Is servicing going to be the downfall to Rivian?

[SparkyR1t]

There is an excuse. Really someone who has no stomach for dealing with the major growing pains of a relatively new company shouldn't be buying a Rivian. They should wait 2 years. I know I bought the car hoping for the best but fully knowing that I could be in for a lot of headaches. No pain, no gain.

I purchased Tesla in 2016 and not as difficult to work with as Rivian. No way should an early adopter expect to sacrifice quality for technology

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[Redline]

I purchased Tesla in 2016 and not as difficult to work with as Rivian. No way should an early adopter expect to sacrifice quality for technology

So a full 8 years after their first car came off the line...

How is that remotely comparable?

 

[Flypony53]

Service will get you sorted out.

FWIW my last new truck (a ‘19 Tundra TRD Pro) had the following problems on delivery:
1) Bad alignment that required 3 attempts to repair
2) Squeaks and rattles that drove me insane - and they refused to repair because it was “within spec”
3) Trim pieces badly misaligned that they also refused to repair because they were “within spec”
4) Fog lights by Rigid that danced around like poorly strapped-on off road lights, that again, were “within spec”
5) A spare tire lock with a key that would not remove the spare, resulting in my being stranded for 6 hours after getting a flat once and requiring a flat-bed tow home.

This is Toyota.

At least with Rivian, they fix the stuff that comes isn’t perfect, even if it’s super minor. Toyota told me to stuff it on anything that wasn’t catastrophic.

I had the same with my Ford Lightning delivery, Ford would not fix some of the minor alignment issues.

Tesla had similar issues, which for me, at my service center have been worked out.

So far with Rivian, my service experience with our R1S has been mostly positive. The only issue I have had has been wait times. But, they will get it worked out as I can see the folks are genuinely wanting to help.

Ford will likely never get my business again. Love my Lightning, but paid $90k+ for a truck and they treat me like I bought a used POS. The Dealers are not incentivized to fix issues IMHO, they are incentivized to work on them and bill back to Ford, so nothing is actually solved. They all claim they are the advocate with the Manufacturer, but I have found it to be the opposite.

 

[suprteck]

I have had the same experience. When I first got my truck a year ago it was ok. They fixed alignment that was off from the factory in a week. Also had compressor and suspension leaks which took another trip to service center. Then I started to get the tock noise when taking off. Appointment took 2-3 weeks and they replaced the ting washers and drive shafts. But didn’t fix it. Had to reschedule again and first appoint was 1 month out. But they squeezed me in since it was a come back. My truck sat in their parking lot for 3 weeks and then they replaced my cracked subframe. Actual repair probably took two days. Also found they left a wrench on my truck after doing an alignment. I drove with it there for hundreds of miles. Lucky it didn’t cause any damage to my wheels or others. I just hope I don’t need to get anything more repaired

 

[SparkyR1t]

So a full 8 years after their first car came off the line...

How is that remotely comparable?

Was not bad when I received my first model S in 2016 but not all that relevant in that to survive and be able to charge top dollar you have to be the high quality leader. And quality does not cost much to accomplish. Rework costs much more and you have an unhappy owner from day one if he/she has to be inconvenienced for immediate repairs and loss of the new vehicle

 

[Redline]

You missed my point...

 

[maddave12]

There is an excuse. Really someone who has no stomach for dealing with the major growing pains of a relatively new company shouldn't be buying a Rivian. They should wait 2 years.

I may be flamed for this, but I have trouble with this reasoning. There are things it's reasonable for a company to take a few years to learn, and there are things that are not. Examples:

May take a while:
- this part doesn't hold up to use
- this wiring is routed in a way that makes it prone to fraying

Shouldn't take a while, because a teenager making minimum wage could be spotting them at the factory:
- there's a visible dent in the door
- there's a misalignment in a body panel that's glaringly obvious
- the steering wheel's misaligned

If Rivian's not catching things of the second type, it's because either their QC management is indifferent or incompetent, or because they've made a business decision to push those fixes to the SCs.

The situation reminds me of a quote from the movie Gung Ho: "That's something for the dealer to worry about. You know, every car can't be perfect." (In the movie, a clear imperfection was seen at the factory, and the autoworker didn't want to be held to a higher standard).

I doubt that's the case with Rivian's line workers. Management, though, seems to have clearly decided to push these out.

Flame away.

 

[NC-Rivian]

My wife surprised me with a R1T right before Christmas. Very lucky guy. I fell in love with this truck once I picked it up and drove it. But noticed on the way home a few things wrong with it. Called the service department an hour after picking it up to request to get a few things fixed on my brand new vehicle.

Biggest thing was the steering wheel wasn't centered when driving straight.
Passenger seat belt chime goes off when no one is sitting there. (must buckle belt to stop it)
Front Console Trim wont stay in.
Driver tailgate strap is not tight.
Telescope steering motor makes grinding noise
Air compressor doesn't stop at displayed pressure

Told I would have to wait till the 3rd to drop it off to get everything fixed. Drove 1 hour to drop off the truck yesterday at the San Jose Service Center and told that they were overloaded in the queue and could take 1-2 weeks to fix. This is my first EV and first vehicle purchased directly from a manufacturer. I am just dumbfounded that people are putting up with this sort of thing. I am not new to odd cars. I have two Lotus (Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious). I get that things brake or don't get assembled properly. I'm just lucky I still have my old truck. But is there any sort of Quality Control happening? The alignment issue was noticed in the first two miles once I got on the freeway. Console Trim was noticed before we got in the car.

