Service Center Body Panel Replacement w/PPF

[mcupp40]

I took my 2022 R1T into the service center over 3 weeks ago to fix issues with failed OTA updates, non-operational Gear Guard features, major steering wheel vibration at highway speed (on 22s), body panel alignment issues (one being the charge port door), and a few other minor annoyances.

After 3 weeks of zero communication from the SC, I finally called and received a callback from the actual SC doing the work. During the rundown of what work had been performed, the employee mentioned that the charge port door alignment issue was related to broken clips on the front fascia (from the factory) and that they were waiting on the newly painted fascia being sent from Normal. I mentioned that my entire truck had PPF and asked if they would have this replaced. The employee mostly ignored my question and stated that "they" couldn't replace the PPF since they only do the gear guard doors and a couple of additional panels. I asked if anyone in the area did or if I was going to be on the hook for having this replaced myself. Again, he completely ignored my question and explained the next service task.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? If so, what was the outcome? Am I on the hook to replace this out of my pocket?

I also don't see anything in the fine print on the work order that would related.

Unrelated to the title, but still frustrating...
I was also told they could not do the wheel/tire balancing due to the tire tread depth being 5/32". He stated that the vibration was likely caused by tread wear, even though it has been an issue since delivery, and I had reported it months before the appointment, which I mentioned. He stated they would "try" to fix some of the vibration but likely couldn't fix it entirely; due to the tires... It seems to be an awfully prevalent issue to pretend it is due to tire wear. I've also owned some absolute beaters and never experienced steering wheel vibration like this truck. Notably, my loaner with 21s has zero vibration.

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[Dark-Fx]

During the rundown of what work had been performed, the employee mentioned that the charge port door alignment issue was related to broken clips on the front fascia (from the factory) and that they were waiting on the newly painted fascia being sent from Normal. I mentioned that my entire truck had PPF and asked if they would have this replaced. The employee mostly ignored my question and stated that "they" couldn't replace the PPF since they only do the gear guard doors and a couple of additional panels.

Unless it was factory PPF, I wouldn't think Rivian would ever agree to replacing it. Actually if it was done aftermarket and the people putting the PPF on took off the bumper to do it, I wouldn't be surprised if Rivian turned around and denied your warranty claim if you didn't have the alignment issue documented at pickup prior to the PPF being installed.

Notably, my loaner with 21s has zero vibration.

No vibration in my R1S with 21s but my R1T with 22s has it. Definitely something about the difference in tires/wheels.

 

[mcupp40]

Unless it was factory PPF, I wouldn't think Rivian would ever agree to replacing it. Actually if it was done aftermarket and the people putting the PPF on took off the bumper to do it, I wouldn't be surprised if Rivian turned around and denied your warranty claim if you didn't have the alignment issue documented at pickup prior to the PPF being installed.

I considered this as well and contacted the installer. They verified that they did not remove any panels for the PPF install. But you are correct that Rivian could have denied it based on the potential that they had been removed.

No vibration in my R1S with 21s but my R1T with 22s has it. Definitely something about the difference in tires/wheels.

Very frustrating! Mine will shake your arm off at 75 mph.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Very frustrating! Mine will shake your arm off at 75 mph.

My winter tires are somewhat like that, on a different set of 22s. Street tires aren't nearly as bad. I might try to have the winters rebalanced before putting them on in a couple months.

Might be worth trying to move one tire at a time swapping front to back to see if it's just a particular one that's more out of balance than the others. Won't be much steering shake with an unbalanced rear.

 

[mcupp40]

Might be worth trying to move one tire at a time swapping front to back to see if it's just a particular one that's more out of balance than the others. Won't be much steering shake with an unbalanced rear.

I rotated my tires at around 5,000 miles, and the rear tires were clearly more out of balance than the front, as there was a notable increase in vibration. But that doesn't mean there aren't two tires/wheels that are worse than the others.
I also saw a post mentioning this https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2023/MC-10238719-0001.pdf which may be part of the issue.

 

[virgnia_rivian]

Somewhat similar issue. Our R1T is supposed to go in Friday because the front passenger door is rubbing on the front body panel. This wasn't an issue in winter, but summer heat has caused the door to swell. The paint is now chipped on the edge and Rivian wants to send it to a body shop to be repainted. We asked about the ceramic coating and they flat out refuse to pay to have it redone. We told them they can't paint the door then and they have to just repair the chips with a paint pen. We'll see how it goes when we take it in.

