Rivian has had quite the journey with its electric motors, up to the point of using its in-house motors. However, as frustrated buyers have noticed, the achievement came with a price; a shorter warranty on the dual-motor versions of the R1S and R1T.
When faced with the teething issue of an unstable supply chain, Rivian decided to look inwards. It started developing its own electric motor named the Enduro. After completing tests, the company began installing it in the EDV vans and eventually in its flagship R1S and R1T. These EVs are now available for order on Rivian’s website.
However, people soon began to see the fine print. For example, the standard Dual-Motor R1S and R1T have suffered a drop in output from 600 hp to 533 hp. The Performance models were not spared either, as they are now rated at 665 hp instead of 700 hp. It has been suggested Rivian took the step to improve the Enduro motor’s durability while still gathering reliability data.
This is probably reflected in the warranty Rivian offers on the new motor. Information on the website reveals the Dual-Motor versions with the Enduro motor have a 4 years/50,000 miles warranty, compared to 5 years/60,000 miles for the Quad-Motor version without the Enduro, as reported by Auto Evolution.
Interestingly, the battery warranty takes a hit, too, dropping to 8 years/150,000 miles against 8 years/175,000 miles. However, the drive units’ warranty remains 8 years/175,000 miles for the EVs with the Enduro motor.
Rivian is yet to offer an official explanation for these changes.
