Ridiculous Spare Tire Policy

[Rivian Rage]

I'm not a social media or forum kind of person. However, Rivian's ridiculous policy regarding purchase of a full sized spare tire goes beyond anything sensible and prompted this post. After getting a sidewall blown out last summer, I tried to buy a full-sized spare for my wife's R1S. I was told that they couldn't sell us one because the full sized spare doesn't fit in the tire well. I didn't want the compact and spent several hours to convince the sales staff to sell me one. Then they wanted to send out a service tech to "modify" the wheel well to accommodate the tire. I have a very sturdy hitch-mount tire carrier and finally got Rivian to just deliver a tire. Fast forward to 2026, I'm buying an R1T and wanted to include a full sized spare. This time I was told I can't order the spare until I take delivery of the vehicle. I contacted the service center where I'll be picking-up the truck. My response, have the tire and jack kit installed when I pick-up the vehicle or I'll cancel the sale. 5 minutes later a service center person told me it would get done. Considering you can walk into any car dealership or tire store, buy a wheel and have it balanced regardless of what you own makes Rivian's policy even more absurd. Hopefully my discontent is percolating up to the companies decision makers and this stupidity will get changed.

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[VandalSibs]

Interestingly, I believe they used to offer the full-sized spare an an option when ordering the R1T, now it's only included as part of the all-terrain wheel/tire option. I'm not sure when this change happened, as they just last week made some changes to ordering as part of the 2027 model year.

 

[Magicbus]

I just had the mobile service guy come install the spare on my R1T. No big deal. Kind of wishing I hadn't bothered because I think I'd rather have the storage space. I've had lots of slow flats in 50+ years of driving but never damaged a sidewall. BTW, make sure you clear snow from the truck bed before it freezes or the spare will be useless.

 

[shimmy limm]

You could probably just buy a single aftermarket wheel and tire to use as a spare and not have to deal with the runaround. Unless you’re gonna add the spare to the rotation schedule. If that’s the case, disregard.

 

[Taco Corp]

I just went to discount tire and bought a wheel and tire, the the jack and tool kit didn't quite fit in with the spare I bought so moved those to the frunk.

 

[Rivian Rage]

I seem to be a flat magnet and take trips that are about 800 miles from my house and go (sort-of) off road when at my destination. So for me a full-sized spare is necessary. Luckily the 26 comes with a tonneau cover so a frozen wheel well shouldn't be a problem. Good advice however and thanks.

 

[Lord Leroy]

This is Rivian policy and it hasn’t changed since I bought mine in Nov 2023. Got the truck and had to wait 3 weeks before they finally came out and gave me my spare and tire jack.

 

[Rivian Rage]

I looked high and low for an aftermarket solution. I found tires (22 inch) and couldn't get a rim for less than around $1000. Seems there is a paucity of reasonably priced 22 inch rims.

 

[Rivian Rage]

Sorry we have no wheels that fit your vehicle.

From Discount Tire

 

[CharonPDX]

This is Rivian policy and it hasn’t changed since I bought mine in Nov 2023. Got the truck and had to wait 3 weeks before they finally came out and gave me my spare and tire jack.

Strange. In 2022, you could order a spare at time of configuration, and it would come preinstalled. (R1T, not sure about S.)

As for "finding a third party spare" - don't worry about matching wheel/tire size. Unless you truly want "fully matching" so you can do a five-wheel rotation, go the "old RAM 20-inch steelie" route.

Heck, I've downsized my tires (from the 20" 275/65 AT to 275/60 AS) yet I still have the 275/65 AT on my spare. If I really need to drive on the spare, having a "wrong size" for a short drive won't break anything.

Lastly, just contact/go to your local Rivian service center, most will let you buy a single wheel/tire on the spot.

 

[Magicbus]

You might check the For Sale area on this site. I haven't noticed lately, but lots of people were selling wheels/tires. Maybe someone in the NE area.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Strange. In 2022, you could order a spare at time of configuration, and it would come preinstalled. (R1T, not sure about S.)

As for "finding a third party spare" - don't worry about matching wheel/tire size. Unless you truly want "fully matching" so you can do a five-wheel rotation, go the "old RAM 20-inch steelie" route.

Heck, I've downsized my tires (from the 20" 275/65 AT to 275/60 AS) yet I still have the 275/65 AT on my spare. If I really need to drive on the spare, having a "wrong size" for a short drive won't break anything.

Lastly, just contact/go to your local Rivian service center, most will let you buy a single wheel/tire on the spot.

I was able to buy a full set of just the 22" wheels back in 22. I think I was the first person to request it because they had no idea how to sell them and had to elevate to their supervisor. I also bought some underbody panels and other stuff. Never have had Rivian tell me no, just that "these are on national backorder and I can't give you a timeline".

 

[cthelan]

It gets even more fun for those of us R2 buyers that included the spare. They pulled a perfectly good spare out prior to delivery because of a missing sticker. Now that I'm home (3 hours away from service center), they have to send the whole spare out to me via mobile service. Still not finalized on schedule or availability. Could have driven home with the spare and had the sticker mailed, but someone in their legal department thinks that's not the way to go.

 

[SANZC02]

Strange. In 2022, you could order a spare at time of configuration, and it would come preinstalled. (R1T, not sure about S.)

As for "finding a third party spare" - don't worry about matching wheel/tire size. Unless you truly want "fully matching" so you can do a five-wheel rotation, go the "old RAM 20-inch steelie" route.

Heck, I've downsized my tires (from the 20" 275/65 AT to 275/60 AS) yet I still have the 275/65 AT on my spare. If I really need to drive on the spare, having a "wrong size" for a short drive won't break anything.

Lastly, just contact/go to your local Rivian service center, most will let you buy a single wheel/tire on the spot.

22 R1S you could only get the compact spare and it was not available in the beginning. I drove my R1S for close to a year before they were available and got it installed through mobile service.

The R2 I had ordered the compact spare and it was already installed when I picked it up.

 

[COkit]

I'm in a similar but opposite situation... I have an R1T with 22" wheels. The truck did not come with a spare. For the infrequent use, I'm happy with the compact spare. I ordered the jack kit without any issues. But, they refuse to sell me the compact spare because, "it is only for the R1S". I've tried multiple times but haven't been able to convince them that the compact spare fits the R1T and that I can "install" it myself. Crazy.

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