[JHW]

Of course I love the car. Foolishly, on delivery, I didn’t check to see if the paid-for spare tire was in the spare tire compartment. Three days after delivery, I check: not there.

Given the roads I drive on, and having ruined three tires over the past year on other cars, a real spare is a necessity to me. Indeed, I was very surprised Rivian doesn’t include it as standard. After all, it’s supposed to be an “Adventure Vehicle”.

So while the invoice considers it as part of the car, Rivian now tells me it’s an accessory (even though that contradicts the invoice). And to add insult to injury, I’m told it will take weeks to get it.

Bottom-line? When you get delivery don’t be distracted by all the bells and whistles—check the basics before signing. And don’t expect quick responses from those much vaunted “Rivian Guides.” They seem to be busy.

 

[O. horridus]

Why do you call this sub-par customer support? It seems there were mistakes made, by both you and the support center, in checking the actual items delivered. But they evidently acknowledged the mistake and will be getting you a spare (which are in short supply and are not yet being sold individually, by the way). Since their delivery preparation procedures probably include going through a checklist to make sure everything is accurate, and informing you of any items that will need to be shipped separately, I think it's actually encouraging that they gave you the benefit of the doubt here - their records probably indicated that a spare tire was on board, and as far as they know you could have just removed it and are trying to scam a few thousand dollars worth of wheel/tire from them. I don't see that you have anything to complain about here.

The spare tire is an accessory, which you pay for and which should show up as a separate line item on the invoice, but if it is "installed" at the factory it will show up on your load rating sticker and reduce the payload capacity by an amount equal to the weight of the wheel/tire. There are many reports of people who got their vehicle but had their spare tire shipped separately because of supply shortages and needed an updated sticker applied when the spare was delivered, so I am sure one of the things the support center checks on is the presence/absence of a spare. Rivian is clearly doing its best to try to get vehicles to customers even if all the accessories aren't available at delivery time.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Did you pay the $600-800 for the spare? Are you in a state that mandates a spare tire? If "no" to both questions, then you aren't owed a spare.

If you answer "yes" to either, then you are.

 

[JHW]

Did you pay the $600-800 for the spare? Are you in a state that mandates a spare tire? If "no" to both questions, then you aren't owed a spare.

If you answer "yes" to either, then you are.

In the sincerest hope that others will learn from and benefit from our experience, the facts:
1. As soon as Rivian offered the Launch Edition, I said yes, and included the underbody shield and spare tire.
2. Both the underbody shield and the spare tire are considered--both on the "window sticker" and invoice--as part of the vehicle, and not accessories.
3. This can be contrasted to the roof bars and the Rivian wall charger which are listed on the invoice as accessories.
4. The underbody shield and the spare tire were paid for on delivery, as were the listed accessories: roof bars and charger.
5. No one at Rivian--including extensive e-mail conversations, multiple conversations with the "guide", or the person who delivered the vehicle--mentioned that the spare tire would be arriving sometime in the future.

Others may not considered my opinion as justified, which is of course your choice. Again, I hope others will however benefit from my experience and carefully go over the vehicle when it is delivered and make certain all expectation are very clear.

Finally (and I'm done!) one additional "fun fact" regarding conversations about tire shortages. My local Discount Tire store can get four of the tires at their store tomorrow.

 

[O. horridus]

You still haven't answered why you are saying that "customer support" is "way below par". You're getting your spare tire, right? So they solved the problem, even though you were part of the problem? That sounds like GOOD customer support to me, not "way below par".

I said:

There are many reports of people who got their vehicle but had their spare tire shipped separately because of supply shortages

You responded:

Finally (and I'm done!) one additional "fun fact" regarding conversations about tire shortages. My local Discount Tire store can get four of the tires at their store tomorrow.

