Sam Krahn 
The upcoming Rivian R1T and R1S are exciting entrants to the growing EV market. They aim to capitalize on the emerging off-road electric vehicle segment, and it looks like their customers really will use their vehicles for off-road adventures. But we have to remember Rivian doesn’t only have to sell EVs, but be a true car company and take care of their customers and vehicles. We recently covered their impressive warranty coverage, and now Rivian has revealed their plan for servicing vehicles. Basically, everything is done in the most convenient possible way for the customer. And they’re calling it Rivian Remote Care.
This is mainly down to the fact Rivian doesn’t have a franchised dealership network. Yes, they’re creating some showrooms across the country, but they won’t be the same as your local Ford dealer, or anywhere near as common. For this reason, the American automaker is leaning into over the air (OTA) updates more than anything else.
One of the benefits of electric vehicles is they need very little servicing, so any issues that come up are probably software related. Rivian says most issues can be detected proactively through their Rivian Remote Care system, which comes with every R1S and R1T. This runs diagnostic tests in the background using multiple vehicles sensors and algorithms, and can send out a notification for an OTA update to fix the issue before the owner even realizes there was something wrong. They’ll do this overnight in the background so owners won’t be bothered with waiting for new software to download.
But there’s always that chance something can go more dramatically wrong, or that you need the occasional routine maintenance like replacing tires or getting new wiper blades. That’s where Rivian’s fleet of mobile repair vans come in. Soon, there will be a many repair vans stationed around the country that will come to owners to fix issues or perform maintenance, rather than the owner going to them.
These Rivian repair specialists can also tow an R1S or R1T to a larger service center if needed. Over the coming year, there will be over 40 service locations, and Rivian is also working on setting up a network of collision centers for more serious fixes. Like we said, there’s more to setting up a car company than selling the car.
Rivian Remote Care will be built into R1T and R1S owner’s app, where they can report, schedule and track any updates, maintenance or fixes that may come up. Rivian wants their customers to really use their vehicles, and know they’ll be protected throughout ownership with a strong warranty and convenient servicing plan.
