R1T in Service Twice Now - Neither Time Fixed Fully

[TXR1SMD]

First I want to start by saying I love my R1T. As I detailed the sequence of events below to a coworker today, they asked why I don't just sell it now and get something else. The answer is because there's nothing else that I think would even be remotely close to the satisfaction I get from my truck. I don't care about the camp kitchen. I don't care about the tank turn. I don't care about CarPlay. The vehicle is awesome.

I picked it up in December 2022. A few hundred miles and smiles later, sometime in Feb 2023, the drivers front window was stuck in the up position. I left it sitting for a couple of hours hoping a sleep cycle would reset whatever was broken, but it didn't. I saw a post on here about recalibration. Since I couldn't get the window to move at all, I couldn't do any calibration procedures. I eventually just held the button down for 30+ seconds and the window slowly went down, but then anytime I pulled the switch all the way up for the auto-up function, it would hit the closed position then reverse back down 50%. Also, my app no longer allowed me to vent my windows, it always showed "Close Windows" and if I tapped that, it would say "Couldn't Close" and never go back to the baseline option of "Vent Windows." I put in a ticket and within a day service called me. They had me do a hard reset. Still the same. They had me do a calibration with them on the phone. Still the same. They told me they would escalate it to engineering and get back to me. Within the next day, they asked me to schedule a service appointment to drop off the vehicle.

I should say here that I understand Rivian is a new company and vehicles are scarce. I don't expect a loaner to be available for every service needed. I am a little spoiled to being a Sewell customer (If you're in the DFW area, you know) where every appointment, even the most minor, results in you leaving in a loaner. It also takes me 3 minutes to get to the service center from my home address - something I would expect Rivian can see and would at least factor into when they offer me an appointment or if they consider mobile service. I also work 8-5 in healthcare, and I don't really have the flexibility to cancel my patients with any less than a week of notice.

I had an 8am appt and I left the truck at the service center the night before, dropped the key in the overnight drop box, and biked home. Rivian sent me $100 in Uber credits to use the next day to get to and from work. Not ideal, but it at least gives you an option. I got a call about 8:30am the day of my service appointment saying they had my truck in the bay and were replacing the motor on the drivers side window. They didn't know how long it would take since they would need to test it after. I appreciated the call. At 4pm, I started calling them back asking for an update. If you've called the main service number, you know that hold music. 3 different times, the customer service rep tried to ping the service center to see if the truck was ready for pickup. All 3 times they said nobody would answer. I get it, they are busy. I just needed to know if I was Ubering home or Ubering to get the truck. I get home and still haven't heard back. I head to the gym (again on my bike). About the time I walk in, I get a call saying it is ready. Appreciative of the call, I asked if they could let me pick up after they closed. They said sure, they'd hide the key card and I could just come get it at my convenience, it would be on the charger. A bit later, I went to pick it up. I checked the window and it worked as expected.

I didn't check the app because to be honest, Feb in Texas is mild and there isn't much need to vent the windows. It wasn't until a few days later I realized the truck is still not recognizing the windows as being closed at any point. I left it alone because it wasn't a big deal. I got a survey and I gave them an 8/10 because while it wasn't terrible, it was frustrating not to get an update at the end of the day after 3 tries.

Fastforward to May. App still never works to vent windows. I pull up to an ATM. The window doesn't work. Stuck in the up position, same as the first time. Frustrated, I again hold down the button for 30+ seconds and it slowly goes down. I do what I need to do at the ATM and pull forward, fully expecting the window to again bounce back after it closes. As expected, it does. F***. What are the chances that the same part fails twice in less than 3k miles. I immediately put in a service ticket and add a video of the issue.

I get a call in 2 days. Same procedures. Try to get me to calibrate it. Nada. Deep sleep. Same thing. Again scheduled for service. I did speak up and say it was a little concerning that the same issue occurred and that in between, the app never did work correctly. My appt was now 2 weeks out from the time I put in the ticket. Not a problem really since the truck is still drivable and I can "close" the window as long as I don't do a full pull of the switch (even though I guess the truck never realizes it is closed, according to the app).

