Lost rear drive under acceleration

[DayTripping]

Link to this warranty?

I have this for one of my Teslas and my R1T.

https://www.xcelerateauto.com/xcare

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[CANCERDOC]

Just curious if anyone else has had this issue.

It happened to me on a drive back home on the highway from a camping trip last night, in a 2024 Gen 1 R1S. I had it in ACC, at about 80 MPH, and then heard a clunk, and the turtle mode icon and the one with the 4 wheels showed up. It was unnerving, and I half-expected that the vehicle was going to leave me stranded 90 miles from home, in the middle of the desert.

Was a little curious if using the off-road mode, and self-leveling might have done something.

Driving for 1.5 hours without any cruise control was a little tiring after a long day, but at least I got home ok.

Today, after doing software and vehicle resets, the problem still persists. Luckily, I can still drive highway speeds, but only having the front motor is annoying, but better than an undrivable vehicle.

Unfortunately, the mobile service appointment that I could get (6 hours from the closest SC) is 4 weeks away. Hopefully no other issues pop up between now and then.

This is really something Rivian should tow your vehicle for.

 

[vicq]

This is really something Rivian should tow your vehicle for.

Thanks. I’m surprised that they thought a mobile service appointment would be able to resolve this, unless the vehicle diagnostics show something that they aren’t telling me.

Waiting for a Rivian human reply after the weekend.

 

[DayTripping]

For anyone considering the Xcare warranty, it seems like there are significant price jumps at each 10k mile interval. Most warranties work similarly. So if coming up on 10k, 20k, 30k, etc. that would be the time to do it.

You have to play around with the miles per year of usage to get different term options. The 10 year 125k additional miles is a pretty solid option and you can choose your deductible level.

As a side not, I have no financial or any other type of relationship outside of them outside being a customer. They have been well reviewed on the Tesla forum I participate in. Before buying any extended warranty, get a copy of their contract and review it.

https://www.xcelerateauto.com/xcare

I am very glad the quad motor Rivians have such a long factory warranty. That primary coverage is great to have and it also lowers the cost of the extended warranty as less risk for them. So with the great drivetrain coverage from Rivian, the warranty company really only has to work about all the other things. The other big ticket items will absolutely be the suspension and HVAC. If I had a Gen 2, I'd be very concerned about the new heat pump once it is out of warranty since it is such a new design for them.

Actually that is a part of over arching thought, and how I've approached extended warranties. If it is the first model year, or a new vehicle or brand, I've normally bought them. I also buy they when they are a new generation with significant changes over the previous version. I do this because there is no track record of reliability and we all know being an early adopter entails more risk. Rivian is clear evidence of that.

As I've mentioned in other thread and will repeat here, my Rivian in the 6 months I've owned it has had more issues than the 5 Teslas I've bought in the last 5 years combined. Fortunately none of my issues were major where the vehicle forced me to stop on the side of the road and couldn't be driven, but to say that some were very impactful would be accurate.

 

[CANCERDOC]

Thanks. I’m surprised that they thought a mobile service appointment would be able to resolve this, unless the vehicle diagnostics show something that they aren’t telling me.

Waiting for a Rivian human reply after the weekend.

If all else fails, call the support number via the app, at least you will get a human being on the line that way. The chat takes forever.

 

[vicq]

For anyone considering the Xcare warranty, it seems like there are significant price jumps at each 10k mile interval. Most warranties work similarly. So if coming up on 10k, 20k, 30k, etc. that would be the time to do it.
...
As I've mentioned in other thread and will repeat here, my Rivian in the 6 months I've owned it has had more issues than the 5 Teslas I've bought in the last 5 years combined. Fortunately none of my issues were major where the vehicle forced me to stop on the side of the road and couldn't be driven, but to say that some were very impactful would be accurate.

Thanks for the note about the 10k jump. I've never bought an extended warranty on any vehicle before and typically haven't kept any beyond 7 or 8 years. Starting to consider the extended warranty before I hit 10k. But also considering either a new Gen 2/3 when this warranty expires, or move down to an R2.

