Rivian Warns Gen 2 R1 Owners of 12V Battery Issue That Can Leave Vehicles Stranded

Rivian is contacting select R1 Gen 2 owners to address a 12V battery problem that could leave their vehicle completely inoperable. Friend of the site Tom shared a text message he received from Rivian that read:

“Urgent Notice from Rivian: Action required for your R1. Our records indicate the 12V battery in your vehicle needs to be replaced immediately to prevent a potential no-start situation. This replacement is critical for your vehicle’s reliability and will be performed at no cost to you.”

If you’ve been following RivianTrackr for a while, you might remember that Gen 1 Rivians also experienced 12V battery issues a few years back, but those were unrelated to what’s happening now with Gen 2 vehicles.

Recently, friend of the site Tyrone Holland shared that his 35-day-old R1T suddenly became bricked in his garage. The truck wouldn’t start, and Rivian ended up sending a tow truck to bring it to the Orlando Service Center. There, technicians replaced the 12V battery and confirmed the root cause, the battery had broken free from its brackets. Tyrone said, “Update, truck is repaired! It was the 12V battery breaking and the brackets. This is a different issue than Gen 1 12V issues. So if you have a Gen 2, if I were you, I would get a service appt booked right away. Cause there is no warning for this. Once the battery breaks from the brackets the truck is dead.”

If you own a Gen 2 R1T or R1S and receive this notification, Rivian recommends scheduling the replacement immediately to avoid being stranded. This repair is being performed at no cost to owners and can either be done via a service center or mobile service appointment.