Rivian Service policy - no alternative transportation unless vehicle kept for 48 hrs

[Greg Chick]

Wow, maybe this is why I was given such a hassle when I asked for a loaner car. This is unacceptable. I also live 3.5 hours from the closest service center, so this is not something I would tolerate. If this is the way service is going to be, it might be time to consider another vehicle.

I am about 2 hrs. one way, (in good traffic), from closest Ctr. the issue is a significant one, but I remain optimistic. If a non warranty service is scheduled, they may be clear on the loaner issue options in advance. I would also think it is the customers responsibility to get a clear understanding in advance. In the past with other Mfgrs. I have been told it is " 1st. come/served" and the earliest appointments that get there first get a loaner. My visits to the center have prompted me to leave home for the trip at 5am at the latest. I am there when they open the door. This more likely gives the mechanic time to do the work in one day, better for both sides.

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[Greg Chick]

Umm... Do we have any documentation on this policy change? Besides a person who just joined the forum today saying "a service tech said..."

My experience has always been that the vehicle was serviced while I waited. Bring my laptop and work remotely from the SC for a few hours. I think if they see you waiting, they push you up in the queue (just a hunch). But I have been asked if I wanted a loaner, and have seen the Enterprise folks come in and announce stuff like "does anyone need a rental?"

Would be a shame if this changed, obv. But think I'll reserve bringing out the torch & pitchfork until we have an actual announcement from Rivian.

Hey hey there, that sounds like reasonable thinking. Along with my suggestion for the customer to understand in advance such details. Sometimes negoations are part of good business.

 

[dleepnw]

I see this as a move to prepare for the influx of R2 vehicles. By changing this policy, they will reduce the number of loaners and rentals having to go out. Which long term is probably a good thing for them and seemed inevitable. I'm wondering though for those appointments that take longer than 48 hours but were told it would be less (that's happened to me a few times), they kinda get screwed with no alternate transportation.

Overall, I don't think its great for R1 owners or customer experience but a move they probably had to make. Not sure what the long term ramifications are for customer loyalty. I guess for brand new Rivian owners, they won't know any better but for us OG owners, were gonna see the decline.

Rivian has had years to fine tune their service model but its just not dialed in yet. Rivian stated they want to ramp up mobile service so hopefully that fills the gap but I'm concerned once the R2 starts deliveries this gets even worse. Another potential issue is ASLO vehicles. Are they going to be serviced at Rivian Service Centers? Seems like a possibility.

 

[coasties]

Rivian can and should fix the service bottlenecks very quickly.

They already have an onboarding and training program for outside shops to service their vehicles and get access to their software.

They should make that program free… for any VW dealership service department.

By this time next year, there will be an aging and bigger R1 fleet competing with a 10k vehicle R2 fleet for a service center network that does not seem to be growing significantly.

In that sense, it’s not going to be pretty the way things are going. R2 owners are going to be way less patient than we all have been (not as many fanboys).

If Rivian expanded the partnership with VW (or even just their dealer network), it would solve the capacity problem and solve a cash flow challenge for both companies. Rivian does not have to invest in service centers as quickly and VW dealers can add another revenue stream to their service departments.

Most importantly, the owner experience improves.

I've been wondering the same thing. VW has invested in and bought into Rivian. A natural step would be to leverage the VW service network. A training program would be much cheaper than building, staffing, and finding service centers.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I've been wondering the same thing. VW has invested in and bought into Rivian. A natural step would be to leverage the VW service network. A training program would be much cheaper than building, staffing, and finding service centers.

VW Group did not invest in Rivian. Rather it entered into a joint venture with Rivian—i.e. they started a new "company" together with Rivian, to work on software and computing platform for both VW and Rivian. Scope of JV is focused on those two disciplines, nothing else. The $5.8B commitment is VWG's share of funding for the JV.

Individual VW affiliated dealerships may choose to provide services to Rivian owners and pay to subscribe to Rivian's service portal and be able to order parts from Rivian—like new forum member Lindsay VW (Dulles, VA). But that's the individual dealer's choice. Legacy brand dealers are not owned by manufacturers. They are privately owned by auto dealer groups, with agreements to represent various brands.

