PSA: Dual Motor & Quad Motor Rivians have different warranties

[R1Ted]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but it looks like the Dual-Motor will come with less of a warranty than the Quad-Motor. I was talking with a Rivian employee who said this was just announced on Friday (07/21). This is surprising because I would expect Rivian to have greater confidence in their own in-house motors.

Any ideas on why they are doing this?

https://rivian.com/support/article/what-is-the-warranty-coverage-on-a-new-rivian

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[Dark-Fx]

This is surprising because I would expect Rivian to have greater confidence in their own in-house motors.

Motors are all rated for the same. Definitely strange that they have different B2B and Battery coverage between the two though.

 

[computertom]

Between this and their pricing structure it really is as if they don’t want folks to buy the duel motor. Really a bit odd from where I’m sitting to draw this long term distinction, but I guess we’ll learn more about their long term quad motor plans at time goes on.

 

[LevelHeaded]

Any ideas on why they are doing this?

Cost reduction

All else equal (incl reliability numbers), shorter coverage = cheaper than longer coverage.

 

[R1Tom]

Sort of odd from a messaging standpoint.

 

[C12farmer]

I can see the logic. Lower price point gets shorter warranty. Make sense from financial standpoint and cost tiers.

Kinda like a Lexus gets comprehensive warranty of 4yr/50K, but a Toyota only get 3/36K. Lexus powertrain gets 6ry/70K but Toyota gets 5yr/60K. It can be the same exact engine in both cars.

 

[Zoidz]

I agree with the comments above - this is probably more driven by positioning, marketing and price point differentiation. It's not that the Dual Motor has an inferior warranty - rather, the quad has a premium warranty.

 

[Southern R1S]

Not too unreasonable & generally agree this is likely geared to drive cost savings and product differentiation, but the one group that I think may have a legitimate gripe here would be the max pack orders that were basically forced to dual to preserve that option.

 

[dleepnw]

talk about important fine print.

folks need to know this that are debating between dual and quad. especially those with pre-price hike pricing as its only $500 difference

 

[SASSquatch]

I'm not sure I agree with the idea that this makes "sense."

Tesla doesn't give you a different warranty for a dual motor vs single motor, do they?

They distinguish between Model X/S and Model Y/3 - which makes sense since one is their flagship and the other the cheaper entry point.

I would have expected Rivian to offer a shorter warranty for the R2 but having a division with R1 vehicles is nonsensical. It sends the wrong message to the consumer.

What it tells me is that since they engineered the Enduro Dual Motor inhouse and have zero reliability data - they aren't confident they can give people the same duration of time and mileage warranty wise as the quad motor.

That would make me want to stay away from the dual motor.

Edit: Never mind the motors are rated the same as @Dark-Fx pointed out earlier.

I still think it's odd to differentiate across the R1 vehicles though. If you price out a performance dual motor you are still spending mucho $$.

 

[Blueassassin]

This does bring up a question in my mind. I wonder if they would sell an extended warranty for more money then?

 

[madgrey]

It makes enough sense for the Dual (non-performance) vs. Quad.

If you are stretching your budget for an R1, the Dual (non-performance) would be a good choice.

If you are stretcing your budget for a Quad R1, then I'd argue that the warranty differentiation is o.k. In general, I'd even appreciate more from a feature perspective for the Quad R1. Bring back 12V outlets for instance.

I still think the Dual Performance makes no sense, and even less so with the warranty differentiation.

 

[madgrey]

What it tells me is that since they engineered the Enduro Dual Motor inhouse and have zero reliability data - they aren't confident they can give people the same duration of time and mileage warranty wise as the quad motor.

That would make me want to stay away from the dual motor.

I suspect they have some reliability data. I used to do accelerated life testing on electronic assemblies before the company shipped a single unit. Not perfect, but not zero. But, I bet they would like more data and that would be a good reason to hedge bets on the warranty.

However, the warranty seems to be pretty good on the Dual. It's not the best but seems competitive.

 

[SASSquatch]

It makes enough sense for the Dual (non-performance) vs. Quad.

If you are stretching your budget for an R1, the Dual (non-performance) would be a good choice.

If you are stretcing your budget for a Quad R1, then I'd argue that the warranty differentiation is o.k. In general, I'd even appreciate more from a feature perspective for the Quad R1. Bring back 12V outlets for instance.

I still think the Dual Performance makes no sense, and even less so with the warranty differentiation.

What does not appeal to me at all is that the vehicles are identical minus the motors. There is no other feature differentiation.

Rivian clearly wants to to drive (no pun intended) sales of the Dual Motor because it is much more cost efficient for them but offering a shorter warranty disincentivizes new buyers - especially with a brand new vehicle from a brand new company - and add an EV which can be very expensive to repair on top of that and it isn't a good look.

 

[Guy]

What does not appeal to me at all is that the vehicles are identical minus the motors. There is no other feature differentiation.

Rivian clearly wants to to drive (no pun intended) sales of the Dual Motor because it is much more cost efficient for them but offering a shorter warranty disincentivizes new buyers - especially with a brand new vehicle from a brand new company - and add an EV which can be very expensive to repair on top of that and it isn't a good look.

I suspect the Bosch quad motors will be dropped sometime in the future to allow them to go to a cheaper quad Enduro motor setup. Then this lower warranty for the Enduro drives will carry over and everything will be standardized at the 4 year B2B and 8yr/150k battery warranty - this will save money but is backing away a little from their luxury/premium poisitioning. Although other luxury brands are four years so not too bad.

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