R1T major battery issue (53 days-the saga continues)

[emaximus]

I have a Rivian R1T launch edition truck that I have had for almost 3 years. I have never had a single issue with it until about a month ago. I was traveling back from a soccer tournament with my girls. I stopped twice to charge at Tesla chargers which I have been doing on road trips for about six months with no issue (most of my charging is at home). I noticed after the first charge stop that my adaptive cruise control and driver+ were not working. Mechanically everything seemed fine at this point otherwise. When I plugged into the Tesla charger for the last short charge while I went in to grab a bite to eat, it took me plugging it in three times to get it to start charging. When I came back out, I had the dreaded turtle icon and the battery warning stating that I was in low performance mode. I called tech-support and was told I could try to get it home if I stayed below 45 mph. I made it a few miles before driving was disabled and I was told to evacuate the vehicle immediately due to a fire hazard. This was great considering I was in the middle of nowhere still in the road in pitch black darkness at 35° with two teenagers. Not a good night to say the least.

Fast-forward 30 days. It got towed to a service center four hours away. They initially ordered and replaced a front drive unit. I was then told that they found a faulty fuse that needed to be replaced with the AC unit and compressor. That has now been fixed and it’s still not functioning normally. They say they are bringing in a high voltage specialist and having to order more parts as they really don’t know what’s going on with the truck. I have no idea when I may be able to get my truck back at this point in time. Has anyone had similar issues? Everything is under warranty, so this is costing me nothing. However, I have no timeframe as far as when I can expect to finally have my vehicle back. It has been very frustrating, and I’m beginning to lose my patience with the situation. At this point, I am definitely planning on trading the vehicle before I hit 50K and lose the warranty. I have been told that the current repairs which haven’t even fixed the vehicle are already approaching $15,000. Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

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[Riviot]

I'm nearing 3 years and almost at 60k miles, so I feel your frustration, but my subframe problem was identified early enough and (knock on my noggin) I've only had tailgate issues since.

Since you have a battery/drivetrain issue, it's covered for even longer. You've got 5 more years and 125k miles to go! I recommend keeping it.

https://rivian.com/support/article/new-vehicle-limited-warranty-guide

 

[CrazyOne]

Unfortunately things break sometimes and it's not uncommon to wait several weeks or months for engine/transmission issues. SC not knowing what is going on is bad though.

 

[Schroederhc]

Did they provide you with a Rivian loaner

 

[vicq]

I'm sorry to hear about your issues. My R1S had something similar at about 9500 miles this past weekend. It was my rear motor that had the issue, but I was able to drive about 60 miles home at highway speeds. It's been towed to the SC now and awaiting diagnosis.

Good luck with the repairs! Unfortunately all vehicles are prone to issues, but it does feel as if it might not be worth keeping beyond 5-7 years if the repairs are that expensive. Hopefully they get everything resolved for you soon.

 

[Riviot]

I have been told that the current repairs which haven’t even fixed the vehicle are already approaching $15,000.

Unfortunately all vehicles are prone to issues, but it does feel as if it might not be worth keeping beyond 5-7 years if the repairs are that expensive.

I would argue with any repair shop, corporate or not, sticking me with a $15k bill that didn't fix the problem. Step 1 is diagnosis, which they seemed to skip and go straight to step 4, replace everything.

 

[Schroederhc]

Its under warranty I believe, the 15k is where it would currently be if not covered

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

First off I’m really sorry that you and your kids experience this. It’s a very frustrating and anxiety provoking ordeal that you went through. I also understand your frustration surrounding the warranty and them not being able to figure out what’s going on with the truck currently.

I do think Rivian will get to the bottom of this for you and ultimately repair the vehicle. Because the GEN two is still relatively new…. it does sometimes take Rivian a bit longer to get a problem like this sorted. Sometimes a lot of the waiting is waiting on parts.

I don’t blame you one bit if you don’t trust the vehicle at this point. As someone else pointed out though you do have one of the best warranties in the industry on the battery and electric drive components. If they still can’t get things figured out with your truck, he might want to look into lemon law or ask them to replace the vehicle.