 

[Wayne]

Look at the cluster of cameras and such top-center of your windshield (from the outside). If the round one is bubbled like this instead of looking totally clear, then it's likely they didn't reinstall the rain sensor properly. It's probably a 30 min repair. I had mine done in late 2024 after it peeled away from the window because one of the latches wasn't properly connected.

My 2026 came from the factory with that sensor not adhered properly. They replaced it while I waited at the service center.

 

[coasties]

VW Group did not invest in Rivian. Rather it entered into a joint venture with Rivian—i.e. they started a new "company" together with Rivian, to work on software and computing platform for both VW and Rivian. Scope of JV is focused on those two disciplines, nothing else. The $5.8B commitment is VWG's share of funding for the JV.

Individual VW affiliated dealerships may choose to provide services to Rivian owners and pay to subscribe to Rivian's service portal and be able to order parts from Rivian—like new forum member Lindsay VW. But that's the individual dealer's choice. Legacy brand dealers are not owned by manufacturers. They are privately owned by auto dealer groups, with agreements to represent various brands.

I think part of the JV agreement includes milestones, which, when met, result in direct investment in Rivian. Also, Rivian has access to a $1b loan from VW. I read Rivian gets a 450m equity investment after the first car from the JV is sold.

I think VW is committed to Rivian.

And yes, agree, the dealerships are independently owned. VW might have some influence into dealer operations.

 

[cohall]

I have an appointment tomorrow morning for the toe-link bolt, and a potential half-shaft clunk. I'll see what they say when I drop it off. FWIW, I've always received either Uber credits or a loaner for every previous service visit, no matter the length of the service. Will see if something has truly changed.

 

[Taco Corp]

I've got SC closer to me, and I'm fine waiting if they can knock stuff off in a few hours, but I'm also pretty clear with them that I cannot be without a car. They have enough used stock now that there shouldn't be a problem providing loaners.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Uber/Lyft credit for same day service is standard policy and it's been like that for a long time. Loaner availability has always been limited. I've had 2 appointments lasting more than a day and both times loaners were already given out to others. And both times Enterprise rental were arranged at the same time appointments were confirmed—just not to the point of assigning actual rental cars. Choice of rental cars is dependent on the particular Enterprise location and what each have on hand. The one nearest my SC (Lake Forest, CA) is a small satellite in the suburbs, so the options are pretty pedestrian in great contrast to Costa Mesa SC and their Enterprise partner at SNA—where you could upgrade (out-of-pocket on the difference) to an exotic if you wanted to. Other than that, which is minor, the service I've received from Lake Forest has been stellar... including the 3rd appointment in almost 3 years, last week, for preemptive 12V replacement and adjustment on RR door handle (same day service). I have another in 2 weeks for front damper replacement (split from last week due to parts shortage on RF damper).

 

[CosmicRivian]

Having followed the evolution of Rivian’s service model for some time, I wonder if they will eventually adopt a policy more in line with Tesla’s. Specifically, a tiered response system tied to the expected length of the service engagement.

It might look something like this: for repairs lasting only a few hours, owners wait in the lounge (similar to Tesla’s "same-day" goal). Anything longer than a few hours leads to rideshare credits. Finally, repairs longer than 48 hours would qualify for a loaner or rental. I also imagine that owners traveling considerable distances would receive priority for loaners/rentals (at least, I hope they would).

I have no idea of this is where things might go, but it wouldn't surprise me since Rivian has a tendency to borrow people and strategies from Tesla where it works.

As others have pointed out in this forum and elsewhere, you have to think Rivian is hemorrhaging money to Enterprise and it's a natural place to save. (I realize they don't have enough loaners, etc, so hammering that point to me won't tell me anything I am not fully aware of, even though it might be a knee-jerk reaction to say, "This wouldn't be a problem if they had more loaners!" Indeed.).

This kind of change is a bit of a shock to the system for owners coming from the existing practice, but I suspect the wrinkles will smooth out over time. As others here have pointed out, it took Tesla a while to get to where they are with service. Rivian is likely similar.

