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When to proactively replace the 12V batteries before they fail??

EVTrukHog

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What are the thoughts of the Forum about if/when to proactively replace the 12V batteries before you get a warning message or failure? My R1T is now 30 months old with about 33K miles... do you schedule an appointment to replace them at the expiration of the 3YR/36K mile warranty? ...or do you keep driving until you get a warning message?

I certainly want to avoid getting stranded - and a tow to the Service Center. I may order service for a proactive replacement at the warranty expiration. Thoughts?

UPDATE (04/03/2025): I just received the "Replace 12V Battery" warning light with about 1500 miles left on my battery warranty. Mobile Tech appointment scheduled for 3 weeks out... was told as long as I don't let SOC dip below 20% then I should be fine. Fingers crossed for next 3 weeks but glad to get the batteries replaced under warranty.

UPDATE (04/23/2025): I successfully made it 3 weeks after the "Replace 12V Battery" warning light appeared. Mobile tech swapped my two 12V batteries yesterday afternoon. During the warning light period I did keep SOC above 50% and kept plugged in to maximum extent possible. Other than high phantom drain every day, no other problems. YMMV
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Dark-Fx

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I think cold weather vehicles were more apt to have early death for the 12V batteries. My R1T popped the warning up that they needed service before it actually outright died.
 

DaveA

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I'm in South Texas and mine barely made it under the warranty before replacing by 1.5 months. I'd get em swapped.
 
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EVTrukHog

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Nixapatfan

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if you aren't getting the warning and Rivian hasn't reached out to you to replace it I don't think they will just replace it in warranty. Maybe if you are seeing excessive vampire drain greater than 3% a night they may make an exception if you make an issue out of it.
 

mudito

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My Gen1 Quad has a warranty of 36 months / 36K miles for the 12V batteries - whichever happens first. Not sure if this has changed on later models. You can look up your specific warranty policy for your model year here: https://rivian.com/support/article/new-vehicle-limited-warranty-guide

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Still the same.

When to replace it? we don't know for real, I'd monitor the charge/discharge cycles in Electrafi.com and if your truck doesn't sleep for longer than 2hrs in a row without GearGuard or a key nearby, then it might be time for replacement.
 

COdogman

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I've been replacing mine every 5 days for the last year and a half. So far no issues?
 

mudito

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I've been replacing mine every 5 days for the last year and a half. So far no issues?
I do it every Feb 29th, might have to adopt your method though...
 

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epowermarine

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What are the thoughts of the Forum about if/when to proactively replace the 12V batteries before you get a warning message or failure? My R1T is now 30 months old with about 33K miles... do you schedule an appointment to replace them at the expiration of the 3YR/36K mile warranty? ...or do you keep driving until you get a warning message?

I certainly want to avoid getting stranded - and a tow to the Service Center. I may order service for a proactive replacement at the warranty expiration. Thoughts?
Almost the same situation as you. Sept 22 delivery, 35k miles, and going to service center this Friday for a windshield replacement. I've asked them to 'look; at the 12v but I know that if a problem doesn't pop up in their cloud data then it's unlikely they will change under warranty. If they don't I'll probably be doing it myself in the next month or so. All that being said I've never had any indication that there is a problem, but it does worry me.
 
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EVTrukHog

EVTrukHog

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Still the same.

When to replace it? we don't know for real, I'd monitor the charge/discharge cycles in Electrafi.com and if your truck doesn't sleep for longer than 2hrs in a row without GearGuard or a key nearby, then it might be time for replacement.
This may be the most useful application of the Electrafi data... monitor how many 12V battery "cycles" are being charged/depleted per week. I've never had excessive phantom drain, but I plug in every night. I might subscribe to Electrafi for a few months and monitor the sleep cycles before I make a decision.

At the end of the day, I gotta think the shelf life of these 12V batteries isn't much more than 3 years... I will most likely practively replace mine once the warranty expires in a couple of months.
 

DTM

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Has anyone replaced the 12V with the lithium Ohmmu batteries? If so, how have they held up? Any problems? I am waiting for Rivian mobile service on Mar 28. Problem is I have 36094 miles My 3 years ends in Aug. No idea if they will replace under warranty or not. I'm considering just replacing with the lithium but the only one I'm aware of is the one YouTuber who shows how to replace. In the mean time I've got the truck plugged in to 120v portable charger to maintain the batteries.
 

Forager

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Has anyone replaced the 12V with the lithium Ohmmu batteries? If so, how have they held up? Any problems? I am waiting for Rivian mobile service on Mar 28. Problem is I have 36094 miles My 3 years ends in Aug. No idea if they will replace under warranty or not. I'm considering just replacing with the lithium but the only one I'm aware of is the one YouTuber who shows how to replace. In the mean time I've got the truck plugged in to 120v portable charger to maintain the batteries.
I’m curious as well. I anticipate they aren’t worth the cost since the Rivian 12V BMS is designed around a lead acid deep cycle battery and probably has different targets for discharge and peak SoC. However, I’m not an electrical engineer (just hang out with a bunch) and don’t know enough about Lithium or lead acid batteries to state definitively.
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