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

[Donald Stanfield]

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.

I agree with you. The service center is 3.5 hours away, ONE WAY for me. If I don't get a loaner or a rental, what am I supposed to do? Does Rivian really expect me to have my wife follow me for 3.5 hours in her car, then drive back? So now I have to put an extra 200ish miles on my second car because Rivian can't do the bare minimum and get me a car?

If I'm going to deal with no having a loaner, the BMW dealer is 30 min away. Instead of making my wife drive 7 hours she can drive 1, but with BMW she wouldn't have to drive at all as they provide a loaner for service. The more stories I hear the more it's making me want to trade this in so I'm not stuck driving way longer than I need to or paying for rental cars out of my own money. Even if I traded for a GMC or something that didn't give a loaner I can deal with that locally. It's the super far drive coupled with Rivian not doing rentals that simply won't work.

This policy change is not great, and I'm not too happy right now. I was one of Rivian's biggest cheerleaders.

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[BourboNole]

I agree with you. The service center is 3.5 hours away, ONE WAY for me. If I don't get a loaner or a rental, what am I supposed to do? Does Rivian really expect me to have my wife follow me for 3.5 hours in her car, then drive back? So now I have to put an extra 200ish miles on my second car because Rivian can't do the bare minimum and get me a car?

If I'm going to deal with no having a loaner, the BMW dealer is 30 min away. Instead of making my wife drive 7 hours she can drive 1, but with BMW she wouldn't have to drive at all as they provide a loaner for service. The more stories I hear the more it's making me want to trade this in so I'm not stuck driving way longer than I need to or paying for rental cars out of my own money. Even if I traded for a GMC or something that didn't give a loaner I can deal with that locally. It's the super far drive coupled with Rivian not doing rentals that simply won't work.

This policy change is not great, and I'm not too happy right now. I was one of Rivian's biggest cheerleaders.

Mine is much closer, but for me it is as much the principal as anything. They sold the experience, which included a mobile service network which has never come close to what was advertised, but as long as I can get a loaner to go about my daily business, I am fine going to them. Having kids with various after school activities and a job that at times requires around town and around the state travel, uber credits doesn't cut it. I'm also a bit annoyed that I'll be paying $700 to replace my 12v batteries for the 2nd time in less than 24k miles. I'm going to follow a playbook that has served me well in the past with similar corporate customer service related matters, and while I assume they will go ahead and give me a rental for this service, I doubt I will get what I want which is a commitment to provide rentals in the future, but I'll report back. I'm sure somewhere along the way Rivian updated their policies to remove any language about rentals while still providing it without a specific policy, but for those of us who bought back in 22, it was an advertised selling point.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Mine is much closer, but for me it is as much the principal as anything. They sold the experience, which included a mobile service network which has never come close to what was advertised, but as long as I can get a loaner to go about my daily business, I am fine going to them. Having kids with various after school activities and a job that at times requires around town and around the state travel, uber credits doesn't cut it. I'm also a bit annoyed that I'll be paying $700 to replace my 12v batteries for the 2nd time in less than 24k miles. I'm going to follow a playbook that has served me well in the past with similar corporate customer service related matters, and while I assume they will go ahead and give me a rental for this service, I doubt I will get what I want which is a commitment to provide rentals in the future, but I'll report back. I'm sure somewhere along the way Rivian updated their policies to remove any language about rentals while still providing it without a specific policy, but for those of us who bought back in 22, it was an advertised selling point.

Keep me in the loop for sure, because I'm not sure I'm willing to risk my car not breaking and getting no loaner once my warranty is up. Their service center is too far away, and I refuse to go out of pocket for an extra vehicle during repairs. It's already a major hassle to take my car in with a 7-hour round trip, best-case scenario, and this will be the second time I've had to do it in less than 2 years with this R1S.

 

[lefkonj]

Here is Rivian's official posted policy:
Alternate Transportation
For the duration of your service appointment Rivian may, in its sole discretion, offer you a Rivian Loaner Vehicle or other alternate transportation (such as a rental car or ridesharing service) as a courtesy. Rivian Loaner Vehicles are subject to limited availability and may not be the same model as your Vehicle. Alternate transportation is offered as a courtesy is not included in the coverage provided by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Rivian reserves the right to modify or discontinue alternate transportation offering at any time without notice. If you are offered a Rivian Loaner Vehicle, the fee for the Rivian Loaner Vehicle will be waived while the Vehicle is being serviced or repaired (currently, $200.00 per day). Charges will begin to accrue in the event that you do not return the Rivian Loaner Vehicle within one (1) business day of receiving notification that Services for the Vehicle have been completed.

