Guess it was my time - 12v is dead

[Steve A.]

Can we do the 12V battery maintaning ourselves? We have one at home and wondering if we can check and maintance it once awhile?

Well, that was supposedly what the last OTA update was supposed to at least provide fair warning but if you can't buy a replacement 12V from your local parts place, then it's an expensive proposition. I thought I read on another forum it was an $800 service call IN ADDITION to the towing cost when not under warranty which in my case would have been ~$250 so we're talking > $1k to replace a 12V battery! SMH Again, much diff experience than replacing my ICE 12V.

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[NY_Rob]

I see posts like this and I'm like WTF, why isn't this self repairable? Coming from a classic car and Jeep background, I couldn't imagine not being able to self repair something as simple as a 12-V battery. Is this just a function of the vehicles being within the warranty period?

Yeah, it is consumer replaceable.. but in quite a few cases we've seen Rivian replace the "bad" 12V battery then the new one fails not long after. So, just replacing the 12V battery isn't solving the problem.. it's just hiding the underlying issue that's causing the 12V battery to fail, and that's not something the consumer would be able to diagnose nor repair.

 

[LL75]

Well, that was supposedly what the last OTA update was supposed to at least provide fair warning but if you can't buy a replacement 12V from your local parts place, then it's an expensive proposition. I thought I read on another forum it was an $800 service call IN ADDITION to the towing cost when not under warranty which in my case would have been ~$250 so we're talking > $1k to replace a 12V battery! SMH Again, much diff experience than replacing my ICE 12V.

It would be nice if Rivian software can display the 12V battery health status on demand. Until then, it would be a crapshoot. You can get stranded anywhere.
I can't imagine it is difficult to replace the 12V yourself? I had my model 3 12V battery replaced not too long ago by mobile tech. It is fairly simple and literally took 10 mins to do.
I did battery maintance on my ICE vehicle once every 3 to 4 months so, I wondering if I can do the same with the Rivian without messing up their electornic system.

 

[Steve A.]

It would be nice if Rivian software can display the 12V battery health status on demand. Until then, it would be a crapshoot. You can get stranded anywhere.
I can't imagine it is difficult to replace the 12V yourself? I had my model 3 12V battery replaced not too long ago by mobile tech. It is fairly simple and literally took 10 mins to do.
I did battery maintance on my ICE vehicle once every 3 to 4 months so, I wondering if I can do the same with the Rivian without messing up their electornic system.

No need to *imagine*. Here's what it takes if you have one or two 12Vs depending upon your build, and NO it's not as easy to replace as a Tesla and FAR from as easy as any ICE vehicle ...

Rivian R1S / R1T (Builds approx. 3/23 and Later) - Single 12V Battery Installation (Ohmmu)​

Rivian R1S / R1T (Builds approx. 2/23 and Earlier) - Dual 12V Battery Installation (Ohmmu)​

 

[LL75]

No need to *imagine*. Here's what it takes if you have one or two 12Vs depending upon your build, and NO it's not as easy to replace as a Tesla and FAR from as easy as any ICE vehicle ...

Rivian R1S / R1T (Builds approx. 3/23 and Later) - Single 12V Battery Installation (Ohmmu)​

Rivian R1S / R1T (Builds approx. 2/23 and Earlier) - Dual 12V Battery Installation (Ohmmu)​

I saw this last year. I don't think it is too difficult to replace, It just have a few more screws and bolts.

 

[NY_Rob]

It would be nice if Rivian software can display the 12V battery health status on demand.

There is only one "real" way to do that... fully charge the 12V battery, then fully discharge it at it's manufacturer designated amp hour discharge rate and measure the amp hours delivered when the battery is exhausted. That would be impossible to do while it's connected to the vehicle. Any other method is just theoretical/estimating it's health.

 

[Steve A.]

I saw this last year. I don't think it is too difficult to replace, It just have a few more screws and bolts.

Much more than a Tesla or ICE vehicle. Again, why the Rivian specific form factor instead of any other 12V form factor that has MANY other suppliers?

 

[simpsonhomer]

While this is a relatively minor thing to deal with now, WHERE it happened is the real issue. It's going to be an absolute nightmare to try and get this serviced.