Which seems to be a side swipe at me, saying I'm totally wrong. So I'm going to point out that:
1) Discount Tires may have Pirelli Scorpion tires in the right size available, but I guarantee they are not the same tires that were specially developed in partnership with Rivian. Those are not available through any retailers yet.
2) Discount Tires most certainly does NOT have the wheels in stock or even available.
3) Rivian does not yet allow purchase of spare tires/wheels in the Gear Shop. Other items that have limited availability, like the wall charger and the cargo crossbars, are also not available for purchase yet. These items all exist, they just have limited quantities and need all they can get to fulfill existing orders.
4) Rivian does not allow you to purchase spare tires/wheels outside of the vehicle purchase, and does not allow you to purchase entire sets of tires/wheels at all. Many of us have asked our guides if we can purchase a second set (e.g. a 20" set for winter/off-road use in addition to the 21" or 22" that came with our vehicle.) The answer is NO. Some of us have asked if we can purchase just two extra to mount on our travel trailer so the wheels would match the vehicle. The answer is NO. It's not because they don't want the money, they just don't have a lot of stock beyond what they have to fill existing orders.
5) Rivian is, in some but certainly not all cases, delivering spare tires separately from the vehicle. This is a lot of extra work and they would not be doing it if they had a whole warehouse of extra tires/wheels sitting around.
6) Rivian is prioritizing production based on tire/wheel choice - initially almost everyone was receiving the 20". As availability of the tires/wheels changes, tire/wheel choice affects your delivery date. This is evident from hundreds of thread where people have been told by their guide that if they are willing to accept a different tire size then they can get their vehicle sooner.
7) Rivian has stated repeatedly that supply-chain problems were restricting what configurations they can ship. And while this is certainly due to more than one different part, it's also clear that tires/wheels are one of those things that are causing them difficulty.

So despite your implication, there is no doubt that the Rivian tires/wheels have a restricted supply, and that Rivian is aware of these problems and trying to make the best use of what they can get. My statement above about "supply shortages" is completely accurate and justified based on all the above facts (and more). And you should give customer service credit for correcting the problem and getting you a spare within a few weeks at extra expense to them, not berate them for poor service - there's nothing poor or sub par in what you've described.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Discount Tires may have Pirelli Scorpion tires in the right size available, but I guarantee they are not the same tires that were specially developed in partnership with Rivian. Those are not available through any retailers yet.

The tires are available at third party retailers. The same tires as Rivian is using. The wheels are not…. But the tires are available.

TireRack, for example:

 

[sciencegeek]

It says Special Order When Available though ...

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

It says Special Order When Available though ...

It’s says available Thursday (2days) when I try to check out. It just isn’t something they stock in every warehouse…. But they are available.

 

[tyemoe]

You always write condescending and mean posts O horridus. No one likes to read them.

 

[kizamybute']

I will say from experience, if anything like Tesla, which I assume it is as Rivian as followed the Tesla playbook, the Rivian "guide" are nothing more than sales associates to get you into your vehicle. Once that's done, the Rivian guide's job with you is COMPLETE. Their job effectively stops with you upon delivery. Any issues from there on will need to be through Rivian Service. From other reviews, Rivian "service" has been GREAT and answering calls and trying to resolve issues. So, I think the OP's disappointment is more in who he/she was calling rather than it being bad service by Rivian. Just like a salesman/woman at a car dealer doesn't change your oil on an ICE car, Rivian "guides" aren't "service" writers.

A call to Rivian Service will likely be far more to your satisfaction.

 

[RITVT]

My guide is tracking my accessories "post sale" and I have all of their contact information for anything I need. That said, I also was told that if you ever need a new guide, or are ever dissatisfied in any way, just let us know and we will make a switch. I would think of a guide more of a concierge to get you the right level of support and facilitate anything you need, even if they can't do it. They seem to have an incentive to make their book of clients happy and to make good impressions. Its a noble effort, but one that will become harder over time with scale and more customers and more service requests for sure.