In the event you request and accept other alternate transportation services, you further acknowledge and agree that such services are provided by an unaffiliated third party partner, and Rivian will have no liability for the provision of such services. As stated above, such third party partners may have their own terms, conditions, and contractual agreements that you may be subject to and that relate to those specific services. If you do not have a smartphone or a third party partner’s mobile app installed on your smartphone, you agree to be contacted by such third party partner in connection with your alternative transportation request and bound by the terms and conditions of such third party partner’s terms and conditions, as applicable.



Don't make something that happened to you the norm, as it is not what plenty of us are experiencing. I have always received a loaner when my vehicle was taken in for service, even if it was for 12 hours. R2 will change server and maybe for a 45k a loaner isn't warranted. Don't think Hyundai gives out loaners often.

 

[BourboNole]

Here is Rivian's official posted policy:
Alternate Transportation
For the duration of your service appointment Rivian may, in its sole discretion, offer you a Rivian Loaner Vehicle or other alternate transportation (such as a rental car or ridesharing service) as a courtesy. Rivian Loaner Vehicles are subject to limited availability and may not be the same model as your Vehicle. Alternate transportation is offered as a courtesy is not included in the coverage provided by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Rivian reserves the right to modify or discontinue alternate transportation offering at any time without notice. If you are offered a Rivian Loaner Vehicle, the fee for the Rivian Loaner Vehicle will be waived while the Vehicle is being serviced or repaired (currently, $200.00 per day). Charges will begin to accrue in the event that you do not return the Rivian Loaner Vehicle within one (1) business day of receiving notification that Services for the Vehicle have been completed.

In the event you request and accept other alternate transportation services, you further acknowledge and agree that such services are provided by an unaffiliated third party partner, and Rivian will have no liability for the provision of such services. As stated above, such third party partners may have their own terms, conditions, and contractual agreements that you may be subject to and that relate to those specific services. If you do not have a smartphone or a third party partner’s mobile app installed on your smartphone, you agree to be contacted by such third party partner in connection with your alternative transportation request and bound by the terms and conditions of such third party partner’s terms and conditions, as applicable.



Don't make something that happened to you the norm, as it is not what plenty of us are experiencing. I have always received a loaner when my vehicle was taken in for service, even if it was for 12 hours. R2 will change server and maybe for a 45k a loaner isn't warranted. Don't think Hyundai gives out loaners often.

That's the current policy. The key for me is the policy at the time of my purchase.

Like you, I have always been given rentals or loaners. I expected nothing less in this case given the litany of other items I am having done besides the tonneau cover. I wouldn't have even asked if I hadn't seen this thread, but I am obviously glad I did because I'd have been left scrambling to find another vehicle for afternoon pickup.

 

[River Ghost]

Rivian recently called me to schedule work for a recall that would take 3 - 4 hours. The closest service center is five hours away but requires going over a pass and there are some wildfires that direction. It made more sense to go to the second closest service center and stay awhile. It is only eight hours away one way. When I travel I live out of my Rivian R1S. I told them I would need a car while they were working on mine. I dropped off my car last Thursday and they had it back to me midday on Friday. I slept in my loaner Rivian R1S.

The service centers have a limited number of loaners and also use Enterprise. When Rivian called me about the recall their computer for scheduling was down and they had to call me several times before they could schedule an appointment for me. They had no problem scheduling it for the second closest service center and said they could provide me a loaner vehicle. This is important for me because when I am traveling I live out of my Rivian R1S. When I dropped off my car they seemed to be having some computer issues again. I would guess with the rollout of the Rivian R2 they are overhauling things to get ready for the launch.

When they enabled two factor for Rivian accounts in January I got a message when I tried to access my Rivian app. When I requested the email with the code I did not receive an email. I tried several times. My app was not functional during this time. Finally I gave up and checked my email later. It took three hours for the emails with the codes to arrive. Maybe turning on two factor for everyone at the same time overwhelmed their email server. I waited a day and finally could get the email. Perhaps they should have batched the rollout of two factor but I have been there and done that so I am not going to complain.

Since I am near the service center and my tires will need to be replaced soon I asked Rivian how best to avoid an eight hour drive to get them aligned. So while I am here I scheduled an appointment at Discount Tires to get new tires and made an appointment with Rivian to get them aligned the following day. Rivian was very helpful. It should only take a couple hours so I told them I do not need a loaner car.

