Is there a future plan for vehicle servicing? Before the R2/R3/R3X models come out

[Universe93B]

When the R2 comes out in 2026, there better be easier ways and quicker ways to get service appointments. Does Rivian have a plan for this?

My neighbor's R1T just had the rear motor go out, had to be shipped to Richmond, and they gave him a rental car for 6 weeks until it was replaced. 6 weeks? And driving to Richmond, which is 3 hours away.

I can't imagine service appointments when there are even more Rivian vehicles on the road when the R2 comes out. What is Rivian's vision for this?

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[VC_Rivian]

Question, what do they charge for a rear motor?

 

[NY_Rob]

Question, what do they charge for a rear motor?

Right now, almost all the R1's are still under warranty, so AFAIK no one has been charged for a motor replacement yet. If they stick to the fictional "charges" that they print on the invoices that Rivian covers under warranty.. $3-$5K for a motor.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Rivian is constantly opening new service centers, so you tell us what that means to you.

https://rivian.com/experience/service#map

 

[R1Tom]

Right now, almost all the R1's are still under warranty, so AFAIK no one has been charged for a motor replacement yet. If they stick to the fictional "charges" that they print on the invoices that Rivian covers under warranty.. $3-$5K for a motor.

And that would be powertrain so those are covered 8 years or 175k I think for G1 QM.

 

[VSG]

When the R2 comes out in 2026, there better be easier ways and quicker ways to get service appointments. Does Rivian have a plan for this?

Yes of course they have a plan, and will be developing it, enhancing it, and modifying it as time goes on. Whether it is a good plan that improves the situation or not, we will have to wait and see.

I'm pretty sure they are aware of the problem, and I'm pretty sure that the general public is *not* aware of all the tradeoffs that a new auto manufacture has to make in order to reach profitability. Rivian has gotten further than any other start-up auto manufacturer (except Tesla) in the past 50+ years, so even though you might not agree with their priorities and allocation of funds right now there's no denying that they're still better off than the failed start-ups that perhaps allocated more funds up-front to long-term servicing. You can, with 20/20 hindsight, say they should have devoted way more effort to building a service network, but if they did that they would have had to skimp in other places to make it this far, and as far as I'm concerned their success so far has validated their choice of priorities. As we have seen, and as I expect to continue to see, Rivian is constantly pivoting to try to stay on the path to profitability, and so far they have been managing it. There is every reason to believe that their servicing strategy will continue to evolve.

My neighbor's R1T just had the rear motor go out, had to be shipped to Richmond, and they gave him a rental car for 6 weeks until it was replaced. 6 weeks? And driving to Richmond, which is 3 hours away.

Your neighbor made a choice to buy a Rivian knowing there were no nearby service centers, and knowing North Carolina has prohibited Rivian from building service centers. If you aren't OK with going that far for service, then don't buy a Rivian - it's as simple as that. Don't blame Rivian for your choice.

6 weeks until it was replaced

Yes, 6 weeks. Rivian has a severe shortage of components needed in the manufacturing of the in-house Enduro motors. This is greatly impacting their ability to build new vehicles, so much so that they cut their Q4 and yearly production estimates significantly. It's not hard to imagine that it could take a while to get the needed parts for your neighbors vehicle. Wait times for parts are an industry-wide problem right now. I had to wait 6 months for service on my Toyota last summer, and my friend had to wait 9 months to get his Jeep fixed (again) because the dealers in both cases couldn't get the parts. Rivian is more vulnerable to this problem than established manufacturers, and it doesn't help that in the case of the motor components Rivian made a mistake that worsened the problem.

 

[Universe93B]

Question, what do they charge for a rear motor?

Right now, almost all the R1's are still under warranty, so AFAIK no one has been charged for a motor replacement yet. If they stick to the fictional "charges" that they print on the invoices that Rivian covers under warranty.. $3-$5K for a motor.

Correct - it was still under warranty so everything was covered, including the rental car. His invoice had some filler charge for the rear motor around $7k so who knows how accurate that is.

 

[Universe93B]

Rivian is constantly opening new service centers, so you tell us what that means to you.

https://rivian.com/experience/service#map

Thanks for the map. You could have just posted that without the snark.

They are behind in service centers already though, better be more than that

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

My read is that the R2/3 and beyond are being designed very intentionally to be more simple and easier to service. I expect that Rivian has a benchmark for the % of service that is able to be done by mobile teams and I think that benchmark is likely very high.

My best guess is that Rivian would prefer if a very small % of service engagements require a visit to a service center, and they are using that metric to drive design choices for future vehicles.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Thanks for the map. You could have just posted that without the snark.

They are behind in service centers already though, better be more than that

I coulda.

These are just the ones that are "coming soon", there are a few that they are planning through 2025 that aren't on that map that are on the investor day one from June.

(I suppose I could have posted this too)

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

They opened one in Glen Burnie, MD and one in Sterling, VA is coming next year. I expect service in the MD/DC/VA area to improve dramatically in the next year as those service centers ramp up. Also, they open one in Malvern PA, which is a little further north. Not sure exactly what they’re doing in other areas of the country but I do know Rivian is working hard to open new service centers. Unfortunately it’s easier said than done. With real estate those things can take a really long time to finalize and then they have to hire people do construction…etc

 

[strykerwsu]

My overall take has been and still is. You better not just have a Rivian, Lucid, or at times even Tesla. You need a backup vehicle to be an early adopter for these first 5 years.

So far I've only needed one service in 27k between both R1's and they came to my garage. If I need major work it is almost 3 hours, but I fully understood that and won't be mad about it.

The major update for Gen2 has caused most of their issues in my opinion. An entirely new infant mortality but needed for overall cost basis, but enduros so far seem to have more issue than Bosch etc. They will get that worked out shortly and they will be used for next platform vehicles and be past the infant issues.

They will get there, and agree most service in their plan in my estimation will be 3rd party like the individual that fixed my SUV in the garage. It was a good chat as he had worked for Tesla for many years before be independent with most work for Rivian currently.

 

[dleepnw]

The plan needs to be more service centers. Thats the bottom line. Wait times are too long and communication needs to improve. Things we've heard and known for years but agree Rivian better be making concrete plans to improve.

 

[moosetags]

Now that Rivian has struck a software agreement and money has changed hands with Volkswagen, they should seriously consider partnering with them for at least some of the service requirements. Rivian needs to give some serious consideration to partnering for service. When the R2 and R3 hit the street, Rivian will be down a very big rabbit hole if they don't have something in place.

Brian

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I coulda.

These are just the ones that are "coming soon", there are a few that they are planning through 2025 that aren't on that map that are on the investor day one from June.

(I suppose I could have posted this too)

That map shows one planned in Greenville, Charleston, and Rock Hill. I'd say that's quite optimistic on their part, but given state legislation I don't see it in the foreseeable future.

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