(More) Body Panel Woes

[Kraphtymac]

Took delivery on my R1S early this summer…. And immediately upon delivery noticed the body panels were essentially all misaligned. Not the 3/4” plus misaligned like some unfortunate posts I’ve read, but 3 out of 4 passenger doors and the tailgate were all out of alignment, and it was visibly obvious from 15 feet away.

Fast forward to having other issues (besides cosmetic issues) to make the trek to the service center. Our closest one is KC… which is a 3.25 +/- one way trip from where we reside. Soooooo…. Work an overnight shift (can’t easily get days off), wake up, drive the Riv down to KC. Service Center staff is lovely…. Drop the R1S, pick up an R1T loaner… drive the 3.25 (3.5 with mid day traffic home). Whoof.

Fast forward a week later, issues are all rectified. Head back down, pick up the R1S, and head home (Sept 7th). Next day, wife closes passenger door in normal fashion, and BAM, there’s a gap bigger than we had before, and the middle of the passenger door panel looks “sucked in” compared to the rear panel. What the heck?

Well, mark it down as a service issue, but no way am I turning around and spending another 14 hours to get this addressed…… so I try to minimize the issue and just be happy the other problems were taken care of until today…..

Go to load the boys up for evening practices, and notice paint is rubbed off of lower tailgate in corners…. What the hell?? Close the tailgate (which was adjusted at the service center and looked fine at pickup)…. And notice the tailgate is hitting the lift gate when it opens and closes.

I know this company is in its “infancy”…. But what on earth with these body panel issues? I have never had any car have body panel misalignment to the point of even noticing it, and I KNOW I sure haven’t had the issue to the point that paint is removed during normal operation.

What’s the general consensus on these issues? I genuinely want Rivian to be successful, and Rivian seemingly wants me to be happy with this car…. But if I run it back down for this, I’ve now invested nearly 30 hours and 1,600 road miles…. To address an issue that should have been caught during normal QC checks.

We are essentially sales people for this company, and I regularly have people stopping and asking me if I’m happy with my Rivian, would I recommend one?

At this point, the answer is no. No amount of thrill due to the quickness or happiness with the interior surpasses the idiocy of the car panels looking like they were put together by a 4 year old.

Frustrated is an understatement.

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[mzdds]

It stories like that scares the heck out of to have minor panel alignments fixed. I have a service appointment in 2 weeks and I'm not sure I want them to touch it

 

[Kraphtymac]

It stories like that scares the heck out of to have minor panel alignments fixed. I have a service appointment in 2 weeks and I'm not sure I want them to touch it

The most frustrating part for me is they honestly looked GREAT when I got it back from the SC.

When the picture I sent for the service request was reviewed, the Rivian employee kept saying “it looks like something hit it, that’s how bad it is”.

Well, no sir, that’s just the result of one normal closure, and my wife didn’t even close it like a
Tornado is coming (like she usually does with my other vehicle).

 

[Sevn86]

Sorry to hear that. I’m still confused as to how I should answer, when asked how I’m liking my Rivian. So far my response has been it’s not my Range Rover but this vehicle serves my current purpose.

I had to reject the first R1S that I picked from the shop. That vehicle should’ve never left the factory. The R1S I have now was better but I was still pretty disappointed with my misaligned panels and door. It’s all been corrected to what is satisfactory to me. The trunk could still use an adjustment but I’d rather they not mess with it.

I already have another 5 item list for them to fix but haven’t put in a service ticket yet. Thank god the SC is only 45 mins from me.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I have similar door alignment issue with my truck. The driver side appears to be put together by someone who at least gave a damn. The passenger side was either put together by someone who didn't give a damn or is blind (or both).

On the uprights of the bed, by the tailgate, you can see sloppy paint runs/drips. The R1S that showed up at the PPF installer the same morning I dropped mine off had it even worse. I know it's the first product of a brand new car company (and I work in the industry). While I might be forgiving, I can easily expect the less initiated to howl and say "a car this expensive shouldn't have paint drips like that". Embarrassing. Anecdotally, the PPF guy said he's seen worse in Teslas.

At time of delivery (mid August), rear window trims on both sides were starting to lift. 2 weeks ago, after a slight heat wave, the passenger side finally decided to point at the sky. A judicious line of superglue on the top of the rubber seal later, it's still holding. I will add it to my service ticket anyway, once I get around to submitting it.

Would I recommend Rivian? Only to those who aren't easily scared and have tendency to not get themselves into things that they haven't fully researched on their own. The interior quality, the software (even at this state) and driving experience are still better than very good. If I was post-hike pricing, I might not be as generous.

 

[DaveA]

Sorry to hear that. I’m still confused as to how I should answer, when asked how I’m liking my Rivian. So far my response has been it’s not my Range Rover but this vehicle serves my current purpose.

I had to reject the first R1S that I picked from the shop. That vehicle should’ve never left the factory. The R1S I have now was better but I was still pretty disappointed with my misaligned panels and door. It’s all been corrected to what is satisfactory to me. The trunk could still use an adjustment but I’d rather they not mess with it.

I already have another 5 item list for them to fix but haven’t put in a service ticket yet. Thank god the SC is only 45 mins from me.

#1 is fine…#5 you can fix yourself. Look underneath and you’ll see the clip is caught. Fixed mine myself.

 

[Sevn86]

#1 is fine…#5 you can fix yourself. Look underneath and you’ll see the clip is caught. Fixed mine myself.

All my stuff was fixed by the SC in early August.

 

[DaveA]

All my stuff was fixed by the SC in early August.

Great. Sorry, too much whiskey to look at dates.

 

[dleewla]

Sorry to hear youre having issues with panel alignment. The SC being far away obviously doesn't make it any easier but that's really not on Rivian. you knew that situation before you purchased.

 

[Kraphtymac]

Sorry to hear youre having issues with panel alignment. The SC being far away obviously doesn't make it any easier but that's really not on Rivian. you knew that situation before you purchased.

Correct—the SC being far away IS on me.

Rivian delivering a vehicle with multiple misaligned panels is on them—and then “fixing it” and immediately being a problem—also on them.

I pictured myself going to the SC for real mechanical issues… not “we can’t figure out how to make a door line up with another door on a metal box”.

 

[DaveA]

Correct—the SC being far away IS on me.

Rivian delivering a vehicle with multiple misaligned panels is on them—and then “fixing it” and immediately being a problem—also on them.

I pictured myself going to the SC for real mechanical issues… not “we can’t figure out how to make a door line up with another door on a metal box”.

Yeah, this is the process that is a real headscratcher...seems like it should be worked out by now. They mentioned process improvements coming in the new year. Hoping that means more QC.

 

[dgennetten]

It's so heartwarming to read all this on the day that I'm picking up my new R1S.

Hoping for the best!

 

[DMDK82]

Sorry to hear about the experience. I had similar issues, my doors were rubbing front fenders and were sagging and hood and truck didnt allign and werents able to close properly. All of the issues were acknowledged and fixed at first visit by SC.
Its all about SC staffing, my SC (Richmond BC Canada) was able to hire techs and bodyshop guys they poached from Range Rover and Porche dealers.
Cosmetic issues unfortunately arent manual/processes oriented and taught same as factory mechanical training that car mechanics go through, its all experience based. If you get staff that are fresh out of school young mechanics thats what you get. They need bodyshop veterans on the roster to deal with body panels and alignments.

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