I have an appt on 5/31. Again, I drop it off the night before, call and let them know, and they send Uber credits. The next day, 5/31, I get a call at 9am and they say "We might get to it today, but we are busy." They seem overwhelmed. Thousands more trucks on the streets will do that, so I am fine with it. I watch the app all day and I can see that the truck stays connected to a charger all the way through 5pm. I know it wasn't touched at all the day of the appt. On 6/1 as I Uber to work on day 2, I call customer service and ask for an update. They ping the service center with no response. I ask how long I am expected to Uber and for the first time, I'm told "Oh, if it is a repair lasting more than 4 hours they should set you up with a rental. Do you want me to do that?" I agree and they send me an Enterprise confirmation. It doesn't take much to appease me, so I am happy with this, just hoping my waiting is worth a definitive fix. On my lunch hour, I Uber to Enterprise to pick up my rental. As if nothing could be more appropriate for this sequence of events, they only have a Chrysler Pacifica. Not only that, they warn me ahead of time it has been smoked in and recently disinfected. I pick up the rental and head back to my office. Within 5 minutes of me driving away, I get a text from the service center.

[below is copied/pasted]
"Hi Cameron, we just finished up service on your R1T and the vehicle is in line for wash. It will be ready for pick up by 1:45pm today. Thank you!"

"Thanks!"

*checks the app*

I don't know if you can get photos here but it is definitely not fixed

*sends photo and video of app still showing windows can't be closed*

"Still shows windows cannot close on my app. I won't be accepting the vehicle till this is resolved"

"We replaced the module, recalibrated it and tested it and the window is operating as designed. It could be an app error that you are seeing."

"Again I'm not gonna accept it till this is fixed. You replaced the module once before and it "broke" again"

"We understand, and the vehicle is repaired. It is being washed and will be ready for pick up at 1:45pm. "

"It's the second time it's in for the same issue. You haven't solved the problem"

"We just verified, again that the vehicle is fixed. You can come and check it when you pick up as well.
If you have a concern, you can speak to us when you arrive at the service center as the vehicle is repaired.
You are likely receiving an error in your app because the vehicle is in car wash mode to prevent windows from rolling up or down."

I stop replying. This is pointless.

I wait until I finish work and drive to the service center. The same guy who was texting me (Justin, if you are in the DFW area) greets me and says they are bringing it around. I again show him the issue. He smirks/laughs at me and says "well that is an app issue. We have done our part. We replaced the motor the first time and the regulator this time. We verified the window is working."

I basically give up and decide I will just escalate this to someone who can point me in the right direction. About that he service manager brings the truck around and as he hands me my fob he asks me to show him what the unresolved issue is. I show him that the app still doesn’t sense that the windows are closed. We walk out and look at the truck. We see that they are actually closed. He’s very reasonable and pulls up my initial service inquiry and sees that it does mention the app not working. He says he’s happy to keep the vehicle and call Enterprise to extend my rental of the ashtray van but that the issue would likely take days if I wanted to take the truck in the mean time. I thank him for acknowledging the issue. He says he can call Enterprise to come pick up the van and I head home.

20 minutes later he calls me and says he has discussed it with a tech off site and they recommend deleting the app from my phone and reinstalling it, and that they would remotely erase my PAAK from the truck. I would need to re-pair the phone once it was deleted. I deleted and reinstalled the app, the issue was the same. He says he would be in touch with next steps.

Just as a precaution, I go ahead and put in a new service ticket specifically for the app issue. I also send my guide an email and cc customer service. I basically say this:

1. I paid a good bit of money for a vehicle and I think it is reasonable all features to work - even something as simple as a button within an app
2. I think it is HIGHLY unlikely that I have had two window components fail in a brand new vehicle. I think applying the same solution twice without investigating why first the motor then the regulator allegedly failed isn’t providing a logical solution
3. Whoever I was replying to today when they said my truck was ready needs to go back to customer service school. Rivian wants to be taken seriously as a premium brand but has customer service like a Walmart and that is embarrassing.
4. Be respectful of my time. If I am scheduled for 5/31 then the truck should be touched by a service tech on 5/31. Wasting a whole day where I had no vehicle is no way to keep customers happy.
5. I was reluctant to accept the truck back until everything I have mentioned was fully functional. If this needed to escalate up the chain then do it. If you have to ship my truck back to Normal so an expert can take a look at it, then do it.

This morning, I drove to work. 20 minutes into my day, I got a text that they had erased my PAAK and I would need to re-pair the phone and see if the issue was resolved. I walk out of my office to my truck. Naturally it is locked. My bag with my key card is inside the truck. I 100% blame myself for this, I usually carry it in with me but I didn’t this morning. I spend 2 hours waiting for support to unlock the truck for me so I can 1) get the key card out and 2) re-pair the phone. The support person was really apologetic and I understand this was my fault. Once it is unlocked, I pair the phone and the app still shows windows can’t be closed.

