EV discussion - hate or love?

[BigN8]

applaud anyone that has the time/bandwidth

Oh God. "Bandwidth". Quite possibly the newest most cringeworthy corporate speak that makes me want to throat punch a manager. I now know you and I could never be drinking buddies. Good Luck with that Rivian though. My "bandwidth" for this thread is maxed out!!

 

[Coult45]

Hey, @BigN8 ...saying you want to throat punch someone for the phrases they use here on the forum doesn't really feel like it aligns with the environment everyone here mostly supports. Disappointing and out of place, especially since @2kwik4u is one of the people who really takes the time to share their opinion clearly and without any defensiveness.

 

[2kwik4u]

Oh God. "Bandwidth". Quite possibly the newest most cringeworthy corporate speak that makes me want to throat punch a manager. I now know you and I could never be drinking buddies. Good Luck with that Rivian though. My "bandwidth" for this thread is maxed out!!

Sorry you feel that way. I'm really glad you've got a time/energy surplus in your life. Miss it in mine.

 

[Bluewater272]

So, I don't take it that way at all. It's not great, I'll give you that, but it's no worse than any other brand I've dealt with. I've hated dealerships for years because I'm overly particular and getting a tech to fix EXACTLY what the issue seems to be is ALWAYS a problem. Even down to getting tires balanced is an issue because I'm overly picky.

I dunno, I've had entirely too many new cars in my life, but none have ever needed to return for service in the first few thousand miles. For me, once would annoy me, but all of that would be worrying. Perhaps just growing pains from a newer manufacturer, its great that they're snappy on service, but how will it be in a year or two if they don't fix these issues before they end up with a customer. That's all. Nice loaner otherwise, R1S is on the wifey's wish list, but going to wait a couple more years. Waited until 2023 before I decided Tesla was reliable enough to get one (and it has been). No service visits in 15 months other than a repair for debris I hit on the road.

Oh God. "Bandwidth". Quite possibly the newest most cringeworthy corporate speak that makes me want to throat punch a manager. I now know you and I could never be drinking buddies. Good Luck with that Rivian though. My "bandwidth" for this thread is maxed out!!

What an oddly hostile and nasty way to react to something so innocuous. Scratch me off your beer buddy list too, lol.

 

[BigN8]

Hey, @BigN8 ...saying you want to throat punch someone for the phrases they use here on the forum doesn't really feel like it aligns with the environment everyone here mostly supports. Disappointing and out of place, especially since @2kwik4u is one of the people who really takes the time to share their opinion clearly and without any defensiveness.

Oh jeez. Throat Punch was meant to be a funny term because have you ever seen anyone "throat punched"?? And it was not directed at him personally but I said "a manager". Chill out a little dude. Can't believe how tender this place is.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Hey, @BigN8 ...saying you want to throat punch someone for the phrases they use here on the forum doesn't really feel like it aligns with the environment everyone here mostly supports. Disappointing and out of place, especially since @2kwik4u is one of the people who really takes the time to share their opinion clearly and without any defensiveness.

He did not directly say he wanted to punch the member of the forum.

 

[2kwik4u]

I dunno, I've had entirely too many new cars in my life, but none have ever needed to return for service in the first few thousand miles. For me, once would annoy me, but all of that would be worrying. Perhaps just growing pains from a newer manufacturer, its great that they're snappy on service, but how will it be in a year or two if they don't fix these issues before they end up with a customer. That's all. Nice loaner otherwise, R1S is on the wifey's wish list, but going to wait a couple more years. Waited until 2023 before I decided Tesla was reliable enough to get one (and it has been). No service visits in 15 months other than a repair for debris I hit on the road.

I think this truck "sat for awhile" on the lot at Rivians plant, and I think that has something to do with it. Keep in mind I'm leasing as well, so long term reliability isn't as big of an issue for me. I'm going to turn the keys in when I'm done with it. NOW, whether I get another one or something else is to be seen.

The reason I think it sat on the lot for awhile was how it was presented for sale. Mid September this year Rivian was trying to get delivery numbers up and were offering absurd deals on "prebuilt" units. They were releasing 4-5 units a day onto the online store, and those units were oddly low VIN numbers with "old" options available. For instance I have vin number 30,4xx. They're delivering in the 60,xxx range now. So I know it was, at least logically, built some time ago. It's an early '24 vin that was just presented for sale in late '24. The deal was absurdly good on it, so I snapped it out of the store, and the process went REALLY fast. Like I said GO on Thursday morning and took delivery Monday afternoon. That includes them shipping it from Normal, IL to Cleveland, OH for delivery.