There seemed to be a lot of demo drives? I could be mistaken since I was not paying much attention but perhaps more people than usual are considering an EV?

So Rivian seems to be busy with demo drives for some reason and they have a big launch happening and they seem to be upgrading their computer systems. I would also guess some service centers are short R1s and making room for R2 demo vehicles.

I also took my R1S into this service center in January while I was nearby for something that broke and they had it for several days to fix a couple of recall items and some other items. They loaned me a Rivian R1S for several days.

 

[eviceman]

I have never seen a Rivian service center visit in less than 48 hrs. In fact most times it sits for 2 or 3 days before they even look at it. I might actually welcome this if it speeds up the return of my car but I am only 20 minutes from a service center so I understand the pain for those that live hours away

 

[coasties]

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).

Hi,

Do you have anything in writing about the "standard policy" being Uber/Lyft credits?

I can't find anything published on the internet. And AI didn't find anything either.

Thanks,

 

[dleepnw]

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.

Yeah, this is the route Scout should take with VW dealers to ramp up their service before they start producing their vehicles.

 

[MikeWilliams_R1T]

Keep me in the loop for sure, because I'm not sure I'm willing to risk my car not breaking and getting no loaner once my warranty is up. Their service center is too far away, and I refuse to go out of pocket for an extra vehicle during repairs. It's already a major hassle to take my car in with a 7-hour round trip, best-case scenario, and this will be the second time I've had to do it in less than 2 years with this R1S.

Request Sheperdsville if you have to hit a service center. It’s only about 15 more miles than the other 3 and they always have a loaner. It’s also a much quieter drive from Knoxville.

 

[CrazyOne]

Here is Rivian's official posted policy:
Alternate Transportation
For the duration of your service appointment Rivian may, in its sole discretion, offer you a Rivian Loaner Vehicle or other alternate transportation (such as a rental car or ridesharing service) as a courtesy. Rivian Loaner Vehicles are subject to limited availability and may not be the same model as your Vehicle. Alternate transportation is offered as a courtesy is not included in the coverage provided by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Rivian reserves the right to modify or discontinue alternate transportation offering at any time without notice. If you are offered a Rivian Loaner Vehicle, the fee for the Rivian Loaner Vehicle will be waived while the Vehicle is being serviced or repaired (currently, $200.00 per day). Charges will begin to accrue in the event that you do not return the Rivian Loaner Vehicle within one (1) business day of receiving notification that Services for the Vehicle have been completed.

In the event you request and accept other alternate transportation services, you further acknowledge and agree that such services are provided by an unaffiliated third party partner, and Rivian will have no liability for the provision of such services. As stated above, such third party partners may have their own terms, conditions, and contractual agreements that you may be subject to and that relate to those specific services. If you do not have a smartphone or a third party partner’s mobile app installed on your smartphone, you agree to be contacted by such third party partner in connection with your alternative transportation request and bound by the terms and conditions of such third party partner’s terms and conditions, as applicable.



Don't make something that happened to you the norm, as it is not what plenty of us are experiencing. I have always received a loaner when my vehicle was taken in for service, even if it was for 12 hours. R2 will change server and maybe for a 45k a loaner isn't warranted. Don't think Hyundai gives out loaners often.

Hyundai doesn't charge Rivian service prices.

Loaners vehicle cost is built into the price of the car and/or the service price. Rivian costs more than Hyundai on both fronts. If you are going to do less, charge less. I can then pay for rental car on my own with saved money.

 

[eddysales001]

I'm a fan of my R1T (2023, 68k miles). But the service continues to be unacceptable. Long wait times, even when I lived in the SF Bay Area. Up in Oregon, it is worse.

And now, they don't provide alternative transportation unless they keep the vehicle for 48 hrs. (Loaner or Rental car).

I live 2+ hours' drive, over 100 miles from the nearest service center. Tualatin, outside of Portland, Oregon. I've been waiting months for this appointment (April 16).

I owned a Tesla for 6 years. They got service sorted in a couple of years. And always provided transportation.

FYI from service tech "

I referenced the Rivian app message thread and it looks like the Mobile team is not available till long after your currently scheduled appointment. Regarding the tailgate repair and your current afternoon appointment, we do not provide alternate transportation for visits less than 48 hours in duration and it would be an overnight timeline for repair.