We have a 2020 Tesla Model Y that had lots of issues. It was a brand new model and right after the COVID shutdown to boot. It made me wait a bit to get the R1S, thinking that they worked out most of the issues by now, which was mostly correct. Until this week, the vehicle had been flawless, except for a little speaker grill rattle on the dash that they fixed in the first month.

But then again, I can't think of any vehicle that I've ever owned, other than a 1990 Geo Prizm (Toyota Corolla) that hasn't had any issues, especially around the 5 year mark.

 

[vicq]

If all else fails, call the support number via the app, at least you will get a human being on the line that way. The chat takes forever.

Thank you! I ended up calling the support number this morning and got a really helpful person - Dwayne. We got a tow scheduled for Wednesday and they got me into a rental in the meantime. He followed up to make sure I got the Lyft credits to get to the rental office and give me more information about the next steps.

The support number, once you actually get a hold of someone, is much better than trying to use the app. Would suggest it to anyone who has more than a minor service to schedule. It's been a world of difference compared to the Tesla experience, where you can't speak to a human very easily.

My nearest SC is over 300 miles away, but the service so far has been great. Contrast this to the two different local VW dealers that I struggled with for 3 years, before swapping an ID.4 for the R1S.

 

[CANCERDOC]

Thank you! I ended up calling the support number this morning and got a really helpful person - Dwayne. We got a tow scheduled for Wednesday and they got me into a rental in the meantime. He followed up to make sure I got the Lyft credits to get to the rental office and give me more information about the next steps.

The support number, once you actually get a hold of someone, is much better than trying to use the app. Would suggest it to anyone who has more than a minor service to schedule. It's been a world of difference compared to the Tesla experience, where you can't speak to a human very easily.

My nearest SC is over 300 miles away, but the service so far has been great. Contrast this to the two different local VW dealers that I struggled with for 3 years, before swapping an ID.4 for the R1S.

Very glad to hear Rivian came through and is taking care of you now. The process is definitely clunky but they are trying.

 

[vicq]

Just wanted to give an update with somewhat happy news.

Picked up my R1S over the weekend, and the SC said that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle mechanically. The notes state "RIDE Programming and Calibration (15 minutes)".

From what I understand, over the last few software updates, the threshold on something for the rear drive unit was tightened, causing the software to think that it wasn't operating correctly. They needed to recalibrate the drive unit, and now everything is running just fine again.

 

[Rividiculous]

For anyone considering the Xcare warranty, it seems like there are significant price jumps at each 10k mile interval. Most warranties work similarly. So if coming up on 10k, 20k, 30k, etc. that would be the time to do it.

You have to play around with the miles per year of usage to get different term options. The 10 year 125k additional miles is a pretty solid option and you can choose your deductible level.

As a side not, I have no financial or any other type of relationship outside of them outside being a customer. They have been well reviewed on the Tesla forum I participate in. Before buying any extended warranty, get a copy of their contract and review it.

https://www.xcelerateauto.com/xcare

I am very glad the quad motor Rivians have such a long factory warranty. That primary coverage is great to have and it also lowers the cost of the extended warranty as less risk for them. So with the great drivetrain coverage from Rivian, the warranty company really only has to work about all the other things. The other big ticket items will absolutely be the suspension and HVAC. If I had a Gen 2, I'd be very concerned about the new heat pump once it is out of warranty since it is such a new design for them.

Actually that is a part of over arching thought, and how I've approached extended warranties. If it is the first model year, or a new vehicle or brand, I've normally bought them. I also buy they when they are a new generation with significant changes over the previous version. I do this because there is no track record of reliability and we all know being an early adopter entails more risk. Rivian is clear evidence of that.

As I've mentioned in other thread and will repeat here, my Rivian in the 6 months I've owned it has had more issues than the 5 Teslas I've bought in the last 5 years combined. Fortunately none of my issues were major where the vehicle forced me to stop on the side of the road and couldn't be driven, but to say that some were very impactful would be accurate.

