R1T from Copart, can't shift to Drive

[eSUBA94]

Hi, I am planning to buy a Rivian R1T on Copart and ship Rivian to europe.
There are very few auctions and there was one with damage to the body paneling and the wheel arch + front left fender with the button to open the charging port and crashed reflector with orange LED.

https://www.copart.com/lot/72593614/salvage-2023-rivian-r1t-adventure-ca-van-nuys

The problem is that the car starts but you can't shift into Drive.
A question for you, since you have Rivians, could this be related to damage to the closing and opening of the charging port? I read in the manual that the car closes the charging port itself when Drive. On the Copart pictures you can see on the screen that the port is open - the UI graphic shows it.

I searched the forums and reddit and all I found was:

in 2022 and 2023 there was a software glitch that caused this
or
it is the fault of the 12V batteries being discharged or at the end of their life
or
the handbrake sensors were damaged in the accident

the carfax report says that the car was towed after the accident

maybe you have another idea or do you advise me against risking buying this and ship to Europe, the only source of parts I have is ebay usa with a month of waiting

I found a video on YouTube where someone has 90% of the same impact but his car runs - Drive gear work

in Munro's videos when disassembling the car, no wiring harness goes where the impact occurred

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[JeromePowell]

It is very difficult to speculate without actually putting hands-on the vehicle. Could be a simple as low 12-volt power or as complex as severed wiring. It is all postulation until you or someone you trust can get into the vehicle and start root-cause analysis.

I hope others have more insight and I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Charging port doesn't need to close to drive. Have had mine get iced over so badly it wouldn't retract, just drove to work with it completely open.

 

[Rivianero]

From looking at the pics, that vehicle should be just fine. It is "totalled" only in the sense that body work and reduced residual value is deemed greater than the value of the vehicle.

I'm not entirely clear if you have physical access to inspect the vehicle. If so, it should be pretty easy to see if a detected error is preventing you from putting the vehicle in drive. Errors are shown on the left side of the driver's display when you first put your foot on the brake, then as warning icons at bottom left. You can also review them by tapping the bell notification icon on the infotainment display.

Honestly, it might just be that the vehicle does not sense a key present. (In which case holding a key card to the inside panel of the door should allow shifting into drive.) Rivian's operate a little different than most vehicles. It takes a little getting used to.

It's also really important that you understand what you are getting into, by buying the vehicle and exporting. You will have no warranty and (to my knowledge) no service center in Europe that can work on the vehicle, no access to service manuals, OEM parts, or diagnostic. Unlike conventional vehicles, Rivians and similar EVs are software centric rolling 7000 pound rolling computers. Regardless of mechanical integrity, if the computer decides your truck is in a fault state, it will just stop.

I'm not trying to discourage you. If you're a DIY person it's an amazing deal on a great vehicle and tons of fun. Just go into it with your eyes open.

Also, that is a gen1 truck, so autopilot features are going to be limited vs 2024 models.

If I were exporting a salvaged Rivian out of the US, I would be tempted to look at some of the flood damaged vehicles in salvage. These often have nobody or interior damage, can run and drive, but are "certified destroyed" or "export for parts only" status so they cannot legally be put back on the road in the US. Bit of a gimmick with the insurance companies. Better prices on those because you aren't competing with US buyers other than disassemblers.
Iaai.com is also a good place to find those.

All the best!

 

[eSUBA94]

From looking at the pics, that vehicle should be just fine. It is "totalled" only in the sense that body work and reduced residual value is deemed greater than the value of the vehicle.

I know that, Rivian requires the replacement of the entire body which involves dismantling 75% of the car, including the windows, so it's always a total loss. But I'm shipping the car to Europe, I don't care about losing the warranty anyway.
Previous rivians on copart also had dents but unfortunately there was a debt imposed on the cars by the bank and now this auction has appeared

Errors are shown on the left side of the driver's display

I know that when it is a damaged engine or other important thing, rivian has big red displays on the dashboard with a message

Autopilot in gen2 seems to only work on approved expressways

thanks for all your other advice

 

[HotPocket]

Hey David! I admire your efforts- I'm about 80% done with restoring a Copart Rivian R1S myself. It's a lot of fun but can be frustrating at times.

