High Severity Issue
This component has been associated with crashes, fires, or deaths.
This Problem Across All Years
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.
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.
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.
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 my wife was driving our 2025 Rivian R1S (approx. 13,500 miles), the vehicle was at a complete stop when it began to slowly roll forward on its own, followed by a sudden surge of acceleration, despite no input on the accelerator. This unexpected movement caused the vehicle to collide with a Tesla directly in front and involved another two vehicles. This incident posed a serious safety risk and could have injured pedestrians or other drivers. There were no warning lights or error messages before or during the incident. The cause is UNKNOWN at this time. Rivian has not yet inspected the vehicle, but we are requesting log preservation and a full review. This behavior has not been replicated since, and the vehicle is available for inspection upon request. We believe this may indicate a malfunction in the propulsion system, regenerative braking transition, or creep mode behavior. The incident has been reported to Rivian for investigation.
While my wife was driving our 2025 Rivian R1S (approx. 13,500 miles), the vehicle was at a complete stop when it began to slowly roll forward on its own, followed by a sudden surge of acceleration, despite no input on the accelerator. This unexpected movement caused the vehicle to collide with a Tesla directly in front and involved another two vehicles. This incident posed a serious safety risk and could have injured pedestrians or other drivers. There were no warning lights or error messages before or during the incident. The cause is UNKNOWN at this time. Rivian has not yet inspected the vehicle, but we are requesting log preservation and a full review. This behavior has not been replicated since, and the vehicle is available for inspection upon request. We believe this may indicate a malfunction in the propulsion system, regenerative braking transition, or creep mode behavior. The incident has been reported to Rivian for investigation.
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 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 own a R1S and the vehicle is less than 900miles old (21st day of ownership). When driving today on the highway at 75miles - the vehicle suddenly decelerated to 51 miles. I almost got rear ended by a truck and was very difficult to manoeuvre to safe place from the left lane to the right most lane. I parked in a safe spot and saw through several customer Complaint forums that we need to do a hard reset. But the messages were from customers that are 3 years old. I am surprised this still exists as a complaint. I almost died today
I own a R1S and the vehicle is less than 900miles old (21st day of ownership). When driving today on the highway at 75miles - the vehicle suddenly decelerated to 51 miles. I almost got rear ended by a truck and was very difficult to manoeuvre to safe place from the left lane to the right most lane. I parked in a safe spot and saw through several customer Complaint forums that we need to do a hard reset. But the messages were from customers that are 3 years old. I am surprised this still exists as a complaint. I almost died today
Driving my Rivian R1S on a road trip with family from Seattle, WA to Ketchum, ID (about 600miles.) Stopped to recharge outside of Boise, ID for about 20mins. Started driving again and in about 5 minutes the car started warning (visual message and audible alarm). The following events then occurred: -- The warning message stated something along the line of "Pull over immediately the car will shut down imminently." -- I was driving in traffic and was able to make it through an intersection and saw a gas station in the distance. -- The power steering and braking began to go unresponsive and the car began slowing down as I drove through the intersection. I tried to guide the car to the gas station. -- While pulling in to the gas station the car could barely be controlled. Once dropping below 5mph or so it immediately shut itself down. -- The inability to effectively control the vehicle was extremely unsafe. If the intersection I had to pass through had a red light the car would likely have shut itself down and stranded our family at a very busy intersection. -- The car began flashing a ton of different warning messages. "Suspension needs to be serviced", "Front trunk unable to close please service", "Battery system overheating" are a few as an example. -- After calling customer service I reset the vehicle (using prescribed sequence of button pushes.) The car then went dark and nothing worked from there out. -- Called a tow truck and found hotel for family. Rivian was towed to the Boise service center. -- Rivian service center has been unable to diagnose or recreate the issue to date - they have been in possession of the vehicle for 17 days and counting.
Driving my Rivian R1S on a road trip with family from Seattle, WA to Ketchum, ID (about 600miles.) Stopped to recharge outside of Boise, ID for about 20mins. Started driving again and in about 5 minutes the car started warning (visual message and audible alarm). The following events then occurred: -- The warning message stated something along the line of "Pull over immediately the car will shut down imminently." -- I was driving in traffic and was able to make it through an intersection and saw a gas station in the distance. -- The power steering and braking began to go unresponsive and the car began slowing down as I drove through the intersection. I tried to guide the car to the gas station. -- While pulling in to the gas station the car could barely be controlled. Once dropping below 5mph or so it immediately shut itself down. -- The inability to effectively control the vehicle was extremely unsafe. If the intersection I had to pass through had a red light the car would likely have shut itself down and stranded our family at a very busy intersection. -- The car began flashing a ton of different warning messages. "Suspension needs to be serviced", "Front trunk unable to close please service", "Battery system overheating" are a few as an example. -- After calling customer service I reset the vehicle (using prescribed sequence of button pushes.) The car then went dark and nothing worked from there out. -- Called a tow truck and found hotel for family. Rivian was towed to the Boise service center. -- Rivian service center has been unable to diagnose or recreate the issue to date - they have been in possession of the vehicle for 17 days and counting.