So disappointed in Rivian to leave me stranded with a dead battery

[adnanasar]

I was traveling and my Rivian R1S battery died, both the main and the auxiliary, died. I called Rivian for urgent assistance to help me replace the auxiliary battery so that I can get into the car and charge my car and get back on the road. I can't even unlock and get into the car right now. They gave me an appointment for 2/28, over 2 weeks away, with their mobile service to replace the aux battery. In the the meantime, I don't have a car! Their support tells me that they treat dead battery as a higher priority but they have not been able to give me an earlier appointment! This is really frustrating as a car owner! Rivian has to treat these situations urgently when a car battery dies. Can't just treat it as business as usual. Very disappointed in the Rivian service. Can Rivian improve their Roadside Assitance to help stranded car owners with a stronger sense of urgency when their car battery dies? Can you improve your response time for dead battery situations?

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[Doc]

Not sure I understand. The 12v is used to "wake up" the main battery...but you said BOTH the 12v and the main battery are dead. If the 12v is replaced, you should be able to start and use the vehicle. So, if I understand you....even though the 12v was replaced (by roadside service?) the vehicle's main battery was dead????

 

[COdogman]

Not sure why you are so positive it just “needs a charge” if both the main battery and auxiliary “died”, but ok… Have you considered there might be an underlying issue that caused the batteries to fail?

 

[Gee Bee]

Same happened to me , four days to tow from home to service center.

I believe if I was not at home rivian would of towed to service center.

I Uberd to service center after it was complete.

 

[Megaman0025]

I am a general lurker here as I have an R2 on reserve. Can you guys explain why it requires a tow to replace a 12v battery? Why is this such a complicated process? I have replaced countless 12v batteries in my cars over the last 30 years? Not at all trying offend people, genuinely curious - Are you guys just not technically competent enough to replace it your selves? or does Rivian somehow locked the replacement behind some kind of software initialization? Why is this such a problem that the average driver can’t fix on their own anymore??

 

[GRC]

They've placed the 2 12v batteries in hard to reach places...i.e. not easy as pop the hood and boost the 12v like an ICE vehicle. Poor design from my perspective

 

[Doc]

Can you guys explain why it requires a tow to replace a 12v battery? Why is this such a complicated process?

That's what's confusing me......it doesn't. I had a mobile service call (where Rivian was replacing a bad batch of 12v batteries under warranty). They showed up and it took about 20-25 minutes to replace BOTH my 12v batteries (Gen 1). The potential problem occurs if the 12v dies and you've got your vehicle closed...you can't use your phone/fob/card to open it up to access the frunk. In that case, you have to remove a few screws by the wheel well that allows you to pull the manual release for the frunk. Even so, mobile service should be able to do that in a couple of minutes. I agree, something sounds off that mobile service couldn't do it.

 

[Riviot]

They've placed the 2 12v batteries in hard to reach places...i.e. not easy as pop the hood and boost the 12v like an ICE vehicle. Poor design from my perspective

False (Gen1). You literally pop the hood, and pull a plastic cover.

 

[2kwik4u]

I agree, something sound off that mobile service couldn't do it.

Agreed. This sounds like something that could be walked through over the phone with the customer in a true emergency situation. OP's post has the tone of "I'm stuck and I can't be bothered to help myself". While agree Rivian should be as helpful as possible, they can't be everywhere for everyone all the time.

12V batteries die all the time. Any other vehicle would also be incapacitated, this isn't Rivian (or even EV) specific. My Q7 did this too me. Battery is in the passenger compartment under the passenger front footwell. When it died, I couldn't get in without a screwdriver and a key. SO, for Rivian to require a screwdriver and a manual release to enter is only slightly more obtuse than a "regular" vehicle. From there I have to think there is a "jump start" procedure where you can power up the 12V system with any number of commercially available solutions. Once 12V is back, you're inside the vehicle, and can start chasing root cause issues and solutions (dead HV battery, system faults, etc).

Something is awry in this story.

 

[portdirect]

False (Gen1). You literally pop the hood, and pull a plastic cover.

I'm waiting for this to happen to the Gen2 where it's under the passenger seat, which when combined with the electronic doors has the potential to be a load of fun - I'm assuming there must be some accessible terminals to provide aux power for the doors somewhere? Also I recall the front seats were originally held down with torque-to-yield bolts in gen1, not sure if that's been updated - or if the battery can be swapped without removing the seat?

 

[eskudo12791]

The potential problem occurs if the 12v dies and you've got your vehicle closed...you can't use your phone/fob/card to open it up to access the frunk. In that case, you have to remove a few screws by the wheel well that allows you to pull the manual release for the frun

Or just follow the tow operator guide and jump the battery

 

[GRC]

False (Gen1). You literally pop the hood, and pull a plastic cover.

Still not simple and straightforward as an ICE vehicle. For e.g. when this happened to me I couldn't "pop the hood" like I could in an ICE vehicle. I know there is a manual release somewhere around the charging port....but agian my point is just that it is not as simpe as an ICE vehicle which is what most people are used to prior to switching to Rivian

 

[Riviot]

I'm waiting for this to happen to the Gen2 where it's under the passenger seat, which when combined with the electronic doors has the potential to be a load of fun - I'm assuming there must be some accessible terminals to provide aux power for the doors somewhere? Also I recall the front seats were originally held down with torque-to-yield bolts in gen1, not sure if that's been updated - or if the battery can be swapped without removing the seat?

Still not simple and straightforward as an ICE vehicle. For e.g. when this happened to me I couldn't "pop the hood" like I could in an ICE vehicle. I know there is a manual release somewhere around the charging port....but agian my point is just that it is not as simpe as an ICE vehicle which is what most people are used to prior to switching to Rivian

See below.

Or just follow the tow operator guide and jump the battery

 

[Doc]

Here's a link that shows how to replace both 12v in a Gen 1. Remember, this is how to swap out BOTH 12v...so it takes a few minutes longer than just one. Nothing mystical involved...just a bit of a pain to remove the frunk liner.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

I was traveling and my Rivian R1S battery died, both the main and the auxiliary, died. I called Rivian for urgent assistance to help me replace the auxiliary battery so that I can get into the car and charge my car and get back on the road. I can't even unlock and get into the car right now. They gave me an appointment for 2/28, over 2 weeks away, with their mobile service to replace the aux battery. In the the meantime, I don't have a car! Their support tells me that they treat dead battery as a higher priority but they have not been able to give me an earlier appointment! This is really frustrating as a car owner! Rivian has to treat these situations urgently when a car battery dies. Can't just treat it as business as usual. Very disappointed in the Rivian service. Can Rivian improve their Roadside Assitance to help stranded car owners with a stronger sense of urgency when their car battery dies? Can you improve your response time for dead battery situations?

Ok... Trying to figure out your situation. You either have an older Gen 1 with 2 12v batteries, and when you say your main and aux battery died, those are the ones you're referring to??

Or are you saying you depleted your main HV battery, and as a result, your 12v battery died as well, now you can't access the vehicle to then put the vehicle on a level 2? charger???

If it's a 12v issue and you need to get into the vehicle, jump start it using the leads in the rear of the vehicle (in the manual) to gain access, and put your vehicle on a level 2 or better charger.

With regards to the service appointment, typically they need to confirm with your local service center if and when there is room for a high priority repair. Often the initial booking is a place holder until such time as the service center can find a slot, or shuffle appointments around to fit you in.

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