Rivian Service: Poor Communication

[AWDrift0]

I recently noticed water dripping from my passenger visor after a rain and scheduled an appointment to ensure that it was taken care of before any damage was caused as we move into the rainy season. Rivian notified me that I could bring it in immediatly but it would take 2 weeks to diagnose it, or I could wait for my appointment so they could deal with it more immediately. I declined dropping it off early because I didnt see the sense in leaving it there for 2 weeks for them then to look at it and determine next steps. I dropped the car off yesterday for my scheduled appointment and they told me that it would still take them two weeks to diagnose it and that the person who said they would look at it sooner was wrong. I try to be understanding of the difficulty the services centers are facing, but as an owner of 2 rivians that have back to back service appointments, I find it incredibly frustrating that they have such poor communication. This is the 3rd time this vehicle has been in service and the 1st two times they did not complete the workorder that was originally written up.

Is everyone experiencing similar issue here and do we believe it is tied to the fact that service and delivery centers being combined places too much stress on the individual locations.

As I drive a VW Atlas rental for lord knows how many weeks, I am trying to figure out what is the root cause of what appears to be ongoing disfunction at the San Jose service center.

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[jjswan33]

Three problems here as far as I see it.

1. Your SC is too busy, doubt it has much to do with delivery operations because I feel like they are separate teams.
2. The folks in the call center often don't really know what is going on and provide incorrect information.
3. Rivian isn't doing a good job managing schedules, as you point out no reason for Rivian to take in a vehicle they won't look at for two weeks.

Not saying any of it is acceptable it's just the current state of play. FWIW my service center has been communicative through the process during my last two service visits and got me in very quickly.

 

[TV310]

"I have had a terrible experience with Rivian customer service. It's much easier to purchase a new Rivian vehicle, which takes around 1-6 weeks, than it is to schedule a service appointment, which can take 2-3 months. That's a backward system if you ask me. Once they have your money for the new car, it seems like they don't really care about their customers anymore. They are quick to respond if you're inquiring about buying a new Rivian, but not so much when it comes to servicing your existing one."

 

[AWDrift0]

Three problems here as far as I see it.

1. Your SC is too busy, doubt it has much to do with delivery operations because I feel like they are separate teams.
2. The folks in the call center often don't really know what is going on and provide incorrect information.
3. Rivian isn't doing a good job managing schedules, as you point out no reason for Rivian to take in a vehicle they won't look at for two weeks.

Not saying any of it is acceptable it's just the current state of play. FWIW my service center has been communicative through the process during my last two service visits and got me in very quickly.

During my last service appointment, the service manager at San Jose said that they were too busy to do all of the work because it was end of quarter and deliveries took priority. That caused a pretty big argument, as I honestly couldnt care less about their delivery operations and did not believe it should effect my service appointment. They ended up sending out mobile service to complete the work they missed. I have bit my tongue because, I have not been trying to sabotage peoples interest especially as I expected early service growing pains, I am just so annoyed by the terrible comms and the poor hiring choices that my location has made.

 

[Scoiatael]

Service is a giant mess right now and needs to be overhauled. Took my truck in last month because the 12V battery was dying. Was told I could pick it up the next day. Couldn't get a hold of them for the next 3 days. I'd call Rivian Service, they'd call the service center but the service center would never answer or call them back. On the 4th day they finally swapped the battery and called me.

 

[JWreck]

Three problems here as far as I see it.

1. Your SC is too busy, doubt it has much to do with delivery operations because I feel like they are separate teams.
2. The folks in the call center often don't really know what is going on and provide incorrect information.
3. Rivian isn't doing a good job managing schedules, as you point out no reason for Rivian to take in a vehicle they won't look at for two weeks.

Not saying any of it is acceptable it's just the current state of play. FWIW my service center has been communicative through the process during my last two service visits and got me in very quickly.

Service techs absolutely work on both customer cars and delivery ops cars. They have front end personnel that handle the deliveries separately, but ultimately the same techs are needed for both. And I have another high level confirmation that their directive from corporate is push deliveries out the door no matter what.

 

[jjswan33]

Service techs absolutely work on both customer cars and delivery ops cars. They have front end personnel that handle the deliveries separately, but ultimately the same techs are needed for both. And I have another high level confirmation that their directive from corporate is push deliveries out the door no matter what.

Well I guess I should preface my statement then because what you guys are pointing out is a completely different problem. Yes of course they don't have separate service techs for delivery ops I was referring to delivery ops, but new vehicles from the factory shouldn't need service tech intervention.

So if service techs are too busy fixing cars for delivery then Rivian needs to improve the QC at the factory.

