Rivian and Right to Repair

[IPTV65]

I wonder what Rivian's position is on right to repair? I bet, like all car manufacturers, they are banking on that repair/maintenance revenue stream and probably won't be eager to offer up SW and tools to Joe mechanic. I understand being electric in theory means less maintenance but when something does happen down the road are there non-manufacturer options available?
https://jalopnik.com/automakers-are-determined-to-pretend-right-to-repair-do-1848374167

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[CommodoreAmiga]

The Rivian R1T Owners Manual has a blurb that says owners may subscribe to the Service Manual at Rivian.com. This gives me some hope... Although they have not actually made that subscription available nor have they disclosed the cost. Also, access to information is only half the battle -- we also need access to parts, and there has been no information given about if or how that will be done.

Certainly important questions, and I am curious to see when and how they are answered.

Tesla has set an abysmal example in this field. For years they refused access to information. They still limit the information and tooling that can be accessed. And parts availability is almost non-existent. They refuse to sell certain parts, and even for parts they agree to sell there is no inventory. Rich Rebuilds recently posted a video with some examples, such as needing a new seat, which Tesla has and is using to build 250k+ vehicles every quarter -- but they refuse to spare one to repair a vehicle for an existing customer.

 

[moosetags]

Rivian is going to need to have something available for those of us who are in somewhat remote areas. We have noted that all of the proposed Rivian Service Centers are in major metropolitan areas. We are located roughly 300 miles from any of these major cities.

 

[electruck]

Rivian is going to need to have something available for those of us who are in somewhat remote areas. We have noted that all of the proposed Rivian Service Centers are in major metropolitan areas. We are located roughly 300 miles from any of these major cities.

Here is Rivian's position on that:

 

[crashmtb]

Rivian is going to need to have something available for those of us who are in somewhat remote areas. We have noted that all of the proposed Rivian Service Centers are in major metropolitan areas. We are located roughly 300 miles from any of these major cities.

The nearest rivian service centre to me is going to be either 1400km if staying in Canada or 750km if going to the US.


Rivian’s service model is mostly “person in a van comes to you”. Should be fine if they have enough of them.



They’ll offer subscription based access to workshop manuals just like every other automaker. It’s a legal requirement.

 

[IPTV65]

Here is Rivian's position on that:

This is great when it's under warranty assuming it's done in a timely manner. What is the cost of this monopoly service once it's on my dime? Rhetorical question of course! . Would still be nice to have some support for DIY or 3rd party service.

 

[Taycanfrank]

I fully expect Rivian to follow in Tesla's footsteps here.

We already know they plan to use subscription services to lock features of the car and everything mentioning service explicitly states you're to use their service center or mobile service.

 

[electruck]

This is great when it's under warranty assuming it's done in a timely manner. What is the cost of this monopoly service once it's on my dime? Rhetorical question of course! . Would still be nice to have some support for DIY or 3rd party service.

Perfectly reasonable considerations and perhaps more in line with the topic of this thread than the post I was responding too which was regarding the poster's lack of proximity to a Rivian Service Center.

 

[IPTV65]

I fully expect Rivian to follow in Tesla's footsteps here.

We already know they plan to use subscription services to lock features of the car and everything mentioning service explicitly states you're to use their service center or mobile service.

I totally agree but with the ground swell of RTR legislation they might not get a choice. I personally don't have a problem with them making money on repairs but history has shown that lack of options can lead even the most well-meaning down a dark path when seeking revenue for shareholders.

We have a Chevy Volt. When something happens you are largely stuck....and GM charges accordingly.

 

[Trandall]

My hope is that for the majority of scheduled maintenance Rivian will facilitate owners to do themselves or coordinate with their preferred local independent service station. Being that RJ used the words "vertically integrated" many times in the last investor call I don't have much hope for self repair best case is their is a robust network of certified 3rd party repair centers... Cox Automotive.

 

[p3ck]

I'm curious how this will play out for me in Massachusetts where we have a stricter right to repair law. I know both Suburu and Kia have disabled telematics instead of opening it up to third parties.

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