Service is the weak link

[Rainman]

I love my R1T and have very few complaints. It took me 5 weeks to get a service appointment in Orlando for tomorrow. I just received a call confirming my appointment and this is where it gets good … they don’t think there is any chance that my truck will even get looked at by Friday (tomorrow is Wednesday). I’m going out of the country for two weeks … so they said, just leave it here and it should be done by the time you get back. It’s going in for a wheel alignment and a few small manufacturing items - align body panels etc. I’m perplexed and don’t really want it to sit outside for two weeks, but they aren’t giving me any options. Their service experience has got to get better ….

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[sub]

Or even better - they could just stop delivering defective vehicles.

 

[MidnightRivian]

It's going to a combination of improving vehicle quality at the factory and ramping up service center capacity / new locations.

This is all part of the new adopter woes and I have no problem at all waiting 2 weeks to 4 weeks for an appointment for minor things. Keep in mind my purchase price was a lot lower than current pricing (MSRP $100,100 versus $79,000). I am being compensated fairly with a price protected order from 2021 and $7,500 tax credit.

Any major items, they got me into the shop within a week time. I always had a loaner and they're happy to authorize a 7 seater loaner because my vehicle is a 7 seater. Even if that means it cost them $76 per day with taxes / fees.

This was more than fair to me in my eyes.

If I was in your situation and I don't want my car to sit outside for a couple weeks, I would just reschedule to when you're back in the country or try to have someone else pick up your vehicle if Rivian will allow it.

I would 100% deal with the ups and downs as long as you give me $30,000 to wipe my tears when I have to wait a couple weeks for an appointment.

I don't think I make $30,000 in a couple weeks, at least not yet. s00n I will but not today, so Rivian is making it worth my time today with a price protected order that qualifies for the $7,500 tax credit.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

This would be correct. I would say service and QC are the weak links. The QC is not helping the service situation either.

What I would suggest in your situation is to reschedule. Otherwise the options are limited to cancelling your trip or letting the vehicle sit at the SC until you return.

Service will improve but it will take time for Rivian to open additional service centers.

 

[SparkyR1t]

In the beginning Tesla operated in a similar manner rushing vehicles out of production and letting service handle adjustments. Telsa quickly made production corrections and Rivian needs to do the same. Improve production quality and let service handle actual problems not production misses

Also take service back a bit and communicate with clients and do not simply take their vehicles into the service lot and let them sit for days to weeks. Schedule appropriately

Come on basic stuff let’s get with it Rivian!!

 

[elektrode]

It’s 12 hrs of driving to drop my truck off for a week and that’s after waiting for an appointment.

(3 there, 3 back, wait, hope they didn’t miss something, 3 there, 3 back)

NC (corrupt dealership laws)

 

[csharp]

It’s 12 hrs of driving to drop my truck off for a week and that’s after waiting for an appointment.

(3 there, 3 back, wait, hope they didn’t miss something, 3 there, 3 back)

NC (corrupt dealership laws)

Same boat. Drove 6 hours round trip from NC to Richmond on Friday. Got the crappiest rental ever. And will have to drive the 6 hour round trip again once they decide theyre done with the truck. No timeline.

 

[diehlryan]

I don't mind the week long wait to get the vehicle in if its minor stuff. I mind the fact that the SCs are having drop-off appts days, if not weeks, before the vehicle is even looked at. It does NOBODY any good to have a driveable vehicle sit on the SC lot. It costs Rivian money in rentals and it costs customer experience points to put someone in a crappy rental when they don't have to.

 

[moosetags]

Yes, the service conundrum is quickly becoming Rivian's Achilles heel. It is not just repairs and adjustments that are causing this situation. Rivian is making some ill-conceived decisions when it comes to service centers issues.

For instance, we are trying to purchase a 21" spare tire and wheel from Rivian. They refuse to ship it to me because a service center technician "must" install the tire in the bed of my truck. They are in effect saying that I am not qualified to put the spare in the bed of my truck. If I can't do this, how would I ever be able to use this spare if I were to get a flat tire on the road. Their attitude on this matter borders on stupid which also ties up service center time doing stupid stuff. Me going to the service center to have a spare tire put in the truck is taking a spot from another Rivian owner who has a real repair or adjustment issue.

I took this matter one step further in trying to complete my spare tire purchase. I asked Rivian if they could ship the spare tire to the Discount Tire Store near my home. If Rivian trusts them to rotate and balance tires on Rivian vehicles, they should surely be competent enough to place a spare tire in the bed of my R1T. Rivian can't seem to answer this question. I have now been waiting over two weeks for an answer. I guess RJ himself has to answer this and he has been out of town.

Brian

 

[Tim-in-CA]

Yes, the service conundrum is quickly become Rivian's Achilles heel. It is not just repairs and adjustments that are causing this situation. Rivian is making some ill-conceived decisions when it comes to service centers issues.

For instance, we are trying to purchase a 21" spare tire and wheel from Rivian. They refuse to ship it to me because a service center technician "must" install the tire in the bed of my truck. They are in effect saying that I am not qualified to put the spare in the bed of my truck. If I can't do this, how would I ever be able to use this spare if I were to get a flat tire on the road. Their attitude on this matter borders on stupid which also ties up service center time doing stupid stuff. Me going to the service center to have a spare tire put in the truck is taking a spot from another Rivian owner who has a real repair or adjustment issue.

