Is servicing going to be the downfall to Rivian?

[slocal94]

My wife surprised me with a R1T right before Christmas. Very lucky guy. I fell in love with this truck once I picked it up and drove it. But noticed on the way home a few things wrong with it. Called the service department an hour after picking it up to request to get a few things fixed on my brand new vehicle.

Biggest thing was the steering wheel wasn't centered when driving straight.
Passenger seat belt chime goes off when no one is sitting there. (must buckle belt to stop it)
Front Console Trim wont stay in.
Driver tailgate strap is not tight.
Telescope steering motor makes grinding noise
Air compressor doesn't stop at displayed pressure

Told I would have to wait till the 3rd to drop it off to get everything fixed. Drove 1 hour to drop off the truck yesterday at the San Jose Service Center and told that they were overloaded in the queue and could take 1-2 weeks to fix. This is my first EV and first vehicle purchased directly from a manufacturer. I am just dumbfounded that people are putting up with this sort of thing. I am not new to odd cars. I have two Lotus (Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious). I get that things brake or don't get assembled properly. I'm just lucky I still have my old truck. But is there any sort of Quality Control happening? The alignment issue was noticed in the first two miles once I got on the freeway. Console Trim was noticed before we got in the car.

I just don't get how I spent over $90K for a vehicle that it seams like no one is looking over before they sell them. And why even have schedules for service when there is no schedule. If I wasn't afraid of my first EV, I probably should have taken it to my local alignment shop and have them fix it and keep driving it with its faults. But Its a brand new vehicle. Just frustrated that my truck is going to be sitting for 1-2 weeks when most of theses things should have been found in Quality Control.
Michael

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[mikehmb]

Service will get you sorted out.

FWIW my last new truck (a ‘19 Tundra TRD Pro) had the following problems on delivery:
1) Bad alignment that required 3 attempts to repair
2) Squeaks and rattles that drove me insane - and they refused to repair because it was “within spec”
3) Trim pieces badly misaligned that they also refused to repair because they were “within spec”
4) Fog lights by Rigid that danced around like poorly strapped-on off road lights, that again, were “within spec”
5) A spare tire lock with a key that would not remove the spare, resulting in my being stranded for 6 hours after getting a flat once and requiring a flat-bed tow home.

This is Toyota.

At least with Rivian, they fix the stuff that comes isn’t perfect, even if it’s super minor. Toyota told me to stuff it on anything that wasn’t catastrophic.

 

[Redline]

Its a start up....making cars is hard.

People just assume Rivian should be the best at everything a couple years in to actually producing complex vehicles. It's going to take time.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Tailgate straps not being even is pretty normal, there's not an adjustment in them and Rivian would rather the tailgate panel gaps be better. Even a very small amount of weight on my tailgate brings both of them taut.

Make sure the compressor is flashing "Set" as it inflates or you aren't in setpoint mode. You might have to reset it after every tire, this is normal.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Did you not know what you signed up for?

Tesla struggled to provide satisfactory service in the beginning too. The potential to be cause of downfall is certainly there, if they do nothing to improve service availability and access. And, they are aware. It, unfortunately, takes time to make progress. This is early adopter pains, comes with exclusivity of being among the first 50-100,000 owners.

This isn't GM who spun off a new brand (like it did with Saturn), with a large network of existing GM dealers signing on to build dealerships and service centers—for GM with their own $—all across the country. This is a brand new car company with only two years in mass production. To add service centers, they have to find and buy/lease property, hire architects/designers, hire construction contractors, get permits, remodel and outfit, get through local red tape, hire and train service staff. All that takes a ton of time and capital.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

To me that's a remarkable improvement from what used to happen.

I had to wait 3 or 4 months just to be told that they're going to hold onto my Rivian for 2 weeks before attempting to fix it.

They didn't fix it. It still has the dreaded tock issue on acceleration/declaration which at times is just a minor annoyance, but there are times its really annoying. The worst part is they say "all Rivians do that" so now they won't fix it. Or they simply don't know how to fix it. It's a bit weird for any auto manufacture to say they can't build a vehicle that cracks less than the bones of an 80 year old.

They have opened up more service centers in my area so the wait these days doesn't seem to so long so I don't have much concern over the 3-4 month waiting thing.

The 2 weeks before even beginning to work on a vehicle is really problematic because its a negative for Rivian and the customers. Rivian has to shell out money for daily uber credits or a rental. The customer in most cases has no desire to be in a rental or being chauffeured around for 2 weeks pointlessly.

 

[DAJA]

I continue to wonder why the Rivian - Ford Dealership connection never materialized.

 

[J-Flo]

The other point worth noting here is that Rivian is under tremendous pressure to deliver as many vehicles as they can every quarter end. This is a byproduct of our capital markets with their myopic focus on the short term. It‘s not Rivian’s fault, but it unfortunately seems to make business sense for them to rush the QC and take some risks of buyers having experiences like yours, even though Rivian will pay $$ to fix them. Profit and cash are not quite as important as delivering vehicles at this hopefully short stage in their history.

My own lovely R1S had the suspension fail on the third drive because a numbskull didn’t tighten a high-pressure hose. And there were a few figment issues that QC should have caught (loose trim, liftgate not properly aligned, etc.)

Their service if you can get mobile service is really incredibly good. They will fix everything that can be fixed within reason, without question. (I don’t have any weird noises that can’t be diagnosed, just the air suspension and HVAC making adjustments all the time). Anything not urgent they are slow with at present, but it won’t be that way forever if things go as hoped and planned.

