28 of the
280 complaints filed about the Rivian R1S
are about the electrical system —
10% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2023.
The contact owns a 2026 Rivian R1S. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the GPS feature on the center digital screen failed to provide the accurate miles per hour traveled as designed. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that the GPS feature was delayed by approximately 2 MPH. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 500.
NHTSA complaint #11757671 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On XXX, at approximately 12:19 PM, I was in the drive-through lane at a Chick-fil-A in [XXX], with my child as a passenger. I was using one-pedal driving mode and had come to a complete stop with my foot off the accelerator. I turned briefly to hand my child an ice cream cup, and when I looked back at the road, the vehicle was accelerating at full power with no contact from either pedal. To avoid striking the vehicles stopped ahead of me in the drive-through line, I swerved left into the Chick-fil-A building, causing a collision with the building. This put myself, my child, and nearby pedestrians and drivers at serious risk of injury. Cedar Park Police Department responded to the scene and a report was filed. I have video footage of the incident. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. I believe the accelerator pedal and/or its sensor malfunctioned, possibly related to a known issue some other Rivian owners have reported involving cabin temperature affecting the pedal sensor; this has not yet been confirmed by a dealer or manufacturer. I am requesting that the manufacturer pull the vehicle’s black box/EDR data and perform full diagnostics on the pedal and sensor. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11753900 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle was inoperable and over 100F in our driveway, with a flashing "critical high voltage battery fault". My wife injured her hand attempting to get in the vehicle. The service center has claimed that moisture inside the HVAC system caused the High Voltage (HV) battery system to fail, throwing a critical high-voltage battery fault. Rivian is attempting to deny warranty coverage based on this moisture. Linkage to Warranted Component: At 85,690 miles, my vehicle is fully covered under Rivian’s 8-year High Voltage Battery Limited Warranty. The critical high-voltage fault and subsequent component failures were directly caused by water entering the electrical/battery system. Proximate Cause via Known Manufacturing Defect: Rivian has an active Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) regarding moisture ingress via the HVAC assembly for 2022–2024 R1S models. The moisture that caused the battery fault is a documented, inherent design defect of the vehicle, not user negligence or external environmental damage. An inherent defect in an out-of-warranty system cannot be used to void coverage for a failure it causes inside a component that is still heavily protected by an active warranty. The photograph provided by the service center does not depict superficial 'moisture in the HVAC' causing external damage. It shows severe fluid ingress and terminal corrosion inside the Woory Industrial High Voltage Cabin Heater assembly. Because this is an internal, high-voltage powertrain component operating directly off the traction battery system, it falls squarely under Rivian's 8-year / 175,000-mile High Voltage System Warranty. The corrosion present on the high-voltage circuit board is a direct result of the factory HVAC water ingress defect acknowledged in Rivian's technical service bulletins for 2022-2024 R1S vehicles. A manufacturing defect that allows water to breach a sealed, high-voltage housing cannot be used to deny warranty coverage on a high-voltage system that is actively w
NHTSA complaint #11743492 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle's infotainment, driver gauge cluster and on display safety systems all fully lock up and reboot after about 30 minutes of driving. If you have highway ADAS engaged, warning sounds will occur but no display explaining the warnings. If you're using the vehicle's safety systems you suddenly do no have blindspot monitoring, or enabled ADAS. Additionally, navigation will not be available causing immediate confusion.
NHTSA complaint #11740672 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Our 2024 Rivian came to a stop at a light with three cars in front of it. We have the video from a home on the street. ABout 12-15 feet behind the next car. Rivian comes to a complete stop. Sits about 5 seconds. Then car surges forward to rear end the car in front. that car hits another car and another car. THe rivian only makes direct contact to the car in front then hits aa parked car next to that one, through a 2' block wall and hits a building. No one hurt on site. TO add to the exact problem...Just prior to the vehicle coming to a stop a passenger in the front seat and a passenger in the back seat were listening to an audio book. its started skipping forward and slowing down. Car comes to a stop. screens go blank/black in the car. ALl three people can attest to this. The driver had her foot on the break as this happened and the car surges forward and proceeds to do the damage it does. IT is this unintended surge that was the issue. Seems a few people have had this issue.
