Motor fault and turtle mode two weeks before first big towing trip

[DarthBrader]

Does anyone have any experience or advice on getting a tow vehicle while your Rivian is in for warranty service?

After about 2000 miles of wonderful enjoyment of our new 2024 R1S (quad/large/21) (end of Q1 lease deals!), I got "Motor fault"; "All-wheel drive permanently engaged"; and turtle mode, 42 MPH max. This was on a Friday evening, two weeks before our first big towing trip. Ugh.

Did full reset, no dice. (left steering wheel button and hazard button for 15 seconds).
After a sleep cycle, the faults cleared and it drove normally for two days. (All closed and locked for 15 minutes until app showed sleeping).
Same faults happened again on Sunday, then cleared after a sleep cycle.

On Monday it was on a flatbed to the Trenton service center, which is sorta-kinda open apparently. So far so good, but we'll see how the next couple weeks go.

I declined a rental for now as I don't really need it, but if I don't get the car back next week (which seems very possible), then I'll need a tow vehicle for a vacation that cannot be rescheduled.

I think Enterprise truck rental is the only option--they have 3/4 ton trucks you can tow with. Has anyone had experience needing a tow vehicle during warranty service? Has Rivian taken care of you? I was not offered a loaner, but I have heard you can't tow with those anyway. They mentioned something about a per diem allowance for the rental, which I assume will be lower than the truck rental rates.

Fingers crossed--I'd much rather take our R1S than an F-250. But maybe that's better than cancelling the vacation?

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[TollKeeper]

While its true you can rent a F250/F350 from enterprise, or even Penske, and they do have towing capabilities, I would be scared of the day to day rate, and mileage charge. They usually only rent those to businesses.

 

[sd250]

I just used the Trenton service center - my R1 was there for a couple of weeks.

At the nearby Enterprise rental that Rivian arranged for me, they offered me a Ram 1500 with the Hemi as one of my options. Enterprise said they try to put you into a mid-sized SUV or above.

Don't know how heavy you're towing, but you may get something that works.

 

[DarthBrader]

While its true you can rent a F250/F350 from enterprise, or even Penske, and they do have towing capabilities, I would be scared of the day to day rate, and mileage charge. They usually only rent those to businesses.

Thanks. Yes, they do seem to allow personal rentals (it's an option when booking). The rates are listed online and are not too crazy, but obviously higher than renting a "standard" car from regular Enterprise...

 

[DarthBrader]

I just used the Trenton service center - my R1 was there for a couple of weeks.

At the nearby Enterprise rental that Rivian arranged for me, they offered me a Ram 1500 with the Hemi as one of my options. Enterprise said they try to put you into a mid-sized SUV or above.

Don't know how heavy you're towing, but you may get something that works.

Thanks. Definitely a big relief to have Trenton somewhat functional!

I thought about don't-ask-don't-tell towing, but you never know what you're going to get at regular Enterprise. Hitch receiver? Trailer wiring? Brake controller? Trailer is 5k GVWR, so not crazy big, but many 3-row SUVs are marginal for the tongue weight, and you really should have a tow package to tow it. And I've heard some rental companies lock their receivers, if they have a receiver at all.

 

[Riviot]

While its true you can rent a F250/F350 from enterprise, or even Penske, and they do have towing capabilities, I would be scared of the day to day rate, and mileage charge. They usually only rent those to businesses.

Enterprise is the contracted agency for Rivian, so good news there. If you tell Rivian you need a rental during your warranty repair, they oblige.

If you tell your sob story about potentially missing your birthday camping trip into the mountains with your crossbar mounted RTT, they may even offer you a loaner out of pity. Ask me how I know...

 

[DarthBrader]

If you tell your sob story about potentially missing your birthday camping trip into the mountains with your crossbar mounted RTT, they may even offer you a loaner out of pity. Ask me how I know...

Haha. Yes, that would be really excellent. Though I've heard they don't let you tow with loaners. At least I am lucky it didn't happen during my trip, like this. Still a bummer to have it out of commission during its first time to shine.

 

[Riviot]

Haha. Yes, that would be really excellent. Though I've heard they don't let you tow with loaners. At least I am lucky it didn't happen during my trip, like this. Still a bummer to have it out of commission during its first time to shine.

You can't tow with a Rivian loaner? I missed that memo. Better get one and take a pic of the agreement! Then never post pictures towing with it.

 

[HaveBlue]

I think home Depot also rents trucks that tow.

 

[Hillbilly]

Does anyone have any experience or advice on getting a tow vehicle while your Rivian is in for warranty service?

After about 2000 miles of wonderful enjoyment of our new 2024 R1S (quad/large/21) (end of Q1 lease deals!), I got "Motor fault"; "All-wheel drive permanently engaged"; and turtle mode, 42 MPH max. This was on a Friday evening, two weeks before our first big towing trip. Ugh.

Did full reset, no dice. (left steering wheel button and hazard button for 15 seconds).
After a sleep cycle, the faults cleared and it drove normally for two days. (All closed and locked for 15 minutes until app showed sleeping).
Same faults happened again on Sunday, then cleared after a sleep cycle.