 

[R1Tom]

Somewhat similar issue. Our R1T is supposed to go in Friday because the front passenger door is rubbing on the front body panel. This wasn't an issue in winter, but summer heat has caused the door to swell. The paint is now chipped on the edge and Rivian wants to send it to a body shop to be repainted. We asked about the ceramic coating and they flat out refuse to pay to have it redone. We told them they can't paint the door then and they have to just repair the chips with a paint pen. We'll see how it goes when we take it in.

Mine does this too. I use a sharpie to make it look better as I don't want them or a body shop attempting to make it better and only make it worse.

 

[mcupp40]

Somewhat similar issue. Our R1T is supposed to go in Friday because the front passenger door is rubbing on the front body panel. This wasn't an issue in winter, but summer heat has caused the door to swell. The paint is now chipped on the edge and Rivian wants to send it to a body shop to be repainted. We asked about the ceramic coating and they flat out refuse to pay to have it redone. We told them they can't paint the door then and they have to just repair the chips with a paint pen. We'll see how it goes when we take it in.

What a pain! My driver-side door is really close to rubbing on the bottom inside corner. On a warm day, the outside door cladding will rub against the fender trim when opening/closing and make a creaking sound. I originally thought it was just a hinge that needed some lube.

 

[Mathme]

It seems rather silly for Rivian to not be able to get you (or anyone) in for service for months, then to claim that because there's XXX amount of tire wear there's nothing that can be done about it.

I'd also ask about the TSB listed above, give them the number, then ask them how (not if) they checked for this issue.

 

[mcupp40]

It seems rather silly for Rivian to not be able to get you (or anyone) in for service for months, then to claim that because there's XXX amount of tire wear there's nothing that can be done about it.

Agreed. I made this point, which is the only reason they are going to attempt to balance them. I haven't had the greatest experience with this service center (Richmond), so I'll be shocked if they even attempt it.

I'd also ask about the TSB listed above, give them the number, then ask them how (not if) they checked for this issue.

They are supposed to call me with an update tomorrow, so I plan to bring this up with them then. Good suggestion on making them answer "how" they checked for that issue.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I'd also ask about the TSB listed above, give them the number, then ask them how (not if) they checked for this issue.

Every vehicle in the window "has this issue" that the TSB addresses. They switched to a slightly heavier wheel to reduce the amount of fast-oscillating feedback that gets to the driver's hands. If your wheels/tires are in good balance you won't notice it as much but it certainly will show up if they become unbalanced, like from mud or snow pack.

 

[mcupp40]

One semi-related issue. For anyone who has been given a loner, did they connect your Rivian account to the truck in any way? They did not for me, and I cannot charge at any RAN network. I found this out the hard way on the 3-hour drive home from Richmond. I spent 2 hours in a parking lot working with service, trying to get the loaner to charge. They were mostly certain that the chargers were operating normally but could not confirm 100%. They assumed it was the truck and encouraged me to attempt to make it home or to a different charger. I was ~130 miles from home with ~120 miles of charge and likely wouldn't have made it due to some decent climbs on the interstate. But I also didn't want to take unnecessary detours. Ultimately, I had to stop at an Electrify America, and luckily I could charge.
This is only an assumption, but a fairly confident assumption at this point, but it seems that either my account needed to be connected to the truck or the "Rivian" account that was connected needed a payment source connected to the account. Note, I say I'm fairly confident since I had this exact same issue at another RAN charger a week later. Both RAN chargers were also still offering free charging.
I brought this up with service when I was on the phone with them the first time, and they said they had never run into this issue with a loaner and didn't believe that my account not being connected had anything to do with it.

 

[mcupp40]

Every vehicle in the window "has this issue" that the TSB addresses. They switched to a slightly heavier wheel to reduce the amount of fast-oscillating feedback that gets to the driver's hands. If your wheels/tires are in good balance you won't notice it as much but it certainly will show up if they become unbalanced, like from mud or snow pack.

Thanks. I'm definitely going to bring this up when they call tomorrow. It seems that they would have known about and offered this solution since they believe the tires/wheels are generally balanced.

 

[ksujeff99]

One semi-related issue. For anyone who has been given a loner, did they connect your Rivian account to the truck in any way?

No. I’ve had three loaners for three service center visits and never had the loaner connected to my account.

 

[mcupp40]

No. I’ve had three loaners for three service center visits and never had the loaner connected to my account.

Were you able to use the RAN network to charge?

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