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

[Rade]

My R1T went into "Turtle Mode" following a bad snow storm in January. I posted about all the warning lights coming on, no power to the steering or brakes, etc. Did the hard reset which generated the event log and all of the issues cleared.

Opened a service request at the Canton MA site through the app. Eight weeks until I can get in. Nary a call from a service advisor, just... the app. Sent app texts of the time stamp on the log; my question was - "Is that issue really resolved or did it flag something else?" Crickets. "Did your technician look at the error log?" Crickets. A week out from the appointment. "Do I still need this appointment? Did the technician review the error log?" Crickets. Feeling somewhat disappointed, I cancelled the appointment. Just too damn much on my plate to be driving the 40 miles to Canton for a dubious appointment.

Sponsored

 

[hsctiger]

My R1T went into "Turtle Mode" following a bad snow storm in January. I posted about all the warning lights coming on, no power to the steering or brakes, etc. Did the hard reset which generated the event log and all of the issues cleared.

Opened a service request at the Canton MA site through the app. Eight weeks until I can get in. Nary a call from a service advisor, just... the app. Sent app texts of the time stamp on the log; my question was - "Is that issue really resolved or did it flag something else?" Crickets. "Did your technician look at the error log?" Crickets. A week out from the appointment. "Do I still need this appointment? Did the technician review the error log?" Crickets. Feeling somewhat disappointed, I cancelled the appointment. Just too damn much on my plate to be driving the 40 miles to Canton for a dubious appointment.

Interesting story since my 2014 Tesla Model S went into similar mode when it got really, really, really cold. Maybe the same snow storm. But I got a similar response from the Tesla SC. They couldn't see me for about that long and I would have to figure out how to get it towed.
The weather warmed up, the car went back to normal. I continued a text chat with the SC (this is something they're good at if you treat them politely) about what could have happened and mentioned my 12v battery was maybe 9 years old. While the car never said it needed a new 12v battery (it did the last time I replaced it) we both agreed that replacing it was the smartest course of action. Still took forever for their mobile tech to come out and replace it, but I got it done as a precaution.
All these stories folks are sharing on this thread sound very similar to my Tesla experience. They've offloaded as much human interaction as possible but you know what? I'd prefer these frustrations over my wife's Mercedes dealership who tries to rob her literally every time she takes it in for service and I have to point out on the bill things we didn't ask for but they tried to bill us for anyway. At least with EV SC's they're more like IT techs than slimy dealership grifters.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Interesting story since my 2014 Tesla Model S went into similar mode when it got really, really, really cold. Maybe the same snow storm. But I got a similar response from the Tesla SC. They couldn't see me for about that long and I would have to figure out how to get it towed.
The weather warmed up, the car went back to normal. I continued a text chat with the SC (this is something they're good at if you treat them politely) about what could have happened and mentioned my 12v battery was maybe 9 years old. While the car never said it needed a new 12v battery (it did the last time I replaced it) we both agreed that replacing it was the smartest course of action. Still took forever for their mobile tech to come out and replace it, but I got it done as a precaution.
All these stories folks are sharing on this thread sound very similar to my Tesla experience. They've offloaded as much human interaction as possible but you know what? I'd prefer these frustrations over my wife's Mercedes dealership who tries to rob her literally every time she takes it in for service and I have to point out on the bill things we didn't ask for but they tried to bill us for anyway. At least with EV SC's they're more like IT techs than slimy dealership grifters.

Our Mercedes dealer is like that, too, which is why I will never drive a Mercedes.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I feel a bit disappointed to say that if you're feeling spurned by Rivian that things can still get much worse than this. There'll be no enthusiastic welcome to the dark side since nobody who winds up here wants to be after getting psyched up enough to take a risk on a new brand.

There was a time when Rivian would drop off vehicles after service to avoid impacting customers with having to get to the SCs to retrieve them. That went away. I can't believe this is anything other than a statement of intent. Maybe it won't change overnight, but the groundwork has been laid. It was mentioned already, but the real question will be what happens when people unhappy with this policy show up for a same-day service appointment that turns out the service center never intended, or worse, don't get a loaner or a rental for a visit that was supposed to last a day but took a month. I've gotten burned that way trying to be nice about it on one of the occasions I've been towed. I expected would be over quickly and weeks later had a little trouble trying to arrange a one-way rental for a day to be able to go pick up my truck from service.

I too live distant from a service center where Uber credits cannot reach. I've shown up for what I thought was a same-day turnaround only to find out when I got there that the service center had been expecting a multi-day dropoff and wasn't prepared to do the work while I waited. Nobody told me beforehand and I'm actually wondering if there ever would be a point where someone does. I've also been put on the spot to find a way home again without my truck because something that was supposed to be simple required parts that would take weeks to get.

In these instances the service center planned for a rental (because they expected it would be multi-day even if I didn't) at least or managed to get one for me on short notice. With this new policy in place, are people who can't simply uber back home going to be left hanging?

