345
A Rivian Fender Bender Cost $42,000. Its CEO Says That Should Never Happen (www.thedrive.com)
submitted 1 week ago by sanitation@lemmy.today to c/technology@lemmy.world
153 comments fedilink hide all child comments
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 67 points 6 days ago

We used a one-piece body side, and so that means if you damage like the rear fender, the repair operation, depending on the level of the damage, you can either do body work or you have to cut out a portion of the panel, re-weld the new panel on,

So, a problem of design that didn't really think about repairability

[-] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 22 points 6 days ago

I'm not even a mechanic and I can tell you that no car company thinks about repairability.

Hell, just replacing a consumable like the battery can be a major chore that requires far more disassembly than anyone with a functional braincell would consider appropriate on some cars.

[-] AeonFelis@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

You'd think cars, at least, will be built under the assumption they'll typically have to be repaired rather than replaced.

[-] historicaldocuments@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago

They used to be. Go back far enough in time and you could climb up under the hood into the engine bay to work on it. All that went by the wayside to get smaller packaging, lighter weight, and better fuel efficiency.

Now you need special tools or special code readers to solve/diagnose all vehicle problems. The large scale farmers are dealing with this now with the large combines and harvesters needing a tech with special equipment to read all the codes where the older tractors from the 70s and 80s can be repaired.

[-] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 4 days ago

I'm getting annoyed at hearing this "they made them better in the old days" trope.

Modern cars are pushing 200-300,000 miles of life. They don't rust like they used to, and complex, efficient engines can be diagnosed with a read from a computer screen, as can the entire car electric system. Sure, older vehicles had more room to do repairs, but they always needed repairs. Lots of rose colored glasses being worn here.

Vehicles like giga cast Teslas are almost like hot wheels cars, one large casting of aluminum, which is often too expensive to fix so the car gets written off. Rivian and Tesla didn't give a shit about collision repair...until sales are being choked when people get insurance quotes. Tesla setup their own insurance and it's losing money. Poor design means Teslas crash more than any other brands, and get written off more than any other brand, which sets actuarial tables on fire.

Now Rivian CEO cares because bad design is affecting sales.

[-] historicaldocuments@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

Lots of rose colored glasses being worn here.

I will take modern rust prevention tech every day all day. The control modules and circuit boards are a hole in repairablity, and there'll be a wall where nobody makes them anymore and the specs are not published (considered proprietary/trade secret/whatever), and that whole vehicle will just have to be scrapped. The world won't ever see the end of old body-on-frame vehicles with crate engines. Speaking for myself the "rose colored glasses" is a wish for the best of both worlds. I wouldn't doubt it's out there being done somewhere, but I'm sure it's cost prohibitive to do it, or people are doing it for themselves.

Maybe I'm just complaining because I don't personally have the time/knowledge/workspace to do what I want in that area. C’est la vie.

[-] Equinox1289@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 days ago

Yeah, I'd agree engineering and material quality is up, but the problem is that enshittification is up at a higher amount.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Malyca@lemmy.zip 21 points 6 days ago

So funny story, I hit the back of my husband's Rivian on accident and we need to file a claim. I'm fucking terrified now.

[-] grinning_serpent@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

I mean if it's just a fender bender, who cares? Bumpers are meant to bend. Do you think it was hit hard enough to cause actual structural damage?

[-] Malyca@lemmy.zip 5 points 6 days ago

No but I didn't think the bill could be that high for bumper damage. It's full coverage, it would just suck if they totaled it.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Doomsider@lemmy.world 12 points 6 days ago

This is why it is such a shame that all the major auto manufacturers could not be bothered to produce a decent cheap EV. They have repairability figured out from the start. They already have dealers, parts, crash safety, etc all worked out.

[-] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 6 points 6 days ago

they had spent money last adminstration to put 100% tariffs on foreign evs.

[-] ___ 4 points 5 days ago

The first two generations of the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Bolt are the closest to what you're describing.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] lechekaflan@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago

Whatever, fuck cars.

[-] west2seven@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 6 days ago

I like the rivian cars, but i have worked for years as a hardware engineer and i am 100 percent certain this was a known issue. I have seen design scrutinized on so much less and this is just such an obvious issue...

[-] roofuskit@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago

Rivian and Tesla are trying to hit price points with lower volumes so they are 100% aiming to reduce manufacturing costs even if it creates scenarios like this.

[-] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 4 days ago

This was an issue when they were making record profit margins in the industry and charging $150,000++.

It's only a problem now when people pull out of purchases because they get a shocking insurance quote.

[-] Rooster326@programming.dev 7 points 6 days ago

If you don't scrutinize then you don't find any issues?

[-] west2seven@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 6 days ago

The issues get fixed before production, except, not in this case it seems.

[-] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Its CEO is only disappointed that the repair costs are so low. This is by design.

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2026
345 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

85574 readers
3000 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
L3s@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
technopagan@lemmy.world
L4s@lemmy.world
L3s@hackingne.ws