NHTSA complaint #11740638 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2023 Rivian R1S. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the message "Electrical System Fault - Contact Rivian Service Immediately - Avoid Fording" was displayed along with a picture of the vehicle in water. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was an internal short circuit in the HVAC system due to water intrusion or condensation from the HVAC system. The dealer determined that the HVAC system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 69,000.
NHTSA complaint #11734817 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Hazard lights are inoperable this will be the second time going in for repair but 4th time it has occured. It also makes SOS inoperable and the roof lights. This is a safety concern that has not caused an accident but is a big issue since hazard lights are used when accident or emergencies occur and they are inoperable and this has been a frequent issue
NHTSA complaint #11727287 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On five separate occasions the airbag system on my car has become inoperable. Starting in July 2025 I noticed an airbag error on the display of the vehicle. I brought the car in for service and they replaced the steering wheel. The airbag error occurred again in August, this time requiring replacement of a different wiring harness. The error occurred again and again went in for service in November, this time replacing the front seats, seatbelt control modules, and the airbag module. This past weekend the air bag alert appeared again. Rivian seems unable to fix the issue with the airbags on my vehicle creating a significant safety concern.
NHTSA complaint #11708710 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I have had siginificant issues with my new 2026 rivian R1S specifically based around two key areas: 1. inaccurate battery range reporting/capacity below 20% charge 2. inaccurate mapbox navigation. Those two issues combine to create a dangerous situation in extreme conditions for a vehicle specifically designed and marketed for off-road adventure (snow, rain, below freezing temperatures) and for large capacity (7 passengers). These two issues have left me and my family stranded three different times in remote locations in spite of our best efforts to keep the vehicle well charged and cross referencing navigation with other apps. I have taken the vehicle to Rivian service twice already and I was assured that the software update 38.30, but that is not the case. This left me stranded in Lone Pine, California where I had to abandon the vehicle and have it towed back to the Burbank service center and again near Mt. Shasta, California. Both were in December 2025, in sub-freezing conditions at night after repeated charging attempts. This created additional issues where the 12V battery charge ran down, the vehicle couldn’t get into Neutral to be towed and in all cases, Rivian roadside assistance was not able help beyond scheduling a service appointment.
NHTSA complaint #11708078 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SUMMARY OF PROBLEM: Vehicle experienced sudden uncontrolled acceleration and deceleration while driving on busy road with family as passengers on November 16 2025. Vehicle provided no warning before loss of control occurred. Created immediate risk of collision and serious injury. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: On November 16 2025 at approximately 5:25 PM ET, my 2025 Rivian R1S experienced sudden uncontrolled acceleration and deceleration while driving on a busy roadway. The vehicle began accelerating and decelerating erratically without driver input, creating immediate risk of rear-end collision or loss of control. No warning lights or messages appeared before the incident. The vehicle displayed "Thermal Fault Detected" and "Coolant Level Low" messages only after the erratic behavior began. This incident occurred with my family in the vehicle and created serious risk of injury or death. I was forced to have the vehicle towed. PRIOR RELATED INCIDENTS: This is not the first safety issue with this vehicle. Service Request SR-RAB3DU1AM documents "Emergency Braking Mistakenly Triggered on Regular Roadway" from August 29 2025 that remains unresolved in Rivian's system. The vehicle has required multiple service visits for thermal and cooling system failures at only 15000 miles. MANUFACTURER RESPONSE: Rivian service center claims rodent nesting caused thermal system failure leading to loss of vehicle control. If correct, this indicates critical design flaw - environmental factors should not be able to compromise vehicle control systems without warning or failsafe mechanisms. Vehicle lacks adequate: - Warning systems for thermal degradation before catastrophic failure - Failsafe mechanisms to prevent loss of control - Protection of critical systems from environmental factors SAFETY CONCERN: If thermal system damage can cause sudden loss of vehicle control without warning, this represents unreasonable safety risk. Other R1S vehicles may be at risk of similar failures.
