-delivery.

"Can we book a service appointment for these loud clanks?"
"Unfortunately, no - I don't have specifics on what that might look like."
"Sorry, just so I'm clear, there's no info available on whether we can book an appointment ?"
"That's correct."

? RJ, please.

 

[AndroidAppBundle]

With all the infotainment challenges that Volvo, Ford and other manufacturers have had - I worry about a companies ability to deliver frustration-free infotainment, especially as physical buttons go away. The fact we haven’t seen anything about this system, and the fact that infotainment makes up so much of the vehicles experience nowadays - I worry. Especially when Rivian has close ties to Ford - and the Ford infotainment system is a complete joke.

Rivian has been around for 12 years, has 7000+ employees, and over 10 billion in funding; so I expect them to be able to manufacture a vehicle. I also worry about Rivian’s focus on the commercial vans. I get the feeling that their engineering teams are divided, at best - and maybe even primarily working on the Rivian commercial vans. I don’t know if they are really focused on the passenger vehicles - we just don’t get much for communication, until after the fact (hey guys, i know deliveries were supposed to start in July, and it is mid-July...and I bring terrible news)

If the first Rivian to be received by a customer is a RIvian van (to Amazon), I will be thoroughly unimpressed. My patience for them has run out. I feel the lack of communication should worry everyone about the quality of their Rivian vehicle.

They are so anxious to show off their collapsible cookware, but they are very shy to share anything that truly matters. Which is....concerning.

I shouldn’t be left feeling that if we gave Rich Rebuilds 10 billion dollars, we could watch an EV company start to deliver vehicles in 2 years.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

If the first Rivian to be received by a customer is a RIvian van (to Amazon), I will be thoroughly unimpressed.

That already happened.

 

[DucRider]

With all the infotainment challenges that Volvo, Ford and other manufacturers have had - I worry about a companies ability to deliver frustration-free infotainment, especially as physical buttons go away. The fact we haven’t seen anything about this system, and the fact that infotainment makes up so much of the vehicles experience nowadays - I worry. Especially when Rivian has close ties to Ford - and the Ford infotainment system is a complete joke.

Rivian has been around for 12 years, has 7000+ employees, and over 10 billion in funding; so I expect them to be able to manufacture a vehicle. I also worry about Rivian’s focus on the commercial vans. I get the feeling that their engineering teams are divided, at best - and maybe even primarily working on the Rivian commercial vans. I don’t know if they are really focused on the passenger vehicles - we just don’t get much for communication, until after the fact (hey guys, i know deliveries were supposed to start in July, and it is mid-July...and I bring terrible news)

If the first Rivian to be received by a customer is a RIvian van (to Amazon), I will be thoroughly unimpressed. My patience for them has run out. I feel the lack of communication should worry everyone about the quality of their Rivian vehicle.

They are so anxious to show off their collapsible cookware, but they are very shy to share anything that truly matters. Which is....concerning.

I shouldn’t be left feeling that if we gave Rich Rebuilds 10 billion dollars, we could watch an EV company start to deliver vehicles in 2 years.

Sounds like a Rivian is not your cup of tea.
I certainly wouldn't buy a vehicle from a company that I felt as concerned about as you appear to be regarding Rivian.

 

[flabyboy]

I think this lack of info on something simple as a glove box is just a symptom of a larger issue at Rivian. They haven't figured out the approach they want to take with communication. They obviously want to build high quality vehicles that will blow away customers. They seem to be hyper focused on the design and engineering. They are private so they aren't beholden to investors and public to share anything really. And they seem to want to provide great customer experience, hence the guides, service centers, mobile repairs. The one thing though that has become an albatross is communication. They have made mistakes with how they have shared about deliveries. Their social media posts, guide and CS reps and even the letter from RJ have inconsistencies. They hired guides but then hand-cuffed them about what they can and cannot share. Its like having a guide is not much than reading through a FAQ page.

I don't think these should be deal breakers and its the growing pains of a new company/CEO but I think they should spent a bit more energy and attention to improve communication if they want to build stronger brand loyalty.

How does their communication compare to Tesla? I honestly don’t know. I have heard Tesla has terrible communication. If that’s the case it certainly didn’t hurt their brand loyalty. Hopefully Rivian’s vehicles speak for themselves.

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