2025 Rivian R1S Electrical System Problems

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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