Fixing your Rivian - Right to Repair?

[SoCalTravels]

Yup. I just hit a dear at low speed after breaking (minimal damage) and it has been a month and still don’t have the car back.

This is a concern with any new manufacturer or limited production vehicle. We have a Hyundai Nexo (Hydrogen Fuel Cell) and were in a mild fender bender (under 15 miles per hour + both vehicles still actively moving). Nexo has been in the shop for 4 months waiting for parts. Repair bill is up to $24,000 and still climbing.

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[GaryL]

Thats one area where I would expect the F-150 Lighting to have an advantage. A lot of commonality between EV and ICE

 

[Ralph]

And important contribution to the site by the OP.

It seems to me that as the world converts to EVs, the auto mfgs are using that conversion to as an opportunity to claw back revenue long ago lost to non-OEM repair shops. Tesla sees itself as a tech company and is mimicking some of those companies with regard to attempting to keep a "closed system". EV mfg's get the added argument of "it's dangerous".

More than once, posters on these forums have asked questions along the lines, "What are dealerships going to do when their service departments are doing all of those oil changes?". Perhaps eliminating self repair and outside repair shops for all practical purposes is part of the answer to those kinds of questions.

Will Rivian join the group against right to repair?

Judging by the companies that are listed in the video as contributing millions each to the fight against consumers right-to-repair (GM, Subaru, Volkswagon, Ford, Nissan, Honda, GM, Mazda, BMW, Toyota, Hyundai, etc.), it seems likely.

If you were unable to devote the time to the long video, the list is shown at the 13:00 mark.

 

[Forager]

Parts availability is one of my biggest hesitations for the R1. I can order OE, OEM, and aftermarket parts for our Ford, Volvo, and even Land Rover from dozens of suppliers without a problem. Even if Rivian supports right to repair (which they don’t), they may be the only source of parts for years. I haven’t seen any discussion on who Rivian’s OEM suppliers are for any parts, and we probably won’t know until someone is out of warranty and starts trying to fix things themselves.

 

[kylealden]

I would say, as a general set of rules -

1. Expect that your vehicle can effectively only be serviced by Rivian, for the foreseeable future. Minor exceptions for limited body work and basic consumables like tires, but these are few and far between.
2. Expect that Rivian's service capacity will be slow to build and limited by parts availability. The Next Great Rivian Scandal will be "Rivian has had my truck for two months after my fender bender because the proximity sensors are out of stuck. And my loaner is an F150!"
3. Expect that points 1 and 2 will drive insurance premiums up.
4. This is all the new normal for EVs (even from the big automakers) and most manufacturer incentives are going to prevent them from making it better. Barring regulatory pressure (R2R), I don't see how this meaningfully changes.

Not a defense of the above, please don't read it as such.

 

[Rivianero]

Just thought I would chime in on this very important topic.

First, I'm a big Rivian fan and investor. I think they have produced some amazing vehicles and are doing important work to change impact the environment.

I have wanted an R1T for quite some time, but could never justify the hefty price tag. When I spotted one at auction, I jumped at the opportunity. The previous owner of my R1T backed into 2 trees at low velocity, damaging the tailgate, bumper, and one side panel. This "totalled" the vehicle for purposes of insurance. There was zero damage to the drive train, battery, or frame.

No parts were available from Rivian. I made repairs with used parts from eBay for under $2k total. The vehicle drives and functions perfectly. It's not showroom perfect, but it's a pickup truck and I intend to use it as such. The vehicle passed state safety inspection and has a normal title.

[Ugliest angle of my R1T with 3k miles]

Based on my first-hand experience, Rivian is squarely against right to repair, despite their past public statements to the contrary. They will not sell parts, service manuals, or tools to other than their certified collision centers. Access to these items is outright denied to owners and independent mechanics. Certified shops are banned from resale. It is a closed system. The same "walled garden" policy is practiced by Tesla, Volvo, and most other luxury vehicle manufacturers.

Similar to Tesla in the Ingineerix video referenced by OP Max, Rivian informed me that my R1T is no longer covered by warranty due to being previously marked as salvage. They offered to perform a $720 "salvage inspection" at my cost so ensure the high voltage system is safe for their technicians to work on. This would not reinstate the manufacturers warranty.

Anyway, it is a shame to see the "walled garden" model perpetuated as another means of squeezing money from people who have already bought your vehicles. I understand this seems lucrative to a company struggling towards profitability. It just seems short sighted, when the winning formula for Rivian could be great product + great service + doing what is best for customers (oh, and yeah, saving the planet).

 

[Blueassassin]

If the goal is sustainability and "Forever" then throwing away a perfectly good truck because it needs a little body work seems the opposite.

My opinion they shouldn't let anyone touch the high voltage stuff and parts shouldn't be available for that because there are dumb people out there let's be honest. But everything else should be available to order on an online parts book. I should be able to buy brake pads and install them myself.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I don't care about this because I will only keep a car this expensive while it's under warranty, but I don't see how Rivian could restrict parts. Right to repair is important. Also you dug deep to resurrect this thread holy crap.

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