My experiences with Rivian suggest it doesn't occur to whoever makes their call center scripts and service systems that a disproportionate number of customers aren't local to service and that these sorts of changes cut pretty deep. The thing that hit me while writing this was that it would take a fundamental change to how service interacts with customers to actually get someone to look up that you're coming in from a long ways away specifically to tell you to plan for several days. The service centers expect everyone to drop off and just pick up when it's done, whenever that is, as opposed to waiting there because that's the only option. Or you're looking at them holding it overnight and they're not giving you a rental because it's not '48 hours' so you'd better get your shit together if you want to get somewhere to sleep. Then there's two layers above that at being insulted at the idea of having to pay your own transport to deal with warranty repairs, and being insulted at the idea of a $200/hr shop nickel and diming.

They really do need to have another tier for customers who are remote, if only to have a second set of prompts for their service and call center people. Of course if I was doing that I would also not have the mobile techs based out of the service centers, because it makes the service center absolutely resist sending a guy 300 miles to fix something. It works if you consider your mobile service as some sort of white glove thing for the local neighborhood so people can get tires rotated in their driveway, but it absolutely falls apart when you need someone to triage a vehicle or maybe try to fix it before you commit to a $2000 tow. It's sort of a double whammie against people who don't live next door to a major center with an SC. I'm sure on a ledger somewhere it's cheaper if you can just make your customers absorb all the costs of getting to and from service, but it only takes a few horror stories to guarantee that Rivian's sales can only expand at the rate of its service center footprint.

I agree, and I have thought about this situation. Right now, my R1S has been fairly reliable outside of this electrical issue. I am going to ride it out until that is no longer the case or they open a local service center. It's like they purposely went around Knoxville, as all the centers they opened lately are the same distance away in different directions. The customer service, both the AI and the people, is doing what it can to avoid giving you a loaner, which means that if my Rivian has a service problem, it's being traded in, and I will no longer be a Rivian customer.

I would have thought that in the 4 years that I've owned my car, I'd have a service center closer than 3.5 hours away. I still really like the car, but I don't want to worry that I'm going to be left 4 hours from my house, having to go out of pocket to get back home.

 

[ebellinder2]

Customer service also has a $ amount attached, and when a $50k vehicle is their main business in the near future, they can’t provide all the amenities they did for a $100k vehicle.

Sorry I don’t agree. It doesn’t cost much to offer top quality service to your customers in all areas. If you don’t they will find other manufacturers that do

 

[the.phd]

Sorry I don’t agree. It doesn’t cost much to offer top quality service to your customers in all areas. If you don’t they will find other manufacturers that do

There's very much a significant cost associated with loaners, especially when people then complain they don't get a Rivian every time.

 

[ebellinder2]

There's very much a significant cost associated with loaners, especially when people then complain they don't get a Rivian every time.

Not referring to the cost of a loaner or rental. Referring to offering great customer service regardless of the cost of a vehicle. Service sells

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Not being greeted by anyone when I show up with my vehicle. I have to get the attention of the service advisor to help me. A Keurig machine with no pods, no cups, actually no beverages (at all) for customers who are waiting. Midas muffler shop provides more amenities for waiting customers. Zero Rivian merch to browse. The waiting space looked a mess, books laying everywhere.

Sorry, that was me. I drank it all.

(although I did once while waiting, LOL)

Books & merch have always been on fleek when I've been. Would be a shame to see the SC's a mess. I do agree that someone not being there to greet people is a problem, at least at Gaithersburg SC.

 

[Mellowyellow]

Sorry, that was me. I drank it all.

(although I did once while waiting, LOL)

Books & merch have always been on fleek when I've been. Would be a shame to see the SC's a mess. I do agree that someone not being there to greet people is a problem, at least at Gaithersburg SC.

what is this fleek you speak of

edit: nevermind I googled it

 

[Honey]

What am I to do with my carseats?

 

[Donald Stanfield]

What am I to do with my carseats?

To be fair, that's the same with a loaner. You'd have to transfer them, which is a pain, but it's the reality of getting your vehicle serviced.

 

[BourboNole]

To be fair, that's the same with a loaner. You'd have to transfer them, which is a pain, but it's the reality of getting your vehicle serviced.

I think what he means is what is he supposed to do with his car seats if he only gets Uber Credits. That's my biggest issue with not getting a rental or loaner. I drop my kids off at school every morning and one still uses a car seat, and I pick one or more up several nights a week.

 

[Honey]

To be fair, that's the same with a loaner. You'd have to transfer them, which is a pain, but it's the reality of getting your vehicle serviced.

Uber my kids to (pre)school, soccer practice, grocery store, the park?

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Uber my kids to (pre)school, soccer practice, grocery store, the park?

Uber is not a loaner.

 

[Honey]

Uber is not a loaner.

You don't say?!

Sponsored