Service is going downhill a bit.

[Donald Stanfield]

Rivian tends to prioritize issues that result in a potentially undrivable vehicle. Has always been that way. Quickest way to get your vehicle fixed is with something that will strand you.



Any history of rodent damage on other vehicles? My money is on either that, a bad seal in a connector, or chafed wiring somewhere.

No rodent damage. My Rivian lives in the garage that's inside my house, and I haven't seen any evidence of rodents. When I picked this one up, the rear defroster wasn't working, and it was determined to be a connector improperly seated, so I'm betting there was one up front somewhere not done properly as well.

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[Donald Stanfield]

Portland SC recently needed to keep our R1S for several days. They started off with an all-paid Enterprise SUV, then located a loaner to get us home and pic up our spare car.

For us, the "if it's determined not to be warranty, you may be liable for rental costs," seemed to be a formality. I know Portland SC will do their best to treat us right, within parameters set by the warranty contract.

Best to all!

I can understand why Rivian might do this, but it doesn't sit right with me. I could see telling me I need to pay for the repair if it's my fault, but a loaner car is table stakes at this price point. Especially since the closest SC is 3.5 hours away.

 

[Yota2R1T]

It keeps dropping an error saying the ADAS is unavailable but the error message pops up and is gone in a second. The mobile tech said he saw codes but didn't know what they meant. When it rains the whole driver assistant suite goes out intermittently for random amounts of time. Sometimes a few minutes up to 40 minutes at a crack ( I was on a long trip when I noticed this). Also the automatic emergency braking activates at random. Not sure if that's related but it's really unnerving.

I remember reading a comment you made previously about your ADAS getting worse, and dropping randomly.
Hope it gets resolved for you and the SC is able to restore your good Rivian vibes... Hate to hear you're side-eyeing a beamer.

 

[NY_Rob]

I don't know how an electrical short is my fault...

IDK Donald, I mean going by your avatar, if you can illuminate a light bulb by just holding it in your hand.. then an electrical short might just be your fault! We know Rivian trolls this forum, so they put 2+2 together when you made your appointment and there you go

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I remember reading a comment you made previously about your ADAS getting worse, and dropping randomly.
Hope it gets resolved for you and the SC is able to restore your good Rivian vibes... Hate to hear you're side-eyeing a beamer.

me too

 

[Hawkjody]

i have and a very good experience with service recently // Shout out to Ara and his team at the Frenso service center

1. First - new whinning noise coming from the front - worse in develleration obut getting worse on acceleration - at first service thought it was cooling fan in front grill dammaged when i hit a deer // I did not think this was the issue as the symptoms begin nearly a year after the animal encounter // they fixed that // noise persisted // escalated service // wound up replacing the entire drive unit which was bad - no charge for the fan replacment // no charge for the drive uint (warranty)
2. Replaced the 12 vbattery while there (also under warranty
3. REplaced som suspension bolts and did full allignment

Got an appt withing days // fixed withiin a week (drive unit had to be shipped)

Cound not be happier with service~!!!

 

[CrazyOne]

Good people was the one thing I like about Rivian service. No service advisors pushed by their mega rich dealership owners, trying to scam me out of my money with unnecessary services. This is still better, but I guess it's getting worse.

Enshittification starts.

 

[dleepnw]

Loaners are based on availability. If there's one available they typically let customers have them, at least that's been my experience. That being said, I'd say half my service visits have been loaners, half have been enterprise rentals. It goes without saying, I prefer a loaner.

When I bring my Lexus in for service, I almost always get a loaner, I'd say 90% of the time. I think Rivian just doesn't have enough of them, especially if you live in an area with lots of owners, because lets be honest, these things are in for service a lot. In WA, even though we now have 3 service centers, the fleet of loaners doesnt appear that big.

I agree with OP that the bigger impact would be if the overall approach has changed. I haven't experienced that so it could be your specific location. I kinda of expect it though with the impending R2 launch.