On Monday it was on a flatbed to the Trenton service center, which is sorta-kinda open apparently. So far so good, but we'll see how the next couple weeks go.

I declined a rental for now as I don't really need it, but if I don't get the car back next week (which seems very possible), then I'll need a tow vehicle for a vacation that cannot be rescheduled.

I think Enterprise truck rental is the only option--they have 3/4 ton trucks you can tow with. Has anyone had experience needing a tow vehicle during warranty service? Has Rivian taken care of you? I was not offered a loaner, but I have heard you can't tow with those anyway. They mentioned something about a per diem allowance for the rental, which I assume will be lower than the truck rental rates.

Fingers crossed--I'd much rather take our R1S than an F-250. But maybe that's better than cancelling the vacation?

I've had this issue with wanting a tow vehicle (my diesel has an issue with the AC blower) while my R1T was in the service center. It was definitely one of those "we don't authorize towing with our service vehicles...wink wink" kind of situations. Just be sure to emphasize that you need an R1T loaner, even if you have to wait on one while your vehicle is in for service and don't mention that you'll be using it to tow anything.

 

[DarthBrader]

Thanks all for the good advice here.

For others' benefit, I also saw that Herc Rentals will rent half ton trucks that you can tow with, and some locations might let you tow with smaller trucks like the Colorado / Canyon / Ranger size. That's nicer than Enterprise Truck Rental, which makes you go to a 3/4 ton to tow. Not sure if Herc allows personal rentals though--they're pretty business focused. It also seems it would be much easier to get Rivian to cover an Enterprise rental based on their existing arrangement.

Turns out I might get my R1S back this week before my trip. Sounds like they will be replacing the rear drive unit. Fingers crossed!

 

[DarthBrader]

Turns out @Riviot and @Hillbilly had the right solution here. After being a squeaky wheel I got a loaner R1 just before my vacation, and we had a great time. Though it was a nail biter as to whether I’d get one.

I talked to my local Herc Rentals, and they’re not set up well for personal vacation rentals because each local branch is responsible for roadside assistance and they don’t want to go rescue you out of their territory. My branch also said I’d have to rent a 3/4 ton to tow, so no better than Enterprise on that. Pricing was similar to Enterprise, but Herc doesn’t charge mileage. Maybe worth talking to your local branch.

Got my R1S back after I returned—they replaced the rear drive inverter. So far so good... Trenton SC was very pleasant to deal with, though they need more loaners, and more capacity.

 

[jasicarose75]

Does anyone have any experience or advice on getting a tow vehicle while your Rivian is in for warranty service?

After about 2000 miles of wonderful enjoyment of our new 2024 R1S (quad/large/21) (end of Q1 lease deals!), I got "Motor fault"; "All-wheel drive permanently engaged"; and turtle mode, 42 MPH max. This was on a Friday evening, two weeks before our first big towing trip. Ugh.

Did full reset, no dice. (left steering wheel button and hazard button for 15 seconds).
After a sleep cycle, the faults cleared and it drove normally for two days. (All closed and locked for 15 minutes until app showed sleeping).
Same faults happened again on Sunday, then cleared after a sleep cycle.

On Monday it was on a flatbed to the Trenton service center, which is sorta-kinda open apparently. So far so good, but we'll see how the next couple weeks go.

I declined a rental for now as I don't really need it, but if I don't get the car back next week (which seems very possible), then I'll need a tow vehicle for a vacation that cannot be rescheduled.

I think Enterprise truck rental is the only option--they have 3/4 ton trucks you can tow with. Has anyone had experience needing a tow vehicle during warranty service? Has Rivian taken care of you? I was not offered a loaner, but I have heard you can't tow with those anyway. When renting pickup trucks, you should look towards Enterprise or similar services that have heavy duty trucks, because not every rental company officially allows you to tow a trailer. I had a similar story with another car before a vacation and had to take another car so as not to disrupt the trip. While the car was in the service, I was just planning the route and trip and at the same time reading various sites to distract myself and so I came across https://casinosanalyzer.com/free-spins-no-deposit/real-money where I just read how the starting bonuses and terms of the services work. I think if you don't return the car on time, renting a pickup is still better than canceling the trip. They mentioned something about a per diem allowance for the rental, which I assume will be lower than the truck rental rates.

Fingers crossed--I'd much rather take our R1S than an F-250. But maybe that's better than cancelling the vacation?

Doesn't Rivian reimburse part of the rental if it's a warranty case?

 

[Ralph]

Haha. Yes, that would be really excellent. Though I've heard they don't let you tow with loaners. At least I am lucky it didn't happen during my trip, like this. Still a bummer to have it out of commission during its first time to shine.

Yeah, the agreement for a loaner does say no towing. It also makes it clear that your personal insurance is the policy applied. As a part of scheduling, before I ever saw the first loaner agreement, I told my SC I needed a loaner as we had camping scheduled. They gave me an R1T and I transferred my hitch in the SC parking lot in full view.

Turns out I didn't camp due to weather so I'll never know if someone in corporate would have sent me a nastygram or something.

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