Problems keep piling up. I'm starting to smell a lemon

[Keith Stevenson]

I also left a flawless Toyota truck for an R1T - but I was never excited about driving that truck like I am about the Rivian. Have some patience with the SC. My SC manager in ATL has been exceptional. Hang in there and enjoy the positives.

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[RivianDad2]

But Wall St. is more interested in production volume. So, this is the world we live in until QC and service catches up.

Wall St. changed its mind on January 1st and now cares more about customers wanting these vehicles. It would be good for Rivian to get the QC and customer service issues addressed quickly. In the long run, it’s better to have difficulty meeting demand than difficultly finding demand.

 

[JMACCA]

Not making excuses for the issues your Rivian has, but they are actually pretty minor and you have not even given Rivian a chance to fix them yet.

Toyotas are so reliable because they make minor updates to 10-15 year old vehicles. They never take chances releasing new technology. They are literally doing the opposite of what Rivian is trying to do. It seems like the early adopter experience with a new company is probably not for you….

I was also frustrated by some minor easily repairable issues when I picked up my R1S....pin hole in leather console, misaligned door handles, weak AC......but after driving the vehicle for a month I realized these could all be fixed in my driveway by a mobile service appointment that would take 3 months....the AC is the same for all TVs....just requires starting the cooling 5 min before I get in the car or opening the window for the first 5 min....door handle misalignment is not worth getting a new door over. I would drive the car for now.

 

[Joefly78]

I'm 500 miles into my R1T and have similar (albeit different) issues. The vehicle sometimes makes my POS RAM 1500 look like a flawless diamond. But you know what? I still love this truck. I'm not an owner that considers myself part of a movement or in a club. The good just outweighs the bad and that's good enough for me. I'm focusing on the positives until my Feb 20 service appointment. If things aren't corrected after that, well then I have another data point to consider.

Try to enjoy the good in it. Every time you drive, you're keeping tailpipe exhaust out of your neighborhood. You're as fast and nimble as a 911 and can haul firewood at the same time. No more gas station visits in midtown Atlanta. Those little things add up to me.

 

[HaveBlue]

I had a first year is350 and it had lots of issues but the dealer was always prompt. Many cars I've had have not let me down including several Toyotas.

I scheduled a Rivian service at delivery for minor items. Basically, my car had been disassembled before delivery. Trim had been removed. There are grommets missing in the spare well as well as the hitch cover entirely missing but they had one on hand to give me, the window trim was not installed properly and someone bent the tabs on the rocker panel. After thinking about what my time was worth I canceled the appointment. Drive an hour to the service center across LA, drop, rental, drive back, rinse and repeat to pick up. I spent 10 minutes with some tools and coaxed the window trim back into its guides, slots. I'll put some foam on the tabs to keep the panel from rattling like crazy on the freeway. I surrender on the missing grommets. Rivian wins.

The air suspension adjusts a lot especially after a change in the number of passengers even with no kneel or auto mode. Seems unnecessary on a 7000lb car so probably a leak? The air springs whistle and squeak over every bump.

Still a cool car. They are delivering tons of them. I'm seeing them everywhere and honestly a great job for a new company. As long as they try to repair things I'm happy. They'll sort it out.

 

[Zoidz]

I've only have had this r1t for about 3 weeks.
…
The most frustrating part is that it's a 3-month wait time to get a service appointment. What is that crap? Had I known that getting a service appointment was going to be so challenging I most likely would have never bought this truck.

Early adoption has its issues, I am aware of that. .

…

Now for the biggest annoyance, but maybe that's just how this truck is, is the constant running of the air compressor.

I find your statements a bit ironic. You say you are aware of early adoption issues, and if you had known that there was a backlog you would not have bought the truck. Since you are aware of early adoption issues, why didn’t you research those before buying? Two minutes of research here would have informed you about the service backlog issues that have been ongoing for years.

If your compressor is running for 5-20 seconds when you first start driving, and intermittently as you drive, that may be normal, since it adjusts to drive mode, vehicle load, terrain, etc. Do you have auto ride height turned on?

