Rivian Quality - Two Genuine Questions

[rob_d]

Here’s the question I think you should be asking people on the forum: If you had to do the whole thing over (same wait, same delivery experience, same service experience, same ownership experience) would you buy again?

I actually thought about making that my third question, but the responses are proving to be self-selecting. The interesting thing is that while there were a number of people that posted in support of making the same decision again, I received a few private messages from people who would not and/or sold the Rivian they took delivery of in the last year.

Thanks for your feedback.

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[rob_d]

Nothing wrong with waiting or canceling. It's your call. You have legitimate concerns. I've seen different people with different pain thresholds on what is and what isn't acceptable. IMHO the R1 quality for a first year model is great. If you want a Lexus quality you might want to wait a bit. Again this is a very subjective and personal call. All the best.

Thanks for the nice response.

 

[rob_d]

If you purchase a Rivian the odds are you will find something wrong with it as you sound (to me) like someone who will be very picky and expecting near perfection.
Save yourself the heartache. Stick with what you have.

Not sure what about my post calls me out as picky; I am simply responding to what I read and see in the forums and asking the question. From my perspective the number of issues that a lot of people seem to experience with these vehicles seems to move beyond a reasonable amount to what I would find unreasonable, even for what is essentially a Beta vehicle. But I will say that asking the questions is getting me the answer I'm looking for, so I'm appreciative of the forum for that.

 

[rob_d]

But dang.....the product is crazy good. And if you get a good one.....great times. If not....it's a crap shoot.

Thanks for your thoughts. This is exactly what concerns me. I think I'm at a place where the odds of a "not good one" needs to be reduced before I'm ready to take the plunge.

 

[AllInev]

I couldn’t be happier with my build 9/22. Panel fit, gaps, and finish are on par with other $80k vehicles.

The only quality issue or irk I can find is with the drivers door. When I shut it from the inside it feels and sounds like the door panel doesn’t have good support or there is something loose inside.

Check the "U" shaped latch bolt(s) on the frame (where the door latches to the frame when closed). My slowly came loose and resulted in the sounds you're describing. I tightened mine by hand with a large Phillips head screwdriver.

 

[emoore]

Thanks for your thoughts. This is exactly what concerns me. I think I'm at a place where the odds of a "not good one" needs to be reduced before I'm ready to take the plunge.

Then wait a few years. Not a big deal.

 

[Whale Blubber]

2500 miles, 1 month of ownership, drive it daily in pretty heavy city traffic, with no service issues whatsoever. Just a tiny little data point, for what it's worth.

 

[AllInev]

There is a fair amount of truth to this. I am pretty picky having had 2-3 Acura or Lexus in my fleet(and a Ford remarkably that has been near perfect for the 15 years I have had it) for about 23 years. One thing I learned is that those companies(Acura and Lexus....my Ford experience has been all over map...but they have some very fun products too) build stuff very well with very high levels of quality. What they miss on however is what Rivian has brought to the game....which is a vehicle with nothing else like it in the world. And I still makes me happy every drive. Is it perfect like the Acura or Lexus I have had. Not close. Is service close....nope....

But dang.....the product is crazy good. And if you get a good one.....great times. If not....it's a crap shoot.

It will get better.....I am sure...hopefully soon. But if you have ability to deal with the shortcomings....the R1's are so fun to own....

So well said, I'll say it again "if you have ability to deal with the shortcomings....the R1's are so fun to own...." Amazing, amazing, stupendous to drive!

We need more time and data to understand if there's really a "forum effect" for the quality and reliability issues reported here. I joined the forum as a super-fan and a way to learn more about Rivian and their vehicles and not to complain and commiserate.

Unfortunately for me and my family, I've experienced most of the major/non-cosmetic issues mentioned here. It's almost to the point I don't visit this forum anymore because I feel like I'm destined to experience every new major issues that gets discovered. ?