@Rivianero is right: the truck can refuse to move for a wide range of reasons. Who told you it wouldn't shift and how did they word it? Did you pay for the on-site inspection? Those are definitely worth it. If you haven't done that you may be too close to the auction date but maybe you can talk them into doing a quick check? They'd be able to give you a better error message as well as better body pics. Fun fact about my oddball salvage: it won't budge if I don't buckle up. Ha! Not sure if it's just mine, maybe they all do that.

The upside to doing this in Eastern Europe: instead of Rivian certified shops that have to stick to the spec, with no compromise, you'll have lots of mechanics who will give it a shot for much, much less zł. In NY I have to get this thing to showroom quality to get a "rebuilt" title and make it insurable: you won't have to bother with any of that. I've also been told that there is a huge volume of scrap Rivian parts in Ukraine.

I'd be happy to try and help with the auction and salvage process as much as I can. This forum has been an amazing resource for me thus far: so many knowledgeable people, so generous with their time!

 

[eSUBA94]

Who told you it wouldn't shift and how did they word it? Did you pay for the on-site inspection? Those are definitely worth it. If you haven't done that you may be too close to the auction date but maybe you can talk them into doing a quick check? They'd be able to give you a better error message as well as better body pics.

The offer for this R1t with an auction date appeared quite late, I didn't have time to try to do it for an additional fee, some auctions are stuck for a month and this Rivian appeared on Copart and immediately had an auction date for Tuesday, I was also busy with other Rivians but they had a debt imposed on the bank
similarly I found a damaged Cybertruck but I didn't have enough time to find out in my country how much the repair will cost and how much the parts will cost
I have a own company and I can deduct tax, in our country VAT is as much as 19-23% on parts + 10% duty

The upside to doing this in Eastern Europe: instead of Rivian certified shops that have to stick to the spec, with no compromise, you'll have lots of mechanics who will give it a shot for much, much less zł. In NY I have to get this thing to showroom quality to get a "rebuilt" title and make it insurable: you won't have to bother with any of that. I've also been told that there is a huge volume of scrap Rivian parts in Ukraine.

I know about it and I know the situation on the market, Ukraine has been a champion in Europe for years in importing cars from the USA and repairing them, Tesla service in Kiev has done many things that have not been possible for years, including free SC.

I think I will wait for another auction but I don't know when it will appear, ships from the east coast of the USA sail to Holland/Germany for 3 months

This forum has been an amazing resource for me thus far: so many knowledgeable people, so generous with their time!

I noticed it too

Apart from the repair I know I will also have a problem charging the 48A Rivian on the European AC home network. I have a 1-phase charger 32A from my Chevrolet which breaks down into EU phases of 2x16A
I also need to buy the good Type2->Type1 adapter for DC chargers, most have only 150A no 400V

For some reason gen2 can't be found on copart

 

[Hexijen]

There is a service center in Dusseldorf, Germany that focuses on the vans, it was announced in 2023.

https://stories.rivian.com/service-center-openings-europe?locale=en

I am wondering if they would help you, and if you have reached out to them about it. I am considering shipping my R1T over there and was hoping to hear from anyone who has worked with that service center, whether they will work on R1Ts at all

 

[eSUBA94]

There is a service center in Dusseldorf, Germany that focuses on the vans, it was announced in 2023.

https://stories.rivian.com/service-center-openings-europe?locale=en

I am wondering if they would help you, and if you have reached out to them about it. I am considering shipping my R1T over there and was hoping to hear from anyone who has worked with that service center, whether they will work on R1Ts at all

hello, thanks for your help

I ordered another R1T a month ago, only the front bumper is damaged

I will ask the service center in Germany if they make R1T because it would be nice to install a 3phase charger with type2 ccs2 22kW like EDV has in amazon and DHL

 

[Hexijen]

please let me know if they are willing to work on it

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