An Amazon delivery van had been stuck in the shop for weeks when Rich Rebuilds turned to viewers for help. It would power on, but a parking brake fault kept it from moving.
Suggestions ranged from changing the key battery to putting a gas engine in it. Rich started with the simpler fixes, hoping to avoid buying costly parts for a fault he still could not pin down.
Joey, who was helping with the van, had his own plan. Wearing merchandise from fellow car YouTuber Mat Armstrong, he joked that he was dressing for the job he wanted.
Rich offered a deal: If he could not get the van running that day, Joey could go work for Armstrong. With the van already taking up a lift for more than a month, they began another round of tests.
Still in Park
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Leaving the van shut down for weeks had not helped. A fresh key battery let it detect the key, but driving stayed disabled, and a reset brought back the same brake warning.
Plugging it into a charger worked, at least. Beneath the van, Rich also released the rear parking brakes so the wheels could roll freely. Neither step persuaded it to drive.
Their scan tool hit another wall. Although the van had a port to plug it into, the tool failed to read its systems. Rich would need access to Rivian’s own software to dig further.
A Better Clue
Bench tests had already raised questions about the small motors that work the parking brakes. Both moved, but they sounded different. Rich and an electronics specialist explored whether their electrical behavior could explain the fault.
Once Rich gained access to Rivian’s software, he could read fault codes and check wiring diagrams. One code pointed toward the right rear wheel speed sensor, sending him back under the van to trace its wires.
Testing that circuit led to damaged wiring. Rich suspected it had rubbed against the metal frame, so he ran a temporary wire around the damaged section rather than making a permanent repair. The wheel speed sensor error later cleared.
The brake setup tests passed, too. By the next try, Rich had also fitted working brake parts borrowed from his own Rivian R1T pickup.
The Donor Problem
The van still would not drive. To test its suspect parking brake parts in a vehicle he knew worked, Rich installed them on his pickup.
The R1T then developed similar symptoms, with warning lights on its dash. Rich took that as evidence against the van’s parts and expected to restore his truck by putting its original brakes back.
Putting his own brakes back did not restore the pickup. “You know, this seemed like a good idea at the time,” Rich said as he turned to the scan tool again. Its dash still displayed a system fault and a performance warning.