What I Did Not Realize About Servicing

[Dark-Fx]

I agree mostly. It's still an $80K purchase even with discounts. That aside, even if it was free if one isn't able to use an object for its intended purpose for an extended period of time, it basically turns into a tableweight and holds zero useful value for that person. Everyone has a limit for when they'll finally deem something as no longer useful, even though they knew there would be hiccups from a new company. Hiccups are different from projectile vomit. I suppose it'd be different if you're bezos or gates with unlimited resources and options, but that isn't most folks

My Hummer was having some issues shortly after delivery, not enough to stop me from driving it and taking it on vacation, but even telling the service advisor when I would be able to bring the truck back in, they still couldn't fit me in for it untill almost four weeks later, after already trying to fix some of the issues and failing. At that point I made the decision to say goodbye to it.

I expected even less responsiveness from Rivian, but so far they have exceeded those expectations from me. It could still be way better though.

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[SASSquatch]

I don’t have my truck yet so I haven’t had to live through this annoying experience, but given how new they are I am actually impressed with how well they have handled things so far, based on most accounts I have read here on the forum. I expected it to be rough going for that first year at least… I think it’s important to separate things they told you up front from actual mistakes they made.

mobile service - they told us that’s what it would be and anyone who has or knows about Tesla understands that is a mixed bag. But they did tell us about it right from the start. Personally I’m willing to trade that for the dealer model all day.

The fact they gave your truck back with the exact same issue that occurred the first time you drove it again makes me think they didn’t test drive it after claiming they “fixed” it. That is inexcusable and needs to improve immediately. Total waste of your time and their own.

This is EXACTLY why despite following Rivian since the LA Auto show and pining away at the R1T since I first laid eyes on it, that I intentionally waited to reserve one because I KNEW that there would be lots of rough edges to smooth out in the first year.

I've done that with three other first year model vehicles in the past by established OEMs, including an EV (BMW) so I have lived through that pain and quite frankly, I'm too old for that .

So, to the OP - hang in there. It gets better. And remember that you are doing God's work helping work through the rough patches so that those of us a year behind you have less to work through when we take delivery.

 

[cc84]

(You don't realize how many features are radar dependent until ALL radar features are disabled - such as basic cruise control is disabled)

Agree. However, I consider basic cruise control as when you set a certain speed and it maintains that speed, until it's released. What I have on my Rivian is Adaptive Cruise Control. It's okay, but it depends on the radar sensors. I prefer to have basic Cruise Control, that doesn't depend on sensors.

My sensors were down the other day and I drove 115 miles, without getting any relief because of needing to continually control the accelerator. That was a big pain and I'm too old to be dealing with this kind of problem. I believe most vehicles give you a choice on which to use, Basic, or Adaptive Cruise Control. We don't have that choice.

 

[atebit]

Well, for “basic” cruise, you need a “Resume” function. We ain’t got that, but hey, there’s a Max Power Easter egg. So we’ve got that going for us.

 

[Deleted member 6990]

Being early adopters most of us realized that service issues would arise and are willing to work through them to help Rivian succeed. The disappointments I have realized are mostly related to lack of professional communication practices. Multiple times it has been left to me to contact service to find out the status of a delivery, pick-up or status of the repair situation. Promises for a call back are not fulfilled and currently my vehicle that has been in service for a week has an unknown status unless I decide to call back AGAIN!
Also, the ‘guide’ program is useless unless you wish to wait two days minimum for a reply.

 

[elektrode]

I too have wished for a basic cruise control like @cc84 - I misspoke on “basic cruise” vs “adaptive cruise”, but my Ridgeline didn’t have two versions of cruise either - it was adaptive or nothing. I think it’s a safety issue because if you train a driver to expect adaptive and then you put them in cruise where it isn’t adaptive, driver confusion could lead to serious accidents.

Side notes: my wife, who is amazingly tolerant of my hobby purchases (I never have to ask “the boss”), already hates this truck and is suggesting we sell it. That’s a brewing problem. Also something I did not expect when I planned on the early adopter tax. Neither of us trust this vehicle.

Last night at dinner I said “I’m going to check the grill on the salmon” and she heard “I’m going to sell the Rivian”. Geebus.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I too have wished for a basic cruise control like @cc84 - I misspoke on “basic cruise” vs “adaptive cruise”, but my Ridgeline didn’t have two versions of cruise either - it was adaptive or nothing. I think it’s a safety issue because if you train a driver to expect adaptive and then you put them in cruise where it isn’t adaptive, driver confusion could lead to serious accidents.

