12V Battery Replacement Megathread

[922110]

It's wild to me all these 12V issues with the R1S/T. I realize the Sodium 12V are a bit more expensive but you would think they would switch to them, update the firmware to correctly support them and then have far less service appointments + happier customers. Surely the reduced demands on service + replacement AGM costs outweigh the small additional per vehicle cost of sodium 12V, especially as it's going that way eventually.

Rivian could even offer it as a paid upgrade. Most people just want to know their vehicle will work.

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[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

It's wild to me all these 12V issues with the R1S/T. I realize the Sodium 12V are a bit more expensive but you would think they would switch to them, update the firmware to correctly support them and then have far less service appointments + happier customers. Surely the reduced demands on service + replacement AGM costs outweigh the small additional per vehicle cost of sodium 12V, especially as it's going that way eventually.

Rivian could even offer it as a paid upgrade. Most people just want to know their vehicle will work.

The following is not a defense of or apologizing for Rivian. It's just reality of doing business, at far larger quantities than 1. Now that's out of the way...

You don't get it because you are viewing the issue from a single retail consumer POV. The calculus is different from a manufacturer's POV, when they order thousands of batteries from suppliers at a time. The quantities and prices are negotiated and paid, in advance, under contract. In Q2 2026 alone, Rivian produced a total of 12,613 vehicles. Think of cost difference times that production figure. That's not an insignificant amount for just one quarter. To secure a different type of 12V: existing contract has to be terminated (and hopefully without penalty), new sources have to be vetted, new contract negotiated and signed, new BMS engineered/written and tested. It's not as simple as pressing a few buttons in a keyboard to opine on the subject.

And you probably didn't read all of the posts. Battery type and chemistry isn't the only factor involved. Yes, other types have more density and cycles than AGM. However, those aren't the only reasons the batteries fail. The most common problem is how BMS is engineered/written to best (or not) manage that 12V, whatever chemistry it possesses. And the recent spike in cases appears to be linked to a OTA update that changed software parameters for what is deemed a bad or OK 12V.

Whatever the reason is that drove Tesla chose Lithium-ion 12V... They obviously have much higher production volume and resulting leverage when negotiating with suppliers. I guarantee you if Rivian went to the same exact supplier and asked for the same exact 12V, they'd be quoted a higher per unit price. From a business standpoint, what is right for one business isn't necessarily right for another's bottomline.

 

[Blackhatch]

The following is not a defense of or apologizing for Rivian. It's just reality of doing business, at far larger quantities than 1. Now that's out of the way...

You don't get it because you are viewing the issue from a single retail consumer POV. The calculus is different from a manufacturer's POV, when they order thousands of batteries from suppliers at a time. The quantities and prices are negotiated and paid, in advance, under contract. In Q2 2026 alone, Rivian produced a total of 12,613 vehicles. Think of cost difference times that production figure. That's not an insignificant amount for just one quarter. To secure a different type of 12V: existing contract has to be terminated (and hopefully without penalty), new sources have to be vetted, new contract negotiated and signed, new BMS engineered/written and tested. It's not as simple as pressing a few buttons in a keyboard to opine on the subject.

And you probably didn't read all of the posts. Battery type and chemistry isn't the only factor involved. Yes, other types have more density and cycles than AGM. However, those aren't the only reasons the batteries fail. The most common problem is how BMS is engineered/written to best (or not) manage that 12V, whatever chemistry it possesses. And the recent spike in cases appears to be linked to a OTA update that changed software parameters for what is deemed a bad or OK 12V.

Whatever the reason is that drove Tesla chose Lithium-ion 12V... They obviously have much higher production volume and resulting leverage when negotiating with suppliers. I guarantee you if Rivian went to the same exact supplier and asked for the same exact 12V, they'd be quoted a higher per unit price. From a business standpoint, what is right for one business isn't necessarily right for another's bottomline.

Totally acknowledge all the production fulfillment issues and especially with a new car. Made even more difficult during the government manufactured Covid "crisis".

I ordered the Ohmmu sodium like several others on this thread and unfortunately, have the dual battery kick in the nuts for the $500.

All that being said...the fact that my car, and many others, starting having these "battery issues" post firmware update is a bit annoying. I had an iPhone 8 until about this time last year and I swore the only reason that it lasted, was because I turned off all the updates.

I was forced into getting a new phone, ironically, by Rivian because their app wouldn't work on the older phones IOS.

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