Beware, Beware the 12V Battery Warranty (Also positive Eastvale CA service center visit)

[Riviot]

3d party - Rivian does not provide an extended warranty. At least not yet.

I asked a couple weeks ago, Seattle service center said no plans.

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[PhatDaddy]

What 3rd party? And how reliable are they? And what is excluded? So many questions.

Likely XCare, to get 100K+. Also Fidelity. I went with Fidelity although I was not offered a 100K option on my 2024 R1T, which I wish I had. I felt more comfortable at the time with the Fidelity exclusion list and reputation, but I think there are many similarities between the two. Due to the recurring stories of suspension issues with R1 models (and the out of warranty costs!), I was VERY specific in my questions with Fidelity reps re: contract/exclusions on “dampers” and air suspension components. My front dampers were just replaced (under Rivian warranty) at 10,000 miles (although had made the exact same noises since the day I took delivery). The before/after difference was like night/day.

 

[zymolysis]

Likely XCare, to get 100K+. Also Fidelity. I went with Fidelity although I was not offered a 100K option on my 2025 R1T, which I wish I had. I felt more comfortable at the time with the Fidelity exclusion list and reputation, but I think there are many similarities between the two. Due to the recurring stories of suspension issues with R1 models (and the out of warranty costs!), I was VERY specific in my questions with Fidelity reps re: contract/exclusions on “dampers” and air suspension components. My front dampers were just replaced (under Rivian warranty) at 10,000 miles (although had made the exact same noises since the day I took delivery). The before/after difference was like night/day.

Is this something you pay for now, or when the 60,000 mile warranty is about to expire? I just looked at XCare - it looks like (for $3700) they would sell me a short term policy that would end in 2 years or 50,000 miles (both of which are less than the factory warranty). I don't understand the point. Sure, there are longer warranties, for more money...

 

[PhatDaddy]

Is this something you pay for now, or when the 60,000 mile warranty is about to expire? I just looked at XCare - it looks like (for $3700) they would sell me a short term policy that would end in 2 years or 50,000 miles (both of which are less than the factory warranty). I don't understand the point. Sure, there are longer warranties, for more money...

For me - the guy who has spent too much on camping/overlanding accessories on his ‘retirement gift to himself’ to think about letting it go for the next 10 years - it was about buying an extended warranty now at a known price rather than trying to guess what an extended warranty will cost in 2-3 years (after the warranty vendors collect more data on cost to repair). It is a calculated risk, either way.

 

[R1Thor]

Is this something you pay for now, or when the 60,000 mile warranty is about to expire? I just looked at XCare - it looks like (for $3700) they would sell me a short term policy that would end in 2 years or 50,000 miles (both of which are less than the factory warranty). I don't understand the point. Sure, there are longer warranties, for more money...

MOST OF THE TIME, it pays to pay yourself.

What do I mean by this?

Take the money you'd put into an extended warranty and invest it into total market, or somewhere with a pretty good rate of return.

Don't touch it. <--THIS is the key point.

It's a bell curve.

67% of the time, that money you invested in what would've otherwise been an extended warranty will cover absolutely everything you need during the lifetime of the vehicle, everything else being equal. (Things that would be covered, minus deductibles and other nonsense fees that are added to extended warranties. It's in the fine print.)

~30% of the time you'll break even or owe a little bit extra, most of which that extra you probably made back in your 8% YoY return.

Then there are the margins. The people who came back to declare proudly "My $5k warranty covered a $7k transmission replacement. WORTH IT" And they're not wrong. For them.

It's really a gamble.

But the bigger picture is: discipline. A good majority of people who would benefit from extended warranties aren't going to put that $4k into the bank and sit on it, let alone invest it. It's either not a luxury they have, or they lack the discipline to not think to themselves "Man, that $4k could be rock sliders + a RTT and I could go overland-camping every weekend!!"

 

[JeromePowell]

MOST OF THE TIME, it pays to pay yourself.

What do I mean by this?

Take the money you'd put into an extended warranty and invest it into total market, or somewhere with a pretty good rate of return.

Don't touch it. <--THIS is the key point.

It's a bell curve.

67% of the time, that money you invested in what would've otherwise been an extended warranty will cover absolutely everything you need during the lifetime of the vehicle, everything else being equal. (Things that would be covered, minus deductibles and other nonsense fees that are added to extended warranties. It's in the fine print.)

~30% of the time you'll break even or owe a little bit extra, most of which that extra you probably made back in your 8% YoY return.

Then there are the margins. The people who came back to declare proudly "My $5k warranty covered a $7k transmission replacement. WORTH IT" And they're not wrong. For them.

It's really a gamble.

But the bigger picture is: discipline. A good majority of people who would benefit from extended warranties aren't going to put that $4k into the bank and sit on it, let alone invest it. It's either not a luxury they have, or they lack the discipline to not think to themselves "Man, that $4k could be rock sliders + a RTT and I could go overland-camping every weekend!!"

x 100 What he said ^^^

Factory warranties are difficult enough. Third party warranties are rarely, if ever worth it.

 

[RIVinIT]

Hi All!

I received the dreaded "REPLACE 12V SOON" warning on Tuesday afternoon of this week. About a half hour later, I called service.

They were able to get me an appointment at the eastvale service center this morning at 9AM. They were going to do the battery and two recall/ service bulletin related items that I didn't know about.

