RJ, Rivian Service is Broken

[GogglesPisano]

I'll give them a pass on how long it takes since they're building things up and new cars equal new problems. The stuff that's unacceptable is to have an appointment, drop your car off, only to have it sit for weeks on end.

My first service experience was terrible. Absolutely nice people, but the car just sat there for weeks. It took three and a half weeks for eight hours of billable service. Not to mention that the items they said were fixed and replaced were not even touched. One of the main things I went in for was a scratch on a map light from delivery. The work order said it was replaced with a new one but the unit was obviously the original scratched one. A few other things were mentioned as adjusted or fixed without actually being touched.

That's the stuff that doesn't get a pass as "new company issues." You have some of the smartest people working for you, figuring out proper scheduling and verifying work orders should be easy.

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[Giddy89]

I'll give them a pass on how long it takes since they're building things up and new cars equal new problems. The stuff that's unacceptable is to have an appointment, drop your car off, only to have it sit for weeks on end.

My first service experience was terrible. Absolutely nice people, but the car just sat there for weeks. It took three and a half weeks for eight hours of billable service. Not to mention that the items they said were fixed and replaced were not even touched. One of the main things I went in for was a scratch on a map light from delivery. The work order said it was replaced with a new one but the unit was obviously the original scratched one. A few other things were mentioned as adjusted or fixed without actually being touched.

That's the stuff that doesn't get a pass as "new company issues." You have some of the smartest people working for you, figuring out proper scheduling and verifying work orders should be easy.

I agree the waiting for a week before they even bring your vehicle in is dumb and needs to be resolved. A day or two wait I get but after that you’re just burning cash and goodwill

 

[Hopper]

That is the pits. I would suggest to the SC that they call you when they can see it, then you can drop it off. It's silly to sit there when it is driveable.

Haha. I BEGGED them to let me drop it when they were nearly ready to service it. They told me they could not do that and that. They also estimated a 3-5 day delay, not 8-infinity.

 

[SoCal Rob]

I am concerned it might be the opposite for a while. Since so much has been changed....it seems many might want to be prepared for some "early adopter" issues again with the G2's. Not that they really ever grew out of it for the G1's however....

I agree that is a possibility, too! Even legacy manufacturers with 100+ years can have issues when changes are made.

My hope is that, after any initial teething, if they have modified the parts and/or assembly processes to improve accuracy and precision then there should be a sharp decline in service issues for new deliveries. I hope.

 

[lefkonj]

My experience at the Brooklyn has been 1 good one and 1 horrific one. The good one: I told them I would wait for them to fix the alignment, after a failed attempt. I waited for about 4 hours got my vehicle back and then the 2 hour trek home from Brooklyn. The bad one: My charge door got stuck in a loop of trying to close and drained all power from the truck. It had to be flat bedded out and worked on. They had the vehicle for a week and getting updates was a joke and they couldn't fix the alignment or didn't understand how.

The SCs are just packed with vehicles, so you must build more, easy as that. I get it costs money and time but without this I am really torn up. I love my R1S but I refuse to go to Brooklyn again, it is just a terrible drive in both directions. The funny thing is I drive past 3 or 4 built but non-operational warehouses all the time. Get the space build it out and make it a service center, come on.

 

[PappaBolt]

With each new delivery, and a static set of SCs, the problem will get worse. More shifts and more SC are needed (aka investment). But with the need to preserve cash I suspect service investment will be neglected until it starts affecting demand/reputation.

But my experience in the PNW has been greatly improved with the addition of the Auburn popup location. The problem is you have to go thru Bellevue scheduling (usually no available appointments) and a call to CS to get things moving.

 

[KRG]

Not to jinx myself, but I’ve had nothing but good experiences so far in Southern California.

Took delivery in San Diego and it was great and not rushed at all. I’m the one that rushed it bc I was ready to go haha. I’ve had 2 services at Costa Mesa. One they scheduled on a day I was flying out (airport is right next to it), ubered me to the airport. I told them I wouldn’t be back to get the car for several days but it was taken in and completed the next day anyway. I also booked a mobile service, which seem to be readily available by me, and they came out and resolved the issue in my garage.

I’ve been stuck in loaners for over a week for my car just going in for annual service with other premium brands in the past. Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but I have have been pleasantly surprised. And I’m near one of the apparent worst/overbooked centers.

 

[kyunam]

I love my R1T. I am an early adopter, having received my truck in March of 2022. I am also a shareholder. Those things said, Rivian service is downright painful. In my current encounter, I dropped my truck at the temporary service center in Trenton, NJ eight days ago for the tonneau cover update and a comprehensive inspection.

