Greatest fear came true this morning - The Brick

[mini2nut]

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[Dirty_B]

How hard is it to open the hood if the battery is dead?

Oh snap.

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

Rivian is even easier than a FORD

 

[Dirty_B]

On a Luxury adventure vehicle that many say the Rivian is, you would think it'd have jump terminals front and rear. And not just wires with tape dangling in the rear behind two access hatches below the waterproof height... But that's IMO.

 

[manitou202]

Does the Lightning have a manual key override to open to door? I’m assuming yes.

The Taycan is really annoying because you need to manually open the door, open the fuse box, hook up the jump cables to a connection in the fuse box to power the frunk release, then open the frunk, remove another panel, and then jump the 12V battery.

 

[electruck]

On a Luxury adventure vehicle that many say the Rivian is, you would think it'd have jump terminals front and rear. And not just wires with tape dangling in the rear behind two access hatches below the waterproof height... But that's IMO.

Maybe the tow hooks should double as connectors for jumper cables. ?

 

[therealhoff]

Maybe the tow hooks should double as connectors for jumper cables. ?

You joke, but the current implementation is a fail. Notice the screw driver in the picture and the "taped up connectors". WTH. You know how many screwdrivers I've had to use to jump an ICE vehicle in my life? Zero. The trailer hitch cover should be implemented to be tool-less to open. Also the connectors shouldn't be some dangly tape job things. Make that access hole a more robust pull down, rectangular, with an actual element sealed box behind it like any outdoor electrical box. Have two standard 12v battery poles in there, separated by a plastic divider to reduce potential for accidental shorting, and plenty of space to use the standard sized alligator clips that come on 99% of the jumper cables out there. If the implementation was that, I would have messed with it. As it is, going to let the Rivian service guy deal with it. The service ticket says they are coming to replace the 12v battery. I'm hoping that is the culprit and not something wonky in the low voltage charging system or some other computer or system issue.

 

[electruck]

You joke, but the current implementation is a fail. Notice the screw driver in the picture and the "taped up connectors". WTH. You know how many screwdrivers I've had to use to jump an ICE vehicle in my life? Zero. The trailer hitch cover should be implemented to be tool-less to open. Also the connectors shouldn't be some dangly tape job things. Make that access hole a more robust pull down, rectangular, with an actual element sealed box behind it like any outdoor electrical box. Have two standard 12v battery poles in there, separated by a plastic divider to reduce potential for accidental shorting, and plenty of space to use the standard sized alligator clips that come on 99% of the jumper cables out there. If the implementation was that, I would have messed with it. As it is, going to let the Rivian service guy deal with it. The service ticket says they are coming to replace the 12v battery. I'm hoping that is the culprit and not something wonky in the low voltage charging system or some other computer or system issue.

I haven't been hands on yet but I suspect the hitch cover can be removed with a coin or house/car key. Perhaps someone who has taken delivery can confirm. Could Rivian have made it a little easier to access or more robust, sure, but it's far from the tragedy you portray it to be given how infrequently it will need to be used.

 

[Acoustic71]

Life is an adventure. Not all adventures are fun.

There was this one time, in Vietnam Band Camp....

 

[Dark-Fx]

I haven't been hands on yet but I suspect the hitch cover can be removed with a coin or house/car key. Perhaps someone who has taken delivery can confirm. Could Rivian have made it a little easier to access or more robust, sure, but it's far from the tragedy you portray it to be given how infrequently it will need to be used.

They are big plastic screws, you could use a key head or a coin. The insert that has to be removed is probably the more difficult part.

 

[jerseyff]

For the sake of knowing, it would have been very interesting to know if an ICE jump or a starter battery pack (NOCO?) would have gotten things going again.

 

[therealhoff]

I haven't been hands on yet but I suspect the hitch cover can be removed with a coin or house/car key. Perhaps someone who has taken delivery can confirm. Could Rivian have made it a little easier to access or more robust, sure, but it's far from the tragedy you portray it to be given how infrequently it will need to be used.

It's not a tragedy, it's a lack of thoughtful design. It's a shame given how many other things are obviously very thoughtfully designed. Easy enough to improve with minimal cost ramifications as they iterate on new vehicle versions.

 

[therealhoff]

Well the service technician showed up without any low voltage batteries or parts whatsoever. He is going to try to jump the truck and revive it. This of course is only slightly helpful because although I could move it if he's successful, there is no way I can actually drive it anywhere and risk it dying until an underlying cause is identified and addressed. Much better to have it dead in the driveway than out in the wild somewhere. One Strike for Rivian on Service Appointment #1.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Well the service technician showed up without any low voltage batteries or parts whatsoever. He is going to try to jump the truck and revive it. This of course is only slightly helpful because although I could move it if he's successful, there is no way I can actually drive it anywhere and risk it dying until an underlying cause is identified and addressed. Much better to have it dead in the driveway than out in the wild somewhere. One Strike for Rivian on Service Appointment #1.

Odds are your "underlying cause" is a potential issue for every Rivian owner, and I've never had a dead 12V battery yet. You're just another winner of the Rivian early adopter lotto.

 

[mindstormsguy]

They are big plastic screws, you could use a key head or a coin. The insert that has to be removed is probably the more difficult part.

You can’t use a coin. Or at least I can’t. The slot for the screwdriver doesn’t cut all the way to the ends, so the slot isn’t long enough to insert a coin.

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