I got a reply from the guide today. He seemed genuinely bothered by some of the parts of the service experience. He said he had looped in his supervisors and some of the engineering team and someone would reply by EOD Monday. Whether he was blowing smoke up my ass or not, I appreciated the reply.

I’m happy to have the truck back, even if something isn’t quite fully functional. I still want to get this resolved and hope that someone can figure it out. My truck interior temps reach 120+ degrees on a fairly normal day in June. I would really like to be able to vent the windows and turn on cabin climate before I get in each day. Am I being picky? Probably. But closed mouths don’t get fed and I’m optimistic the result will be a good one.

I’ve searched the forums for similar issues but I can’t find any. If anyone has had any app issues or specifically window issues, I’m definitely interested.

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[NineElectrics]

Rivian needs to get into its head that bugs are defects, plain and simple.

 

[Marchin_MTB]

Not that it helps you, but I can commiserate.

Our truck has had three appointments for the same issue. On one occasion, the service center said that they couldn’t replicate the issue on their test circuit but I drove the same roads immediately after the appointment and the issue was clearly still there. I chalked it up to a miscommunication but felt a wee bit like a brush off. The last appointment was a mobile visit and I had the tech plug his scanner in while I drove the truck. Sure enough, two faults were detected, including one that motivated repairs during the first service. Next service visit is scheduled but if that doesn’t fix it, I’m not sure what to do either. I am thinking these repeat visits to fix some of these issues are costing Rivian thousands of dollars per truck. Not to mention our time and lost productivity.

like you, I love the truck and don’t want to give it up. But they need to figure out how to keep people from coming back for the same repair.

 

[cardad]

First I want to start by saying I love my R1T. As I detailed the sequence of events below to a coworker today, they asked why I don't just sell it now and get something else. The answer is because there's nothing else that I think would even be remotely close to the satisfaction I get from my truck. I don't care about the camp kitchen. I don't care about the tank turn. I don't care about CarPlay. The vehicle is awesome.

I picked it up in December 2022. A few hundred miles and smiles later, sometime in Feb 2023, the drivers front window was stuck in the up position. I left it sitting for a couple of hours hoping a sleep cycle would reset whatever was broken, but it didn't. I saw a post on here about recalibration. Since I couldn't get the window to move at all, I couldn't do any calibration procedures. I eventually just held the button down for 30+ seconds and the window slowly went down, but then anytime I pulled the switch all the way up for the auto-up function, it would hit the closed position then reverse back down 50%. Also, my app no longer allowed me to vent my windows, it always showed "Close Windows" and if I tapped that, it would say "Couldn't Close" and never go back to the baseline option of "Vent Windows." I put in a ticket and within a day service called me. They had me do a hard reset. Still the same. They had me do a calibration with them on the phone. Still the same. They told me they would escalate it to engineering and get back to me. Within the next day, they asked me to schedule a service appointment to drop off the vehicle.

I should say here that I understand Rivian is a new company and vehicles are scarce. I don't expect a loaner to be available for every service needed. I am a little spoiled to being a Sewell customer (If you're in the DFW area, you know) where every appointment, even the most minor, results in you leaving in a loaner. It also takes me 3 minutes to get to the service center from my home address - something I would expect Rivian can see and would at least factor into when they offer me an appointment or if they consider mobile service. I also work 8-5 in healthcare, and I don't really have the flexibility to cancel my patients with any less than a week of notice.

I had an 8am appt and I left the truck at the service center the night before, dropped the key in the overnight drop box, and biked home. Rivian sent me $100 in Uber credits to use the next day to get to and from work. Not ideal, but it at least gives you an option. I got a call about 8:30am the day of my service appointment saying they had my truck in the bay and were replacing the motor on the drivers side window. They didn't know how long it would take since they would need to test it after. I appreciated the call. At 4pm, I started calling them back asking for an update. If you've called the main service number, you know that hold music. 3 different times, the customer service rep tried to ping the service center to see if the truck was ready for pickup. All 3 times they said nobody would answer. I get it, they are busy. I just needed to know if I was Ubering home or Ubering to get the truck. I get home and still haven't heard back. I head to the gym (again on my bike). About the time I walk in, I get a call saying it is ready. Appreciative of the call, I asked if they could let me pick up after they closed. They said sure, they'd hide the key card and I could just come get it at my convenience, it would be on the charger. A bit later, I went to pick it up. I checked the window and it worked as expected.