Now, when I took delivery there some of these small issues there, and they immediately offered to fix them. In particular the vibration was concerning, the rest were "nit picks" of mine (like the door handle being slightly misaligned). The caveat here was that I had to take delivery THAT DAY in order to keep my discounts. Had I told them to fix it on the spot I would have lost ~$6,500 in discounts, as well as the 0% lease deal. So, I opted to take the truck and let service "sort it out". I'm sure this helped their year end delivery numbers (It was sept 30th), and I got to keep the discounts.

For the 3 service visits, it's all been for the same set of issues. It's not like new issues are coming up here and there, they're just addressing them one by one, and in between waiting on parts, they give the truck back. The first rattle was addressed with new hydraulic lines, and the vibration was tires. They replaced two tires, but had to wait on the lines. So I got the truck back and returned the loaner for two weeks. Lines came in, they put those on, and found another issue with the control arms while installing the lines. SO, truck back to me, more parts ordered. Had the loaner over the weekend on that trip. New control arms came in, and mind you the old ones weren't broken, they had an updated part that they thought would help resolve the issue. This time they got the new arms on, and alignment was close so they checked the subframe to ensure it was aligned properly. This led to the delay that put me in a rental. While they had it, they put two more tires on it to ensure the truck was 100% vibration free.

The trip to Louisville last weekend showed that it rode as smooth as it every had, so the fixes worked. Keep in mind these are 35in tall all terrain tires, I'm sure they don't balance easy or perfect the first time AND I think they were mildly flat spotted from sitting around at the plant. They still flat spot over night and require a few miles to "warm up" in the morning. I fought the same thing in my GMC with BFG KO2's on it. Hell, google "Chevy Shake" if you have some time to kill and want to see about vibration problems.

Service has been proactive, communicative, and have good follow through. While I shouldn't have to have taken it to them 3 times in 2mo, I understand why it's played the way it has, and I'm not upset about it. The service experience was a known risk going into the purchase, and was one of the largest considerations when deciding. I ultimately decided the risk on an unproven service model was worth it. Like I said above, I don't feel the problems are egregious, and service has been absurdly easy to work with.

Also, I knew I was buying into a startup company. Rivian only has 60k vehicles built and delivered since 2022. That represents about 30 days of Fords 2023 F150 production. I didn't expect it to be perfect, and I'm not upset with how it's going.

 

[BlkGS]

That's probably one of the worst parts about a Rivian right now. With a BMW, GM, Ford, whatever you have a very high chance of having a dealer in town, so it's a lot easier than dealing with a Rivian service that's out of town.

I still say that if a luxury brand were to offer a legit concierge service for this kinda stuff they'd make a huge smash in the market. Wagoneer tried it but they were ha.strung with Jeep/Dodge dealers. If a company like Genesis were to say "we are going to require our dealers to pick your car up, drop your loaner off with you, at a place and time convenient to you, and do the same for returning your car", I think they'd take the market by storm, regardless of product. There's a lot of people who value their time more than they care about the details of their vehicle.

 

[2kwik4u]

That's probably one of the worst parts about a Rivian right now. With a BMW, GM, Ford, whatever you have a very high chance of having a dealer in town, so it's a lot easier than dealing with a Rivian service that's out of town.

I still say that if a luxury brand were to offer a legit concierge service for this kinda stuff they'd make a huge smash in the market. Wagoneer tried it but they were ha.strung with Jeep/Dodge dealers. If a company like Genesis were to say "we are going to require our dealers to pick your car up, drop your loaner off with you, at a place and time convenient to you, and do the same for returning your car", I think they'd take the market by storm, regardless of product. There's a lot of people who value their time more than they care about the details of their vehicle.

Rivian does this if you ask. They send the loaner out on a flatbed, and take your truck away on the same one. They also have a "mobile service team" that comes to you and fixes things that don't require a lift (like interior issues, glass repair, electronics issues, etc). I didn't use it because the Niagara Falls center is only ~20min away. Similar time suck to go there as it is to watch them load/unload/etc in the driveway. Not quite the concierge level service you're talking, but it's closer than anything else I've seen.

Would be interesting if there was a 3rd party service for even just pickup/delivery. Had a friend that made a killing for a couple years running a mobile oil change service. Most of his clients were executives downtown that needed to get an oil change, but didn't want to take the time away from business/family to go to the dealership. He would show up in a work van, go in and get keys and drive the cars around to an open parking spot, change the oil right there, then put the car back where he found it and take the keys back in. Charged like $200 for the service, and was typically booked a few weeks out with appointments. Super easy setup with just him a van with some tools and common oils on hand, and a company cellphone.

I agree on the service center proximity being an issue for many, as well as timing for many people. The Southern CA service centers are largely overloaded. I only decided it was acceptable because the Niagara Falls location opened a few weeks before I bought. Prior to that the nearest service center was Cleveland, which is ~3hrs southwest of me.

