Service 12v battery system notification message

[BoltEVowner]

Mine bricked today, no previous warnings. 19k miles, one year old.

Same message here a couple of days ago. Rivian approved for a mobile service, but no appointments before 2024. Told them that was totally unacceptable. Will drive 100 miles to SC if that's what it takes to fix sooner. Otherwise will leave parked and plugged in my garage, too afraid of getting stranded. This really seems ridiculous that this amazing vehicle has such a weak/faulty lead acid 12 volt system. They should replace with Lithium iron phosphate option and update the software to make it work better.

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[KCFGFE]

Truck back at home.
New 12v installed.

I still personally don't think it's fixed, but I guess we will see in three months or so.

Rivian gets 1 more try before it qualifies for lemon. ?‍? Which is a shame because it's such a silly issue.

Any new issues with the 12V since?

 

[KootenayEV]

@M4H4X I'm wondering also if your problem was ever resolved. I've now experienced this issue too and wondering about others' experiences.

I took delivery of my truck Sep 2, a May 2023 build, 25km or so on the odometer. Drove it quite a lot since then (9,000 km), and in early November I turned the truck on one chillier morning (after having the truck sitting a bit the night before, using 12v accessories) and had the service 12v message come up. Snagged a photo and submitted a ticket, then did a hard reset. Message went away and didn't come back - about 3-4 weeks later Mobile service came and replaced my 12v battery (I only have the 1 battery; and apparently the second space is not a capacitor, simply a glorified power distribution system), and checked connections etc. Did not replace DC/DC, but said that would be next step if had further issues. I chalked it up to just an anomalously low reading due to circumstance, and perhaps an overly aggressive 'service soon' message.

A few days ago I get the service 12v battery message again. File a ticket and make an appointment for early January, but did not do any resets. This time Rivian calls me a day later and wants me to reset the Infotainment and just cancel my service appointment; I told them I hadn't reset because I wanted to ensure I didn't wipe any logs etc and wanted the same tech to review them. They indicated I can get a diagnostic log saved by pressing and holding the profile icon for 3-5 seconds.

So I went out to the truck, pulled off the battery cover and checked with a multi-meter: 13.56V! I had been driving earlier that day, so battery was likely charged up by DC/DC, but with voltage that high, seemed to indicate that DC/DC was on at that point too - all I did was open the frunk and check the battery (didn't open any other doors); I was hoping to catch the resting voltage of the battery but seems I did not. Saved the logs and reset the truck, but asked them to keep the appointment.

If I get another message in the next week or two, will probably take it into service (though that is a PITA due to distance).

So for now I monitor, and hope that the 'service soon' message is just too aggressive and is catching my 12v with low voltage only briefly.

Does seem odd to me to have included such a small 12v battery when so much is hinging on it. That or they should have a better charging system for it.

 

[M4H4X]

Knock on wood. Have had zero issues since the 12v batteries were replaced.

 

[KootenayEV]

Just had a thought - I was reading about the Camp Speaker in the manual and it notes that the "pogo" connection (I take that to mean the truck dock) is at 12V DC... anyone know if the speaker is tapped into live pins to the 12V system? IIRC, Rivian does say not to jam anything in the dock that isn't the camp speaker... Is it possible the Camp Speaker is slowly draining the 12V truck battery depending on what mode it is in?

 

[KootenayEV]

Just had a thought - I was reading about the Camp Speaker in the manual and it notes that the "pogo" connection (I take that to mean the truck dock) is at 12V DC... anyone know if the speaker is tapped into live pins to the 12V system? IIRC, Rivian does say not to jam anything in the dock that isn't the camp speaker... Is it possible the Camp Speaker is slowly draining the 12V truck battery depending on what mode it is in?

Since my post on Dec 18th (the one above this quoted one, #33), I did receive the Service 12v battery message again after the reset on the 21st. Service had me do a reset again. I kept my appointment for Jan 5th. They called on the 26th asking if I'd seen the message again (no), and wanted to cancel my appointment. I declined and asked them to have a tech analyze the logs to see if something needed looking at in person and get back to me.

A few days later, a different person called me and asked if I'd seen the message again (no), and wanted to cancel my appointment. I AGAIN declined and asked them to have a tech analyze the logs etc, and that they should talk to Vancouver service. This time I get a call back from Vancouver service stating that someone did review the logs and wants my truck to come in for "engineering" to take a look at it.

I've been perusing threads to see what seems to have been the resolution for most 12v service messages. Fortunately it seems to be less of an issue since they switched to 1 battery back in the spring and improved the charging algorithm with that software update (I forget which one).

Seems the most common solution has been replacing the 12v battery, but I have seen someone note they had a "central gateway module" replaced, and another mentioned having the DC/DC charger replaced.

I live most of the time almost 8 hours from the Service Centre, and knew I was taking a bit of a chance - but I guess 8 years of fault-free driving with my Nissan Leaf (which was an even worse service situation, as due to charging infrastructure and the car limitations meant 2 days to get to nearest SC, which is usually 4.5 hr drive!) lead to a false sense of security. I have had to drive the 4.5 hrs to the nearest city with my Model 3 a few times for service; two of those were not time-sensitive issues, one was. It was probably naive of me to think I'd get away with no similar issues with the Rivian lol.

Anyways, hoping they can get it resolved on the one day, so I don't have to either hang around for a few days in Richmond, or if they give me a loaner, don't have to do a second round-trip.

 

[moosetags]

Now that the newer Rivians vehicle have a single 12 volt battery, have these problems subsided?

Brian

 

[R1Tom]

Now that the newer Rivians vehicle have a single 12 volt battery, have these problems subsided?

Brian

I think the problems have subsided due to software improvements mostly.

 

[KootenayEV]

I left my truck with service this morning; they were thinking the DC/DC converter needed swapping out - they thought a sub-module that is supposed to check the 12v battery voltage and turn on when needed wasn't working properly. They did caution it might not be the case, and they might need to give me a loaner.

This seemed plausible as a mechanism in some ways, as I use the truck reasonably frequently, so most of the time something else likely would have triggered it to charge (I bet there is programming to cycle it for other events than just low voltage as a layer-of-protection).

Came back later in the afternoon and unfortunately after further diagnosis, they were thinking it is more likely a suspension ECU or something that is not sleeping and pulling power from the 12v at times while off. Bummer - I have to go back home. On the plus side, they did send me home with a loaner, and even transfered my winter tires and my roll-up tonneau cover over! Huge kudos to the Richmond, BC Service Team. I'm expecting it will be a few weeks now to resolve.

I wonder if the newer wiring/comms architecture on the books for 2024 will help prevent these kinds of issues...

 

[lancaja]

Just wanted to add another data point. My batteries were replaced on October 21st of last year after the yellow service 12v msg. I just got the replace 12v red battery msg. Luckily, I already have an appointment on Friday to get new tires and retract the stick tonneau cover. I will update the thread with the conclusions. Just over a year with the new batteries. The tech said that I had one of the initial bad batches a year ago after the swap.

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