Side notes: my wife, who is amazingly tolerant of my hobby purchases (I never have to ask “the boss”), already hates this truck and is suggesting we sell it. That’s a brewing problem. Also something I did not expect when I planned on the early adopter tax. Neither of us trust this vehicle.

Last night at dinner I said “I’m going to check the grill on the salmon” and she heard “I’m going to sell the Rivian”. Geebus.

Yeah it sounds like your days might be numbered with that truck if your wife is no longer on board. If she’s normally really tolerant of your purchases and is against this one that’s a bad sign.

It is going to take a lot of trouble free miles to ease that worry for you. Hopefully it works out that way instead of the truck still causing problems. Not that this forum is appropriate for marital advice but what I’ve found helpful in this sort of situation is to acknowledge your wife’s response by telling her what it would take for you to get rid of the truck.

Such as “I get what you’re saying about the Rivian. I don’t like the unreliability of it either. If it needs service X more times or
Becomes unusable again I’ll turn it” but you’ll have to stick to when it’s time to sell it.

 

[elektrode]

Thanks @Donald Stanfield, I appreciate the advice. In most of these forums the joke is usually “get rid of the wife!”

Rivian Service just dropped the ball on my issue that they didn’t repair.Was supposed to get a follow up call today and did not. When I called, my account had no notes from Friday night when I called - a call in which the Advisor explicitly said he was going to “escalate the issue”. He didn’t even leave notes much less escalate!

I had to explain my full problem again to a stranger.

I actually had to advise them to call the Advisor in ATL and discuss the diagnostic notes before they made an independent repair plan.

This I did not expect.

 

[R1T-USN]

Hello - great read - disappointing with the issues, as stated, it comes with the territory.

I've not preordered as of yet - I'm at crossroads - purchase used (federal tax credit gone) pay 10-15k premium for immediate ownership with certainty quality issues will flare up.

Order 2023 and deliver a new, tax-advantaged purchase and hopefully a unit with improved quality overall.

Keep sharing - it's an adventure ...

 

[R1Sky Business]

Thanks @Donald Stanfield, I appreciate the advice. In most of these forums the joke is usually “get rid of the wife!”

Rivian Service just dropped the ball on my issue that they didn’t repair.Was supposed to get a follow up call today and did not. When I called, my account had no notes from Friday night when I called - a call in which the Advisor explicitly said he was going to “escalate the issue”. He didn’t even leave notes much less escalate!

I had to explain my full problem again to a stranger.

I actually had to advise them to call the Advisor in ATL and discuss the diagnostic notes before they made an independent repair plan.

This I did not expect.

Remember they're also figuring this thing out as they go

 

[moosetags]

To add to the above, I'm surprised at all these deliveries that are so far away from service centers. I thought they were prioritizing proximity to service centers.

At that rate, no one in an out-of-the-way part of the country would ever get a vehicle. Their orders would always be put behind new big city orders.

Brian

 

[Singletracker]

Here’s a timely news story about Tesla service woes, dated today. Sounds a lot like some of these Rivian stories. And, how long has Tesla been at it? Hmmm, these service issues may be our new reality.

https://www.vox.com/recode/23318725/tesla-repair-mechanic-delay-electric-vehicles-ev

 

[Craigins]

At that rate, no one in an out-of-the-way part of the country would ever get a vehicle. Their orders would always be put behind new big city orders.

Brian

This is exactly what they should have done for the early orders. Requiring flat bed towing for 3+ hours each way to a service center does no good for anyone involved. Honestly it is a waste of company resources as well.

Perhaps they overestimated the capability of the mobile service units when deciding to deliver far away from the service centers.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I'm a little surprised at the number of people who willingly signed up to be early adopters who are now perplexed by having to deal with early adopter growing pains.

To be fair, Rivian leaned pretty heavily into the concept of "mobile service" but I have yet to experience an issue that Rivian says they can address with a mobile tech -- including many issues that I think should be addressed by a mobile tech.

 

[Dark-Fx]

This is EXACTLY why despite following Rivian since the LA Auto show and pining away at the R1T since I first laid eyes on it, that I intentionally waited to reserve one because I KNEW that there would be lots of rough edges to smooth out in the first year.

I've done that with three other first year model vehicles in the past by established OEMs, including an EV (BMW) so I have lived through that pain and quite frankly, I'm too old for that .

So, to the OP - hang in there. It gets better. And remember that you are doing God's work helping work through the rough patches so that those of us a year behind you have less to work through when we take delivery.

I learned my lesson about first year vehicles in 2011. I just need a refresher course all the time.

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