You are standing on the shoulder of the 101. The truck is damaged, your hands are not quite steady, and a tow dispatcher is already asking what kind of vehicle it is.

What to do after a Rivian accident, in order, comes mostly from Rivian’s own R1T Emergency Response Guide (June 2024) and from a National Transportation Safety Board report on damaged electric vehicles. None of it is complicated. All of it is easier to remember if you have read it once before you need it.

People first, then the truck

Check on everyone in your vehicle and in the other one. Call 911 if anyone is hurt, or if the truck is smoking, hissing or leaking. If you notice a chemical smell or vapor from under the vehicle, move everyone well away and let the fire department handle it. Rivian’s guide explains why in one sentence:

From the sourceRivian · R1T Emergency Response Guide

“In some cases, lithium-ion batteries can self-ignite days after a major collision.”

If the vehicle is safe to approach, put it in Park and shut it down. Then photograph all four corners, the other vehicle, both plates, and the scene before anything gets moved. Those pictures go into your claim, and they are the same ones we will ask for when you send us an estimate request.

How should a damaged Rivian be towed? Flatbed only

This is the step that damages these trucks after the crash is already over. Rivian’s Emergency Response Guide states: “Only transport the vehicle on a flatbed tow truck.” That rules out a wheel-lift and a dolly under the rear axle. The guide’s wording on the alternative is direct: “Towing Rivian vehicles with any wheels on the ground can lead to significant damage and overheating.”

If the operator needs to pull the truck a short distance to load it, the guide allows that with a strict limit: “Pull at 5 mph (8 km/h) or less.”

If dispatch sends a wheel-lift, wait for the right equipment. Waiting forty minutes on the shoulder is cheaper than a drivetrain. The Rivian R1T Emergency Response Guide is public, and it is worth keeping on your phone before you need it.

Where should a damaged Rivian be stored tonight?

For a vehicle with possible battery damage, Rivian’s guide calls for storing it “outside at least 50 ft (15 m) away from other vehicles, structures, or combustible material,” and it adds: “Leave the vehicle in the containment area for at least 24 hours.”

The reason is what the NTSB calls stranded energy. The board wrote: “The energy remaining in a damaged high-voltage lithium-ion battery, known as stranded energy, poses a risk of electric shock and creates the potential for thermal runaway.” The failure modes it lists are “venting and combustion of toxic gases, cell rupture and release of projectiles, and battery reignition/fire.”

That is why a damaged Rivian does not belong in a crowded impound row, and it is why it does not belong in your garage either.

Why fifty feet is harder to arrange in Ventura County than it sounds

Fifty feet of clearance is easy to write down and harder to find at eleven at night.

If you are on the 101 near Rose Avenue, or the 126 outside Santa Paula, or the grade coming down into Camarillo, the tow that arrives is usually whoever is on rotation — and the yard that tow goes to is usually whichever one is closest and open.

Impound yards are built to store vehicles tightly, because space is the product. A row of cars parked door to door is the normal way to store a car and the wrong way to store a damaged EV.

So the question to ask, while you are still standing there, is not just whether they can take it on a flatbed.

You are allowed to answer that question yourself. In California, Insurance Code section 758.5 says an insurer may not require you to use a particular repair facility. The carrier can recommend a shop; the choice is yours, and it is yours at the roadside as much as it is three days later. If you already know where you want the truck to end up, say so to the tow operator and to your insurer on the first call — and you skip a second tow and a second set of storage fees.

Our Oxnard shop at 497 Lambert St is a Rivian certified collision center serving all of Ventura County, and we can tell the tow operator where to put the truck. Our Ventura shop on Crescent St handles collision repair and estimates for other makes; Rivian repairs are completed at Oxnard.

Two things not to let anyone do

Rivian’s guide carries one more line worth memorizing: “Do not cut the battery.” It is written for first responders, but it applies to anyone holding a cutting tool.

Rivian’s battery handling bulletin is equally clear that only factory certified service technicians inspect and repair the high voltage system, and it says: “Never attempt to charge a damaged HV battery.” Do not plug the truck in at home to see whether it still works.

Opening the claim

Open the claim before storage fees start. Tell your insurer the make and model, that the vehicle was moved by flatbed, where it is sitting, and the name of the shop you want it to go to.

The NTSB also called relying solely on the 50-foot recommendation “impractical at best,” which is a reason to ask what the storage yard actually does beyond measuring distance. The Repairer Driven News summary of the NTSB findings covers the rest, including SAE J2990, the towing standard.

If the calls and the forms feel like too much on the day, our collision claims team can take the paperwork over with your carrier.

Frequently asked questions

Can I drive the truck home if it still runs?

We will not draw that line over the phone, and neither should anyone else. After anything that hit the underside or the front or rear structure, treat it as a flatbed job — Rivian’s guide warns that self-ignition can happen days later, and a truck that drives is not the same as a truck that is undamaged underneath.

Does the truck really need to sit outside for 24 hours?

For a vehicle with suspected battery damage, Rivian’s guide calls for at least 24 hours in an outdoor containment area, at least 50 feet from other vehicles, structures or combustible material. Ask where the truck will sit, and for how long.

What if the tow company only has a wheel-lift truck?

Decline it and ask for a flatbed. Rivian’s guide says towing with any wheels on the ground can cause significant damage and overheating. If the truck must be pulled to load it, the limit is 5 mph or less.

Can my insurance company tell me where to take it?

It can recommend a shop. It cannot require one. California Insurance Code section 758.5 says an insurer may not require you to use a particular repair facility, and that holds at the roadside as much as it does at the desk three days later.

Where should a Rivian go for collision repair in Ventura County?

To a Rivian certified collision center — those are the only shops Rivian supplies with factory parts, and the parts order is what your timeline depends on. Ours is in Oxnard, at 497 Lambert St. Why Rivian collision repairs take months explains what that parts channel does to a repair.

Rivian collision repair across Ventura County

• Oxnard
• Ventura
• Camarillo
• Thousand Oaks
• Simi Valley
• Moorpark
• Santa Paula
• Ojai
• Port Hueneme
• Newbury Park
• Fillmore
• Somis

Wherever the truck ended up, tell us where it is sitting and we will take it from there. Rivian repairs are completed at our Rivian certified Oxnard shop.