Don’t buy a Rivian and why?

[CoachTy6]

Last service was when they proactively called and did a mobile service to replace the 12V battery in my driveway. Before that I had a wind-noise thing fixed late last year. Nothing but good experiences with service. They opened another SC in a neighbor state which took some load off of the Richmond VA SC. I've had a loaner, enterprise rental car or Uber credits for each visit which is more than any other dealership ever did for me. The service function is one reason why I will continue to buy Rivians if I ever wear out the R1T I have now.

Every GM vehicle I've bought since 2004 has offered either a loaner or a rental when I'm having warranty work done. This is now from four different dealerships across two states.

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[Dark-Fx]

Every GM vehicle I've bought since 2004 has offered either a loaner or a rental when I'm having warranty work done. This is now from four different dealerships across two states.

Last two times I had my Sierra EV in for service, they had no loaners. Only offered a shuttle.

 

[CoachTy6]

Last two times I had my Sierra EV in for service, they had no loaners. Only offered a shuttle.

Interesting. My 2004 Canyon always got me a rental, at the very least, and my Lyriq (Which I realize is a luxury brand v. GMC) is a Lyriq loaner, brought to me, every time. I do know, however, from my time in the Lyriq forums that the experience, even with Cadillac, varies widely by dealer. I've just been lucky four straight times from what I can tell.

 

[episode]

First off the car is not a lot of car for the value but most brands can have this issue. The number one reason is communication or lack of any sort of communication at any level. Service centers have no way to call them same with the sales department. There is only one way to communicate with them and that is the main number. This is from sales to services issues. They know nothing, the excuse that this is better for everyone and what everyone wants. I can’t wait to get rid of this car. It has lots of bugs that need constant fixing. A lot of people ask me how I like the Rivian and I tell them to stay away. Communication is the most cheapest service any company or someone can provide and it costs you nothing!!!!
If you want frustration and a headache buy one, if you don’t want that don’t buy one.

you don’t seem to be living up to your user name!
As others have mentioned, Rivian’s are packed with value with all the features you will not find in other vehicles in that price range.
Service centers are popping up more and more. Besides, you can always get Rivian to send service to your home with their Mobile Service Techs. I don’t know of any legacy manufacturers offering that service.
I never have a problem reaching my SC through a Rivian Rep as my customer service manager always gets beck to me.
I hope things get better so that you can live up to your user name!

 

[Jccoryell]

I read these post where folks say the nearest SC is 3 hours away. I thought that to be crazy so I checked to see how many SC's are within 3 hours of me...6! Where do you people live? Boondocks?

 

[rchartson]

The experience is indeed varied. I've had one visit to the service center, and mine will be 3 yrs old in November (visit for the recall). Other than minor computer hiccups that resolved I've had no issues, and have driven on numerous trips of 600+ miles. It drives as well as anything I've owned, and that includes Audis and Mercedes. Yes it was expensive (103K all in), but I expected that as an early adopter. Its reasonable to expect better service from a company selling vehicles at these prices, but its a new company and hiccups are part of the journey. If you cant tolerate that stuff, then trading is the second best option (first would be buying something else in the first place). I fully expected there might be issues, but have been very pleased with the lack thereof. I've seen survey results (JD Power) that give pretty bad scores on reliability, but I'm not sure what that means as a percentage of all production.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I read these post where folks say the nearest SC is 3 hours away. I thought that to be crazy so I checked to see how many SC's are within 3 hours of me...6! Where do you people live? Boondocks?

Dear Mr. Long Island. You live in that really red part with >5000 people per square mile. There are many of us that live in that yellow or greenish area, so yes the boondocks for you. Unfortunately, even if you live in another red spot, say - Minneapolis, your service center options are still limited. You just happen to be in a saturated area, but even then. I remember when Brooklyn was my only option. That was close by distance, short drive if you're going in on a Sunday, but a 1st appointment drop off was an expensive and time consuming affair back in 2022.

 

[CharonPDX]

I just had two services to my R1T in the past month (12V battery failure, which they got me in within three days, and the recall/service bulletin on the rear toe link fasteners, which was booked 2 months out from when I booked it.)

In both cases, the service was done well, and the communication was great. Yeah, having to wait 2 months for the recall was long, but it wasn't a safety issue, and when the 12V failure happened, they got me a mobile appointment super quick. (The service person called me within half an hour of me opening the service ticket - at 8 PM on a weekend, saw that I had a scheduled appointment, said "they can take a look at that during your upcoming…. No, that's more than a month away, let's see if I can get something sooner.")