 

[JWreck]

Well I guess I should preface my statement then because what you guys are pointing out is a completely different problem. Yes of course they don't have separate service techs for delivery ops I was referring to delivery ops, but new vehicles from the factory shouldn't need service tech intervention.

So if service techs are too buys fixing cars for delivery then Rivian needs to improve the QC at the factory.

That’s exactly the problem. They have a shit ton of vehicles coming from the factory needing service - ranging from minor issues like modules to major bodywork required. They have confirmed the factory pumps out cars with issues and expects the SCs to fix them.

So yes, 100% agree, Rivian needs to fix QC at the factory and stop pushing it down to the SCs.

 

[AWDrift0]

That’s exactly the problem. They have a shit ton of vehicles coming from the factory needing service - ranging from minor issues like modules to major bodywork required. They have confirmed the factory pumps out cars with issues and expects the SCs to fix them.

So yes, 100% agree, Rivian needs to fix QC at the factory and stop pushing it down to the SCs.

A lot of the QC issues happen in transit. The problem that I have is the Seinfeld dilemma.. They know how to take a reservation/appt but they don't know how to hold the appointment. The service appointment has a date scheduled, sometimes months in advance, so it needs to be addressed as it is received.

 

[rbr19870445]

100% agreed. Service center experiences are wildly different. I've been trying to hold my tongue for a bit but once the calendar turns 2024, you better believe my laundry list of concerns with my truck be taken care of.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

I recently noticed water dripping from my passenger visor after a rain and scheduled an appointment to ensure that it was taken care of before any damage was caused as we move into the rainy season. Rivian notified me that I could bring it in immediatly but it would take 2 weeks to diagnose it, or I could wait for my appointment so they could deal with it more immediately. I declined dropping it off early because I didnt see the sense in leaving it there for 2 weeks for them then to look at it and determine next steps. I dropped the car off yesterday for my scheduled appointment and they told me that it would still take them two weeks to diagnose it and that the person who said they would look at it sooner was wrong. I try to be understanding of the difficulty the services centers are facing, but as an owner of 2 rivians that have back to back service appointments, I find it incredibly frustrating that they have such poor communication. This is the 3rd time this vehicle has been in service and the 1st two times they did not complete the workorder that was originally written up.

Is everyone experiencing similar issue here and do we believe it is tied to the fact that service and delivery centers being combined places too much stress on the individual locations.

As I drive a VW Atlas rental for lord knows how many weeks, I am trying to figure out what is the root cause of what appears to be ongoing disfunction at the San Jose service center.

The SC are still busy but Rivian appears to be taking it seriously. My T is in Gaithersburg as I write this. Will share my full experience when I pickup but comms have been good. I went to drop off and the manager drove with me to confirm my concerns (I didn't request this). He was extremely knowledgeable on the product. He communicated to the service advisor in front of me all of the items to be addressed.

The guy they had ride me to Enterprise said it was his first time driving an EV/Rivian ?. It was an interesting ride ?

My best advice is calmly (I know it's frustrating) and clearly communicate to the SC manager what has transpired and what you need/expect. I believe Rivian is working hard right now to fix the service experience but some additional patience may be needed for the next couple months.

Hope this helps.

 

[AMPRVA]

I have had two service experiences since taking ownership in November, one of which was awful; the other was annoying... Upon receiving my R1T, it would not accept a level 2 charge at my home (using mobile charger & the same 50amp 220v dryer outlet I used for my Teslas). I traded messages with central service and eventually it got escalated to the Charging Department, which made me prove that it was not my outlet or the mobile charging cable by driving to multiple locations and sending pics proving that it failed to charge. Note: having to rely on DC Fast Charging stations in Richmond, VA is awful. At this point it had been nearly a month of ownership! Once they were satisfied that the vehicle actually needed service, their first opening was 2 weeks out! I complained and they "found" an opening two days later, except the local SC didn't know I was coming when I got there. They were going to set me up with Enterprise for a rental, but they had a loaner (yay). After 30 minutes of paperwork, they realized the loaner wasn't ready to be loaned. Another 30 minutes & more paperwork later they had another loaner for me. Ultimately it was a bent pin in the charge port. Today, I had a mobile service appointment to install the spare tire kit between 8-10am. In this case, it was pure communication problems. They called me 5 days ago solely to tell me that they would call yesterday to confirm the time. They didn't. So I called at 8am and central service had no info and had to leave a message with local SC. At 8:30... I call again... no new info and more promises that someone would call. I finally got a text from the mobile service tech at 9:15am and the tire is now installed, but the communication piece is like dealing with the keystone cops. If central service has to call the local service centers anyway, the whole setup seems like a waste of time and truly frustrates customers.

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