We know the volume of the R2 is going to be way larger than the R1. Increasing service centers takes time and capital and with them just starting production, I can't imagine they'll have a lot of R2 loaners. Will they let R2 owners get R1 loaners? That could make it worse for R1 owners. Seems like Rivian has been trying to address this by saying they are increasing mobile service and expanding to 50 more centers in 2026. They know we know its a concern. Its going to be interesting to see how this unfolds.

Oh and what about ALSO e-bikes? Are they going to be serviced at Rivian Service Centers? I haven't heard anything but that's what I'm assuming as well.

 

[BTOR]

That's exactly how it feels, but at this price point, squeezing your customers isn't a great idea IMO. Since 2022, I've spent almost 200K on Rivian vehicles. I would think that would make me a valuable customer. I'm not rude to Rivian service people, and in the beginning, the service level and Rivian's willingness to help were excellent. I felt that they wanted me to love my car.

This last interaction has me feeling like I am the problem when it is my vehicle that has broken in less than a year. I have to drive 3.5 hours two states over to drop this thing off. If anyone should be bothered by this it should be me and instead of getting the third degree over providing me with a rental they should be apologetic or at least understanding and accommodating.

Frustrating for sure. Sorry you had to deal with this nonsense. With your level of Rivian loyalty they should roll out the red carpet!

I didn't read all of the replies to your original post so sorry if this is a duplicate. Be sure to fill out the service survey they email out several days after the appt. It asks specific questions about each item/issue you highlighted. Rivian was top of the list in owner satisfaction. If owners start to question their level of support and ownership satisfaction drops, it will be reflected in the polls. I hope for your sake this was a "one off" experience.

 

[krb1183]

I had assumed the five year/60k mileage warranty. Didn’t realize issues like this would be a shorter timeframe.

My comprehensive coverage on my '25 R1S is 4 years/50k miles. Not sure if it's different for Tri or Quad as i have a DM

 

[krb1183]

I had to make an appointment for an electrical issue with my truck, and I wasn't too happy about how it all went down. First, they were supposed to call me several times to schedule an appointment, but failed to do so. It wasn't a huge issue, but it's getting worse, and my mileage is close to out of warranty, so I need it fixed. I had to call them after dealing with their AI to get it fixed. Not a huge deal, but not the level of service I've had with Rivian in the past.

Then it came to the rental car. First, they hedged about providing one, even though I have to leave my car there. Then, there was this whole spiel I had to agree to about how if the damage is deemed to be my fault, I will be responsible for the rental fee. I don't know how an electrical short is my fault, even though their tech was already out and couldn't find the problem during a mobile visit. Overall, it felt very antagonistic. I have to drive several hours to the center to drop this car off, which is already a pain in my ass, but now I have to worry about rental car bills, too?

What happened to the Rivian loaners? That's what I got in the past; now I can get some Enterprise thing and wonder if I'm getting a bill for it. I don't like that overall vibe, and I'm starting to understand why some people would complain that this experience was different from other luxury manufacturers'. My wife just had her BMW serviced, and it wasn't even a question whether or not she was getting a rental car. They gave her a new 2026 M Sport trim, the closest they had to her M50. It's not the end of the world, but it doesn't feel like the premium experience I paid for, spending what I did on my R1S.

I've been an owner since '22 every time I have to engage service it seems like something that they used to have is no longer there and the level of service gets a little worse.

I hope this gets resolved for you Donald. When i was having my electrical issues during the end of 2024 and had to keep bringing my vehicle up for service I didn't know how much longer i could keep it up. Last time i was at the Franklin SC for service was when i had the recalls done, and ting washer update. At that time they were really good about it, they thought they could get the vehicle done in a few hours, so wife and i had lunch in Franklin, then they sent me Lyft vouchers, so we walked back down and they said it didn't look like it would be ready today. We were going to be staying in Nashville over that weekend anyway, so i said i'd swing back on Sunday and pick it up before heading back south. They gave me way more Lyft credits than i needed, and said let us know if you need more. They had actually asked if i wanted a rental but i said no because i didn't want to pay for parking in Nashville ;-). Hopefully this isn't the new norm for our service appointments as you stated.

