Rivian Service: Are we expecting any improvements soon?

Rivian Mom · 2025-04-08T16:32:35+00:00

There’s this new device I heard avout called EV Play. From what I read, it promises to bring Apple CarPlay and some oretty interesting apps right to Rivian’s screen. I couldn’t find much chatter about it yet, but I read it’s a plug-and-play setup coming out this month. No clue on the price, but the thought of having my phone’s familiar layout front and center while I’m driving sounds like a dream. I’ve got my hands full with work and family, so anything that simplifies my day is a win in my book. That said, I’m not jumping in without thinking it through—years of juggling life have taught me to pause and ponder. Could there be any hiccups with adding this to my R1S? I wonder if it might mess with something down the road. And here’s a thought: could Rivian send out one of those over-the-air updates and block it after I’ve already bought it? I’d hate to invest in something only to have it fizzle out. I’d love to hear what other owners think—especially the seasoned ones like me. Is this a smart upgrade, or should I hold off?

Rivian Mom

Active Wheeler

Nov 8, 2024

I've noticed that Rivian seems to be blowing cash on a “first come, first served” policy. They do pay for rental cars for days and know nothing about most. Carrying out a preliminary diagnosis on vehicles does take days, sometimes weeks, before they can identify an issue. I've heard a few owners complain about the service at Rivian service centers, and I haven't had the best experience myself either. I can't really say if the delay is mostly caused by them being short-staffed at their service centers or not having enough service centers in the country, but having owners wait around for days and even weeks before they know what's wrong with their vehicles while also paying for rental cars can be a potential huge loss for the company.

It seems to me the wise choice would be to have a quarter of your staff focused on diagnosis, another quarter on turning around rapid fixes, and the remaining 50% focused on more complex problems. This way you can inform customers about the status of their vehicles quickly, get many vehicles out of the center quickly, and only pay for rentals and risk lemon law issues for vehicles that legitimately have complex issues.

Does it seem to you that a no preliminary diagnosis, first come, first served approach is a poor approach? Like, “Sorry, sir/ma'am, we will get to your oil change, but first we have to do 2 complete engine rebuilds and 1 transmission. They were here first.”

Would love to know what you guys think about this.

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