Rivian reliability is a problem

[Singletracker]

I’ve had a ton of cars in my time - from high performance sports cars to p/u’s to vans/wagons, to 4-wheel off roaders. I actually traded in my beloved Toyota FJ for the R1T. This was the most I have ever spent on car, so it was a leap of faith. So, has my T had a couple of issues? Well, yes, but nothing major, nothing that kept it from going - mostly superficial stuff and a few minor software glitches that were easily resolved. Having said that, after over 14,000 miles, no other vehicle I have owned comes close the pure joy I get from driving this truck. It is the master of all driving situations - around town, highway, off road, winding mountain roads, you name it!!! It is an interactive vehicle, that will keep you entertained. It is addictive! There has not been a day go by that I haven’t hopped in my R1T just to go drive the darn thing - like anywhere, just to drive. It’s crazy. I think I need an intervention ? And, oh yeah, with at home charging, it cost peanuts to drive.

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[Hereforthesnacks]

IMO if one is looking for near zero "problems" then it's best to stick with one of the high production volumes ICE vehicles from Honda or Toyota. They are pretty reliable and probably more importantly, any issue that does crop up can be resolved FAST and AFFORDABLY.

I drove about 200k miles on Nissan and Chevy EVs. 0 problems over a decade. One time debris on the road tore off the battery cover on the bottom of the Bolt and it was repaired in 24 hours for $150. High volume EVs are also generally trouble fee.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

How many threads do we need discussing the same thing? I wish people would use the search feature of the website before repeating posts.

 

[Hillbilly]

Mine's fine. Thanks.

 

[Hillbilly]

How many threads do we need discussing the same thing? I wish people would use the search feature of the website before repeating posts.

Failing to search is more reliable than Rivian.

 

[FinancialCents]

I have wanted a EV for years now and I have looked at the many options out there. I eventually decided I liked the Rivian the best. And when I learned that they were making the an affordable model I was all in and put down a reservation on the first day. Many of my family and friends try to talk me out of getting an EV because of all the issues they have and the negative publicity that always seems to be out there. I have just wanted to get one just to prove them wrong. But when I see Consumer reports vehicle reliability reports and Rivian is at he very bottom by a long ways I get discouraged and worry that I will end up with a problem vehicle. My friends and family are just going to be saying "I told you!". I still have high hopes that Rivian is going to learn from the past issues and start making reliable EVs. When I first saw this data last year I thought it must be because of all the issues with the retractable tonneau cover on the bed. But If you click on Rivian on the web site you can see it is the R1S that is the least reliable. I hope to see big improvements in reliability over the next 2 years or I will not be buying.
This is a screen shot of the ratings as ai was not sure if I could post a link to their site in this post or if non members would see it.

Look into the numbers. This rating is solely based on a 2023 R1. Hopefully as time goes along, the numbers will get better.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Failing to search is more reliable than Rivian.

Failing to search is more reliable than Toyota.

 

[Paduraru]

I have wanted a EV for years now and I have looked at the many options out there. I eventually decided I liked the Rivian the best. And when I learned that they were making the an affordable model I was all in and put down a reservation on the first day. Many of my family and friends try to talk me out of getting an EV because of all the issues they have and the negative publicity that always seems to be out there. I have just wanted to get one just to prove them wrong. But when I see Consumer reports vehicle reliability reports and Rivian is at he very bottom by a long ways I get discouraged and worry that I will end up with a problem vehicle. My friends and family are just going to be saying "I told you!". I still have high hopes that Rivian is going to learn from the past issues and start making reliable EVs. When I first saw this data last year I thought it must be because of all the issues with the retractable tonneau cover on the bed. But If you click on Rivian on the web site you can see it is the R1S that is the least reliable. I hope to see big improvements in reliability over the next 2 years or I will not be buying.
This is a screen shot of the ratings as ai was not sure if I could post a link to their site in this post or if non members would see it.

You are right . Don't buy it. Stick with your F

 

[beaker]

Given their historical reputation, I used to give CR the benefit of the doubt on many things.

