Vacation Ruined - catastrophic failure

[ohseedee]

Truck only had power on drivers side and not passenger. Had to crawl into gear tunnel to get stuff out. Tried to push the emergency open button on passenger side apparently it only works if there is power.

This type of issue is very concerning to me. I had the realization how dangerous having everything computerized on an adventure was while off roading in a 100+ degree desert recently. Most of my water was locked in the bed with a cover on. We could have literally died if this issue happened and we couldn't get to our water (probably could have smashed it open with rocks before death happened however). I ended up off roading with the bed cover off getting dust all over my gear. Lacking mechanical latches on say a Model Y is probably fine, but I think an R1 needs them...

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[9527]

I’ve heard a lot of Tesla owners with the 12v lead acid battery having the same problem a year ago. Good thing they switched to Lithium. Cars also received an update in which driver will get a warning when the 12v is reaching the end of its life. Rivian should at least update the software at the time being and add the 12v warning so owner won’t get stranded in the middle of nowhere. This is an adventure vehicle and owners tend to bring it off grid where help is difficult to get.

 

[Milermore]

Best outcome- know what the problem was and fixed and no keeping truck for 2 weeks to see if it runs ok.

was the problem fixed, or the symptom?

 

[Gman]

was the problem fixed, or the symptom?

Definitely problem- as you know, symptom is the 12V battery issue. This symptom is an ongoing issue with Rivian. Son in law had R1S shipped to HNL month and half ago. Updated and both 12V died- towed and fixed 3 weeks later. Tesla had same problem and has gravitated to lithium 12V if I understand correctly.

 

[Cactusone]

It’s an adventure vehicle in name only. Known multiple single point failures that immobilize the truck don’t give much comfort while “adventuring”. This truck out of warranty is not suitable for most in current form if progress is not made on reliability.

 

[TxBeachRivian]

This type of issue is very concerning to me. I had the realization how dangerous having everything computerized on an adventure was while off roading in a 100+ degree desert recently. Most of my water was locked in the bed with a cover on. We could have literally died if this issue happened and we couldn't get to our water (probably could have smashed it open with rocks before death happened however). I ended up off roading with the bed cover off getting dust all over my gear. Lacking mechanical latches on say a Model Y is probably fine, but I think an R1 needs them...

Apparently if you are adept, you can push the button on the inside with a wire to pop the tailgate. https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...ven-if-the-vehicle-is-locked.8031/post-200799

 

[RWerksman]

I’ve heard a lot of Tesla owners with the 12v lead acid battery having the same problem a year ago. Good thing they switched to Lithium. Cars also received an update in which driver will get a warning when the 12v is reaching the end of its life. Rivian should at least update the software at the time being and add the 12v warning so owner won’t get stranded in the middle of nowhere. This is an adventure vehicle and owners tend to bring it off grid where help is difficult to get.

I received one of those alerts on my Model S. Tesla mobile service was at my door 48 hours later with a new battery, covered under warranty, and gone 30 minutes later. There is no reason why that can't be done here.

That said, items covered under mobile service have been basically nonexistent for me. I have 5 open tickets, all of which require a 3 hour drive to the nearest service center or an $1800 tow bill.

Frankly, it's the most disappointing thing about the truck... at least until one of my batteries fail unexpectedly when I'm on vacation.

 

[Gman]

You don’t want that grief. I think we all knew we were Guinea pigs being early buyers. I suppose something is going to happen to all of us at some point.

 

[Larry T]

Not sure why no one is trying the Ohhmu lithium batteries. From my research, they worked fine on Teslas until Tesla did a software update that recognized the 12V battery was not OEM. Then Tesla upgraded to lithium themselves, basically making the aftermarket Ohhmu redundant. We all know lithium is far superior or AGM, and the Ohmmu have an internal BMS so should be far more reliable. Considering a 12V failure bricks the vehicle with no warning, and Rivian is using two of them, it’s very concerning. Until Rivian upgrades the 12V system to lithium, this appears to be the best option to avoid this issue.

 

[VSG]

Because the problem is not "bad" 12V batteries - the problem is the Rivian BMS. So switching to lithium cells won't help. The solution needs to be software and/or hardware. Previous OTA updates have already greatly mitigated this problem, and I'm sure that eventually improvements will eliminate them.

 

[R1Tom]

You don’t want that grief. I think we all knew we were Guinea pigs being early buyers. I suppose something is going to happen to all of us at some point.

When does the guinea pig phase end for the R1 platform?

 

[Gman]

The answer to your question will determine the longevity of Rivian as a viable EV company. We both know- sooner the better.

 

[NY_Rob]

The problem is not "bad" 12V batteries - the problem is the Rivian BMS.
So switching to lithium cells won't help.

The first sentence is 100% accurate, but the second not so much..

True, the Rivian 12V battery BMS is not cutting off the discharge when the 12V AGM batts reach a critical low level, but the Ohhmu lithium batteries have their own built-in BMS that will 100% cut off the discharge once the batts get to a critical low (pre-programmed) voltage preventing a damaged battery. It's no problem for the two systems to run on top of each other, it's pretty common actually as all ICE vehicles have an alternator voltage regular that stops charging the 12 volt batts once the voltage hits 14.6 volts, having an internal BMS inside the Lithium battery doesn't negate the vehicle voltage regulator function it's just additional protection for overcharge, short circuit and low voltage cutoff.

 

[RWerksman]

When does the guinea pig phase end for the R1 platform?

It's been well over a year. We should be out of it. Everything now is optimizing normal business operations.

 

[R1Tom]

It's been well over a year. We should be out of it. Everything now is optimizing normal business operations.

That is what I say, but many in these parts seem to think that excuse goes on for many years...

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