The two things that concern me about this experience are the amount of parts that have been swapped on your new vehicle and the fact that they still can’t give you any answers as to what the problem is. I know here in Maryland. You have to send a last chance letter and the manufacturer has 30 days once you send that letter to resolve it or it becomes a lemon.

rivian is usually pretty good about making things right though, and I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that.

 

[swflor]

First off I’m really sorry that you and your kids experience this. It’s a very frustrating and anxiety provoking ordeal that you went through. I also understand your frustration surrounding the warranty and them not being able to figure out what’s going on with the truck currently.

I do think Rivian will get to the bottom of this for you and ultimately repair the vehicle. Because the GEN two is still relatively new…. it does sometimes take Rivian a bit longer to get a problem like this sorted. Sometimes a lot of the waiting is waiting on parts.

I don’t blame you one bit if you don’t trust the vehicle at this point. As someone else pointed out though you do have one of the best warranties in the industry on the battery and electric drive components. If they still can’t get things figured out with your truck, he might want to look into lemon law or ask them to replace the vehicle.

The two things that concern me about this experience are the amount of parts that have been swapped on your new vehicle and the fact that they still can’t give you any answers as to what the problem is. I know here in Maryland. You have to send a last chance letter and the manufacturer has 30 days once you send that letter to resolve it or it becomes a lemon.

rivian is usually pretty good about making things right though, and I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that.

he has. Gen 1, not a Gen 2.

 

[swflor]

Unfortunately things break sometimes and it's not uncommon to wait several weeks or months for engine/transmission issues. SC not knowing what is going on is bad though.

Correct. I have had 4 ICE vehicles (company trucks) have transmissions shit the bed in the last 12 months under 3000 Miles. One of them at 350 miles. The average replacement time for these is hovering around 4 months.

Things happen to all vehicles regardless of ICE or EV.

Rivian will get it sorted out for you.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

he has. Gen 1, not a Gen 2.

??‍ right you are…I see it’s a launch edition and had it for 3 yrs …how did I miss that?

well, Rivian has one less excuse as to why they can’t figure it out. Good news is the launch edition has an 8yr 175k mi warranty on battery/drive components and new car warranty good for 5y/60k

No lemon law either in that case.

not that it’s any consolation but my R1T sat on the service center lot for 4 weeks back in December before they even started on it.

I will say that this isn’t just Rivian. I read similar stories on the Silverado/Sierra EV forums where the truck is in service for significant periods of time. I’m guessing it’s a combo of slow comms, waiting on parts, and a step by step diagnosis procedure.

 

[emaximus]

Did they provide you with a Rivian loaner

They offered me a cheap rental from enterprise, but I’ve been driving my wife’s old Toyota we are saving for my 15yo.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

They offered me a cheap rental from enterprise, but I’ve been driving my wife’s old Toyota we are saving for my 15yo.

I’d be done if I had to drive a Toyota. Completely unacceptable ?

 

[emaximus]

??‍ right you are…I see it’s a launch edition and had it for 3 yrs …how did I miss that?

well, Rivian has one less excuse as to why they can’t figure it out. Good news is the launch edition has an 8yr 175k mi warranty on battery/drive components and new car warranty good for 5y/60k

No lemon law either in that case.

not that it’s any consolation but my R1T sat on the service center lot for 4 weeks back in December before they even started on it.

I will say that this isn’t just Rivian. I read similar stories on the Silverado/Sierra EV forums where the truck is in service for significant periods of time. I’m guessing it’s a combo of slow comms, waiting on parts, and a step by step diagnosis procedure.

I hear what you are saying for sure. The worrisome part for me is that we are a month in and still don’t even know what the problem is. It is hard for me to feel too confident at this point.

 

[Dr. J]

My Gen1 R1T had the same experience 4 days ago. Turtle icon, battery icon and low performance warning after a charge on a Tesla supercharger.
a soft reset eliminated the warnings but I took it in for a diagnostic yesterday.

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