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2 Posts
Like many (I assume), I bought the Rivian wall charger with my R1T. I had it installed on its own 60 amp breaker within a 200 amp panel. It worked nearly flawlessly for a month, occasionally losing its WiFi connection and appearing "offline." After a month, suddenly, the vehicle would charge for 15 minutes, then the charge indicator would turn red, and I'd get a charging error. I would unplug, try again, turn off the breaker to the charger, try again, etc. IT would take all day to get a small partial charge. I contacted support and spent hours rebooting the vehicle and the charger, until it completely stopped recognizing being plugged in. I had to take pictures of the plug and socket, etc. before escalating the service request. They couldn't figure out whether it was the truck or charger.
Eventually I trouble shot it myself. I had no trouble using the local fast DC or level 2 chargers, my Juicebox 32 amp at my cabin, and the portable Rivian charger worked fine too. So, it was obviously the charger. I asked for service. They then insisted that I take photos of the inside of my electrical panel, zoom in on the circuit breaker, open the Rivian charger and photograph it. It worked fine for a month, then failed, but their explanation is that it's wired incorrectly? I bought a 48 amp Juicebox instead and had it installed on the same circuit. It's been working flawlessly for months and never loses its WiFi connection. I can control the schedule, it logs every charging session, appears more reliable, but cost $800.
I've contacted Rivian multiple times since. They've promised to refund my Rivian charger purchase but I need to wait for an email for instructions to return it. It's been months. I get the runaround every time. They've even claimed that they accidentally "filled out the wrong form." More than a week ago, only after I threatened doing what I'm doing now (warning others of the reality of ownership) did I get a returned phone call. He was very pleasant and apologetic and assured me that he would personally follow up to be sure I got the email with return instructions, either that day or the next. Again, it never happened. It has cost me so much time to chase the promised refund and it's only $500, so I'm going to give up. I'm going to toss the charger in the dumpster because I'm sick of having it take up space in my tight garage, and I'm sick of the aggravation of repeatedly asking them to follow through.
I love the truck. It's a truly awesome vehicle, despite a few bugs. I've driven it on several 700+ mile road trips. However, the support experience is horrendous when compared to traditional new vehicle ownership. I just wanted it fixed, but I had to do the legwork, the trouble shooting, and eventually buy the replacement part myself. I want to warn others so that they think carefully about the type of ownership experience they want when spending $85k on a vehicle. Just pray you don't need service after they have your money.
Eventually I trouble shot it myself. I had no trouble using the local fast DC or level 2 chargers, my Juicebox 32 amp at my cabin, and the portable Rivian charger worked fine too. So, it was obviously the charger. I asked for service. They then insisted that I take photos of the inside of my electrical panel, zoom in on the circuit breaker, open the Rivian charger and photograph it. It worked fine for a month, then failed, but their explanation is that it's wired incorrectly? I bought a 48 amp Juicebox instead and had it installed on the same circuit. It's been working flawlessly for months and never loses its WiFi connection. I can control the schedule, it logs every charging session, appears more reliable, but cost $800.
I've contacted Rivian multiple times since. They've promised to refund my Rivian charger purchase but I need to wait for an email for instructions to return it. It's been months. I get the runaround every time. They've even claimed that they accidentally "filled out the wrong form." More than a week ago, only after I threatened doing what I'm doing now (warning others of the reality of ownership) did I get a returned phone call. He was very pleasant and apologetic and assured me that he would personally follow up to be sure I got the email with return instructions, either that day or the next. Again, it never happened. It has cost me so much time to chase the promised refund and it's only $500, so I'm going to give up. I'm going to toss the charger in the dumpster because I'm sick of having it take up space in my tight garage, and I'm sick of the aggravation of repeatedly asking them to follow through.
I love the truck. It's a truly awesome vehicle, despite a few bugs. I've driven it on several 700+ mile road trips. However, the support experience is horrendous when compared to traditional new vehicle ownership. I just wanted it fixed, but I had to do the legwork, the trouble shooting, and eventually buy the replacement part myself. I want to warn others so that they think carefully about the type of ownership experience they want when spending $85k on a vehicle. Just pray you don't need service after they have your money.
