Rivian Says Running Boards Negate Battery Warranty

[EV Sportline]

guys, the chances of an OEM successfully denying an adjacent warranty (ie battery failed due to installation of running boards) due to the installation of aftermarket parts is practically zero. Rivian is 'new', but the automotive industry is not...federal law protects consumers and legacy OEM's have learned

I have the EV Sportline running boards, they just had to replace my rear drive unit. Never once mentioned anything to me about the running boards. I don't know if they just didn't take them off or did it without saying anything.

I had a major battery / electrical failure on my R1T about 6 months ago. Truck obviously had our sliders on it, along with every other part we make. Rivian service was great, they towed the truck back to Altanta service station from out of state, over a holiday, and gave me a rental car. When I got home they swapped me to an R1S loaner, while they worked on my truck. They had my truck for 2 weeks, had to fly in engineers from Rivian HQ to diagnose the issue. Ended up a battery out exercise, and replaced high voltage fuses as well.

Never a peep about my various mods and sliders. AND they even had corporate Rivian design engineers in on the truck battery issue.

That said, different associates at different locations may say or act differently. Honesty, this is not just a Rivian thing, nor is it a new thing - I've been dealing with situations like this for 25 years in the automotive aftermarket. All OEMs / dealers can have unique cases. Cowboy service folks exist, across all brands.

Federal law exists to protect consumers against unjust warranty denials. Sometimes it takes some escalating with the OEM to get over any threats to deny.

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[ridgetopview]

guys, the chances of an OEM successfully denying an adjacent warranty (ie battery failed due to installation of running boards) due to the installation of aftermarket parts is practically zero. Rivian is 'new', but the automotive industry is not...federal law protects consumers and legacy OEM's have learned


I had a major battery / electrical failure on my R1T about 6 months ago. Truck obviously had our sliders on it, along with every other part we make. Rivian service was great, they towed the truck back to Altanta service station from out of state, over a holiday, and gave me a rental car. When I got home they swapped me to an R1S loaner, while they worked on my truck. They had my truck for 2 weeks, had to fly in engineers from Rivian HQ to diagnose the issue. Ended up a battery out exercise, and replaced high voltage fuses as well.

Never a peep about my various mods and sliders. AND they even had corporate Rivian design engineers in on the truck battery issue.

That said, different associates at different locations may say or act differently. Honesty, this is not just a Rivian thing, nor is it a new thing - I've been dealing with situations like this for 25 years in the automotive aftermarket. All OEMs / dealers can have unique cases. Cowboy service folks exist, across all brands.

Federal law exists to protect consumers against unjust warranty denials. Sometimes it takes some escalating with the OEM to get over any threats to deny.

Very helpful and thoughtful reply. Thank you.

 

[ridgetopview]

I doesn’t matter what CS tells you. They cannot negate the warranty counter to consumer law. Also, I’d point out that although you asked about the battery warranty, they answered referencing the new vehicle limited warranty…which are very different things. Either way…modifying your vehicle with professionally installed items does not negate your warranty unless they can show the modification caused the failure.

Very helpful. Thank you.

 

[R1Thor]

While I still think it’s unlikely any of these could directly cause a battery failure, there’s a lot of structure in there bolted together.

Which is true AND actually helps when you think about the distribution of forces--those bolts ALREADY have to maintain the entire structure of this vehicle, including within spec for all of the 'adventuring' Rivian wants us to do with the truck. These are plenty Engineered to handle that.

NOW, you're adding an aftermarket insurance policy that it's even more difficult to damage the system. You COULD argue that you're inducing a bit more torque to the outside of the vehicle due to the overhang of them, but THEN (and only then) are you in trouble in a situation or scenario wherein you somehow snagged a rock slider and somehow physically broke something underneath of the vehicle.

Not likely to happen.

One great thing about EV Sportline (and other manufacturers) is that they ARE using the OEM bolts, and spec'ing OEM torque values. SO long as everything is engineered to scale, and you're properly installing anything, Rivian should be thanking you for making your vehicle more durable.

That said, my personal anecdote to add: I had a mobile service tech out at one point who specifically recommended I think about sliders. He said he loves them, thinks they're a great addition to the truck, and improve the experience of getting in/out, and he said he's a big fan when he is working on vehicles that have them because it's a half second quicker for him to get to the jack points. Granted, I wouldn't anticipate he'd put that in writing and endorse it back to his supervisor, but he literally had zero qualms about the idea of it, so I'm assuming this isn't a blanket policy.

 

[R1TS]

Will be interesting to see what happens with that first battery claim by someone with running boards.

Can't wait.

I doesn’t matter what CS tells you. They cannot negate the warranty counter to consumer law. Also, I’d point out that although you asked about the battery warranty, they answered referencing the new vehicle limited warranty…which are very different things. Either way…modifying your vehicle with professionally installed items does not negate your warranty unless they can show the modification caused the failure.

