Consumer Reports Reliability Rankings March 2025

[COdogman]

I know some folks will hate me for this, but I’ve owned seven Toyotas, a Honda and Lexus over 40+ years and never had a significant issue (RAV4EV excluded). In fact, I owned the Lexus for 20 years and never took it in for service besides oil changes. Now my Rivian on the other hand……… nine weeks at the service center in the first year. In all fairness a lot of that was just waiting around..

I doubt anyone will “hate” you for saying that. Toyota is the automotive opposite of Rivian. Toyota rarely takes chances with new technology and stretches old designs out for decades, adding small improvements as they go. And unfortunately they spend more than any other automaker lobbying against EV adoption measures, which is why I will never buy another Toyota.


Rivian is all new technology all the time. When people get into trouble is expecting Rivian to be Toyota. It’s not even a possibility that Rivian will be as reliable as Toyota at any point. Yes, Rivian needs to improve reliability, but it’s apples to oranges.

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[CXC_Raffle]

I’d like to better understand how they decide what is a sufficient sample. The list of manufacturers below that they did not have sufficient samples has some pretty big sellers. Not sure how they had enough samples for Rivian but not Ram, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, etc

This is all based on surveys of their subscribers, and their inclination to respond. So for whatever reasons they have fewer subscribers who own these cars, and/or the ones who do weren’t inclined to respond. Iirc they ask to respond about one of your vehicles, so it could be that people responded about other cars they own.

The other issue is that they just look at the number of issues requiring repair or something like that. So a misaligned trim or wind noise from a bad window seal counts the same as a transmission failure. Like earlier Teslas, Rivians have had a lot of minor assembly defects and 12V problems that wind up really hurting their scores, even though most are minor issues that don’t affect drivability.

My mid-2023 R1S had a 12v issue a week in (turned out to be a loose ground connection) and then inability to L2 charge due to an incomplete firmware update applied while in service. Since then it’s been flawless for 18 months, though I have water drops in the taillight bar and am missing an underside bolt by the left rear door. At some point I’ll get a service appointment for them.

 

[PeterSK]

This is all based on surveys of their subscribers, and their inclination to respond. So for whatever reasons they have fewer subscribers who own these cars, and/or the ones who do weren’t inclined to respond. Iirc they ask to respond about one of your vehicles, so it could be that people responded about other cars they own.

The other issue is that they just look at the number of issues requiring repair or something like that. So a misaligned trim or wind noise from a bad window seal counts the same as a transmission failure. Like earlier Teslas, Rivians have had a lot of minor assembly defects and 12V problems that wind up really hurting their scores, even though most are minor issues that don’t affect drivability.

My mid-2023 R1S had a 12v issue a week in (turned out to be a loose ground connection) and then inability to L2 charge due to an incomplete firmware update applied while in service. Since then it’s been flawless for 18 months, though I have water drops in the taillight bar and am missing an underside bolt by the left rear door. At some point I’ll get a service appointment for them.

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[CrazyOne]

Rivian has a problem and we still love it. Denial isn't the right way. It's not going to help with broader adoption, when people just want an appliance. Most people want exactly that, with an iPad stuck to the dashboard. R1 is so much more, but R2 needs to be a good appliance while having character.

I am pretty sure 90% of issues were locking, suspension, rattles and alignment. Most annoying is locking and most worrying is suspension.

 

[Rivianero]

This is all based on surveys of their subscribers, and their inclination to respond.

I'm not sure this is the case. I've been a CR member for decades and have never once been sent a survey to rate products.

 

[QGessner]

CR list is crap. My Rivian, two years in, is one of THE best vehicles I have EVER owned. I have had one issue, one. its in the shop now, great customer service, I have a loaner, the issue is covered under warranty. I had a Ford that 100% died on the highway once (timing chain broke and ruined the engine). I have had Jeeps that had axle's go out, water pumps, break master cylinder, transmissions, differential's, etc. I have owned Toyota's, Ford's, Mazda, Triumph, Jeep's, Sabaru's, Hyundai, Nissian's, etc. Rivian is one of the BEST quality and service I have ever owned.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

I haven't seen a Consumer Reports auto survey for ten years or more. I don't know why.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

I doubt anyone will “hate” you for saying that. Toyota is the automotive opposite of Rivian. Toyota rarely takes chances with new technology and stretches old designs out for decades, adding small improvements as they go. And unfortunately they spend more than any other automaker lobbying against EV adoption measures, which is why I will never buy another Toyota.


