Quiet owner.... but out.

[JackRussellRacing]

In the words of Pop heronie, Anne Marie, "Ciao, Adios"

Sold my 22 R1T this morning. 21k miles. I absolutely loved the truck and everything about the Rivian vibe, but lived in fear of any service/warranty related issues with backed up SC and hellish commute even to reach the nearest one. Not as much depreciation on the truck as I expected; I guess it tracks with just about every other EV and/or 'luxury' vehicle.

Staying EV, for sure. I'll ride my Zero for a few months while I plot the next move.

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[sherold]

Did you have any service/warranty issues that caused the excessive fear?

 

[JackRussellRacing]

• The comms modules all went kaput about a year ago, and I needed to haul it all the way to Richmond VA where it sat for a week or so before repair.
• The 12v battery swap was done by mobile support after dash warnings appeared.
• I got call a proactive call from Rivian that I needed to go to a SC for the HVAC drain issue (which I declined, because it was 2 hour commute, each way)
• If left for 4-5 days, the suspension would sag in the front. I always had the car in 'middle' height, and never used 'auto adjust' or kneeling. I did not have that issue addressed.

Compared to other cars I've owned, it wasn't so bad. But compared to what I wanted to deal with at this particular stage in my life, it was worrisome.

 

[NY_Rob]

I think you may find many Rivian owners in the same position once they near their warranty limits.. Parts are sky high, labor rates are on or near par with ICE dealers and due to the complex systems, labor time may be very high to diagnose issues.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I can replace these complaints with almost any high-end vehicle manufacturer today and have them still be true. I see it as par for the course if you want an expensive vehicle.

 

[PaythePiper]

Yeah these R1s are gonna suck balls out of warranty. It’s why everyone leases them because they know long term reliability sucks

 

[Sgt Beavis]

Honestly, if I were two hours from an SC, I wouldn’t buy a Rivian to begin with. The Denver SC is about 20 minutes away from me. I’ve read rumors of a Boulder, CO SC coming in the future. THAT would be awesome since I‘m right next to that city.

 

[csharp]

Sorry to see a fellow central NC owner leave. I hear you on your concerns, but at least we now have a service center in Knightdale, so it wouldn't be 2 hours to the service center.

 

[Killer95Stang]

If you were 30 minutes away, would you keep it? I took mine in for a warranty claim the other day, for a sensor fan that was located behind the steering wheel. They told me on day one, that it was in the que, but would take a few days. I was okay with it and was happy to be jamming around town in a Maserati for 4 days. Everything else about the recent experiece was great, even the call before the weekend hit to let me know it would take a couple more days. Honestly, the service part, at least at Eastvale has gotten 100x better.

On the cost of service.... yeah, that is going to be crazy. But with that said, I bet service on that Maserati I flogged for 4 or 5 days, would rival or even cost more in the long run. I have a lift and service all my gas cars at the moment, so at least I can take those savings.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

My service center is fairly close to me and for serious issues they tend to get to things quickly.

I say that as someone who thinks Rivian service is horrible.

I'm going to keep my 2022 R1T out of warranty. I do recognize that it could be expensive to fix so that's why I plan on getting an extended warranty once I'm closer to the cutoff age/mileage.

I do plan on getting a second vehicle once I convince myself to sell my Sprinter Camper Van. That one is a maintenance nightmare. It's basically a money tree for MB Dealers.

That doesn't even include all the Camper stuff. I'm holding off on selling mostly due to emotional attachment and its so nice.

I have been thinking about getting a Buzz ID.

If it just had a bit more range and if the SW was at least at the Rivian level.

 

[dleepnw]

I share your concerns. Maintenance and repairs are not only going to be expensive but time consuming. Under warranty, I've had over $20k in repairs. That's not sustainable for me financially out of warranty. We have 3 service centers in the Seattle area and appointment times are still 2-4 months out.

 

[Killer95Stang]

I share your concerns. Maintenance and repairs are not only going to be expensive but time consuming. Under warranty, I've had over $20k in repairs. That's not sustainable for me financially out of warranty. We have 3 service centers in the Seattle area and appointment times are still 2-4 months out.

That appointment wait time is crazy. Last two appointments were 5 to 7 days for me, without the items being critical issues.

 

[ndmiller]

Smart move, enjoy your Zero, those are FUN!

 

[Ralph]

I think you may find many Rivian owners in the same position once they near their warranty limits.. Parts are sky high, labor rates are on or near par with ICE dealers and due to the complex systems, labor time may be very high to diagnose issues.

And due to not being able to source parts and/or proper documentation, there is virtually no "right to repair".

I'm a huge fan of Rivian and their success thus far. But along with the launch of R2, on-going maintenance and related costs have to be addressed. As others have suggested elsewhere, these costs even have affect insurance costs - for ALL owners.

I will not try to convince my imaginary cousin to buy an R2 if there isn't an answer to the "maintenance problem".

Rivian could be a leader of EV* manufacturers in this area if they choose to bring their imagination and courage to the table as I believe they have proven they are capable of doing.

* Edit for typo/spelling

 

[lefkonj]

I hear you about the drive to a SC. In the NY/NJ/CT area we only had Brooklyn for 2 years. That has changed and now there are 3 in NJ alone which helps not only with the drive time but the wait times. There are 2 in NC with a third on the map to open soon, so just curious how far you are from those compared to VA.

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