I‘ll Spare you the details of how difficult it was just to get the status of my repair. My truck has not been taken into the shop yet. “When should I schedule a day to come pick it up? We don’t know yet. When will it go into the shop. We don’t know.” I can see the writing on the wall. When they finally look at my truck, they will find that they need a part. I will be driving this wonderful Chrysler minivan for weeks. I cannot arrange my life around an unknown pickup date. This is not the service I was promised when I purchased the vehicle and it is certainly one of the worst customer service experiences of my life.

RJ, this is fixable. It is costing company money, prestige and customers.

I’m experiencing the same at Eastvale SC.
Many calls made to1-800-Rivian during last 12 days just to get an update. A couple of text came saying pretty much nothing.

 

[jambaman84]

Agreed , the service is horrible. They are understaffed and overwhelmed with their work load. They had my truck parked in their parking lot for 2 weeks before even taking a look at it. They said they had way too many vehicles to fix before mine. I told them if they knew this, why didn't they just call me when they were ready for my truck instead of having it parked for 2 weeks and paying for my car rental?
Rivian desperately needs to open more service centers up. They are selling more vehicles but are hot prepared for the service that will go with selling so many vehicles.

 

[SANZC02]

From my experience with Tesla it will be fixed. I bought my Tesla in 2016, 4 years after they started deliveries and service was still a nightmare. I did not really see it improve until around 2022. ??

 

[Atlrivian]

Haha. I BEGGED them to let me drop it when they were nearly ready to service it. They told me they could not do that and that. They also estimated a 3-5 day delay, not 8-infinity.

A year or so ago I had a small issue that needed about an hour of labor at the ATL service center. It took 4 days and they gave me a boatload of ride credits. Agree it's not a good long term solution.

However, this problem is not limited to just service centers. My driveable R1T was waiting on a part for two months at a collision center and they wouldn't let me come pick up my car. Maybe they were holding it as collateral in case they ordered some expensive part and I ghosted them?

 

[Hopper]

It’s sad. My neighbors get a kick out of seeing that my EV is in the shop for extended periods. Bad for Rivian and bad for EVs in general.

 

[Careychastain]

I’m experiencing the same at Eastvale SC.
Many calls made to1-800-Rivian during last 12 days just to get an update. A couple of text came saying pretty much nothing.

Having the same experience now at the Eastvale. Truck’s been in now 8 days. They asked that I go to Eastvale (50 miles from my So OC home). No slots available in Costa Mesa. I was told that they will be opening a Service Ctr in Lake Forest…SOON

 

[srnyoung]

It's terrible, I agree.

Things like gaslighting customers - "we replaced that part" or "your car is not in our lot!" is abjectly horrendous. Being so bad at scheduling that vehicles sit for a week is just embarrassing. Sure, you didn't know the schedule when it's 2 months out but don't accept the cars today if you know they aren't going to be worked on for days! Failing to call customers back or meet self-created deadlines or callback times. None of this is necessary, even for wildly overburdened SCs. If customer service was valuable, it would be fixed now.

Last time my T was in, they returned it with a big obvious scratch in the front, like they hit it with a tire. Didn't even mention it and, because I left in a rush, I didn't get to talk to them about it.

I've said before, they won't cross the chasm of early adopters to mass market if these issues persist. I want so badly for Rivian to succeed but the lack of changes is disheartening.

 

[HokieBird7980]

Service is definitely an issue with the Rivian Service Centers being swamped. I've had good and not so good experience with our closest service center which is 5 hours away! That's 10 hours round trip, so even a drop off takes a day. Yet i still am a glutton for punishment as i just took delivery of my second R1T, while keeping the first one, and had to take it back one week later to have multiple panel alignments and gaskets taken care of that i should have caught during pickup, but wanted to get the hell out of Atlanta prior to rush hour traffic, which would have then taken me at least 6-7 hours to get home. So that's on me for being impatient, but i flew down to pick it up and had i spotted what i took it back for at the time of pickup, i would have had no way to get back other than to rebook a return flight. All in all though, they kept the truck for 2 weeks to do the repairs and i'm happy with the results and absolutely love this truck. They also tried to put me in an enterprise loaner, which i refused and told them i had been promised a Rivian loaner, which after another hour or so they had one come back from another owner picking up their serviced R1S. On Monday, I'm taking the original truck in for replacement of tonneau cover although it still works, and have been promised it can be done in a couple hours, so i'm waiting there in the lobby til it's done. Getting the 30k inspection done too, and hoping they don't find anything that needs repair. Otherwise it will be loaner car, leaving the R1T behind for when they can get to it, or taking it home and scheduling whatever they find needs repair for another day and repeat the "experience". Alot different feel when SC is close, but I knew this could happen and my neighbors enjoy the carousel of vehicles that i bring home. The real fix in this is producing a higher quality vehicle right off the assembly line. When that happens, service center visits will drop and we can all enjoy our Adventures! For those reading this that have not bit the bullet and bought their R1, I'd say the pain is definitely been worth it so far to drive what i believe is one of the best vehicles on the road.

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