I took this matter one step further in trying to complete my spare tire purchase. I asked Rivian if they could ship the spare tire to the Discount Tire Store near my home. If Rivian trusts them to rotate and balance tires on Rivian vehicles, they should surely be competent enough to place a spare tire in the bed of my R1T. Rivian can't seem to answer this question. I have now been waiting over two weeks for an answer. I guess RJ himself has to answer this and he has been out of town.

Brian

I believe the issue is that they need to insure that the new tire pressure/ load sticker is applied to the door jam. I’m in the same situation

 

[NY_Rob]

I believe the issue is that they need to insure that the new tire pressure/ load sticker is applied to the door jam. I’m in the same situation

If that is indeed the case, there are many ways to solve the problem without owners having to tie up SC tech appointments and ask owners to possibly drive for hours to the nearest SC.

It would be super simple for Rivian to mail (yes, in an old fashioned envelope with a USPS stamp) the new sticker to the customer, have the customer apply it over the old sticker and send a photo via chat of the new sticker in place with the VIN sticker showing in the photo as well. Rivian now has all the proof they need that the new sticker has been applied, so go ahead just ship the damn spare via UPS and be done with it!
Rivian makes things much too complicated!!

 

[dleepnw]

i do agree that service is a weak link right now but we all just need to slow down and breath. its going to take time for them to get this running smoothly. QC same thing. its only going to get better. it did with the R1T and it will with the R1S. i think what Rivian is doing and has done already is pretty amazing.

to me the current SC situation is a symptom of priority. they are focused on production ramp, future technologies like enduro/R2/network architecture and probably the Georgia plant - which they should be.

investors and the general public dont care about the back door, they really only care about the front door and that's probably a factor in this prioritization. im sure Rivian is aware of the issues and challenges current owners are facing with SCs and they probably some plans in place but its going to take time.

for example, in the Seattle area, during peak, appointments can be 3-4 months out. the SC is too small for the number of vehicles (R1 and EDV) needing service and delivery of new vehicles. they acquired a larger building last year and they are working on getting this ready but again it takes time. its roughly 10x the size of the current SC and will help alleviate some of this wait. \ as they hire, train and ramp up technicians, im sure they will get better fixing issues as well. and as their QC gets better, there will be less need for minor service.

 

[freshpow]

Yes, the service conundrum is quickly becoming Rivian's Achilles heel. It is not just repairs and adjustments that are causing this situation. Rivian is making some ill-conceived decisions when it comes to service centers issues.

For instance, we are trying to purchase a 21" spare tire and wheel from Rivian. They refuse to ship it to me because a service center technician "must" install the tire in the bed of my truck. They are in effect saying that I am not qualified to put the spare in the bed of my truck. If I can't do this, how would I ever be able to use this spare if I were to get a flat tire on the road. Their attitude on this matter borders on stupid which also ties up service center time doing stupid stuff. Me going to the service center to have a spare tire put in the truck is taking a spot from another Rivian owner who has a real repair or adjustment issue.

I took this matter one step further in trying to complete my spare tire purchase. I asked Rivian if they could ship the spare tire to the Discount Tire Store near my home. If Rivian trusts them to rotate and balance tires on Rivian vehicles, they should surely be competent enough to place a spare tire in the bed of my R1T. Rivian can't seem to answer this question. I have now been waiting over two weeks for an answer. I guess RJ himself has to answer this and he has been out of town.

Brian

Going to have to disagree with you on this one. They already have a process in place to ship wheels/tires/spare tire kits to their service centers in bulk. You're asking them to go outside of their established process to cater to you in a one-off situation. If they do ship to you, everyone and their mother will expect the same treatment and suddenly they're shipping single tires and spare kits all over the place, and I'm sure most of us would expect them to pick up the shipping cost.

 

[LL75]

I'm wondering how much money does Rivian spent a day on car rentals and uber credit? These money could easily going to hiring more people to work on cars? more mobile services? or even open more service centers?

Any early tesla adopters can chime in about what they did before?

 

[shrink]

If I was in your situation and I don't want my car to sit outside for a couple weeks, I would just reschedule to when you're back in the country or try to have someone else pick up your vehicle if Rivian will allow it.

If my recent experience is reflective of other SC's, then the car is just going to sit outside for another 2 weeks at the rescheduled appointment.

Things have changed a lot since the Fall of 2022 when I last had service. Back then, my truck was serviced 1-2 days after arrival. I was surprised to find out during my last service in 7/2023, my truck sat in the off-site storage lot for over 2 weeks before any work started. Basically, an appointment time is just a way to get in the on-site service service queue. The vehicle is further "triaged" based on urgency, with safety issues being prioritized, and "owner heat" (per the assistant GM to whom I spoke when I last picked up my vehicles).

Service is a mess right now, but as previously mentioned, we have to be patient. Prioritizing deliveries is completely understandable. Rivian will ramp up service and make it a lot better in time. These are unfortunate growing pains for us early adopters. For me locally in Phoenix anyway, the EDV's are taking up a lot of service resources as well. I was told they are "driven hard" and are often serviced overnight so the delivery routes can be run during the day. Amazon also apparently has strict standards RE: vehicles they consider drivable.

I think we're all right to expect more timely service - especially for vehicles at this price point. I am confident Rivian will improve in time and I'll personally be trying to manage my frustration and expectations and be as understanding and patient as possible in the meantime.

Edit: Fixed typo of "7/2022" to "7/2023"

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