Rivian is all new technology all the time. When people get into trouble is expecting Rivian to be Toyota. It’s not even a possibility that Rivian will be as reliable as Toyota at any point. Yes, Rivian needs to improve reliability, but it’s apples to oranges.

The Mirai asked me to hold its beer while it responds.

 

[COdogman]

The Mirai asked me to hold its beer while it responds.

Fair point! I will fly to the only place in the US that you can drive one to ask one of the owners who are suing Toyota for false advertising because there aren’t enough functional filling stations How they feel about it

https://www.carscoops.com/2024/07/toyota-sued-by-mirai-owners-for-hydrogen-refueling-issues/

 

[SASSquatch]

I understand where you're coming from, but this forum represents a minute fraction of nation wide Rivian owners. It's been said many, many times before that happy owners don't post about their experiences (in most cases), but unhappy ones do. So, yes you do see people posting here about issues, but they represent a tiny fraction of happy Rivian owners. The silent majority are content with their Rivians.

I myself had a R1T for two years and never a single problem. I guess I should consider myself very fortunate if I use CR as a guide because I have a 2024 Wrangler since Oct and not a single issue with it either even though it's near the bottom of the list.

...or lots of owners that still have problems are spending their lives not in forums but complaining to whoever will listen.

I feel like forums are capturing a fraction of the vehicle owning population in general. To your point however, people are incentivized to complain when things go wrong and that skews the perception of problems in places like forums and online reviews.

For me, there is going to be some level of catching up with established OEMs when it comes to quality and reliability for a new brand. I personally cut them some slack in that department. What I judge for a new company is how they respond to those issues and how they treat those early adopter customers. Rivian has struggled in those areas too much in my opinion. They have to fix that if they are going to scale and survive.

 

[CTRedCanyon]

I’d like to better understand how they decide what is a sufficient sample. The list of manufacturers below that they did not have sufficient samples has some pretty big sellers. Not sure how they had enough samples for Rivian but not Ram, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, etc

So all the most unreliable brands were not evaluated lol

 

[EVfanboy]

I like CR and I think they are honest and critical. Has anyone bothered to read about how they rank these before trashing CR? It’s very simple. They go by owner surveys. So let’s say an owner says my software update failed or my panels aren’t aligned right or my window rattles, then ding! That’s counted against it. Now let’s say 100 owners responded to the survey and 25 had major OR minor issues, everything is counted against it. So yeah, I think they are spot on. BMW and Toyota produce millions of vehicles and you have these issues in only a few. I’m a Rivian fan and in all likelihood will buy only Rivian vehicles in the future. But they have long ways to go. Have you walked into their service center and seen the average age of their staff? They are all like Gen Z or whatever they call them. They are a nascent company and hope they stay in business and have a culture that constantly wants to improve. I test drove a Gen 2 the other day (R1S) and it’s already so much better than Gen 1.

 

[DD4ST]

This forum is wild to me. I constantly see posts complaining about various issues, failures, and problems on their Rivian. Every month is a new thread complaining about service centers being backed up months to get an appointment to get anything fixed. Then as soon as any media organization claims Rivian has low reliability, Rivian owners grab their pitchforks and mob together.

Agree totally. Seems like it is okay to talk about Rivian problems amongst ourselves, but someone else? Circle the wagons…. And a favorite tactic I see is to trash the source of uncomfortable assessments, which is a form of rationalizing bad info away.

 

[NeedSumCoffee]

Agree totally. Seems like it is okay to talk about Rivian problems amongst ourselves, but someone else? Circle the wagons…. And a favorite tactic I see is to trash the source of uncomfortable assessments, which is a form of rationalizing bad info away.

It is comical because when Consumer Reports ranked Rivian as top in customer satisfaction, there was several posts praising CR and agreeing with their findings. But if they dare claim a brand new car brand has some quality issues out of the gates… grab the pitchforks!

 

[White Shadow]

Wow...not just at the bottom, but IN THE TEENS!

Do better, Rivian. There are a lot of potential buyers that are influenced by this kind of data.

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