 

[derekmw]

I've seen Service vary a lot here in San Diego, but it is very similar to what I saw in the early days of Tesla.

When we got our first Model S, there were so few Tesla owners that you were treated like royalty at each service center visit, but as the years went by and especially after the launch of the 3, they got so inundated that the service went to crap. But then it slowly returned to acceptable levels - but never back to the original days - and that's to be expected.

When we got our first Rivian back in 2022, it was the same, the SC employees would open the front doors as we walked up, and treated us so well. After a few years once they had a lot more Rivian's on the road, it went down hill. Even as recent as a year ago, the service was pretty bad. Missed communications, lack of care, etc. But as the complaints piled up, it seems they made a lot of effort to improve it.

My last two visits were quite different - getting constant communication updates about my upcoming appointment, and once I dropped it off (amazingly both times I got a Rivian loaner), they continued to text me with updates. It's a good sign but I do worry once the R2's come out. I think it will again dip significantly as they try to catch back up with the influx of new customers. We shall see...

 

[VandalSibs]

In my history of car ownership, I've never had a loaner or a rental. Granted, my first two cars were a 2004 Dodge Neon and an 2008 Chevy HHR, so they weren't fancy cars or anything. And in my Tesla ownership days, I never was promised a loaner or rental, but I also never ended up needing one, as the work was done quickly enough.

With Rivian however, so far I've had to cancel one appointment due to them no having a loaner or rental available and they wanted to hold onto it for potentially up to two weeks. Seeing as I live across the state and my R1T is me and my wife's only vehicle, this wasn't an option.

I've got an appointment for Saturday for the rear bolt recall and an alignment, hopefully it's an in-and-out thing. Otherwise I'm gonna have some words with them....

 

[rodbrock]

I had to make an appointment for an electrical issue with my truck, and I wasn't too happy about how it all went down. First, they were supposed to call me several times to schedule an appointment, but failed to do so. It wasn't a huge issue, but it's getting worse, and my mileage is close to out of warranty, so I need it fixed. I had to call them after dealing with their AI to get it fixed. Not a huge deal, but not the level of service I've had with Rivian in the past.

Then it came to the rental car. First, they hedged about providing one, even though I have to leave my car there. Then, there was this whole spiel I had to agree to about how if the damage is deemed to be my fault, I will be responsible for the rental fee. I don't know how an electrical short is my fault, even though their tech was already out and couldn't find the problem during a mobile visit. Overall, it felt very antagonistic. I have to drive several hours to the center to drop this car off, which is already a pain in my ass, but now I have to worry about rental car bills, too?

What happened to the Rivian loaners? That's what I got in the past; now I can get some Enterprise thing and wonder if I'm getting a bill for it. I don't like that overall vibe, and I'm starting to understand why some people would complain that this experience was different from other luxury manufacturers'. My wife just had her BMW serviced, and it wasn't even a question whether or not she was getting a rental car. They gave her a new 2026 M Sport trim, the closest they had to her M50. It's not the end of the world, but it doesn't feel like the premium experience I paid for, spending what I did on my R1S.

I've been an owner since '22 every time I have to engage service it seems like something that they used to have is no longer there and the level of service gets a little worse.

This has not been my experience. I've owned my R1T for 3 years now and I've been to service many times. I've never been given another Rivian as a loaner. I'm assuming because I live almost 100 miles away. In my experience, the service is getting better. At least at Eastvale, CA. My last repair was a big one. The entirety of the hydraulic suspension needed replacement. I had to sign a waiver saying that I would be responsible for towing and other costs if deemed not covered under warranty. Just a formality. They kept me in the loop several times a day. Now that I have the vehicle back, something still isn't right with the suspension. They are going to drive a Rivian loaner out to my house, swap vehicles, and bring mine back to me when finished. It doesn't get any better than that.

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