Lifetime vehicle? Bringing future tech (battery upgrade swap) to early adopters feasible?

[Bigz3393]

Seeing some promising tech in the battery space right now
CATL made some big announcements
Link to post
Has rivian made any comments on swapping packs in the future? If my battery in 10 years has degraded 20% and new batteries go 2x the distance in same size package and battery costs have dropped to $20/KWh seems like a new pack would make a lot more sense for me than a new truck.
I don't really care for more self driving tech, but more range/faster charging would be great. Especially if I don't have to buy a new truck.
Is their a market for this ? Or does general lifespan of everything else in the truck kill this?

Sponsored

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I wouldn’t be interested. I wind up buying a new vehicle every few years regardless. Everything besides the battery that will break in these trucks makes this not very likely.

 

[Bigz3393]

Fair point. Just wondering how eco friendly Rivian can really be if there vehicles all end up at land fills because of repair costs/battery degradation.
I'm hoping mine proves to be a reliable work horse for a long time, but not getting vibes from the community that's a realistic expectation with how tech heavy these are.

 

[mikehmb]

Seeing some promising tech in the battery space right now
CATL made some big announcements
Link to post
Has rivian made any comments on swapping packs in the future? If my battery in 10 years has degraded 20% and new batteries go 2x the distance in same size package and battery costs have dropped to $20/KWh seems like a new pack would make a lot more sense for me than a new truck.
I don't really care for more self driving tech, but more range/faster charging would be great. Especially if I don't have to buy a new truck.
Is their a market for this ? Or does general lifespan of everything else in the truck kill this?

There's an entire cottage industry for battery replacements on Leafs (Leaves?), i3s, Teslas, etc. I'm sure someone will do so for Rivians as well.

 

[Bigz3393]

Those vehicles don't seem very old to me.... Having to do battery swaps at 10 years? Or are most being swapped for the newer tech/range benefits? or are they salvage vehicles? How much is this costing now? I expect costs will go down in 5-10 years even further

 

[Thedude]

Fair point. Just wondering how eco friendly Rivian can really be if there vehicles all end up at land fills because of repair costs/battery degradation.
I'm hoping mine proves to be a reliable work horse for a long time, but not getting vibes from the community that's a realistic expectation with how tech heavy these are.

Rivian markets itself as eco friendly when we all know it isn’t that much different than legacy manufacturers in reality. They are technology bloated, expensive and resource intensive vehicles full of unnecessarily complicated systems that will not last like older, more simple cars. Sure they pollute a lot less while in use but they still create a lot of waste and pollution in resource extraction and post life disposal.

I’m confident the batteries or materials contained within them will be repurposed or recycled but the rest of the vehicle is going to go somewhere. I doubt we will see 30 year old Rivians on the road with 500k+ miles like we see older Tacomas.

 

[mkg3]

I don't swap batteries on laptops or phones. I just replace them.

Rivian is a laptop with wheels, essentially from electronics perspective. While Rivian will continue to update the firmware and add features, with every passing year, there will be something faster, better and probably cheaper options.

I usually replace my vehicles around 5~8 years or 80K~100K miles, whichever comes first.

 

[Bigz3393]

Rivian markets itself as eco friendly when we all know it isn’t that much different than legacy manufacturers in reality. They are technology bloated, expensive and resource intensive vehicles full of unnecessarily complicated systems that will not last like older, more simple cars. Sure they pollute a lot less while in use but they still create a lot of waste and pollution in resource extraction and post life disposal.

I’m confident the batteries or materials contained within them will be repurposed or recycled but the rest of the vehicle is going to go somewhere. I doubt we will see 30 year old Rivians on the road with 500k+ miles like we see older Tacomas.

Man I hope you're wrong! Would love to see this thing rack up that kind of adventure! I had the above experience with a land cruiser and am hoping for the same out of my R1T, but it sounds like I need to lower my expectations.
If I could repurpose the pack for home energy storage and slap a new pack in my truck that would be awesome.

 

[Bigz3393]

I don't swap batteries on laptops or phones. I just replace them.

Rivian is a laptop with wheels, essentially from electronics perspective. While Rivian will continue to update the firmware and add features, with every passing year, there will be something faster, better and probably cheaper options.

I usually replace my vehicles around 5~8 years or 80K~100K miles, whichever comes first.

Also wonder if my trucks UI will start to feel slower and slower similar to what happens with every new update on older iPhones....

 

[SANZC02]

Those vehicles don't seem very old to me.... Having to do battery swaps at 10 years? Or are most being swapped for the newer tech/range benefits? or are they salvage vehicles? How much is this costing now? I expect costs will go down in 5-10 years even further

I’m pretty sure the Rivian batteries will hold up pretty well. I have a 9 year old Tesla that has been Supercharged over 95% of the time because it is free. It still has over 90% of original range. Most of the Tesla range I’ve lost was in the first 3 years, my 2+ year old R1S is only fast charged on trips and the battery seems to be holding up better than my Tesla battery after 37k miles.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

Man I hope you're wrong! Would love to see this thing rack up that kind of adventure! I had the above experience with a land cruiser and am hoping for the same out of my R1T, but it sounds like I need to lower my expectations.
If I could repurpose the pack for home energy storage and slap a new pack in my truck that would be awesome.

Out of warranty costs are likely to push people to get a new car. Who is going to pay $12-15k for a repair on a 7 year old vehicle that is worth $30k?

 

[Bigz3393]

I would pay that for a new pack if the alternative is 100k for new vehicle....at least if I think all the other systems are solid. But yeah if I'm paying 10k every year for a suspension/computer/motor issue then no ID rather just finance a new one I guess

 

[beatle]

Those vehicles don't seem very old to me.... Having to do battery swaps at 10 years? Or are most being swapped for the newer tech/range benefits? or are they salvage vehicles? How much is this costing now? I expect costs will go down in 5-10 years even further

I'd expect battery cost to be north of $30k. Replacing the battery on an 85kwh Model S was in the $20k range. New batteries have gotten less expensive, but older ones are still pricey.

I'm not sure how serviceable the R1T battery is from a labor perspective. The Model S battery replacement labor was relatively cheap compared to the pack since they effectively just drop out.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

I would pay that for a new pack if the alternative is 100k for new vehicle....at least if I think all the other systems are solid. But yeah if I'm paying 10k every year for a suspension/computer/motor issue then no ID rather just finance a new one I guess

I was talking about just a run of the mill repair. Eg air suspension craps out. Etc.

A new battery pack, I’d assume, is well north of $15k. And in 10 years there will be cars that are like spaceships for $60k. You’ll be able to add 400 miles of range in 10-15 minutes.

I can’t imagine paying $20-25k for a new battery on a car that’s wrote $30k, if that.

 

[usulio]

Unfortunately, Rivian has not shown interest in anyone but Rivian modifying or repairing their vehicles. The most we can probably hope for is that right to repair legislation means Rivian can't stop you from making these swaps down the line.

Sponsored