 

[SASSquatch]

Buying a Rivian involves a leap of faith at this point. You are dealing with a new OEM which has come to market with the first EV in its category with vehicles that involve very complex engineering that has almost no reliability data behind it.

As others have stated, Early Adopters at this stage have to have patience and the willingness to effectively be beta testers because despite the hype, that is exactly what you are.

It is not an easy place to be, and I have been there when I purchased the first model year of an the electric BMW i3. It was an unmitigated nightmare and 2 years later I sold it at a loss and took my lumps. But, I stuck with the brand and in the subsequent model years, BMW figured things out.

When I talk to people about buying an EV I tell them to look for a company that has been in the game and producing EVs for at least 5 years. There aren't many OEMS that fit that category (Tesla, Nissan, BMW, Mini). Rivian is especially challenging because they don't have a robust service network in place, and the existing network is under constant stress.

Even for OEMS that have been around for a while - the ones introducing new EVs are still a risk because they likely have to train their service technicians on how to work on their vehicles which isn't an easy task. Look around forums for OEMs in this boat like Hyundai, Genesis, even Ford, where people are going back to the dealer over and over again and they can't figure out how to fix their newish vehicles because they have almost zero experience working on EVs at these dealerships.

I feel for the OP, but this is unfortunately an expensive life lesson.

The R2 will be a more refined platform, and Rivian will have learned an enormous amount from the R1 just like Tesla learned from the S and X before launching the 3 and Y.

For those that are unwilling to deal with early adopter issues, I think waiting for the R2 platform is a safer bet. By then, Rivian will have expanded their own charging network, gotten access to a growing Tesa network, and service centers will have expanded and improved from their early growing pains.

 

[rso544]

I've only have had this r1t for about 3 weeks. I've been a Toyota guy for the last 30 years of my life. As much as I am excited and hopeful for the Rivian I must say that I have been somewhat disappointed so far. Toyota just works. They don't break, they last forever, and I rarely had any issues outside of regular service and maintenance.

I already have a broken tailgate. The shock that is supposed to assist with the tailgate lowering was broken on day two and my tailgate violently slams down every time I open it, unless I catch it and slowly lower it. The most frustrating part is that it's a 3-month wait time to get a service appointment. What is that crap? Had I known that getting a service appointment was going to be so challenging I most likely would have never bought this truck.

Early adoption has its issues, I am aware of that. My office is two blocks away from the rivian service center here in San Diego and I still can't get anybody to come fix it. After huffing and puffing a little bit, rivian agreed to send somebody on a mobile call to my office. That appointment was supposed to take place on the 22nd. However, when I opened up my app to file a another service request I noticed that my first service request was no longer in the app and there was no record of it. When I called Rivian about my appointment, which I thought was next week, all they said was they are sorry but they don't know what happened and it has been canceled. They arenot sure when they can get it rescheduled. This is horrible customer service when you spend $87,000 on a vehicle.

My next issue is how loud the fan is for my heater or air conditioner. Does anybody else have this issue, where it sounds like the fan is broken or rubbing on something? I uploaded a video to this thread that you can hear the noise.

Now for the biggest annoyance, but maybe that's just how this truck is, is the constant running of the air compressor. I feel like the air compressor turns on 15 times a day. I know this thing has an air suspension that can go up and down but does it really need to run that often? I'm not even talking about hooking up a hose to the air compressor in the back of the truck. Just simply when I'm driving it. I'll be at a stoplight and all of a sudden the air compressor kicks in. I will be driving through a parking lot and all of a sudden the air compressor kicks in. At least I'm assuming it's the air compressor because that's what it sounds like.

Lastly, the little snap on the floor for the floor mats has already come out of the carpet on the passenger front seat. It looks like there is a part that is supposed to screw on underneath the little nipple part of the snap that has come off. That part is now probably somewhere underneath the carpet but I have not been able to locate it and there is absolutely no way I can see how to reattach it without lifting up the entire carpet and having the bottom piece to screw onto it.