 

[NY_Rob]

I continue to wonder why the Rivian - Ford Dealership connection never materialized.

Cause Ford cashed out 90% of their Rivian stock in 2022 and wants nothing to do with Rivian. They once owned 102 million shares and now only hold 11 million shares.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Cause Ford cashed out 90% of their Rivian stock in 2022 and wants nothing to do with Rivian. They once owned 102 million shares and now only hold 11 million shares.

And there were never talks of joint dealerships, by anyone. That take came out of the blue.

 

[CotoR1TDude]

Be patient, it will get it sorted out. I took delivery of my R1T in `22 and 2 thirds of the way through my wrap we discovered my paint job on the passenger side had to be re-done. Back in the shop for 3 months while they onboarded/certified local auto shops to do the paint work. I was frustrated but I haven’t looked back until I saw this posting. Hang in there. This is really a new company doing something amazing - way more complicated then stamping out new Model Y’s which I took an early delivery on as well. My Model Y eventually had a defect that couldn’t be fixed. Get through it and enjoy.

 

[Zoidz]

...
I am just dumbfounded that people are putting up with this sort of thing.
...
I just don't get how I spent over $90K for a vehicle that it seams like no one is looking over before they sell them.

Please do tell us how we should not "put up with this sort of thing"?

- Park the vehicle in front of the service center with a sign that says "Rivian sucks" and set it on fire?
- Write a letter to our congressperson asking them to investigate?
- Scream, yell and threaten anyone and everyone who works at Rivian?

I'm not giving Rivian a pass on any of this. I am just a realist. On one side, it's a new company struggling to hire techs and open service centers. On the other side, they have Wall Street expecting them to hit certain production goals or they get skewered and hung out to dry, which would further erode their ability to hire and open service centers.

I did my homework. I watched what happened to people who bought Telsas in the early days, and is still happening. I watched what happened to people who bought Rivians before me. I decided to suck it up and deal with the potential challenges because I have always been an early adopter and risk taker for products that I think are unique and promising.

I don't hold it against Rivian, it's a decision I made. And now it's a decision you made of your own free will based on the research you did, or didn't do. Nobody at Rivian held a gun to your head to buy the vehicle, right?

 

[slocal94]

Zoids, lol. My wife purchased it for me without me knowing. I had been doing research on it before hand and was going to hold out until Rivian was more stable before I purchase one. I build farm equipment. This vehicle will not do what my normal 3/4 -1 ton pickups would do. So luckily I am keeping my 3/4 ton truck for now to do the extra heavy duty things I need done and I’m going to use the Rivian as the commuter. So luckily I have an extra vehicle. But I would feel terrible for the person who traded in their old vehicle and have this sort of issue. The thing that makes me mad the most is why schedule appointments for service if you not going to touch it for a week. I could still be driving it until they are ready. And all that takes is someone to pay attention to a service schedule.

 

[Prime]

My wife surprised me with a R1T right before Christmas. Very lucky guy. I fell in love with this truck once I picked it up and drove it. But noticed on the way home a few things wrong with it. Called the service department an hour after picking it up to request to get a few things fixed on my brand new vehicle.

Biggest thing was the steering wheel wasn't centered when driving straight.
Passenger seat belt chime goes off when no one is sitting there. (must buckle belt to stop it)
Front Console Trim wont stay in.
Driver tailgate strap is not tight.
Telescope steering motor makes grinding noise
Air compressor doesn't stop at displayed pressure

Told I would have to wait till the 3rd to drop it off to get everything fixed. Drove 1 hour to drop off the truck yesterday at the San Jose Service Center and told that they were overloaded in the queue and could take 1-2 weeks to fix. This is my first EV and first vehicle purchased directly from a manufacturer. I am just dumbfounded that people are putting up with this sort of thing. I am not new to odd cars. I have two Lotus (Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious). I get that things brake or don't get assembled properly. I'm just lucky I still have my old truck. But is there any sort of Quality Control happening? The alignment issue was noticed in the first two miles once I got on the freeway. Console Trim was noticed before we got in the car.

I just don't get how I spent over $90K for a vehicle that it seams like no one is looking over before they sell them. And why even have schedules for service when there is no schedule. If I wasn't afraid of my first EV, I probably should have taken it to my local alignment shop and have them fix it and keep driving it with its faults. But Its a brand new vehicle. Just frustrated that my truck is going to be sitting for 1-2 weeks when most of theses things should have been found in Quality Control.
Michael

When I got delivery in March, similar experience. Drove off the lot with a handful of issues. At the time was a 6-8 week wait for service. Nothing was preventing me from driving so it was fine, figured its new car company problems. When finally dropped off took 5 weeks to get my truck back. Sat for about a month. 6 months later and wait times at Costa Mesa are 4-6 months and they keep your car for 4+ weeks. My truck was left in the lot most recently for repairs for 3.5 weeks before they got around to working on it. Finished all the work in 2 days. So I had a loaner for 3.5 weeks for no reason. Service will be the downfall, things have only gotten worse and she sheer volume of vehicles being sold compared to investment in SC departments doesn’t make sense. I am an early adopter and investor, I want the company to succeed, I am just plenty tired of my experience. If I had paid current pricing I would be doubly upset. Sorry new builds are still having these issues.

 

[240vPlug]

First congrats on the new truck!

To answer your question it could be if nothing is done. I have seen a significant improvement here in Maryland. Wait times went from 3 months to one month. Rivian is working hard on the service experience and I'm confident they will succeed

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