My take: don’t buy insurance (or a warranty) on anything that you can afford to take the loss on. The insurer has done the math. They come out ahead in the long run.

Now, if the loss would break you, insurance is a valuable product and it’s a win-win for you and your insurance company. (But if it’s a warranty for a car that you can’t afford to repair, you should probably buy a less expensive car.)

 

[Rividiculous]

Just wanted to give an update with somewhat happy news.

Picked up my R1S over the weekend, and the SC said that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle mechanically. The notes state "RIDE Programming and Calibration (15 minutes)".

From what I understand, over the last few software updates, the threshold on something for the rear drive unit was tightened, causing the software to think that it wasn't operating correctly. They needed to recalibrate the drive unit, and now everything is running just fine again.

Wow! Glad to hear it’s good news. When I had a rear motor failure, I thought it was a little crazy when Rivian suggested that it might be a software issue. In my case it wasn’t, but now it doesn’t seem so crazy they considered it.

 

[ndmiller]

Is there another $100K vehicle that ISN'T a concern when out of warranty that repairs will be expensive?

My Lexus LX570 (<200K miles) was a tank and uber reliable but the Lexus Platinum warranty saved me from thousands in little things (Passenger door lock actuator <$1k, transfer case solenoid ($4-5K), etc). It was $600 when I purchase the warranty, so made sense. Otherwise I would have put away $500-$1K annually in savings.

Welcome to the big leagues, buy an extended warranty, put money away in a savings account, or get rid of it before the warranty expires. Not sure why this is even a discussion. Go buy a Porsche, Cadillac, High end Audi, or other Flagship vehicle, nothing different with any high $ vehicle they are expensive to buy and maintain....DUH.

 

[millersntx]

Rear drive unit failure. Either the axle disconnect or the actual drive unit. Call Rivian and tell them the vehicle is undrivable.

exactly - sounds similar to what happened when my rear drive and inverter failed. Mine wasn't drivable, yours may get there at some point in the near future

 

[Mathme]

I always look at extended warranties as a bet with myself. I looked up the price of an extended warranty on the R1T and it was like $5500. So my internal bet question is: do I think this truck will have $5500 worth of repairs on it to at least break even on that warranty? The Second question I ask myself is: will you really keep this vehicle for the entire length of the warranty?

I've seen threads of people needing other replace the air suspension bags and that's about a $4500 repair. Even if I were to have to do that, I'd still have about $1k in repairs before even breaking even.

 

[DayTripping]

I always look at extended warranties as a bet with myself. I looked up the price of an extended warranty on the R1T and it was like $5500. So my internal bet question is: do I think this truck will have $5500 worth of repairs on it to at least break even on that warranty? The Second question I ask myself is: will you really keep this vehicle for the entire length of the warranty?

I've seen threads of people needing other replace the air suspension bags and that's about a $4500 repair. Even if I were to have to do that, I'd still have about $1k in repairs before even breaking even.

I made the bet and went with the warranty. I have no doubt if i keep it 10 years, I'll more than use up the cost of the warranty. If I sell it, I'll ask more for the vehicle to recoup the cost, if not, I cancel it and get a prorata refund. There is a lot that can go wrong on these, and the suspension system and the displays are only covered under the basic warranty, which is pretty good on the quads.

I don't look at RIvian like other companies with well established track records and likely have better quality control (not always but should). To me, there is a lot more risk than a typical auto company. Rivian hasn't refined the building process as well. There are still a lot of unknowns and I am betting some of those could be issues that are expensive to address.

I can afford the car, I can afford the repairs out of pocket, but I think based on how long I tend to own (not lease) the car that they will pay out significantly more in claims than I did in premiums. On other cars I'd be less inclined to do it. I drove a turbo diesel Mercedes for 400k+ miles and only spent 5k in unplanned repairs over 20 years of ownership. I didn't even remotely consider a warranty for it when I bought it as I knew the potential trouble points going in as it was a well proven design. Rivian is much more of a crapshoot. YMMV and likely so does your risk tolerance. This is not a one size fits all approach anyway.

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