Rivian Owners Face Quality and Service Challenges Highlighting the Struggles of Being a 'Beta Tester' | Carscoops

      New automakers such as Rivian are capable of creating impressive products, but for one owner, the experience was quite disappointing.

      This particular R1T and R1S owner is contemplating stepping away from Rivian ownership due to their experiences. They have faced issues with not one, but two R1Ts, one of which Rivian repurchased from them. This situation serves as a prime example of how startup brands often need to resolve various teething problems.

      The owner refers to themselves as a “long-time Rivian customer on the verge of giving up.” Indeed, no one expects to feel this way after buying a vehicle, especially a luxury model that begins around $70,000 and can easily exceed $100,000. Unfortunately, this is the reality for this customer after making several purchases from Rivian. Here’s their narrative, which is definitely noteworthy.

      Online forums are generally filled with diverse discussions, but it’s unusual to find someone sharing over 1,600 words about their personal experience. However, that’s exactly what a user named PortDirect did on RivianForums, with a partially titled post, “Why am I doing this to myself,” which continues to garner responses more than 10 days after it was published.

      In their post, they share their journey as a buyer, beginning with the acquisition of an R1T pickup. “It was nearly perfect except for one major flaw: a paint defect noticed the instant I picked it up from the factory in Normal, IL. I almost refused delivery, but considering the travel involved (and Rivian’s assurance that it would be an easy fix I could address later), I decided to take it home. That promised ‘simple fix’ turned into a prolonged nightmare,” the owner reveals.

      Issues Persisted

      In mid-2024, they took the truck in for paint correction. Initially, the shop indicated they would repaint the entire panel. However, the following month, when the customer called, it was to learn that the truck had fallen off the lift. While the shop claimed they would repair the damage, additional problems began to arise.

      “The collision center called almost daily for a week with unusual updates – a small scratch during reassembly, waiting on parts, repainting, and ‘baking for 48 hours.’ The entire situation felt unsettling and far from the straightforward fix Rivian had guaranteed,” they recounted, and who could blame them? Unfortunately, matters did not improve.

      Upon picking up the truck, the owner found the bed messy, as if it had been utilized for work while at the shop. The camera showing the bed was no longer functional, and every time they returned the truck for a remedy, new issues cropped up. Less than three months post-paint correction, the paint started to wrinkle and crack.

      The owner decided to give Rivian another opportunity, sending the truck to a different body shop. However, when this attempt also failed, the automaker agreed to buy the truck back and provided a $10,000 goodwill credit towards the purchase of another R1T. Yet, this story doesn’t end here.

      The Second R1T Also Disappointed

      The new R1T, a second-generation model, arrived for the customer on December 13 of last year. They mention that “Rivian promised a ‘press-level’ inspection – essentially the same level of scrutiny for a vehicle intended for a major automotive review – which delayed our delivery by over a week to ‘allow time to get it perfect.’ I was optimistic, but that hope faded almost immediately.”

      Shortly after delivery, the Gear Tunnel door fell off when the customer’s wife opened it. Subsequently, the entire truck was limited to 4 mph due to the system believing the Gear Tunnel door required servicing. It took 30 minutes of service before the owner could drive the vehicle properly.

      Ongoing Issues

      Since then, they have experienced problems with the windows, the steering wheel, rattles emanating from the doors, misaligned doors that chipped the paint, camera failures, inconsistent braking, and software glitches requiring frequent resets for proper functionality. Now, the owner expresses, “I’m exhausted from feeling like a constant beta tester for build quality and service reliability.” They are still contemplating what to do with their second-generation R1T.

      Community Feedback

      Interestingly, numerous members of the Rivian community have come forward to empathize with this customer. “It took 10 months to resolve my issues, filled with back-and-forth and appointment scheduling. I was without my R1T for 60 days. I can't lemon law in AZ on a lease (I plan on buying it at the end of the lease if all is well),” shared one forum participant.

      “Sympathies for going through this multiple times. Mine is also down due to a leaking suspension hydraulic line, and the earliest appointment is two months out. They claim it’s drivable, but I disagree with that assessment, so it’ll sit