Poor reliability – R1S

[Jayburgess89]

Wow!! Your story sounds very similar to mine. I even have the same color. My R1S had a wheel sensor fail which left the vehicle in operable. It spent 10 days at the service center before I got it back. A 100 miles later 12 volt system fails and once again it gets towed. Love the vehicle but I can’t depend on it. My Tesla, like your’s, was flawless. Might be time to think about something else…unfortunately.

Well I think it is just bad luck and hopefully they will fix it and you will be happy. Or maybe they just replace it although that usually doesn't happen. I had a Tesla Model S 2019 and had it towed 4 times. I was about to give up on it and then it worked for over a year until I sold it to buy a used Rivian R1S.

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[beyondgravity]

To be fair, wheel speed sensors being DOA is pretty common in most new cars today. Tons of traction control and stability monitoring functionality requires accurate wheel speed information. I'd be surprised if Tesla didn't encounter the same wheel speed sensor issues as most other manufacturers with single-digit failure rates.

The 12V system failures are absolutely an issue it seems like, but it doesn't seem like anyone's been able to account for whether that's coming from battery management system issues, or bad batteries themselves. There's a possibility a non-zero portion of vampire drain issues occur because the HV battery is successfully (and expensively) maintaining a failing 12V battery.

IS HV battery really maintaining 12v battery? I did not know that if it was so!

 

[emoore]

IS HV battery really maintaining 12v battery? I did not know that if it was so!

If it doesn’t then what would maintain the 12v battery?

 

[Kraphtymac]

I just scheduled my 3rd service appointment for our R1S at the Rivian service center. After waiting 3 1/2 years for the truck, we finally took delivery just 7 months ago. The drama we’ve had with the vehicle since delivery has been time consuming, unexpected and disappointing to say the very least.

We love the styling and performance of the vehicle but now we wonder if and when it will break down again?!

Here’s a summary of the problems we’ve had.

When we picked up the R1S 7 months ago, we were so excited to see the new truck and the beauty of its styling, that honestly both of us overlooked the poor attention to detail in the fit and finish of the doors and rear hatch. The driver door wouldn’t close without slamming, the molding pieces on both sides of the vehicle were either too short or too long, and the rear hatch stuck out from the body almost a half an inch on the left side and was caved-in on the right side. Most rear hatches, fit flush against the side body. Rivian service center could not do much to fix the body and molding issues, and the front driver door still needs to be slammed. This was our 1st visit for service.

I scheduled our 2nd visit to the service center when I noticed a pool of fluid underneath the truck. At first I thought it might be air-conditioning fluid/condensation but when I received a notification on the driver display about coolant, I checked the liquid a second time, and it was not water but battery coolant fluid. It leaked in a large pool under the truck and it was not drivable. Rivian hired a flat-bed tow truck to pick it up and it was taken for service to repair the leak. The repair took them a week in part because they cut the air-suspension hoses while making the repairs.

I just scheduled our 3rd appointment for service today. I received notification yesterday of the 12V battery requiring maintenance. I worked with Rivian remotely to soft reset and hard reset the vehicle but the issue has NOT been resolved. The truck is scheduled to be serviced in 10 days. We hope the truck doesn’t BRICK before the appointment.

I never expected I’d have these types of problems with a brand new truck. We owned a Tesla prior to this purchase, and it gave us zero problems. I’m very disappointed in the maintenance needed and the reliability of the R1S. I’m tired of scheduling service appointments and I wonder how many other Rivian owners out there have had similar problems…

My honest recommendation would be ask for a buy back. Your issues sound worse than mine—I was modifying my schedule around service calls and visits and it was honestly miserable.
Happiest day of owning the Rivian R1S was the day it was purchased back.

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

IS HV battery really maintaining 12v battery? I did not know that if it was so!

No engine means no alternator, so the big battery charges the little battery instead.

 

[SoCalTravels]

It’s shame R1S quality is a “crap-shoot” with Rivian. If I wasn’t a stock holder I’d sell the truck. Let’s hope they improve soon. Rivian is wasting a lot of money and throwing away customer satisfaction with all these mistakes.

Our R1S Launch Edition has been in for service 6 times. Between the parts, labor hours, and loaner vehicles (~2 months worth), Rivian has spent about as much on repairs as we paid with our original launch pricing. Seems like a money pit for Rivian.

We also picked up a Tesla Model Y Performance end of last year (the prices were just too good) and were fully expecting problems with fit and finish, panel gaps, etc and have been pleasantly surprised. Its initial build quality surpasses our 2023 Toyota and Mercedes. Have really enjoyed the MYP for when we don’t need the space of the R1S.