"

This is not acceptable. I won't be buying the R2. The R2 will make service delays worse.

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.

I have never been offered a service visit while I wait I requested that on my first visit and it was ignored and they gave me a rental In fact my experience is the car often sits for several days before they even look at it and I am talking about some pretty minor adjustments. (and that is after I selected a date several weeks in advance)

 

[SASSquatch]

I share everyone's alarm and frustration at this development. I'm especially impressed with @Donald Stanfield's response because, as he stated, he represents one of the most loyal wings of the Rivian customer base. Pissing him off is not a good sign for Rivian.

The reality is that this consumer-unfriendly decision, and more realistically many more to come, are driven by the realities of Rivian needing to cut costs dramatically in order to survive long enough to reach a viable operating cash flow. R2 is Rivian's make or break moment.

That said, my feeling is that Rivian in the past has been exceedingly bad at managing loaner, rental, and Uber credits. Issuing loaners for and rentals for absurdly long periods of time because of inefficient and overwhelmed SCs. It appears that they have now swung to the other extreme and risk alienating a significant portion of their most loyal customer base.

Case in point: Someone willing to purchase a Rivian vehicle despite living HOURS away from the nearest SC is expressing extraordinary faith and loyalty to the brand. Any service, even routine non-warranty service, requires a commitment and level of inconvenience that the typical car buyer is unwilling to endure. Rivian owners tend to be highly brand loyal. Here Rivian is turning that loyalty into a cudgel and penalizing the owner for the very sacrifice they were willing to make to own and maintain a Rivian.

Rivian needs to improve efficiency of the SCs, expand their footprint, and significantly improve their quality control in factory so fewer vehicles flood the SC almost immediately after the point of sale.

Also, this kind of policy involves nuance. Owners who have addresses hours away from the service center should be given an acception or at a very minimum, a heavily subsidized rental.

The inability for Rivian to fully address their service issues has always been a major concern of mine regarding their long term viability. I have stated time and time again that they need to fix these issues or they simply will scale with the mass market deployment of R2 which would prove fatal for the company.

Despite all the engineering, R2 is a first generation product. It is almost guaranteed to have first generation gremlins that are ubiquitous with first generation products from every OEM. I've learned my lesson the hard way on that front time too many times. I refuse to buy a first generation product now for that reason - my time, my zen is worth too much to me not to.

Godspeed to Rivian and Godbless all of you willing to take that leap of faith with R2. Rivian needs you to, but Rivian also needs to understand that they are engaging in self-inflicted reputational damage at the worst possible time and folks should hold them accountable so that they can course correct.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

FYI from service tech "I referenced the Rivian app message thread and it looks like the Mobile team is not available till long after your currently scheduled appointment. Regarding the tailgate repair and your current afternoon appointment, we do not provide alternate transportation for visits less than 48 hours in duration and it would be an overnight timeline for repair."

Do you know who wrote that, @coasties, and whether it was written when the Service Center was open or not?

My speculation is that it was written after hours by someone in Plymouth, who may not know how Portland/Tualatin SC actually does business.

***

The "Cover Your A**" philosophy" may think it best to "underpromise and maybe overdeliver" -- but receiving an "underpromise" can feel pretty scary if your relationship with the business or the other person doesn't feel secure.

Understanding customers' feelings is one of the most important skills in customer service. Misunderstanding customers' feelings can create relationship-disrupting problems that take hours of human Customer Service to clean up -- if the relationship can be salvaged at all. It is VERY hard to understand the other person's feelings in an electronic-messaging medium such as the Rivian App.

***

When you finally get to Tualatin, @coasties, consider telling the frontline staff (or manager/assistant manager, if available) your story about what you were told in this message, and how it felt.

I've never talked with Steve, but I see his leadership reflected in his staff. I have talked a lot with Jesús (pronounced "hay-ZEUS") over the years; Jesús is first-rate and he deserved his recent promotion. I am confident they'll meet your needs if it's in their power to do it.

***

Very best wishes!

 

[lefkonj]

Hyundai doesn't charge Rivian service prices.

Loaners vehicle cost is built into the price of the car and/or the service price. Rivian costs more than Hyundai on both fronts. If you are going to do less, charge less. I can then pay for rental car on my own with saved money.

Read what I posted, they provide a loaner it is in their official stated policy on their website right now. People are complaining about something that one person said happened to them, not what myself and hundreds of others have experienced.

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