2025 RIVIAN R1S Unknown Or Other Problems

On November 27th the accelerator on my Rivian became stuck causing the car to accelerate quickly and preventing me from immediately stopping the car. There was a message stating that the regenerative braking system was not available and the accelerator pedal was stuck in the down position. When I pressed on the brake there was a terrible grinding noise and smoke coming from the front tires. I quickly realized that bringing the Rivian to a full stop would likely cause the car to catch fire. Since the road was clear I had time to discuss a plan with my family and I told them to prepare to get out of the car quickly. I pressed hard on the brakes which caused them to grind and smoke. I put the car in park and we all exited the car quickly. Flames were visible from the front tire. The car is available for inspection. If there had been other vehicles on the road or any pedestrians this would have been a life threatening incident. Rivian is claiming that I must have been pressing on both the accelerator and the brake at the same time. We had 2 adults and 3 children in the car and the incident lasted long enough for us to discuss a plan to exit the car. There is no chance that my foot was on both the accelerator and the brake. Rivian has conducted an inspection but has denied that there is an issue. There has not yet been an independent inspection. The car has been in Rivian's service center since the day after the incident. The only warning sign appeared during the incident stating that regenerative braking was not available but this did not explain why the accelerator pedal was stuck.

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.

12 volt battery replacement performed by a mobile tech 6/20/25. The battery is located under the front passenger seat. Two of the bolts anchoring the seat to the frame were not tightened after the service. This was only discovered when braking lightly during driving, resulting in movement of the seat and a minor injury to the occupant. Shortly thereafter, documented and reported to Rivian. They sent another tech to inspect and replaced the bolts (damaged by seat movement). Video of seat available, not able to attach.

Emergency exit of the rear doors does not include a manual door pull lever or cable obvious to the occupant. The panel to remove to access the release cable, and the cable to pull is not intuitive nor is it reasonable to believe a small child or an older occupant would be able to remove said panel or pull the cable to exit the vehicle. We were told occupants should exit through the front doors in the event of an emergency. This is not an acceptable strategy and I'm urging the NHTSA to recommend Rivian include manual handles in the rear doors.

On [XXX], our 2025 Rivian R1S lurched forward while stopped at a red light, waiting to make a left turn. The driver, [XXX] , had her foot off the accelerator when the vehicle suddenly surged forward. She slammed on the brake, and the vehicle briefly bounced back — but then lurched forward again, striking the stopped vehicle in front a second time. There were no warnings or alerts on the dashboard. The incident was captured on video and shows a clear case of unintended forward acceleration. This may be linked to Rivian’s accelerator pedal recall or a software malfunction affecting braking or propulsion systems. I have video footage of this accident but was unable to upload the file. We are concerned about the safety risk this presents to other drivers and are requesting an NHTSA investigation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I was passing another vehicle on the road when the accelerator pedal got stuck on the all-weather floor mat and made the car virtually uncontrollable. I used the brakes to pull the car off the road and to a complete stop before engaging the parking brake and reaching down to dislodge the pedal.

I have owned cars for more than three decades and never had a windshield crack. In the first three months of owning a Rivian R1 S I had two windshield cracks from a simple pebble on the highway. Multiple owners are describing the same issues, but Rivian refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem, but literally two cracks in three months and I have never had this happen.

The heat pump compressor had a loud noise for days, similar to a jet engine. On December 13, 2024, while the vehicle was being driven in freezing temperatures, the heat pump compressor made different noise that sounded that internal pieces were being broken. After that, the dashboard showed the following error "Thermal system fault detected. Service it if the problem persists". After this, there was no heat available for the cabin. Service center replaced the compressor under warranty.

When the Pet Comfort is used in sub freezing temperatures, the HVAC system does not respect the set temperature and the vehicle keeps heating the inside nonstop. On this particular incident, the Pet Comfort feature was set to 68º F however, I received an alert that the inside of the cabin was above 75º F.