The 12V batteries only have a 3 year/ 36k mile warranty. My truck has 38k miles, and about 25 months old at this point.

Total cost was $717.18 for the 12V batteries (2 of them). Parts 479.98, labor 200, plus tax. I'm not in love with this. They don't let you replace them on your own. That means I paid ~$29 per month of ownership for my 12V batteries. For reference, a Lamborghini Aventador battery is ~$180-250 for parts only and can be replaced by yourself. Model X is from $120-200 and easily done DIY.

Prior to the Rivian, I've done almost all of the maintenance on all of my vehicles. This is the most expensive service I've had in ten years, for a battery...

Onto Eastvale. They had my truck in and out in less than 2 hours while I waited, which was pretty awesome. Service staff was excellent. Wildly better experience than I have had at Costa Mesa or El Segundo. A++

One last point: I asked the service advisor a theoretical question: "The last two times I have had service, my truck had to sit for 9 and 11 days, respectively, before service began. Both times, I had a rental car as the Rivian is my only vehicle. When the truck is out of warranty, who pays for the rental?"

The answer is the owner, not Rivian. Makes me worry a hair about owning this truck out of warranty! However, I must say it has been quite reliable minus this 12V issue.

TL;DR: I really wish Rivian would allow for self service on the battery, and that there were more options for the consumer like Tesla.

 

[RIVinIT]

Good post thanks for the info, I was wondering about that issue cause I have read a few other people needing to deal with this and they were able to have it replaced under warranty!!

 

[SparkyR1t]

Why? There's a whole lot of risk and very little gain from changing LV battery chemistries. LiFEPO4 batteries are not meant to be subjected to constant cycling like these vehicles subject their 12V batteries to. I would be surprised if lithium batteries are more reliable than a well made AGM battery in this application.

And you could be subject to Rivian voiding any remaining warranty when you add non OEM parts and those parts damage other circuitry on the vehicle

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

And you could be subject to Rivian voiding any remaining warranty when you add non OEM parts and those parts damage other circuitry on the vehicle

Moss-Magnussen Act prevents them from just broad stroke voiding warranty. It'll be pretty difficult for them to prove a simple 12V swap caused those sort of failures, although their goal here would be to scare you off with legal threat more than likely.

 

[mabowden]

I was outside the warranty window and they still swapped for free.

Jealous.

 

[mabowden]

100% this has made me think about returning at the end of lease even though I have a smoking deal and looking at a different car. Very disappointing. Very reminiscent of Land Rover.

Unfortunately, I am looking at selling prior to when the warranty expires due to potential damper costs.

 

[j.w.s]

Hi All!

I received the dreaded "REPLACE 12V SOON" warning on Tuesday afternoon of this week. About a half hour later, I called service.

They were able to get me an appointment at the eastvale service center this morning at 9AM. They were going to do the battery and two recall/ service bulletin related items that I didn't know about.

The 12V batteries only have a 3 year/ 36k mile warranty. My truck has 38k miles, and about 25 months old at this point.

Total cost was $717.18 for the 12V batteries (2 of them). Parts 479.98, labor 200, plus tax. I'm not in love with this. They don't let you replace them on your own. That means I paid ~$29 per month of ownership for my 12V batteries. For reference, a Lamborghini Aventador battery is ~$180-250 for parts only and can be replaced by yourself. Model X is from $120-200 and easily done DIY.

Prior to the Rivian, I've done almost all of the maintenance on all of my vehicles. This is the most expensive service I've had in ten years, for a battery...

Onto Eastvale. They had my truck in and out in less than 2 hours while I waited, which was pretty awesome. Service staff was excellent. Wildly better experience than I have had at Costa Mesa or El Segundo. A++

One last point: I asked the service advisor a theoretical question: "The last two times I have had service, my truck had to sit for 9 and 11 days, respectively, before service began. Both times, I had a rental car as the Rivian is my only vehicle. When the truck is out of warranty, who pays for the rental?"

The answer is the owner, not Rivian. Makes me worry a hair about owning this truck out of warranty! However, I must say it has been quite reliable minus this 12V issue.

TL;DR: I really wish Rivian would allow for self service on the battery, and that there were more options for the consumer like Tesla.

On the topic of 12V batteries, I received this voicemail today:

Transcript: "Hello Jeff. Hi Jeff. My name is <redacted>. I'm calling from Rivian
Service support. I'm calling you tonight because we identified your R1S as
a vehicle that needs a service appointment related to its 12 volt battery
performance. We'd like to proactively replace that 12 volt battery at no
cost to you. "

 

[sub]

On the topic of 12V batteries, I received this voicemail today:

Transcript: "Hello Jeff. Hi Jeff. My name is <redacted>. I'm calling from Rivian
Service support. I'm calling you tonight because we identified your R1S as
a vehicle that needs a service appointment related to its 12 volt battery
performance. We'd like to proactively replace that 12 volt battery at no
cost to you. "

I got a similar message today. Rivian told me that my VIN was on their "list" of vehicles that need 12v battery replacement and they want to have a mobile tech come out and replace it next week.

To me that sounds like there was a batch of defective batteries.

 

[Riviot]

Unfortunately, I am looking at selling prior to when the warranty expires due to potential damper costs.

I thought the same, but had them all replaced under warranty during subframe replacement at 35k miles. So at 58k miles now, I figure I have at least another 30k before I need them. I'll pay that fee.

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