The garage at my place is entirely unreachable for any flatbed to tow. The garage it's in it barely squeaks into and the drink area is inaccessible.

I am hoping it can be jumped from the rear well enough to let it back out a bit and have mobile service replace the 12v bits - but if that doesn't work this is going to get ugly, quickly

I'm going through the same ordeal. Came out to a completely dead car (zero power to anything, no prior warnings at all). Rivian towed it to the SC and it took them 10 days to just replace the 12V battery. They blamed it on a bug in 2024.07.02 and they were adamant that it was an "actual bug", but the advisor kept talking over me and trying to get off the phone when I asked for any more information. I still don't know when I can have my car back.

My car is less than a year old with only 6K miles. This could happen to any Rivian at any time, and the repair isn't nearly as simple as it is on any other vehicle. Anyone on these forums who downplays this problem will definitely change their tune when they get stranded without warning, in a vehicle that won't unlock or respond at all, and then has to deal with Rivian service centers for days or weeks on end.

 

[LL75]

There is only one "real" way to do that... fully charge the 12V battery, then fully discharge it at it's manufacturer designated amp hour discharge rate and measure the amp hours delivered when the battery is exhausted. That would be impossible to do while it's connected to the vehicle. Any other method is just theoretical/estimating it's health.

Theoretical/estimate would be nicer than a warning light that said you maybe out of luck and stranded

 

[Stationmaster]

Front hood almost entirely inaccessible. There's no way to get the tub out of the frunk where it currently is

I believe it is possible to change out the 12v battery without removing the tub. Check out

 

[Steve A.]

I'm going through the same ordeal. Came out to a completely dead car (zero power to anything, no prior warnings at all). Rivian towed it to the SC and it took them 10 days to just replace the 12V battery. They blamed it on a bug in 2024.07.02 and they were adamant that it was an "actual bug", but the advisor kept talking over me when I asked for any more information. I still don't have my car back.

My car is less than a year old with only 7K miles. This could happen to any Rivian at any time, and the repair isn't nearly as simple as it is on any other vehicle. Anyone on these forums who downplays this problem will definitely change their tune when they get stranded without warning, in a vehicle that won't unlock or respond at all, and then has to deal with Rivian service centers for days or weeks on end.

That's interesting since I suspected that the recent 2024.07.02 update had something to do w/ my failure!

Thanks for sharing. That's the first I've heard of such a claim.

Don't worry about the Rivian apologists though; the rest of us know it's not acceptable among many other issues posted here. ;-)

 

[Trandall]

Non-defective 12V batteries should NOT just die in < year from delivery regardless of EV, ICE, or whatever. Rivian obviously got a bad batch from the supplier. Who knows how long they were sitting on a shelf before Rivian got them?

Disagree that it's obvious Rivian got a bad batch of batteries. It's more likely the batteries are to specifications and R1's are not properly maintaining the charge on them.

 

[LL75]

That's interesting since I suspected that the recent 2024.07.02 update had something to do w/ my failure!

Thanks for sharing. That's the first I've heard of such a claim.

Don't worry about the Rivian apologists though; the rest of us know it's not acceptable among many other issues posted here. ;-)

The 07.02 did a bunch of bad bluetooth stuff too. Folding 1 driving mirror and open only random door handles as well. I'm glad we get the new software yesterday.

 

[Steve A.]

Disagree that it's obvious Rivian got a bad batch of batteries. It's more likely the batteries are to specifications and R1's are not properly maintaining the charge on them.

I don't have it handy, but in another 12V thread someone mentioned that their SC person said they had gotten a bad batch of batteries from their supplier and his Rivian fell between those build dates, so yes, they know about it but are just taking a *reactive* posture and letting them fail instead of a *proactive* posture and preventing them from failing. As always, cost-cutting is the prime objective.

 

[NY_Rob]

Theoretical/estimate would be nicer than a warning light that said you maybe out of luck and stranded

Maybe, maybe not...
You can charge a bad 12V battery to 14.6 volts then stop the charge, with no load on the battery it will still stay up around 14.2V and the vehicle would think the battery is okay. But, if it's truly bad, as soon as you put a load on it that 14.2 volt reading will drop like a rock because the battery is shot and has no ah capacity. In this case, the vehicle was fooled in to thinking the 12V battery was good.

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