Rivian Says Running Boards Negate Battery Warranty

[usulio]

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

May I suggest https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Funny-Practical-Situation/dp/0743204727

Note: haven't read it, was on the top shelf in the bookstore.

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[Tampa R1T]

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

I'm curious what the response would be at the (newly opened) Tampa service center if I asked them in person whether having running boards is an issue...

 

[TollKeeper]

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

They have been known to have "short" tempers!

I can say that.. My wife is 4'10".. And I have a 2 year old, and a soon to be 6 year old.

Although I dont have immediate plans for the running boards, its still not out of the realm of possibility. Currently, the wives mini-van is for the kids. But that will change one day.

 

[Dark-Fx]

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

Try getting in without boards/sliders when your Rivian is like this

 

[PBRAZ]

Try getting in without boards/sliders when your Rivian is like this

True!

 

[ozziegt]

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

That didn't read like a sarcastic comment at all. But thanks for giving him an out I guess?

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

They have been known to have "short" tempers!

I can say that.. My wife is 4'10".. And I have a 2 year old, and a soon to be 6 year old.

Although I dont have immediate plans for the running boards, its still not out of the realm of possibility. Currently, the wives mini-van is for the kids. But that will change one day.

You have enough for them to have their own van?

 

[ridgetopview]

@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.

Thank you for the great suggestion. I'll do that for sure. I also enjoyed the many anecdotes in this thread.

 

[HaveBlue]

The warranty is pretty clear and no need to pay attention to someone's guess about voiding the battery warranty. My interpretation is that the warranty does not apply to installed aftermarket parts and does not apply to components damaged by aftermarket parts. Seems reasonable.

 

[SANZC02]

The warranty is pretty clear and no need to pay attention to someone's guess about voiding the battery warranty. My interpretation is that the warranty does not apply to installed aftermarket parts and does not apply to components damaged by aftermarket parts. Seems reasonable.

I agree, the only way running boards would void the battery warrenty would be if you puncture the battery while installing them.

 

[HighVoltOverland]

Rivian official comment to RCA, seemed relevant here:

"We have specific service procedures that our technicians are required to follow – and when a Rivian owner adds third-party accessories or modifies their vehicle, this may require additional work for us to complete those same service procedures safely.

At this time, we haven’t tested the efficacy of third-party jack points, so can’t advise our technicians to use them as substitutes. It’s likely that many of these third-party solutions would require lift extensions, which are hardware we don’t supply to our Service Centers as part of their standard tooling set up – so even if they are structurally sound, we don’t have the equipment on hand to make use of them.

However, we understand that many of our owners already have rock sliders, so offer two options when our service technicians need to lift the vehicle:

When possible, we’re happy to remove bolted-on rock sliders and reinstall them when required to complete a service appointment. Because there are extra steps and labor required, there’s an additional charge to account for the technician’s time.
If you’d prefer to avoid the costs for a technician to remove the rock sliders, you’re welcome to remove them prior to your service appointment.

We do our best to be flexible while prioritizing both the safety of our team and the condition of customer vehicles."

 

[usulio]

Rivian official comment to RCA, seemed relevant here:

"We have specific service procedures that our technicians are required to follow – and when a Rivian owner adds third-party accessories or modifies their vehicle, this may require additional work for us to complete those same service procedures safely.

At this time, we haven’t tested the efficacy of third-party jack points, so can’t advise our technicians to use them as substitutes. It’s likely that many of these third-party solutions would require lift extensions, which are hardware we don’t supply to our Service Centers as part of their standard tooling set up – so even if they are structurally sound, we don’t have the equipment on hand to make use of them.

However, we understand that many of our owners already have rock sliders, so offer two options when our service technicians need to lift the vehicle:

When possible, we’re happy to remove bolted-on rock sliders and reinstall them when required to complete a service appointment. Because there are extra steps and labor required, there’s an additional charge to account for the technician’s time.
If you’d prefer to avoid the costs for a technician to remove the rock sliders, you’re welcome to remove them prior to your service appointment.

We do our best to be flexible while prioritizing both the safety of our team and the condition of customer vehicles."

I think this thread is more about whether installation of sliders by itself would void the warranty (it wouldn't), but your post looks to be more about whether they'll service the vehicle with sliders installed.

Anyway, pretty lame response from an "adventure" company IMO. Not surprising, Rivian seems to be run more by lawyers than mechanics. By the way, some rock sliders expose the frame rails and most expose the jack puck points, and Rivian does officially support jacking on the frame rails and the jack puck points, so....

 

[zefram47]

Anyway, pretty lame response from an "adventure" company IMO. Not surprising, Rivian seems to be run more by lawyers than mechanics.

Having been in Toyotas before the Rivian, it's not uncommon for a shop to say they'll charge to remove/reinstall aftermarket components when necessary. Sometimes they don't worry about it if it's a few minutes extra time, but if it's an involved process as sliders are...totally reasonable.

 

[usulio]

Having been in Toyotas before the Rivian, it's not uncommon for a shop to say they'll charge to remove/reinstall aftermarket components when necessary. Sometimes they don't worry about it if it's a few minutes extra time, but if it's an involved process as sliders are...totally reasonable.

Sure, when necessary, but this makes it sound like they'll call it necessary any time they need to lift the vehicle.

 

[jjswan33]

Having been in Toyotas before the Rivian, it's not uncommon for a shop to say they'll charge to remove/reinstall aftermarket components when necessary. Sometimes they don't worry about it if it's a few minutes extra time, but if it's an involved process as sliders are...totally reasonable.

Yep and what corporate legal says and what the actual SC does on the ground are likely very different things. Ask them nicely and usually it's no problem.

Been two or three service appointments now where I haven't even removed my camper and they had no issue. Haven't had to remove they sliders either (Goat Fabrication) and they have definitely lifted my truck. Another time they had to remove the roof rack to replace the back window and they didn't charge me, though it was vandalism under their watch they were fixing.

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