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Rivian’s Service Struggles Are Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve
Let’s be real: Rivian’s service situation has been rough. As more R1Ts and R1Ss hit the road, service centers got slammed — and owners were left waiting weeks or even months for basic appointments. It’s been one of the biggest sore spots in what’s otherwise a pretty awesome ownership experience.
The core issue? Rivian just didn’t build out their service network fast enough to keep up with demand. Not enough service centers. Not enough mobile service vans. And definitely not enough appointment slots for the growing wave of owners.
The good news? Rivian knows it. And better yet — they’re finally doing something about it.
Sources have told RivianTrackr that Rivian is pushing hard behind the scenes to overhaul the service experience. We’re talking more service centers opening, faster appointment availability, and a major boost in mobile service support so they can come to you instead of the other way around.
And they better move fast. The R2 is coming in 2026, and with it, a whole new flood of owners. The R2 is designed for mass market appeal — which means way more vehicles on the road, way more service needs, and way less room for excuses.
Rivian has a golden window right now to get ahead of the curve. Fix service today, so they don’t get crushed tomorrow.
It’s good to finally see real momentum here. Now let’s hope they keep their foot on the gas.
I’ve been telling Rivian service I won’t be buying the R2 I reserved unless there’s a nearby service center. Right now it’s an all day “adventure” driving 3 hours one way for service.
It’s impractical to expect them to be able to service every single residence within a 1 hour range, but yes, this will remain an impediment to Rivian adoption.
It is unfortunate that there are service challenges but not surprising for a new company. Rivian is not yet in the black which is also not surprising. It’s just the course of modern day startups. That makes it especially difficult to invest in everything all at once while juggling production, sales, product development and service AND maintain a positive profile in the investment market. I’m sure they will get there and I reserved a spot for R2 without hesitation.
It’s not any better with legacy automakers. I traded my R1S in for a Hummer EV, and GMC service is awful. At least at Rivian they give you a loaner vehicle. GMC told me that it would be a month wait for me to get a loaner vehicle when my truck was in the shop.
I was out of state (about 7 hours away from home) when my 2017 Chevy Volt’s EGR valve seized, which is on the same fuse as the electronically-controlled thermostat; this caused the car to overheat in the middle of a busy Chicago highway. Called multiple Chevy dealers in the area until I found one 40 minutes away that had an ability to look at it within 1-3 days. I had it towed there and waited for them to diagnose/fix it. They tried to sell me completely new low/high voltage wiring harnesses until I pushed back with some extreme doubt. They eventually figured out it was the EGR valve (a quick OBD2 scan could have told them that). However, they didn’t have the part and blamed the worker strike that was happening at the time. So, I got a rental and headed home. Did some research on my own over the next month and figured out how to work around the issue (it’s a common problem with Volts), so I drove back to the car, drove it on electricity to somewhere I could work on it, and attempted the ‘fix’ on my own. Didn’t quite work, but the fallback was “just unplug the valve and replace the fuse”, which is still working to this day. It took GM 13 months to get the replacement part.
Long story short, yeah, some of the legacy automakers aren’t any better or in some cases are far worse. Also took me 4ish months to get them to pay for the one month of a rental, since the dealer wouldn’t loan a vehicle to me.
I live on Long Island. Just picked up my new R1S from the closest service center in Brooklyn. They told me they are opening a service center 15 minutes from me in September and a demo center same distance in the opposite direction in August.
I had an issue with my FM antenna and was able to get an appt in just a few days. Very happy with the service!
I live in Hampton Roads, with a metro population of 1.8m people. Having to wait 3 months and drive 2+ hours is just unacceptable. This is the only reason I could not recommend Rivian to my friends and coworkers. The vehicle is fantastic and tows great, but the service center support is just not cutting it.
The service situation is exactly why I sold my R1T. 6 weeks waiting on mobile service to change my 12v batteries or a $1500 were my options. Unacceptable for a $100k vehicle.
This is great news! It’s the only issue I had with Rivian – the wait for service. Even with this issue the customer service is exponentially better than legacy car makers. Best car I’ve ever owned… Audi, Ford, Jeep (worst company ever), all could learn a lot from Rivian.
Live in Jacksonville, Florida; one of the first owners in the area, number of R1S I see here everyday is staggering. Nearest service center 2.5 hours from here in Orlando. Jax service center was planned since the beginning, now disappeared from the map. They have some third party providers for recalls but that’s about it. Car has been great overall. Hopefully with R2 coming this is going to be finally solved
Maybe the service network would be as stressed if QC at the factory (and suppliers) was tighter.
typo, meant: wouldn’t be as stressed
I wouldn’t buy another. Love the truck, hate the software and the service options. I live in a metro area of 800k and I’m 3.5 hrs away and months out. Hopefully, Scout Motors partners with VW to use local dealerships to alleviate the issue.