This has been a bit of a challenge for the first 3 weeks of ownership. So far I can say that I honestly miss my Toyota Tundra greatly. If that thing didn't suck gas so bad I would find it superior in almost every way to the RIT. Yes, the electric power is fun and quite impressive, especially with only having a dual motor.

The delay time to get service, the issues that I'm already having when I don't even have 900 miles on this truck, and the cost to buy this truck, all has me second guessing this purchase and somewhat regretting it. I am trying to find the positive and can say that there are many things I do like about this truck. Perhaps I should have waited three more years to buy one so Rivian would be more established and able to service their product.

I would love to hear if anybody else is having any of these issues and if they found a remedy for them?

You could have finished the trade in for your Toyota in the time it took to write this novel.

 

[Snakeskin]

It's like you were in my kitchen last night hearing me bitch to my wife about this slowly ripening lemon.

1. Heater doesn't heat. Blows luke warm air 75% of time. Sometimes is fixed by using Auto but not always. . I live in Wisconsin.
2. Most exterior panels don't line up. The back seat driver side door trim actually protrudes out enough that it collects snow as you drive. Crazy bad workmanship for a $90k car.
3. Proximity sensing rarely works with my phone. I've added, deleted, and added ad nauseum.
4. Last night I couldn't get the cameras to turn off from the screen until I hard booted the car.
5. Two adjoining plastic pieces under the driver's seat came detached or never were attached.
6. I ordered two years ago and picked up Dec 27, 2023. They did not have a bike mount or manual tonneau cover but did chai rge me. Only yesterday was able to speak with my "guide" for the first time to get a refund. They have no idea when they would ship.
7. Seriously can't back up many times as the car simply stops. I guess it thinks something is behind me but there isn't. Nearly became stuck in a parking lot.

I really miss my Tacoma and now 4Runner. The buzz about Rivian is not accurate. Btw....I've never signed up for a product forum until now. So disappointed.

 

[MGA]

I sometimes think that especially Toyota, BMW, and Honda owners have something imprinted in their DNA. ))

 

[sfvR1S]

Judging by these posts, I must be the only person who gave up a Toyota for a Rivian and doesn't regret doing so.

 

[COdogman]

Judging by these posts, I must be the only person who gave up a Toyota for a Rivian and doesn't regret doing so.

I am in your club too. Traded in my Tacoma TRD Pro for my T and haven’t once regretted it.

 

[Redline]

It's like you were in my kitchen last night hearing me bitch to my wife about this slowly ripening lemon.

1. Heater doesn't heat. Blows luke warm air 75% of time. Sometimes is fixed by using Auto but not always. . I live in Wisconsin.
2. Most exterior panels don't line up. The back seat driver side door trim actually protrudes out enough that it collects snow as you drive. Crazy bad workmanship for a $90k car.
3. Proximity sensing rarely works with my phone. I've added, deleted, and added ad nauseum.
4. Last night I couldn't get the cameras to turn off from the screen until I hard booted the car.
5. Two adjoining plastic pieces under the driver's seat came detached or never were attached.
6. I ordered two years ago and picked up Dec 27, 2023. They did not have a bike mount or manual tonneau cover but did chai rge me. Only yesterday was able to speak with my "guide" for the first time to get a refund. They have no idea when they would ship.
7. Seriously can't back up many times as the car simply stops. I guess it thinks something is behind me but there isn't. Nearly became stuck in a parking lot.

I really miss my Tacoma and now 4Runner. The buzz about Rivian is not accurate. Btw....I've never signed up for a product forum until now. So disappointed.

 

[Redline]

I sometimes think that especially Toyota, BMW, and Honda owners have something imprinted in their DNA. ))

Nope, I came from 3 BMWs. R1S is better than all of them.

 

[moosehead]

One of my car snob buddies muses about Japanese cars:

"Why would you want a crappy car that lasts forever?"

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