Rivian Mom
Active Wheeler
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2024
- Messages
- 330
- Reaction score
- 30
- Rivian
- R1S
About 3 days ago, I approached my R1S, but it didn't unlock because the 12V battery was dead.
Important Note: this was entirely my fault and not Rivian's. This is not the same bug from a few months ago. This is not an issue you will have with your vehicle.
I followed the procedures in the tow guide to recover, and gained access to the front trunk area, so that I could attach a battery charger directly to each 12V battery. I was able to charge the primary (driver's side), but the secondary refused to take a charge. I spent a good amount of time trying to get it to work, but the vehicle was actually functioning normally. I put in a request for a second battery and indicated some urgency, as I thought I might end up killing the primary again if the secondary battery was completely dead.
Rivian service was very helpful over the phone and I actually got a call back from a tech in the local service center. They asked me some questions and then asked if I had been trying to charge the left side and had removed the red lead. I had. The tech then informed me that the left side, which is the same form factor as a battery, is actually a capacitor in the new builds.
The vehicle started working fine after being charged up. Hopefully this is useful to someone. I like that Rivian is making changes on the fly to refine the platform in real time. Optimizations like this are important for their long term success, and I commend them for working toward lower costs, especially in cases like this, where the customer impact is nil.
Important Note: this was entirely my fault and not Rivian's. This is not the same bug from a few months ago. This is not an issue you will have with your vehicle.
I followed the procedures in the tow guide to recover, and gained access to the front trunk area, so that I could attach a battery charger directly to each 12V battery. I was able to charge the primary (driver's side), but the secondary refused to take a charge. I spent a good amount of time trying to get it to work, but the vehicle was actually functioning normally. I put in a request for a second battery and indicated some urgency, as I thought I might end up killing the primary again if the secondary battery was completely dead.
Rivian service was very helpful over the phone and I actually got a call back from a tech in the local service center. They asked me some questions and then asked if I had been trying to charge the left side and had removed the red lead. I had. The tech then informed me that the left side, which is the same form factor as a battery, is actually a capacitor in the new builds.
The vehicle started working fine after being charged up. Hopefully this is useful to someone. I like that Rivian is making changes on the fly to refine the platform in real time. Optimizations like this are important for their long term success, and I commend them for working toward lower costs, especially in cases like this, where the customer impact is nil.
