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Right to Repair

Rudylake

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I noticed that recently an FTC lawsuit was filed against John Deere as it pertains to the right to repair. Laws outline the Right to Repair Act, as passed in some states, that it requires manufacturers to sell parts, tools and provide the necessary documents to anyone who wants to repair their electronics at home or in local repair shops. Do you think is something Rivian may have a problem with in the future? I noticed we Rivian owners can not get parts for our own repairs, except with certified Shops, thus cornering the market.
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Rivianero

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Yep. I hope that law suit succeeds as well. The John Deere case is rather specific because that company has gone to extrme s to prevent farmers from doing anything at all. Delays in service have lead to significant crop loss. Nonetheless it is a step in the right direction. Outcomes may narrowly effect farming equipment rather than automotive as a whole.

I'm lacking the references at hand, but Rivian has publicly embraces right to repair, however they back legislation that defines it as allowing certified repair shops access to parts, tools, and repair manuals. In other words, owners would have no such right to repair.
 

COdogman

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If they don’t open up and offer parts for sale to the public I think it will eventually catch up to them.
 

Webleyaz

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I'd love to be searching for an air leak that is setting the left front on the bump stop as of half way home today but, alas, I have an appointment in the middle of April. I've amassed tens of thousands of dollars worth of tools over past few decades and the only service I am allowed to perform on my truck is changing wiper blades. They'll be fixing rodent damage, also, from sitting for 3 months.
I suppose I could buy some parts from someone parting out a wrecked one.
 

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Rudylake

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It would be beneficial and more cost effective for us owners to have access to repair information and parts for repair. Right now, it seems like Rivian is constricting the ability of us consumers, thus costing us more to have to get repairs with certified shops. Essentially, this is where owners could say they have a loss, or damages, against Rivian. Hopefully, this changes with Rivian soon.
 

R1Thor

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I had a discussion about anti-trust and right to repair at one point on these forums and a fellow member pointed out that Rivian DOES *offer* 3rd party repair shops 1- certification 2- access to their repair manuals 3- access to their proprietary tools store and 4- subscription access to their software tools.

The PROBLEM is that most of those are multiple thousands of dollars PER YEAR to maintain. So, they've technically met the burden of access but made it prohibitive for any local mom & pop shops to use.

If, for example, to get all of the tools, access and training requires, say $15k the first year (it's probably higher, honestly), and there are all of, say, 1000 Rivians near you (not likely in most areas). Now let's say 10% of them experience some sort of 'need' for service in that year.
- Well, of those 100, likely 90 of them it's because of something under warranty--so they're going to need Rivian Service.
- 6 or 7 of them are just needing routine service: tire rotation, cabin filter replacement, windshield wiper replacement--all things that you really don't need certification (or even a mechanic) for.
- So, that leaves 3 vehicles for pay-for service. Are you going to clear the $5k amortized apiece about those 3 to clear your licensing costs on top of the repairs: Magic 8 Ball says "Don't count on it."
 

NY_Rob

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There was a guy posting here yesterday who said Rivian refused to sell him the custom bolt used to attach the tailgate support cable on his R1T. Really? Why?
They can't claim it's part of the high voltage system or the ADAS, etc.. it's a bolt.

Rivian is 1000% anal retentive when it comes to selling parts to customers. I can get almost every single part that makes up my i3, same for my EV Jeep, and a great number of parts for our Model 3 too. Only Rivian is a complete PITA to deal with for even stupid, $2 parts like a bolt. That needs to change as their early vehicles are now coming out of warranty.

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Nixapatfan

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If or when I need a part from Rivian and I'm denied from buying it, a call to the attorney general's office will be made to lodge a complaint. I'm sure they'll be happy to add Rivian into the battle for right to repair with all the other automakers.
 
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Rudylake

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If or when I need a part from Rivian and I'm denied from buying it, a call to the attorney general's office will be made to lodge a complaint. I'm sure they'll be happy to add Rivian into the battle for right to repair with all the other automakers.
Well, we don't want that to have to happen, but possibly some awareness by Rivian of parts issues will help to open up the repair market and parts availability.
 

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Rivian refused to sell him the custom bolt
Calling the 800 number and being told they don't have access to a parts catalog and they have no way to sell you a random bolt is a not the same thing as refusing to sell you a bolt. Characterizing this as Rivian denying you your rights is just hyperbole.

Any service center will give you the bolt and install it for you. And they will sell you many, many other parts, whether covered by warranty or not. All you have to do is ask them.

Your "right" to buy parts doesn't imply a "right" to have a service center nearby or a "right" to be able to purchase parts from a website.
 

SwampNut

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If or when I need a part from Rivian and I'm denied from buying it, a call to the attorney general's office will be made to lodge a complaint. I'm sure they'll be happy to add Rivian into the battle for right to repair with all the other automakers.
Why wait? Do it now.
 

NY_Rob

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Calling the 800 number and being told they don't have access to a parts catalog and they have no way to sell you a random bolt is a not the same thing as refusing to sell you a bolt. Characterizing this as Rivian denying you your rights is just hyperbole.

Any service center will give you the bolt and install it for you. And they will sell you many, many other parts, whether covered by warranty or not. All you have to do is ask them.

Your "right" to buy parts doesn't imply a "right" to have a service center nearby or a "right" to be able to purchase parts from a website.
We have no idea how the OP of that thread tried to acquire it from Rivian, his exact quote was " Believe it or not, Rivian wont sell me one and I have no idea where to find a replacement." You are assuming he called the 800#....

Also, not everyone lives near a SC where they can just drive over there and "Any service center will give you the bolt and install it for you."
 

SwampNut

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I would but I haven't technically been denied anything yet so I personally wouldn't feel right making that call at this time. I'm hoping Rivian fixes these issues before I need it.
I mean try to buy a part, then do it.
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