I just don't get how I spent over $90K for a vehicle that it seams like no one is looking over before they sell them. And why even have schedules for service when there is no schedule. If I wasn't afraid of my first EV, I probably should have taken it to my local alignment shop and have them fix it and keep driving it with its faults. But Its a brand new vehicle. Just frustrated that my truck is going to be sitting for 1-2 weeks when most of theses things should have been found in Quality Control.
Michael

I've owned my R1T for 18 months and 25,000 miles and I've found that fixing ancillary/cosmetic things that aren't safety related or don't affect operation are placed in the SC queue (which can be a few weeks depending on where you live). Operational issues that I have experienced (rodent ate through the air pressure like rendering suspension inop) have been promoted to the front of the line with rental vehicle. I can't say that SC is perfect but they have been more than fair with me.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Tailgate straps not being even is pretty normal, there's not an adjustment in them and Rivian would rather the tailgate panel gaps be better. Even a very small amount of weight on my tailgate brings both of them taut.

Make sure the compressor is flashing "Set" as it inflates or you aren't in setpoint mode. You might have to reset it after every tire, this is normal.

Same. Had my tailgate straps "adjusted" by SC. I assumed they have a bin full and just try to match it to one that's a little less sloppy, LOL. As previous comment noted, even a little bit of weight makes them both taut.

Edit: Congrats on the new truck!

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Unrelated, but I'm in a bunch of Chevy forums. They say people only come online to complain (happy owners are too busy driving, not online complaining), but *my god*. The complaints in that forum. Every day it's stuff like this:

Every vehicle has problems. Hope SC gets yours sorted asap. ?

 

[Dantalus]

I’m sorry to hear about your problems with repairs. I have a similar issue in that my truck had an issue on delivery. It wouldn’t go to sleep and drained 20% in 10 hrs the first night I owned it. I filed a service request and the first appointment was 2 months out. I called and spoke to a service representative. The moved up my appointment so I only had to wait a week. I’m in Tucson so I have to drive 2 hours one way to the SC in Phoenix. On the way a rock cracked my windshield. The service center added it to my work order. They’ve had the truck two days and said I can pick it up tomorrow. A great big thank you to the Phoenix service center and the service reps at Rivian. I’m annoyed I had to bring a brand new vehicle back in for service immediately but I feel like they’ve really taken care of me in the process. Props!

 

[Golfer04]

I’m sorry to hear about your problems with repairs. I have a similar issue in that my truck had an issue on delivery. It wouldn’t go to sleep and drained 20% in 10 hrs the first night I owned it. I filed a service request and the first appointment was 2 months out. I called and spoke to a service representative. The moved up my appointment so I only had to wait a week. I’m in Tucson so I have to drive 2 hours one way to the SC in Phoenix. On the way a rock cracked my windshield. The service center added it to my work order. They’ve had the truck two days and said I can pick it up tomorrow. A great big thank you to the Phoenix service center and the service reps at Rivian. I’m annoyed I had to bring a brand new vehicle back in for service immediately but I feel like they’ve really taken care of me in the process. Props!

I agree Rivian QC stinks, but they are not alone. I detailed my MB 450e phev experience elsewhere so won't repeat except to say we traded it with only 4800 miles because we were sick of it (both MB and the dealer). I have no complaints with the Normal service center except I see them to often (9 times not including recalls in 18 months and 55,000 miles). Rivian isn't selling a cheap vehicle. The quality needs to improve.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

Ramping up too quickly is the downfall of a lot of companies.

With Rivian there is no question to me that they ramped up way more quickly than Tesla did in my region. The ramp up also happened before Rivian even had a chance to gauge the problem areas.

It was understandable as its the only way to lose less money per vehicle, and they couldn't rely on the type of investing that happened back in the early Tesla days. Plus the tax credits were going away for all sense and purpose.

So I feel like they were forced to ramp up to survive, and that is what created the situation with the service.

There is absolutely no comparison between the level of service I got with my 2015 Tesla Model S versus my 2022 Rivian R1T. But, that's an unfair comparison. Back in 2015 when I had a Model S I barely ever saw one. The service was so good that at times it was over the top. Like one time I complained on any online forum, and the next day I was contact by Tesla asking if they could help me with the issue. That was a bit creepy, but that's how good it was.

With Rivian it feels a lot more like Tesla back in the Model 3 days where service was crazy busy, and you just had to wait. I also see Rivians everywhere around the PNW. In fact the other day I walked up to an R1T thinking it was mine, but when I got close I realized it wasn't mine. I had parked on the other side.

 

[Dantalus]

Vampire drain fixed. Thanks Phoenix Service Center!

“Verified customer concern. Upon inspection found driver front seat occupant detection sensor reporting that the seat was occupied when not. Internally open sensor. Removed and replaced seat cushion assembly and verified proper operation after repairs.”

 

[slocal94]

Just an update to my San Jose Service. Vehicle was dropped off on Wednesday last week. Was moved that night and has been sitting in the same spot ever since. I dropped the truck of with about 35% charge and the battery is now down to 3% from sitting. Is this something I should let my service adviser know about?

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