 

[MTREADER]

I can.....a little.....We have a group of guys in our shop that have started a "Leaf Club". They're finding used Nissan Leaves for next to nothing with about 40-50mi of range capability. They drive them the 15mi to work, then the 15mi home and are paying absurdly cheap prices (one guy got his for $1,500). Another guy has had the battery "near failure" for several years now. He solved the problem by getting permission to plug into the 110V beside the shop. So he gets the extra 3 mi of charge he needs over the day to not drain the battery below 5% on the way home.

The shift is no different than when fuel injection came on the scene. All these "damn computers" are going to make it impossible for the average guy to maintain......No they didn't, we just adapted, because that's what guys that buy $2k cars and run them into the ground do. They adapt to what's ahead of them, and make it work. I've been watching that happen for decades now.

I am a Nissan Parts Manager, We have had to replace 5 this year already. All under warranty at the expense of 15K parts and labor. The ones that aren't under warranty the customers try trading in but us dealers don't want them either. Sticking 15k into a vehicle that doesn't hold value is absurb. It's sad some of these owners are taking a bath on some of these. Like anything new it's going to take time for aftermarkets to be available and drive the prices down. Shipping the batteries alone cost 800.00 just to get then to the shops.

 

[2kwik4u]

@BlkGS Finally beat you at something

Rivian dominates owner satisfaction, Tesla comes third

Rivian leads the industry in owner satisfaction, with Tesla coming in third — making it two all-electric automakers in the...

electrek.co

 

[zipper]

Don't dent it!!

 

[CarolinaJet]

Oh jeez. Throat Punch was meant to be a funny term because have you ever seen anyone "throat punched"?? And it was not directed at him personally but I said "a manager". Chill out a little dude. Can't believe how tender this place is.

This is gaslighting. It’s important to call it what it is because it discourages thoughtful participation.

This community is full of fascinating, informative, and entertaining conversations. I’d like to keep it that way.

 

[zpaul]

Good truck but struggling, similar to Tesla when they started.

Rivian ranked dead last in Consumer Reports' predicted reliability rankings

Consumer Reports ranked Rivian dead last in its predicted reliability rankings with a score of just 14 out of 100.

www.rivianist.com

 

[2kwik4u]

Good truck but struggling, similar to Tesla when they started.

Rivian ranked dead last in Consumer Reports' predicted reliability rankings

Consumer Reports ranked Rivian dead last in its predicted reliability rankings with a score of just 14 out of 100.

www.rivianist.com

Really mimics my experience. Love the truck, but it made 3 visits to a service center in the first 2mo of ownership.

 

[Coult45]

As a MachE owner, I think anyone buying an EV at this point still needs to think of themselves as an early adopter to a degree, which comes with both risks and rewards. A little over three years and 40k miles into our ownership of that vehicle, and we still love it...and it still regularly has over the air updates that fix weird stuff, and it still has recalls, etc.

 

[zipper]

Installing a 240v, nema 14-50R in the garage makes a huge difference in charging time over the stock Toyota 120v, 15a cord supplied with the Rav4 Prime. Dead to full charge in 2.5 hrs, giving us about 52 miles ev versus an overnight charge ~10-12hrs. It has been a while since we have used the smaller amp charger, but I do not recall getting 52 miles ev with that one.
Materials were a little over $100, mostly the wire. The level 2 charger we use is this one. Did not know Home Depot sells them now...no issues using this one for 1.5 years.

MUSTART Level 2 Portable J1772 EV Charger-ETL certified 240-Volt 40 Amp NEMA 14-50P 25 ft. charging cord 2-year product warranty MT-AASJDT1N1450-40A25FT - The Home Depot

Find a great product to carry your pet comfortably with the selection of this MUSTART Level J ChargerETL certified NEMA charging cord product warranty.

www.homedepot.com

Here is a pic of the screen during charging last night.
The current drawn by the onboard charger is under 32a..

 

[2kwik4u]

Well, got my 240V in. I can see this being a game changer for certain. Truck says it's pulling 32A, and about 7.5kW. 120V was only getting me 1.3kW. So about 5.7x the power. Showing me as getting 17mi of range per hour.

Aside from my first cut in the drywall being directly in front of a hidden pipe, the install was very uneventful. 6awg wire is a PIA to deal with. Super stiff and hard to move around. Honestly, putting the breaker in and routing the wire wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.

 

[zipper]

Looks good, what height did you end up at? Sucks about the pvc drain.

 

[buckbuck]

@2kwik4u
Search Home Depot for access panels. I think you will find something for that hole without having to repair the drywall.