(And yes, I know, R2 is only going to strain the system more and all that, but Rivian is a young company juggling massive demands and it's going to take time to build capacity blah blah blah ...)

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Having followed the evolution of Rivian’s service model for some time, I wonder if they will eventually adopt a policy more in line with Tesla’s. Specifically, a tiered response system tied to the expected length of the service engagement.

It might look something like this: for repairs lasting only a few hours, owners wait in the lounge (similar to Tesla’s "same-day" goal). Anything longer than a few hours leads to rideshare credits. Finally, repairs longer than 48 hours would qualify for a loaner or rental. I also imagine that owners traveling considerable distances would receive priority for loaners/rentals (at least, I hope they would).

I have no idea of this is where things might go, but it wouldn't surprise me since Rivian has a tendency to borrow people and strategies from Tesla where it works.

As others have pointed out in this forum and elsewhere, you have to think Rivian is hemorrhaging money to Enterprise and it's a natural place to save. (I realize they don't have enough loaners, etc, so hammering that point to me won't tell me anything I am not fully aware of, even though it might be a knee-jerk reaction to say, "This wouldn't be a problem if they had more loaners!" Indeed.).

This kind of change is a bit of a shock to the system for owners coming from the existing practice, but I suspect the wrinkles will smooth out over time. As others here have pointed out, it took Tesla a while to get to where they are with service. Rivian is likely similar.

(And yes, I know, R2 is only going to strain the system more and all that, but Rivian is a young company juggling massive demands and it's going to take time to build capacity blah blah blah ...)

From what I've seen personally, I think they have already. Enterprise is costing them $, but you also have to remember that cost is likely not the same as what Enterprise charges its B2C customers. It's steady income for Enterprise and a business expensive (tax deduction) for Rivian. So it isn't as bad as what it appears. Plus, despite that cost, Rivian is still able to post net profit—even though it is not profitable per each R1 unit delivered. That said, strong R2 sales will easily offset that cost. And, again, this is why R2 is a critical inflection point for the company. Rivian CFO was a high level Chase banker. Safe to assume she knows what she's doing.

 

[BourboNole]

I just got a call for my Wednesday service appointment which includes replacement of my tonneau cover and I was advised I would not be given a rental/loaner unless the vehicle was to be kept more than 24 hours. I first asked if they expected to complete my tonneau replacement same day since the last time it took nearly a week, to which she advised it is considered a same day replacement. She then advised that if it ends up not being ready by the end of the day they would provide a rental/loaner. Having already seen this thread earlier today I asked her when this policy came into place and she advised this week. I asked to speak with a manager or legal and she advised she would have someone call me back.

When I bought my truck they were advertising pick-up and drop-off at home for servicing, so we're already way off from that, but demanding a rental/loaner is a hill I will gladly die on if needed. One of the many reasons I moved on from my TRX in favor of the R1T was the expectation of a luxury service experience and the conveniences that come with it. Obviously the service experience leaves a lot to be desired, but at least I have always had a replacement vehicle which I certainly did not get from my local Ram dealer.

 

[Engi_Nerd]

We just brought our Juniper MY in for a minor issue and they gave us a brand new Model X to bomb around in overnight. I will now spend the rest of my life listening to my wife complain about having to use her hands to open and close her car door. 0/10, would not recommend.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

Portland SC has always inquired what I needed, then offered more than I needed. A few hours for a medical appointment on the other side of town? Uber/Lyft credits for that. Overnight? Enterprise. REALLY need a loaner (and have a functional reason, such as hauling for the Food Bank, to prefer loaner to Enterprise)? They watch for the next loaner to come back.

But here's the flip side: They know that I'll never use more of Rivian's resources than I need. They know that I'll use our backup vehicle when possible, and return the loaner as soon as I can. They know that I'll wait in the waiting room if I can. They know that I'll always treat them as courteously as I treat any other friends or neighbors.

There have to be policies. And there have to be relationships. Life is better with both.

Our Rivian experience is still "head and shoulders" -- in convenience and affordability -- above our Chevrolet and Kia service experiences.

Best to all!

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