NHTSA complaint #11700895 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving the entire computer shuts down and reboots, both screens go black for several minutes. Speed display disappears, turn signals stop working, after the screens come back on there are warning lights for emergency braking disabled, cruise control disabled, and the headlights won’t come on for several minutes.
NHTSA complaint #11698854 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I am submitting this complaint regarding repeated ineffective repair attempts by Rivian Automotive, Inc. at its Costa Mesa Service Center on my 2025 Rivian R1S Adventure. During multiple service visits at Rivian’s Costa Mesa Service Center (January 29, June 18, July 16, and October 11, 2025), Rivian repeatedly failed to diagnose or correct the same issues affecting my 2025 Rivian R1S Adventure. • Drive Cam / Diagnostics Error: Rivian’s diagnostics incorrectly reported my drive storage as 119 GB when I have a 2 TB SSD (the maximum recommended). After five hours of testing, they failed to identify the issue. The in-car viewer still shows only partial clips, even though the full recordings are visible on a computer. • A/C Vibration and Noise: Despite Rivian tightening and insulating the A/C components, the vibration persists and is noticeable on the passenger side. This issue did not exist in the 1st generation R1S loaner vehicle, suggesting a design issue in the 2nd generation R1S, where A/C components are placed in the front compartment. • Proximity Lock and Bluetooth Delay: The vehicle frequently fails to unlock for 5–15 seconds even when I’m standing next to it. Rivian attributes this to “deep sleep mode,” which is unreasonable—no other automaker treats slow unlocking as normal. This delay is a safety concern in emergencies or bad weather. • Lighting / Camera Malfunctions: I provided video of headlights turning off while idling in a drive-thru and of the reverse camera freezing. Rivian could not replicate the issues and closed the cases. • Privacy Concern: A technician asked me to change my Rivian password and share credentials so they could log in for diagnostics. This raises privacy and data security concerns. After repeated visits and software updates (including version 2025.38.0, reissued October 21 and October 25 without listed fixes), all defects persist. These failures have caused significant inconvenience, time loss, and ongoing safety concerns.
NHTSA complaint #11695876 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving my Rivian R1S, 2025 at highway speeds, the infotainment screen went completely black, disabling the speedometer, blind spot monitoring, lane warnings, airbag/seatbelt alerts, and navigation. I had no access to critical safety information while transporting my children, creating a dangerous situation. Rivian service confirmed this is a “known bug” affecting many vehicles, but owners were not warned. Forums show this issue is widespread. A sudden blackout of all safety systems while driving is a major hazard and needs immediate investigation and recall action. Furthermore, if the issue was known, they failed to warn future or current customers of the issue and even more important, what to do in the event the screen black out happens at highway speeds. This issue is widespread among Rivian owners and no effort was made to inform potential and current customers.
NHTSA complaint #11681278 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
In late May 2025, I took delivery of a new leased 2025 Rivian R1S equipped with the MaxPack battery. Since delivery, the vehicle has had intermittent electrical issues with the USB-C ports that I reported on June 12th (approx 3 weeks from taking delivery), but on July 28, 2025, it experienced a sudden and complete electrical system failure while parked. Both the high-voltage and low-voltage systems shut down, leaving the vehicle entirely inoperable. Rivian Service has reported that the incident was caused by an isolation fault, which triggered the pyrotechnic safety fuses to blow, fully disconnecting the high-voltage battery. The vehicle required towing on dollies to a Rivian Service Center, where it remains out of service pending repairs. This failure occurred within just a few months of delivery, and I have been informed by the tow operator that similar failures have occurred with other 2025 Rivian MaxPack vehicles. This defect completely disables the vehicle without warning, creating a serious safety risk if it were to occur while driving.