After having worked with some of their researchers on project recently, let me tell you, I no longer do.

Absolute bottom of the barrel in terms of intellect.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Consumer reports is garbage these days. They should stick to vacuums.

This^. Vehicles that are tech heavy have lower reliability in their surveys.

years ago they complained about the Lincoln town car that the ride was “giggly” etc. CR clearly has no clue who the buyers are or what they want. Town car buyers want to feel like they are in a boat out on the water. That’s why they buy it!

I am completely honest with folks when they ask me. I tell them the following.

if you want a boring, rock solid reliability, a to b appliance car, get a Toyota.

Rivian and Tesla both are cutting edge tech vehicles. Cutting edge tech is associated with lower reliability especially to folks who are not tech savvy or who haven’t taken the time to learn the ins and outs of the vehicles.

with all that said Rivian does have some issues to iron out with Gen2. They also have a lot of work to do on service wait times. On Monday it will be a month since I dropped my R1T off for service. I waited several months for the appointment. Owning a Rivian does require higher than average patience at this point.

I liken it to a high maintenance relationship. They work when one party is patient and content with what they are getting in exchange for their patience.

 

[DayTripping]

It used to be, CR would break down the areas of reliability such as motor, transmission, AC, electronics, etc. so you'd see the areas of concern. I haven't seen that lately.

I think one reason you see the high satisfaction is that people who bought a Rivian, REALLY WANTED TO. Many of you waited for years like I did for some of my Teslas. So there was a high level of enthusiasm going in. For the most part, you are likely to overlook anything that isn't major or until you have so many minor issues that you can't ignore them anymore and will still remain satisfied.

My experience with Rivian service has been good so far but slow to get the car in, and then to make the repairs. On the plus side, I am not told that everything is "within spec" like Tesla often did. My SC is obviously overloaded. My truck has now been in service coming up on 3 weeks now.

I really love my Rivian so far, but I am not blind to its issues. Depending on how my service visit turns out may set the trend for the rest of my ownership experience. I still think CR got it right in terms of both satisfaction and reliability. Here is how it seems CR does weighted overall reliability. It seems to based on the gap between the problem rates of all trouble spots and the model year average. More serious trouble spots, like engine, cooling system, transmission, and drive systems problems, are weighted more heavily.

https://www.consumerreports.org/car...umer-reports-car-reliability-faq-a1099917197/

 

[ads75]

Does the Consumer Reports reliability treat a rattle in the dash the same as being stranded/inoperable vehicle? Those are two pretty different problems. I can deal with a rattle, but not being stranded.

 

[Redmond Chad]

What you fail to mention/notice is that CR also reported that Rivian has the highest owner satisfaction. Perfect 5/5 score. No other brand has that.

This is absolutely the key.

There are MANY things to consider when buying a car. Features, performance, price, operating costs, resale value, aesthetics, efficiency, reliability, durability, capacity, service availability, etc. It's easy to look at any one of them and say "that sounds like an issue, I am wary of this car." There are issues in ALL of these areas with EVERY car. What is almost impossible to get is a solid look at relative problem rates of each of these areas. (Carmakers have many of them, but aren't sharing).

So the issues are real, but relative rates are not well known. Owner satisfaction (defined here as the answer current owners give to "would you buy the same vehicle again") is an umbrella that takes ALL of them into consideration. Many people avoid a particular car because of potential problem they heard about in one of the areas...but end up buying another car that they are statistically likely to be less happy with.

Sure, there are problems with owner satisfaction numbers too. But of all the metrics I've ever seen for evaluating how happy you are likely to be (you can never tell for sure!) with a complex purchase, it seems to be by far the best.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

lowest reliability and highest brand loyalty? What’s new on this forum?

 

[DayTripping]

Does the Consumer Reports reliability treat a rattle in the dash the same as being stranded/inoperable vehicle? Those are two pretty different problems. I can deal with a rattle, but not being stranded.

No it does not. See my post above yours. They weight it based on the severity.

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