Delayed Service Appointment, Again

[sub]

My R1S was delivered with some relatively minor problems. Cosmetic issues like broken trim pieces, a dented and misaligned liftgate, and some bolts rolling around in the hood and liftgate.

Immediately after delivery I put in a service request and was scheduled 2 weeks out. 1 week before my appointment, they messaged me saying that my appointment had been rescheduled - an additional 2 weeks. Now 1 week before the new appointment they message me again, saying please call.

So I call - and the news is that they are too busy so they need to reschedule and the next appointment is another 2 MONTHS out.

So first it was 2 weeks. Then 1 month. And now 3 months. I should probably expect them to reach out in 2 months from now to say that it is actually going to be another 6 more months. It feels like the service department saw how Rivian handled the production delays and thought, we should do that too!

I am really not all that upset, my issues are minor and don't distract from my enjoyment of the vehicle. But their inability to live up to the service schedule that they set is comically bad.

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[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Where are you located? Which SC?

Edit: I'd be pretty annoyed at broken trim pieces and dents. You seem to be taking it well. Re: the bolts, if you're so inclined maybe slide around underneath of there and see if you see any holes missing bolts? Loose bolts holding the bottom shield on are a well documented issue. Maybe you can just pop 'em back in?

 

[R1Tom]

Too busy keeping the sold fleet operational it sounds like. Things that don't stop them from moving, get back of line.

 

[COdogman]

That would be frustrating, even for minor things. It's just bad customer service even if they are focusing on bigger issues others might be having.

Rivian still has a lot of room for improvement based the number of these stories we read. Some service centers also seem to handle the volume better than others.

 

[sub]

Where are you located? Which SC?

Edit: I'd be pretty annoyed at broken trim pieces and dents. You seem to be taking it well. Re: the bolts, if you're so inclined maybe slide around underneath of there and see if you see any holes missing bolts? Loose bolts holding the bottom shield on are a well documented issue. Maybe you can just pop 'em back in?

Minnesota service center.

I suspect if I tried a DIY repair for the rolling-bolts, I would end up breaking some trim-clips and end up with multiple bits rolling around in there. They are inside the lids of the front/rear trunk so you hear them crash down each time you open or close either trunk.

Really the worst part is that I want to push my family and friends toward EVs, but if they ask about service I am going to have to say that it sucks.

 

[VSG]

dented and misaligned liftgate

This is the issue that is determining the scheduling. Likely they will have to replace a body panel, and that body panel will come from the factory unpainted so they will have to outsource the painting to a local body shop. That's going to take a week or two right there.

I think the service centers are under a lot of pressure, and they're doing their best to prioritize so that both important and routine things get taken care of quickly. For example, at my service center, tire rotations and dead 12V batteries can be scheduled a few days in advance. But nice-to-have things get put on the back burner - panel gap issues for example won't be seen for many months. When opening up a service ticket that has everything but the kitchen sink in it, you are going to be way down in the priority list because of the lowest-priority item.

I don't think it's great that they've delayed your service, but I do see it as an indication that they are frantically scrambling to deal with the demand. So if it were me (and this is what I did last year) I would submit a ticket just for any critical items (i.e. not panel gaps), then submit another ticket for things that are not strictly necessary but are things you would like to see corrected eventually.

 

[SASSquatch]

That would be frustrating, even for minor things. It's just bad customer service even if they are focusing on bigger issues others might be having.

Rivian still has a lot of room for improvement based the number of these stories we read. Some service centers also seem to handle the volume better than others.

@COdogman how is your new R1T treating you? Have you had any issues with it?

Hope you are enjoying the hell out of it!

 

[COdogman]

@COdogman how is your new R1T treating you? Have you had any issues with it?

Hope you are enjoying the hell out of it!

It's f*cking amazing! I picked it up on 6/21 and still haven't found any issues at all. I'm sure at some point I will need to use the service department like with any other vehicle, but so far it's the best vehicle I have ever owned by a large margin.

I keep hoping there will be good news on the tonneau front for you! ?

 

[Sevn86]

I feel for you OP. I picked up mine in June and was finally able to drop my R1S off earlier this month. It was for items found during delivery. I had quite a few things wrong with it and I’m happy to report they did a great job addressing everything once they got me in.

 

[SASSquatch]

It's f*cking amazing! I picked it up on 6/21 and still haven't found any issues at all. I'm sure at some point I will need to use the service department like with any other vehicle, but so far it's the best vehicle I have ever owned by a large margin.

I keep hoping there will be good news on the tonneau front for you! ?

I'm ? 'ing stoked that you are enjoying it and it's been treating you well. Fingers crossed you can avoid the SC as long as possible.

Meanwhile, I might be a lost cause as I don't know that Rivian is ever going to put that tonneau into production. Enjoy the hell out of that beautiful R1T for the both of us!

 

[HyperionMark]

Minnesota service center.

I suspect if I tried a DIY repair for the rolling-bolts, I would end up breaking some trim-clips and end up with multiple bits rolling around in there. They are inside the lids of the front/rear trunk so you hear them crash down each time you open or close either trunk.

Really the worst part is that I want to push my family and friends toward EVs, but if they ask about service I am going to have to say that it sucks.

MN service center just delayed my appointment as well about a week out. I live 4 hours away and had already planned a special trip with hotels and everything.

 

[LL75]

Not sure what is their plan for the future, but I don't see this getting any better. Cars are pushing out at much faster pace than service centers can handles which will result in long wait time and the most importanting is half ass service like they do half ass inspections. My Appt in Dallas also got pushed back a month for things they didn't fix it right the first two times

 

[HyperionMark]

Not sure what is their plan for the future, but I don't see this getting any better. Cars are pushing out at much faster pace than service centers can handles which will result in long wait time and the most importanting is half ass service like they do half ass inspections. My Appt in Dallas also got pushed back a month for things they didn't fix it right the first two times

Tesla had the same growing pains. Actually I still think they are doing a hair better with communication and roll out than Tesla did at the beginning. Tesla, while no where near perfect, is doing decent now with service. I expect the same from Rivian.

 

[Rickman90]

I absolutely love my R1T although I do have a door fit issue I’m surprised made it out of the factory. Pick up my rune in June and the earliest repair appointment I could get is in November which is ridiculous in my opinion but I’m ok with the wait. The PROBLEM this is for RIVIAN is the door fit being noticeably off does not impress a single person that come up to admire my rather expensive ride. I still brag on it to them but I’m concerned what “word of mouth” exposure this ultimately gets carried away by them.

 

[sub]

The more I think about this, I am increasingly concerned about what this says about Rivian.

In the last 2 weeks the service backlog has grown by 2 months. That would imply that there are 4x as many appointments being made as there are vehicles being fixed and Rivian needs to increase service capacity more than 4x to prevent the backlog from growing further.

Except they shouldn't need that much service capacity. 1 location should be more than enough. Tesla is covering its fleet, which is around 100x bigger, with only 3 locations.

Is every Rivian in the state broken right now?

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