And I'm about an hour away from my local service center - that is probably the same as OP's local service center.

 

[ENVErider]

First off the car is not a lot of car for the value but most brands can have this issue. The number one reason is communication or lack of any sort of communication at any level. Service centers have no way to call them same with the sales department. There is only one way to communicate with them and that is the main number. This is from sales to services issues. They know nothing, the excuse that this is better for everyone and what everyone wants. I can’t wait to get rid of this car. It has lots of bugs that need constant fixing. A lot of people ask me how I like the Rivian and I tell them to stay away. Communication is the most cheapest service any company or someone can provide and it costs you nothing!!!!
If you want frustration and a headache buy one, if you don’t want that don’t buy one.

Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but at the time of purchase, did you not know that you were buying a first or second-generation vehicle from a new automaker, that they were selling online instead of through local dealerships, and that SCs were limited and still figuring things out? I have been through my local SC several times, and while I'd love the experience of a legacy automaker with a local dealership, I still feel my R1 is the most ridiculously sick thing that I've ever owned.
Life is too short to let a vehicle cause you so much angst; just sell it and get something with the service experience you're expecting and would be happy with. Maybe a Volvo EX90? Of course, all EVs depreciate too much, but the Rivians are better than most EVs, and anyone who can afford an R1 can afford to take a small resale/transfer hit to get into something that actually brings them joy. Best of luck on your journey to find another vehicle that you enjoy!

 

[kozak79]

I have a Rivian and a Polestar. I've always gotten a loaner or rental from Rivian. I've never gotten one from Polestar or Volvo... By this logic - "Don't ever buy a Polestar, only buy Rivian"... *Shrug*

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I read these post where folks say the nearest SC is 3 hours away. I thought that to be crazy so I checked to see how many SC's are within 3 hours of me...6! Where do you people live? Boondocks?

I live in Knoxville, TN. I don't really consider that boondocks, but it's not a huge city. Our nearest service center is 3 hours away. There's one in SC, one in Atlanta, and one in Franklin, TN the others are even further away.

 

[JacobAZ]

I read these post where folks say the nearest SC is 3 hours away. I thought that to be crazy so I checked to see how many SC's are within 3 hours of me...6! Where do you people live? Boondocks?

Yes some of us do. Although in my case we don't call it "Boondocks", we call it the Apache-Sitgreaves national forest. I can drive to the service center in either Tempe, AZ or north Phoenix. The shortest time to both are 2.5 hours provided the highways are not closed due to forest fire, snow or car accidents. On a positive note, other than a recall, which was scheduled well in advance, I have had no need to visit a SC.

 

[sfvR1S]

Satisfaction is tied to expectation and some people have unrealistic expectations. Not saying OP falls into this category, but if you have realistic expectations, you won't be upset with real world outcomes.

My other car at this moment is a Porsche and I will admit they're willing to bend over backwards to make sure you're satisfied. Maybe OP was expecting this type of experience with the Rivian and it felt short. In my experience, Rivian has been responsive and has done everything I expected.

 

[rivianfun]

Hi Lonye,
Thanks for posting this. We had noticed such a HUGE difference in the service offered between August and December of 2025, but did not know if it was our specific service center, or a company-wide issue. After reading your post, now we know their declining service standard is company-wide. It makes sense - Rivian has severely scaled back the service offered since the federal EV tax credit abruptly went away end of Sept 2025. We noticed they are very reluctant to schedule mobile service now. Even if you schedule it, they will cancel a day before and request the truck be brought to them. Also, we had to go through some legal gymnastics to get them to honor their own warranty. That said, I love my R1 Launch - glitches and all. Unfortunately, the elite service that came with high price tag is no longer included.

Satisfaction is tied to expectation and some people have unrealistic expectations. Not saying OP falls into this category, but if you have realistic expectations, you won't be upset with real world outcomes.

My other car at this moment is a Porsche and I will admit they're willing to bend over backwards to make sure you're satisfied. Maybe OP was expecting this type of experience with the Rivian and it felt short. In my experience, Rivian has been responsive and has done everything I expected.

See this was a response, I didn’t expect one when I posted but you did and that was your opinion of the SC and on we went. You really didnt assume what I was thinking and that was it. Thank you Sir

 

[GANTZ]

I want to feel involved in this conversation. That's it, let me know if I succeeded.

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