 

[WPRogersR1S]

Thanks for sharing your story. I feel a little better knowing I’m not the only R1S owner that has recurring problems. My wife is driving around with this 12V warning and I’m worried the truck will stop functioning. Did your 12V battery last for a week or more before you were stuck?

It started with not being able to not engage in drive or reverse. Then the thing did a reboot all by itself while I was on the phone with service. Shortly after the screens went black and there zero power through the 12v system. We jumped through the trailer lights plug in order to open the frunk. Then put a jumper on the 12v battery on the firewall. Then I was able to shift it into neutral so we could drag it up onto the flatbed. After they got it to the service center it had no issues and they were able to drive it off the tow truck. That was a week ago. It’s been working ever since but it still at their yard. They’re still trying to figure out what happened.

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

It started with not being able to not engage in drive or reverse. Then the thing did a reboot all by itself while I was on the phone with service. Shortly after the screens went black and there zero power through the 12v system. We jumped through the trailer lights plug in order to open the frunk. Then put a jumper on the 12v battery on the firewall. Then I was able to shift it into neutral so we could drag it up onto the flatbed. After they got it to the service center it had no issues and they were able to drive it off the tow truck. That was a week ago. It’s been working ever since but it still at their yard. They’re still trying to figure out what happened.

Sounds like the 12V died, and the HV battery contactors disconnected so it wasn't able to maintain the 12V from the HV battery. When you jumped it, it probably gave the 12V just enough juice to recontact with the HV battery and the HV charged the 12V enough while on the tow truck to get back to normal operation while being transported.

Did you jump it from another 12V car battery? Or did you use a battery tender/jump box of some sort?

 

[waitingonanr1s]

The 12V system failures are absolutely an issue it seems like, but it doesn't seem like anyone's been able to account for whether that's coming from battery management system issues, or bad batteries themselves. There's a possibility a non-zero portion of vampire drain issues occur because the HV battery is successfully (and expensively) maintaining a failing 12V battery.

Hope you're wrong about that, considering that I just noticed (after activating electrafi) that my R1S only sleeps 2-3 hours at a time before waking up and going back to sleep 1 hour later. Had it for 5 months now with no serious problems - but that does sound plausible. I'm hoping 50.1 fixes it though.

 

[EVBB]

My R1S was delivered in late July. I've had zero issues so far. I'm sorry to hear about those that have. My car has been solid in all areas.

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

Zero issues huh. Living in SJ and a single post, any affiliation with Rivian corporate? I get people loving their SUVs and trucks, but haven’t heard the zero issues comment often (having a T myself and friends with S’s). Maybe minor issues, but zero issues.. Don’t even hear that with Benz and Lexus.

Let's not start attacking folks with McCarthyism just for posting on the forum. Some people just don't have any interest in posting and prefer to lurk. I live in the South Bay and I promise you there's many thousands more Rivians driving around here than corporate employees ever could account for.

Furthermore, if _every_ vehicle or even a simple majority of them had big, game breaking issues, Rivian would be filing chapter 11 by now. I don't doubt there's a significant amount of reliability concerns on a new platform like this, but to suggest someone's lying just because they said they haven't had an issue is a bit ridiculous.

 

[Prime]

Let's not start attacking folks with McCarthyism just for posting on the forum. Some people just don't have any interest in posting and prefer to lurk. I live in the South Bay and I promise you there's many thousands more Rivians driving around here than corporate employees ever could account for.

Furthermore, if _every_ vehicle or even a simple majority of them had big, game breaking issues, Rivian would be filing chapter 11 by now. I don't doubt there's a significant amount of reliability concerns on a new platform like this, but to suggest someone's lying just because they said they haven't had an issue is a bit ridiculous.

Maybe that post did come off a little unsavory. Went ahead and deleted the comment. This thread was about issues OP was having (some major some minor) jumping on to say a vehicle is perfect seemed odd to me as a first time post. Been on this forum quite a long time and I just haven’t come across that large of a jump in comment variability. Zero issues and perfect vehicles are a little hard to believe in general from any manufacturer, having owned many of them from all over the world, but I very well may be wrong. No intention to argue or disrupt the thread.

 

[MGA]

When someone criticizes Rivian and then mentions Tesla as "zero issue" example, it is a good chance that this person some other intentions.

 

[iansriv]

Yeah I wonder if Rivian got a bad batch of 12V batteries… vampire drain makes sense too. I would be good to know if there’s a way we can avoid the problem by making a change in “normal operation”

Sorry to hear your plight. Hope you get everything sorted soon. I'm experiencing issues with my 12v, as we speak. Here is a link to my post:

bricked.22996

 

[HaveBlue]

Rivian got a deal on surplus 12v batteries

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