2 weeks on the road; 6 weeks in the shop

[bstoneman]

Hi, Everyone - I would love some feedback if I am alone in my experience. I want to love my Rivian On August 10th, two weeks after taking delivery of my 2025 R1S Dual Standard, I received a Thermal Fault that killed the A/C. The earliest Rivian Service in Tampa could get me in was August 31st. I tried driving it for a week in the brutal Tampa summer heat, but that was a poor decision. Even though my appointment was on 8/31, I parked my R1S at the Tampa service center on 8/17 as, from my perspective, the vehicle was not drivable. On 8/19, they began service on my vehicle, which has led to the following:

1. The air compressor has an internal fault - ordered and installed
2. Accumulator bundle - ordered and installed
3. Flush the system of all oil and replace some HVAC parts
4. Specific Flusk Kit for Gen2 vehicles, which is not readily available

I continue to receive weekly updates that say your vehicle is not ready; I will keep you posted. I am a tech guy who runs alpha versions of software/applications to play with the new features and can accept the bugs that come from being on the bleeding edge. This just seems crazy, and I'm trying to gauge if my issues and timeline are unique [I'm not a misery loves company guy; I genuinely hope others have a much better experience], but I figured this forum was the best way to "gut check" myself My concern at this stage is that the quality control team was on a coffee break when my Rivian rolled off the line Any thoughts, guidance, advice, feedback, etc. would be appreciated.

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[MATTELSEWHERE]

You likely qualify for lemon law. I would send a LL demand letter to their legal department (certified letter) as a preemptive strike. Request a substitution of collateral (replacement vehicle). You can negotiate from there but that will get the focus on repairing and returning your vehicle and you’re back in control of the situation even if you want to keep it.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

My impression, @bstoneman, is that very few of us have had that severe a set of problems. More typical customers are somewhere in the range between "no problems" and "great vehicle with minor annoyances." Here's a positive thread from @kanundrum and others: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/my-2-year-r1s-year-ownership-review.33166/

The typical customer's experience doesn't matter to you, though. Yours does.

As far as I know, Rivian remains inconsistent in most of its functions. I'm sorry you're having these troubles. I know Rivian will try to make it right. And I don't see any problems with @MATTELSEWHERE's advice to initiate your state's Lemon Law process. It should put you in a stronger position to demand refund or replacement, if that turns out to be what you want.

Very best wishes!

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

Sorry to hear that this is happening. It’s not an uncommon story on here. Agree that I would go with lemoning it. It seems that, once the problems are this bad, the road doesn’t get smoother.

Good luck. And hopefully you can give rivian another shot with a replacement vehicle.

 

[Rivian Owner]

So I thought most lemon laws required multiple attempts at the same repair and or multiple problems in a short period of time? In this case it sounds like the AC compressor ate itself for lunch and then spread the lunch throughout the rest of the AC system; one problem that caused multiple failures. I've seen this happen on vehicles new and old, and not just Rivian or any other manufacturer for that matter.

Considering that the AC system is newly redesigned with the Gen 2 vehicles, I'm not overly surprised that parts and service kits are scarce, although that isn't to say Rivian could do a much better job of stocking the service centers and providing training tor their staff before they release a product.

I know this doesn't help you, but at least the service center is savvy enough to realize that just throwing the compressor at the problem and giving you the car back will result in a short life for the AC system. It sounds to me like they are taking the right approach to fix the issue. If I recall there were some TSBs issued for the AC system in Gen 2 vehicles, so if your vehicle is going to be in the shop for a while longer, you might ask the service center to make sure they take care of any TSBs while they have your vehicle.

Good luck!!!

 

[LL75]

for people that has AC issues. You can escalate it as emergency status. Tell them you have small kids and this is your only mode of transportation. They will get you in fast !!!

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Nothing is more frustrating than a new vehicle with a nonworking AC especially when you’re in Tampa! And trust me, I know how hot Tampa is in the summertime!

Now with that said what are they working on currently? Are they still replacing parts or are they waiting for parts to come in? It seems to me like there’s a lot of time lost waiting for parts much less time with the technicians actually working on the vehicle.

I’m not sure about the lemon laws in Florida, but I would not use the lemon law unless you’re getting the runaround as to what the delay is. Most lemon laws provide for a reasonable number of attempts. Here in Maryland it’s three attempts for the same issue or a certain number of days out of service for example here in Maryland it’s 30 days I have had to use the lemon law a couple times over the years, but I will tell you is if you have to use it I would double whatever the state law says so if it says you have to take it in three times for the same issue, I would do it six times And if it says it has to be out of service for 30 days, I would give it 60 days. I’m not an attorney, of course, but it makes it much easier for a person looking at a case when you’ve gone way above and beyond what is required by law it makes for pretty much an open and shut case

Not defending Rivian here, but the problem is two fold. It’s parts shipping/supply and it’s a brand new design so supply of parts are likely even more constrained.

 

[bstoneman]

Nothing is more frustrating than a new vehicle with a nonworking AC especially when you’re in Tampa! And trust me, I know how hot Tampa is in the summertime!

Now with that said what are they working on currently? Are they still replacing parts or are they waiting for parts to come in? It seems to me like there’s a lot of time lost waiting for parts much less time with the technicians actually working on the vehicle.

I’m not sure about the lemon laws in Florida, but I would not use the lemon law unless you’re getting the runaround as to what the delay is. Most lemon laws provide for a reasonable number of attempts. Here in Maryland it’s three attempts for the same issue or a certain number of days out of service for example here in Maryland it’s 30 days I have had to use the lemon law a couple times over the years, but I will tell you is if you have to use it I would double whatever the state law says so if it says you have to take it in three times for the same issue, I would do it six times And if it says it has to be out of service for 30 days, I would give it 60 days. I’m not an attorney, of course, but it makes it much easier for a person looking at a case when you’ve gone way above and beyond what is required by law it makes for pretty much an open and shut case

Not defending Rivian here, but the problem is two fold. It’s parts shipping/supply and it’s a brand new design so supply of parts are likely even more constrained.

Hi Ken - I appreciate your response. The Lemon Law in Florida is similar. The truth is, I just want to enjoy my 2025 R1S. I haven't lost my loving feeling for the vehicle or brand so ultimately I would be using it as leverage to get into a new R1S which hopefully has fewer issues but to your point, there's no question that a considerable part of the delay is ordering, shipping, and installation of parts to include tools which are unique to the Gen2s which all service centers don't currently have in-stock which feels like a major oversight on Rivian's part.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Hi Ken - I appreciate your response. The Lemon Law in Florida is similar. The truth is, I just want to enjoy my 2025 R1S. I haven't lost my loving feeling for the vehicle or brand so ultimately I would be using it as leverage to get into a new R1S which hopefully has fewer issues but to your point, there's no question that a considerable part of the delay is ordering, shipping, and installation of parts to include tools which are unique to the Gen2s which all service centers don't currently have in-stock which feels like a major oversight on Rivian's part.

True and agree. I am sure Rivian will get it fixed...its just a matter of time.

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