Rivian has covered the cost for everything under the warranty, but the Service Centers seem understaffed, inefficient, and unorganized. Things that should take hours, take them days. Things that should take days can take weeks. Wait times for appointments are getting longer and even then, it can be days and days after I've dropped-off my truck for them to even start looking at it. ?‍

Again, "if you have ability to deal with the shortcomings....the R1's are so fun to own...." It's a dream to drive!

 

[Taco Corp]

I got my R1T in June of 2022 since then I've driven 20,000 miles

• 2 x windshield replacements, small chips that turned into large cracks.
• 1 DCFC issue, only really worrisome due to ~20 miles of range left, solved with a hard reboot
• LTE/WiFi module failure - This one was a pain in the ass not being able to use PAAK or remotely turn on the heat prior to driving (happened in November). Also, limited travel somewhat, coming off DCFC issue that needed a reboot to fix, I learned you can't hard reboot the Rivian if the LTE isn't working. Otherwise just able to drive normally and use BT audio/Google maps which I use 99% of the time anyway.
• Following the LTE/WiFi fix, lost the ability to use PAAK for another month, mobile repair finally figured out that there was a guid mismatch someplace between the vehicle and Rivian cloud services. Fixed in 10 minutes.

So relatively speaking, not much trouble and the actual service experience has been okay once I've actually gotten into the shop. But it really feels like there's a disconnect between phone support and service techs. Also that the Service Centers are unable to scale up quickly as more and more R1's land in a region.

This may be recency bias just because so many R1S are hitting the road right now, but it does feel from reading like there have been more battery and other critical issues with the R1S rollout than there were when the R1T started being delivered in mass last year.

 

[Guy]

I got my R1T in June of 2022 since then I've driven 20,000 miles

• 2 x windshield replacements, small chips that turned into large cracks.
• 1 DCFC issue, only really worrisome due to ~20 miles of range left, solved with a hard reboot
• LTE/WiFi module failure - This one was a pain in the ass not being able to use PAAK or remotely turn on the heat prior to driving (happened in November). Also, limited travel somewhat, coming off DCFC issue that needed a reboot to fix, I learned you can't hard reboot the Rivian if the LTE isn't working. Otherwise just able to drive normally and use BT audio/Google maps which I use 99% of the time anyway.
• Following the LTE/WiFi fix, lost the ability to use PAAK for another month, mobile repair finally figured out that there was a guid mismatch someplace between the vehicle and Rivian cloud services. Fixed in 10 minutes.

So relatively speaking, not much trouble and the actual service experience has been okay once I've actually gotten into the shop. But it really feels like there's a disconnect between phone support and service techs. Also that the Service Centers are unable to scale up quickly as more and more R1's land in a region.

This may be recency bias just because so many R1S are hitting the road right now, but it does feel from reading like there have been more battery and other critical issues with the R1S rollout than there were when the R1T started being delivered in mass last year.

I agree there seem to have been more reports of 12V battery issues and ac issues. I heard very little about either last year.

 

[Count Orlok]

 

[rob_d]

My $.02, my Rivian ownership has been somewhat 'difficult' but ultimately rewarding. I can complain about all the issues I've had with the truck but, Rivian was able to provide support and repairs for the issues in a timely manner. At the end of the day, it's still a better option than the alternatives.

Thank you for your thoughts.

 

[rob_d]

2500 miles, 1 month of ownership, drive it daily in pretty heavy city traffic, with no service issues whatsoever. Just a tiny little data point, for what it's worth.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Zoidz]

...
The doors feel cheap when you close them and they rattle.
...

Interesting how different opinions and observations can be. I have owned full size trucks and SUVs for many years, with big heavy, solid doors. My Rivian "door close" feels and sounds solid, no rattles, right up there with my other trucks.

 

[R1Tom]

Interesting how different opinions can observations can be. I have owned full size trucks and SUVs for many years, with big heavy, solid doors. My Rivian "door close" feels and sounds right up there with my other trucks.

I am pretty sure there is a significant variation in build quality. Mine had a few push fasteners that were bent over and causing loose / rattle noises when closing. I found them, fixed them, and door closes much more solidly now.

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