I didn't check the app because to be honest, Feb in Texas is mild and there isn't much need to vent the windows. It wasn't until a few days later I realized the truck is still not recognizing the windows as being closed at any point. I left it alone because it wasn't a big deal. I got a survey and I gave them an 8/10 because while it wasn't terrible, it was frustrating not to get an update at the end of the day after 3 tries.

Fastforward to May. App still never works to vent windows. I pull up to an ATM. The window doesn't work. Stuck in the up position, same as the first time. Frustrated, I again hold down the button for 30+ seconds and it slowly goes down. I do what I need to do at the ATM and pull forward, fully expecting the window to again bounce back after it closes. As expected, it does. F***. What are the chances that the same part fails twice in less than 3k miles. I immediately put in a service ticket and add a video of the issue.

I get a call in 2 days. Same procedures. Try to get me to calibrate it. Nada. Deep sleep. Same thing. Again scheduled for service. I did speak up and say it was a little concerning that the same issue occurred and that in between, the app never did work correctly. My appt was now 2 weeks out from the time I put in the ticket. Not a problem really since the truck is still drivable and I can "close" the window as long as I don't do a full pull of the switch (even though I guess the truck never realizes it is closed, according to the app).

I have an appt on 5/31. Again, I drop it off the night before, call and let them know, and they send Uber credits. The next day, 5/31, I get a call at 9am and they say "We might get to it today, but we are busy." They seem overwhelmed. Thousands more trucks on the streets will do that, so I am fine with it. I watch the app all day and I can see that the truck stays connected to a charger all the way through 5pm. I know it wasn't touched at all the day of the appt. On 6/1 as I Uber to work on day 2, I call customer service and ask for an update. They ping the service center with no response. I ask how long I am expected to Uber and for the first time, I'm told "Oh, if it is a repair lasting more than 4 hours they should set you up with a rental. Do you want me to do that?" I agree and they send me an Enterprise confirmation. It doesn't take much to appease me, so I am happy with this, just hoping my waiting is worth a definitive fix. On my lunch hour, I Uber to Enterprise to pick up my rental. As if nothing could be more appropriate for this sequence of events, they only have a Chrysler Pacifica. Not only that, they warn me ahead of time it has been smoked in and recently disinfected. I pick up the rental and head back to my office. Within 5 minutes of me driving away, I get a text from the service center.

[below is copied/pasted]
"Hi Cameron, we just finished up service on your R1T and the vehicle is in line for wash. It will be ready for pick up by 1:45pm today. Thank you!"

"Thanks!"

*checks the app*

I don't know if you can get photos here but it is definitely not fixed

*sends photo and video of app still showing windows can't be closed*

"Still shows windows cannot close on my app. I won't be accepting the vehicle till this is resolved"

"We replaced the module, recalibrated it and tested it and the window is operating as designed. It could be an app error that you are seeing."

"Again I'm not gonna accept it till this is fixed. You replaced the module once before and it "broke" again"

"We understand, and the vehicle is repaired. It is being washed and will be ready for pick up at 1:45pm. "

"It's the second time it's in for the same issue. You haven't solved the problem"

"We just verified, again that the vehicle is fixed. You can come and check it when you pick up as well.
If you have a concern, you can speak to us when you arrive at the service center as the vehicle is repaired.
You are likely receiving an error in your app because the vehicle is in car wash mode to prevent windows from rolling up or down."

I stop replying. This is pointless.

I wait until I finish work and drive to the service center. The same guy who was texting me (Justin, if you are in the DFW area) greets me and says they are bringing it around. I again show him the issue. He smirks/laughs at me and says "well that is an app issue. We have done our part. We replaced the motor the first time and the regulator this time. We verified the window is working."

I basically give up and decide I will just escalate this to someone who can point me in the right direction. About that he service manager brings the truck around and as he hands me my fob he asks me to show him what the unresolved issue is. I show him that the app still doesn’t sense that the windows are closed. We walk out and look at the truck. We see that they are actually closed. He’s very reasonable and pulls up my initial service inquiry and sees that it does mention the app not working. He says he’s happy to keep the vehicle and call Enterprise to extend my rental of the ashtray van but that the issue would likely take days if I wanted to take the truck in the mean time. I thank him for acknowledging the issue. He says he can call Enterprise to come pick up the van and I head home.