NHTSA complaint #11679876 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I pulled into my semicircle, long driveway as I do every morning, and stopped at the top by releasing my foot off the accelerator (no need for brakes as it is an EV). I opened the garage door and slowly stepped on the accelerator, but it started to go fast, and I felt out of control. I immediately released my foot off the accelerator (which should have stopped the vehicle) and slammed on the brakes (there is proof in my driveway with tire marks leading up to the accident) but still did not stop. I quickly realized I was going to crash into the garage, and possibly into the house, so I steered away as much as I could to only drive into and through the side of the garage wall. The space I had would have given me enough time to stop had the car not been driving at a fast speed. Even the neighbors heard braking and ran outside to see what was happening. There is a recording on a ring cam, and you can hear him say "I heard brakes". Oddly, the massive impact did not deploy the airbags. Also, the car usually records all incidents with time before and after (it has successfully done this before when I was rear ended and will if you get too close to anything), but for some reason it recorded what was labeled "incident" and you can only see me pulling into the driveway, the garage door going up, and then the video stops - no record of the crash. The car should have also detected the house. The car only stopped after driving through concrete and stucco, and up the stairs. House has massive damage, personal items in the garage destroyed, and the vehicle is possibly unsalvageable. It took until the next day to see if we could remove the vehicle from my house, but it is now at the service center and Rivian has been notified. I've since researched online and found countless similar incidents.
NHTSA complaint #11664025 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Winter weather led to snow buildup on the headlamps which made them useless. Fortunately this was during the day so there was plenty of sunlight. If this was at night, I would not have had any visibility and would have needed to stop every few miles to clean the headlamps. My BMW uses washer fluid to clean my headlamps and the xenon's are hot enough to melt snow. Neither of these are in the Rivian
NHTSA complaint #11644165 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On January 9, I was driving my new 2025 Rivian R1S (approx. 2,400 miles) when it suddenly displayed “Drive stalk not working.” The vehicle jolted, made a loud noise from the front axle, and then fully stopped in the middle of a busy road with the battery still at 55%. Once it stopped, I had no hazard lights or power steering, and the infotainment system locked up. After several attempts to reboot, the screen showed “Critical battery error” before shutting down completely. I was unable to move the vehicle or alert other drivers with flashing lights, creating a major safety hazard. It took about two hours for a tow truck to arrive. ## Component or System Failure: The vehicle’s propulsion system (drive controls) and electrical/hazard light systems appeared to fail simultaneously. The vehicle is currently at a service center for inspection and could be made available if needed. ## Safety Risk: Being stranded in the middle of the road without hazard lights or any way to move the car put myself and other drivers at serious risk. ## Reproduction/Confirmation: It has not been confirmed or reproduced yet by the service center. ## Inspection: The manufacturer’s service center is inspecting the vehicle. No other parties (police or insurance) have inspected it. ## Warning Lamps/Messages: There were no prior warnings. The “Drive stalk not working” error and subsequent “Critical battery error” appeared just moments before the vehicle stopped. I am reporting this because a sudden, total shutdown without hazard lights is a serious safety concern, especially on a busy road.
NHTSA complaint #11635709 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? — ACCELERATOR PEDAL. YES, AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? — DUE TO ACCELERATOR PEDAL DEFECT, IT RESULTED IN ONE CASUALTY AND ONE INJURY. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? — YES, SERVICE RECALLS HAVE BEEN FOR THE SAME ISSUE WITH PRIOR MODELS. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? — CURRENTLY IN POLICE CUSTODY Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? — NO WARNING SIGNS.
NHTSA complaint #11600671 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I received a critical safety recall regarding side air bags from Rivian regarding my 2023 R1S on June 14. After multiple attempts by me to connect with their Customer Service, I was informed that a mobile service technician would come to fix the issue on August 26, 2024. This would be more than 60 days after Rivian's initial notification. Additionally, on July 6 2024, when I turned on the vehicle, I was notified of multiple system failures. I promptly created an incident ticket with Rivian on this but have to yet hear back from Rivian. Rivian's lax attitude on getting such critical issues fixed is of great concern. The vehicle is barely over a year old since I have owned it and I feel distrustful of this company and thoroughly disappointed by their nonchalant approach to getting these critical issues fixed.
NHTSA complaint #11599545 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle stopped working while driving. It completely shut off even though I had 250 miles of range available. It looked up the rear wheels and came to a very harsh stop. It was immobilized and even with a hard reset it didn’t come back to life.
NHTSA complaint #11597868 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.