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Rivian Developing Service Menu to Let Owners Handle Repairs Like 12V Battery Replacements
Zack from JerryRigEverything called out Rivian this week after learning it costs $775 to replace the two 12-volt batteries in his R1T, and Rivian wouldn’t even sell him the parts to do it himself. He said Rivian warned that using off-the-shelf batteries could void his warranty, which sparked a ton of frustration in the community.
Rivian’s VP of Software, Wassym Bensaid, jumped in to respond. He said the issue isn’t intentional and that replacing those batteries currently requires a diagnostic tool to clear error codes. Rivian’s apparently working on a new Service menu inside the vehicle that’ll let owners handle simple fixes like this on their own.
Honestly, this is one of those growing pains for newer automakers. The right-to-repair debate isn’t going away anytime soon, and EV owners definitely want more control over basic maintenance.
If you know how to get into the RiDE menu, you can clear the 12v warnings after a battery change without special access on the current software version.
There are many YouTube videos out there that show how to do this.
Right, the RiDE menu is great but it won’t solve the full issues expressed.
Rivian considers fuse box diagrams top secret information, so I am not holding my breath for repair info to be released. Bigger problems in the US, but I hope someday we have right to repair laws that force companies to make repair info, parts and tools to be made available.