[Update: Made It Out!] Drive Motor Failure During Off-roading Excursion Through Water Crossing

[SeattleSteve]

Got my R1T back today. I couldn't be more pleased with my interactions with Rivian staff.

A bit more info about the failure: Driving into the ~18 inches of water led to unexpected water intrusion into the inverter housing for the front drive unit.

Within just a week and a half, Rivian sent the drive unit to "Engineering," diagnosed the issue, and had me back on the road with a new drive unit. All work was covered under warranty.

Throughout this whole process, Rivian never once made me feel like I overextended the expected capabilities of the truck. Actually, there were metaphorical nods to keep enjoying the truck as it was designed. So awesome!

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[R1Tom]

Got my R1T back today. I couldn't be more pleased with my interactions with Rivian staff.

A bit more info about the failure: Driving into the ~18 inches of water led to unexpected water intrusion into the inverter housing for the front drive unit.

Within just a week and a half, Rivian sent the drive unit to "Engineering," diagnosed the issue, and had me back on the road with a new drive unit. All work was covered under warranty.

Throughout this whole process, Rivian never once made me feel like I overextended the expected capabilities of the truck. Actually, there were metaphorical nods to keep enjoying the truck as it was designed. So awesome!

This is awesome! It always amazes me how many other manufacturers of vehicles customers use them as they imply them to be capable, and then dodge warranty coverage when used exactly as they imply them to be capable.

 

[Tomgriff]

Throughout this whole process, Rivian never once made me feel like I overextended the expected capabilities of the truck. Actually, there were metaphorical nods to keep enjoying the truck as it was designed. So awesome!

Great to hear, I certainly intend to use mine in various WA State ORV areas. Jones Creek being a 20 minute drive will find me there quite often!

 

[Quick]

Awesome! Glad to hear they supported you and fixed it quickly.

The customer service and commitment to their products is why I purchased two of them.

 

[Iwannarivian]

Just saw this….and yes tow mode in maintenance menu.

same thing happened to me last month stuck in the mud! Tow mode will stay engaged for 15 minutes at a time as long as you stay below want to say 8 mph.

hopefully, you get it to reengage, I could not….rescued by off-road recovery company and towed 200 miles the nearest service center which was Dallas just so they could do a software reset, pretty stupid if you ask me! Why can’t we do this over the air? SC just had to clear some codes. What a bunch of BS!

Rivian covered all recovery costs, and towing to SC, but I had to go get the truck!

I sure hope an update addresses this type of situation, I would imagine we are NOT the only ones going to be in this predicament far off-road situation that a normal tow truck can’t reach.. there needs to be a way to remotely reset, and/or re-engage a drive mode!

At least you were able to make it to the tow truck, I was not…we had obstacles just like yours that we had to go over with my truck on the way out!

It’s one thing to be stuck in mud, water, or on an obstacle… Being able to be helped out by a buddy with a winch or a recovery kit…its something entirely different to have your truck brick leaving you no recovery options!

Rivian seriously has to address this type of scenario!

 

[Riv_Ian]

Maybe this type of software lockout is to protect against a number of mechanical failure modes and they want to be able to inspect prior to re-enabling to prevent catastrophic failures or safety issues.

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