20 minutes later he calls me and says he has discussed it with a tech off site and they recommend deleting the app from my phone and reinstalling it, and that they would remotely erase my PAAK from the truck. I would need to re-pair the phone once it was deleted. I deleted and reinstalled the app, the issue was the same. He says he would be in touch with next steps.

Just as a precaution, I go ahead and put in a new service ticket specifically for the app issue. I also send my guide an email and cc customer service. I basically say this:

1. I paid a good bit of money for a vehicle and I think it is reasonable all features to work - even something as simple as a button within an app
2. I think it is HIGHLY unlikely that I have had two window components fail in a brand new vehicle. I think applying the same solution twice without investigating why first the motor then the regulator allegedly failed isn’t providing a logical solution
3. Whoever I was replying to today when they said my truck was ready needs to go back to customer service school. Rivian wants to be taken seriously as a premium brand but has customer service like a Walmart and that is embarrassing.
4. Be respectful of my time. If I am scheduled for 5/31 then the truck should be touched by a service tech on 5/31. Wasting a whole day where I had no vehicle is no way to keep customers happy.
5. I was reluctant to accept the truck back until everything I have mentioned was fully functional. If this needed to escalate up the chain then do it. If you have to ship my truck back to Normal so an expert can take a look at it, then do it.

This morning, I drove to work. 20 minutes into my day, I got a text that they had erased my PAAK and I would need to re-pair the phone and see if the issue was resolved. I walk out of my office to my truck. Naturally it is locked. My bag with my key card is inside the truck. I 100% blame myself for this, I usually carry it in with me but I didn’t this morning. I spend 2 hours waiting for support to unlock the truck for me so I can 1) get the key card out and 2) re-pair the phone. The support person was really apologetic and I understand this was my fault. Once it is unlocked, I pair the phone and the app still shows windows can’t be closed.

I got a reply from the guide today. He seemed genuinely bothered by some of the parts of the service experience. He said he had looped in his supervisors and some of the engineering team and someone would reply by EOD Monday. Whether he was blowing smoke up my ass or not, I appreciated the reply.

I’m happy to have the truck back, even if something isn’t quite fully functional. I still want to get this resolved and hope that someone can figure it out. My truck interior temps reach 120+ degrees on a fairly normal day in June. I would really like to be able to vent the windows and turn on cabin climate before I get in each day. Am I being picky? Probably. But closed mouths don’t get fed and I’m optimistic the result will be a good one.

I’ve searched the forums for similar issues but I can’t find any. If anyone has had any app issues or specifically window issues, I’m definitely interested.

FYI the truck automatically runs climate to prevent damage to the screens. Not sure if you have seen this happen but it is a feature. I don’t even know if you can turn it off. If I leave the vehicle in the sun it is running climate by itself all the time and I have manually vented the windows in the app to avoid depleting excess battery.

I think unfortunately your experience is representative of the fact that car companies are not software companies and software companies generally are EVEN WORSE when it comes to customer experience and processing feedback. In some ways I feel like Rivian has been pretty transparent relative to what I have experienced with both software and automotive companies.

In terms of getting someone’s ear startups generally seem to be a bit flatter in their hierarchy and notable problems can move through the chain a bit more quickly.

I know that even more idiotic technical issues would never get resolved or encounter an “engineer” looking at the problem with say Google, and you’d be condemned to smash your head against a wall for the rest of eternity.

So in a sense you’re at least getting a “team” of known humans working on your issue. Google et. al would just send your issue into the black hole of “customer service” that never reaches anyone that can do a thing. It’s basically the same with all of the other major automakers. I haven’t experienced any major software issues with 2022-2023 Ford, Audi, Porsche, Rivian, or Hyundai but I have tried to provide feedback with a very poor connection using my Audi etron Carplay but again, that is the kind of intersection between different groups that would result in the issue never being resolved unless you have a direct channel with a top engineer. So, as a side note, in the sense that Rivian isn’t crazy about CarPlay it makes sense because they don’t want their UX to fall into this gray area that they cannot control.

Worst case you start talking lemon law buy my guess is they have someone looking into it and you just need to make sure they keep it on their agenda. The updates I have seen in the last 6 months clearly show that they paying attention to a lot of details like the finger chopping charging door bug that was introduced with a recent update.

As far as software goes Rivian has made some big strides and I wouldn’t despair too much. It just may take a bit of time to sort out if it is not a known or common issue. That’s at least better than most other companies IME.

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