The conflict with your statement is "professionally installed". Most installs of running boards here are done at home.

 

[Stickboy46]

Will be interesting to see what happens with that first battery claim by someone with running boards.

Can't wait.

The conflict with your statement is "professionally installed". Most installs of running boards here are done at home.

Professional or not is irrelevant to the law. They have to prove the modification caused the failure by law to void the warranty.

 

[JerseyGreens]

Will be interesting to see what happens with that first battery claim by someone with running boards.

Can't wait.

The conflict with your statement is "professionally installed". Most installs of running boards here are done at home.

Two real life examples were already shared in this thread. Go ahead and read a little before posting next time

 

[sevengroove]

guys, the chances of an OEM successfully denying an adjacent warranty (ie battery failed due to installation of running boards) due to the installation of aftermarket parts is practically zero. Rivian is 'new', but the automotive industry is not...federal law protects consumers and legacy OEM's have learned


I had a major battery / electrical failure on my R1T about 6 months ago. Truck obviously had our sliders on it, along with every other part we make. Rivian service was great, they towed the truck back to Altanta service station from out of state, over a holiday, and gave me a rental car. When I got home they swapped me to an R1S loaner, while they worked on my truck. They had my truck for 2 weeks, had to fly in engineers from Rivian HQ to diagnose the issue. Ended up a battery out exercise, and replaced high voltage fuses as well.

Never a peep about my various mods and sliders. AND they even had corporate Rivian design engineers in on the truck battery issue.

That said, different associates at different locations may say or act differently. Honesty, this is not just a Rivian thing, nor is it a new thing - I've been dealing with situations like this for 25 years in the automotive aftermarket. All OEMs / dealers can have unique cases. Cowboy service folks exist, across all brands.

Federal law exists to protect consumers against unjust warranty denials. Sometimes it takes some escalating with the OEM to get over any threats to deny.

@ridgetopview it would be helpful if you updated your original post with this reply pasted in as an update for folks who are just seeing your thread for the first time.

 

[usulio]

Referring to the warranty itself (something sadly missing from this thread so far), it looks reasonable. The exceptions only include damage caused by unapproved parts or modifications. The guide read it wrong.

I was interested to see that the warranty does not include damage from prolonged sunlight, tree sap, or bird crap. Careful out there on those adventures!

https://rivian.com/support/article/new-vehicle-limited-warranty-guide

 

[PBRAZ]

May I suggest this as an alternative:

https://a.co/d/6M1TvPz

Won't void your warranty and will allow you to navigate the seemingly impossible task of stepping in and out of a vehcile that lowers itself to within inches of the ground.

Seriously, do y'all rock crawl every day or are y'all 5'2"?!

 

[brancky3]

May I suggest this as an alternative:

https://a.co/d/6M1TvPz

Won't void your warranty and will allow you to navigate the seemingly impossible task of stepping in and out of a vehcile that lowers itself to within inches of the ground.

Seriously, do y'all rock crawl every day or are y'all 5'2"?!

I'm 6'1" and still need running boards. Without them, there's almost no way to get out of the seat without dragging yourself across the bottom bolster which is going to destroy the "leather" pretty quickly. I'd rather not destroy my seat, and sometimes I have short passengers who appreciate a step.

Kneel mode is extremely frustrating to use since it pauses if someone even thinks about touching the handle and is VERY slow to lower. I think in the year I've had my truck it's only been able to fully kneel 3 times when I've had others in the car with me.

 

[Zoidz]

May I suggest this as an alternative:

https://a.co/d/6M1TvPz

Won't void your warranty and will allow you to navigate the seemingly impossible task of stepping in and out of a vehcile that lowers itself to within inches of the ground.

Seriously, do y'all rock crawl every day or are y'all 5'2"?!

Seriously, are you daft or just ignorant of others needs?

Considering that many of our wives are possibly under 5-5” and all pre-teens are under 5-2”, it probably approaches 60-70% of potential passengers could benefit from running boards. And then there are people like my 89 year old mother with limited mobility that benefits from running boards.

 

[DuoRivian]

Seriously, are you daft or just ignorant of others needs?

Considering that many of our wives are possibly under 5-5” and all pre-teens are under 5-2”, it probably approaches 60-70% of potential passengers could benefit from running boards. And then there are people like my 89 year old mother with limited mobility that benefits from running boards.

He was obviously being sarcastic, don’t be so touchy.

 

[SparkyR1t]

When I installed running boards on my R1 t about a year ago I had to have Rivian perform service so I asked when I arrived what their thoughts were on the boards and if they could lift the vehicle with current equipment. The service manager said he liked the look and was seeing other running boards come in. He stated “ if we ever needed to remove the hv battery the boards would have to be taken off”. Otherwise no immediate issues

 

[PBRAZ]

He was obviously being sarcastic, don’t be so touchy.

Thanks, some people can't take a joke. Especially short people.

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