"Replace 12V right away" but no available Service Center appointments

[OverEasyGoing]

Received a popup in the vehicle and app last night to replace 12V battery immediately. Got on the horn with service but there are no mobile appointments until the end of the year. They're trying to find me a slot at my "local" Service Center but no idea how long that will be.

I've replaced batteries in ICE vehicles but they were very clear I shouldn't attempt it nor can other shops. For those that have had this issue, how long does the work take? How concerned should I be and how much faster does the range deplete with a bad 12V like they warned?

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[r1vlife]

It takes 1 days to 3 days. I never received the 12V warnings and both times my vehicle was inoperable and had to be towed to the service center. First time was August of last year and the second time was last Monday.

 

[ksujeff99]

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek... I hope my original 12v batteries (2022 model with separate L/R batteries) fail while still under warranty. If Rivian doesn't give us the ability to replace ourselves, it'll be annoyingly expensive to pay for them to replace at the SC and potentially a tow on my own dime.

 

[OverEasyGoing]

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek... I hope my original 12v batteries (2022 model with separate L/R batteries) fail while still under warranty. If Rivian doesn't give us the ability to replace ourselves, it'll be annoyingly expensive to pay for them to replace at the SC and potentially a tow on my own dime.

I've had nothing but a pleasant experience with mine for 15 months so this is my service experience, though I've seen all the posts about others' not so great times with SC's. This feels like a silly thing to clog up a Service Center with, especially one that will take a few days, cause them to give me a loaner, driving hours each way for dropoff and pickup. All for a 12V swap? Does make me a bit nervous about the business model.

I guess the bonus is now I can finally get the body panels aligned that bugged me at first but I've grown used to!

 

[OverEasyGoing]

It takes 1 days to 3 days. I never received the 12V warnings and both times my vehicle was inoperable and had to be towed to the service center. First time was August of last year and the second time was last Monday.

Thanks, and sorry you've dealt with this twice. I guess I should be thankful I got the warning!

 

[MountainBikeDude]

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek... I hope my original 12v batteries (2022 model with separate L/R batteries) fail while still under warranty. If Rivian doesn't give us the ability to replace ourselves, it'll be annoyingly expensive to pay for them to replace at the SC and potentially a tow on my own dime.

Ohmu did a video on their YouTube of how to replace the OEM batteries with their own and the reset procedure. If mine go, I'll likely go that route.

knocks on wood it's while i'm at home

 

[Morphine]

Vid link:

 

[mudito]

Thanks, and sorry you've dealt with this twice. I guess I should be thankful I got the warning!

Call them on the phone. They might get an opening for you. I would call them immediately to avoid having a bricked truck (it will most likely happen otherwise).

If your SC isn't that far away, I would even drive over and express the concern, they might help you out within a few days.

Finally, as a preventive measure, I would leave my truck plugged in every time you're at home (assuming you can charge at home) to allow it to constantly keep electrons flowing when needed.

 

[PaythePiper]

considering what happens if that battery dies, this is totally unacceptable. It's a freakin 12 volt battery. Let us swap it ourselves if your atrocious service setup can't get the job done. And we wonder why people are hesitant to jump into the EV space? This is why. And i'm 100% certain this will be the downfall of rivian, not the product itself

 

[flush]

as of this morning, my R1S is dead, was fine last night, looks like a dead 12v, no warnings, waiting on a service callback.......

 

[OverEasyGoing]

considering what happens if that battery dies, this is totally unacceptable. It's a freakin 12 volt battery. Let us swap it ourselves if your atrocious service setup can't get the job done. And we wonder why people are hesitant to jump into the EV space? This is why. And i'm 100% certain this will be the downfall of rivian, not the product itself

That's my current thought. How is this sustainable for Rivian? It's a battery, people have been swapping those out themselves for decades after a visit to AutoZone. Why does this need to be a multiple thousand dollar expense to Rivian and my own personal time?

 

[PaythePiper]

That's my current thought. How is this sustainable for Rivian? It's a battery, people have been swapping those out themselves for decades after a visit to AutoZone. Why does this need to be a multiple thousand dollar expense to Rivian and my own personal time?

especially since it makes my 100K vehicle a brick.

 

[mudito]

That's my current thought. How is this sustainable for Rivian? It's a battery, people have been swapping those out themselves for decades after a visit to AutoZone. Why does this need to be a multiple thousand dollar expense to Rivian and my own personal time?

I think the major concern is 'fried electronics' if done wrong, which might be easier to do in a dual-battery setup. I still don't justify this position though. I agree with you.

When my car died, I even ask this myself "Please ship the two new batteries to my house and I'll replace them", and of course it was denied with an answer saying "In order to respect the warranty, blah blah blah".

Having said that, this happened on a Thursday morning, they got the batteries shipped to the SC on Friday, my truck was towed on Monday, the batteries arrived Tuesday and were replaced on Wednesday. I would have saved maybe a day or half a day if I would've done this myself.

Of course, I could argue that 12V Batteries should be consistently in stock at every SC But that's another story

 

[flush]

as of this morning, my R1S is dead, was fine last night, looks like a dead 12v, no warnings, waiting on a service callback.......

well, here's some amazing props to Rivian service.

I live about 3 miles from the nearest Service Center, called service, they said there's a mobile unit nearby, i said sure, come on by. He jump-started the car to open frunk, replaced 12v battery.

From service call to mobile visit and battery replacement completion including checking car diagnostics = 53 mins... wow!

Mine was a single 12v swap, not dual. The safest way was to detach the high voltage cutoff plug (it's clearly marked with a label on driver's side near 12v battery location).

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Fwiw, if you have a portable battery charger maybe try hooking it up to the leads by the trailer hitch, until service is able to get to you? Not sure if this will actually help but have seen it suggested a few other places. Better than doing nothing and letting it die completely. ?

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