Horror story / battery drain during service

[Shazam]

Perhaps my experience can serve as a warning to some of you.

I unfortunately knocked out my alignment and so had to take it for service (local place rivian recommended). The alignment was off enough that it set off warnings and speed limited me to 19 mph. It was their first experience with a rivian and they were happy to work on it. I wasnt sure how long they would need to fix it so I charged it ahead of time.
The second day they had it I noticed the battery was dropping rapidly (by 2-3% per hour). I figured maybe they were testing it or driving it. By the end of the day it was around 30% and I couldn't figure it out. I asked them to plug it in but they were unable to and didn't get back to me.

So there I am, watching the battery drop throughout the evening, with the car parked in their garage. Going down by 2% every hour. At midnight the battery was at 14% and I'm realizing there's a good chance it doesn't make it through the night. I shut off everything I can, turn off the app, don't open anything, turn off gear guard etc. Open app up at 4 am and battery is at 4%. At that point I'm officially freaked out so I drive to the repair shop at 430. Obviously closed up with nobody there.

Banged on the doors with no answer. Tried a side door and by the grace of God was able to get in.
Found by beauty R1s with 2% battery and was able to plug in

So what was the problem? The drivers seat belt was buckled (I'm guessing repair person didn't want it dinging when driving)

So be forewarned, tell the repair shop to keep the seat belt unbuckled...

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[SoCal Rob]

That was a very close call! I wonder how they missed the fact that the vehicle was still on. Were the dash displays on and fans running? That’s what I would imagine.

 

[R1Tom]

This is a case where the ability to shut it all down from app, would sure be nice.

 

[Shazam]

That was a very close call! I wonder how they missed the fact that the vehicle was still on. Were the dash displays on and fans running? That’s what I would imagine.

I dunno how they missed it, was their first experience I guess and maybe they didn't know what else to do to turn it off. Dash was on, fans running. Also when I got my charger from frunk the compartment underneath was quite warm, so I'm not sure what the vehicle is doing when it thinks someone is in the drivers seat.

 

[carmigo]

Perhaps my experience can serve as a warning to some of you.

I unfortunately knocked out my alignment and so had to take it for service (local place rivian recommended). The alignment was off enough that it set off warnings and speed limited me to 19 mph. It was their first experience with a rivian and they were happy to work on it. I wasnt sure how long they would need to fix it so I charged it ahead of time.
The second day they had it I noticed the battery was dropping rapidly (by 2-3% per hour). I figured maybe they were testing it or driving it. By the end of the day it was around 30% and I couldn't figure it out. I asked them to plug it in but they were unable to and didn't get back to me.

So there I am, watching the battery drop throughout the evening, with the car parked in their garage. Going down by 2% every hour. At midnight the battery was at 14% and I'm realizing there's a good chance it doesn't make it through the night. I shut off everything I can, turn off the app, don't open anything, turn off gear guard etc. Open app up at 4 am and battery is at 4%. At that point I'm officially freaked out so I drive to the repair shop at 430. Obviously closed up with nobody there.

Banged on the doors with no answer. Tried a side door and by the grace of God was able to get in.
Found by beauty R1s with 2% battery and was able to plug in

So what was the problem? The drivers seat belt was buckled (I'm guessing repair person didn't want it dinging when driving)

So be forewarned, tell the repair shop to keep the seat belt unbuckled...

That's wild... so glad you were able to get in though. Strange that all it took to drain the battery was a buckled-in seatbelt though.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

That's wild... so glad you were able to get in though. Strange that all it took to drain the battery was a buckled-in seatbelt though.

It's because the truck stays on. The climate, and battery is ready to go. It's like if you were idling in traffic, it's the EV version of idle.

 

[WSea]

Lucky they leave the shop unlocked

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Lucky they leave the shop unlocked

Which is also kind of worrisome as well. I keep my truck in my locked garage at night. I would not like it if my truck was in an unsecured shop overnight.

 

[cbrcanuck]

I can't believe you got in there, man are you lucky! I have a habit of always (ie when I remember) turning off the climate control manually when I leave the truck. Figure one day it may save me a big boat of trouble.

 

[SASSquatch]

This is where having a physical On/Off button is really useful. I really can't stand the movement to eliminate as many buttons as possible in EVs.

 

[madgrey]

This is where having a physical On/Off button is really useful. I really can't stand the movement to eliminate as many buttons as possible in EVs.

I suppose such a button, it it were big and red, might actually be pushed by the service dept.

 

[mikehmb]

Man - there’s a lot of terrible to go around here.

- Rivian should never have recommended this shop as they clearly don’t have the expertise with the vehicle
- Service should have attempted a remote shutdown for you
- An unlocked door? Where expensive vehicles are stored with their keys???

Sorry you had to deal with this. Glad it had a happy-ish ending.

 

[SoCal Rob]

This is where having a physical On/Off button is really useful. I really can't stand the movement to eliminate as many buttons as possible in EVs.

Even using an existing control for this would be nice. Someone suggested using the Park button on the end of the right stalk. Double-tap or tap once then press and hold for a few seconds. Something to indicate power down which couldn’t be activated while the vehicle is in motion.

 

[SASSquatch]

Even using an existing control for this would be nice. Someone suggested using the Park button on the end of the right stalk. Double-tap or tap once then press and hold for a few seconds. Something to indicate power down which couldn’t be activated while the vehicle is in motion.

Now that is a great idea.! +1

 

[SoCal Rob]

Now that is a great idea.! +1

Giving credit where it is due: @astonius is the one who suggested it and I just found the thread which I remembered. https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/rivian-please-”add”-a-power-button.11961/post-269921

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