Body Construction And Material Guidelines: Rivian

Details Posted on 03 April 2025 | Share:

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What is the MPa of the front lower rail? What is the outer uniside made of: steel, aluminum, or composite? Can heat be used to straighten or is it cold straightening only? What are the repair limitations? These are just some of the questions that the RTS team fields on a daily basis.

As we know, today’s vehicles can be constructed from a wide variety of materials. Knowing if the OEM provides information on body construction materials and repair guidelines is crucial in providing a complete, safe, and quality repair. Let’s see what Rivian has available to us.

Rivian provides a breakdown of the construction material within vehicle-specific Material Matrix documents.

To locate these documents in vehicle-specific Technical Procedures:

• Service Manual must be selected from Asset Select (top of webpage).
• Introduction ➤ Collision Repair- General Information ➤ Material Matrix

These documents provide color-coded illustrations showing the type of material used. The documents do not disclose the MPa of the material but do disclose repair guidelines for each material.

The repair guidelines include the use of heat for straightening and if cold straightening is allowed. Rivian also states if a material can be sectioned according to vehicle-specific repair procedures. Some other information included is the allowance of repairing minor tears and punctures by material.

Not all materials can be repaired. Under the Aluminum Extrusion area, Rivian states: "Extruded Aluminum structures are NOT repairable and must be replaced with new components."

As always, reviewing OEM-specific body material construction and repair guidelines is part of a complete, quality, and safe repair.

For additional Rivian information, check out the Rivian OEM Information page.

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