 

[Fasteddy]

Why do you call this sub-par customer support? It seems there were mistakes made, by both you and the support center, in checking the actual items delivered. But they evidently acknowledged the mistake and will be getting you a spare (which are in short supply and are not yet being sold individually, by the way). Since their delivery preparation procedures probably include going through a checklist to make sure everything is accurate, and informing you of any items that will need to be shipped separately, I think it's actually encouraging that they gave you the benefit of the doubt here - their records probably indicated that a spare tire was on board, and as far as they know you could have just removed it and are trying to scam a few thousand dollars worth of wheel/tire from them. I don't see that you have anything to complain about here.

The spare tire is an accessory, which you pay for and which should show up as a separate line item on the invoice, but if it is "installed" at the factory it will show up on your load rating sticker and reduce the payload capacity by an amount equal to the weight of the wheel/tire. There are many reports of people who got their vehicle but had their spare tire shipped separately because of supply shortages and needed an updated sticker applied when the spare was delivered, so I am sure one of the things the support center checks on is the presence/absence of a spare. Rivian is clearly doing its best to try to get vehicles to customers even if all the accessories aren't available at delivery time.

No offense to the last response but they did not include my spare as well. When asking at time of pick up the service center asked me would I like to hold off receiving vehicle until tire comes in. I said no I would like both truck and tire at same time and they said we can’t do that and the tire would come as a delivery direct from Rivian. It is nuts that they operate this way.

 

[sciencegeek]

No offense to the last response but they did not include my spare as well. When asking at time of pick up the service center asked me would I like to hold off receiving vehicle until tire comes in. I said no I would like both truck and tire at same time and they said we can’t do that and the tire would come as a delivery direct from Rivian. It is nuts that they operate this way.

There's a pretty simple explanation. They don't want to be sitting on inventory waiting for a spare wheel. They need to deliver the trucks. That's all there's to it.

 

[kizamybute']

No offense to the last response but they did not include my spare as well. When asking at time of pick up the service center asked me would I like to hold off receiving vehicle until tire comes in. I said no I would like both truck and tire at same time and they said we can’t do that and the tire would come as a delivery direct from Rivian. It is nuts that they operate this way.

It is not uncommon for manufacturers to release cars missing DEALER ADDED accessories. Items such as the Spare, cargo mounts, gear tunnel shuttle, floor mats, etc, etc are all items that are not part of factory production. Would be silly for any manufacturer to hold up the entire production line because all weather floor mats might not be available today. It's up to the customer to decide if such items are that important to them that they're not willing to take delivery of the vehicle without the accessories. The spare tire could be necessary for some, but it is a drop in item that can be put in at any time.

For my order, they dropped the gear tunnel shuttle because it is delayed, but guaranteed I can purchase it later at the originally offered price point. If they know in advance, as was the case with the shuttle, they'll take it off the order. The spare tire is something they're probably just low on inventory at the moment and will get it out as soon as possible.

I'd rather have the truck now and wait for some of the accessories than delay my delivery because some accessories are not available at the time of delivery. But, that's just me.

 

[lethargic_wombat]

JHW, glad to hear you like your Rivian. I, too, recently took delivery of mine. Early in the 8 step purchase process, my guide let me know that the spare tire and other accessories would be delivered after the vehicle. She said this wasn't unique to my region (AZ). Unfortunately, it sounds like that wasn't part of your guide's script. Despite being told my spare would be delayed by my guide, the local Phoenix service center, that did my at home delivery, scrounged one up and it was included. They had reviewed my guides notes and seen that there was a note in my account about an upcoming trip I had planned and they didn't want me to be without a spare on that trip. They did not have the updated spare tire placard at the time of delivery. So, they wrote up a Due Bill for it and my wrist band key during the delivery. I'm sorry your customer service experience didn't meet your expectations. Obviously, each person's experience will be different. I, personally, was blown away that the delivery team reviewed the guide notes in such detail and went above and beyond to find a spare that could be included upon delivery for piece of mind on my upcoming trip. I wanted to add my experience to let others know what you went through is not the norm. Enjoy your new ride!