The 2025 Rivian R1S is the fourth model year of this fully electric vehicle. However since its initial launch in 2022, there have been major issues including battery drain, power loss, and lack of drivability issues. The 2025 model has battery, HVAC, exterior lighting, and what seem to be software glitch problems, along with several other less common problems. Affected owners are concerned about the implications of these faults and malfunctions, especially those that are safety concerns.
Most Commonly Reported Issues
Complaints about the 2025 Rivian R1S to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) are varied. While complaints to the NHTSA are relatively small in terms of numbers, the vehicle has received bad press in terms of reliability. There are also a growing number of bad reports on Rivian Forums.
The components and systems named in NHTSA complaints include the electrical system, engine, exterior lighting, forward collision avoidance, fuel/propulsion system, powertrain, steering, suspension, vehicle speed control, and visibility wiper. There are also some complaints that owners have categorized as unknown or other.
Incredibly, there are only four manufacturer communications that relate to the 2025 Rivian R1S, and these are all filed as fuel/propulsion system issues. Of these, three concern re-establishing the vehicle’s “true 100% state of charge.” The fourth, issued on September 6, 2024, relates to a “substandard weld in a Battery Voltage Temperature circuit connection” that can cause vehicles to enter a reduced performance safe state mode, with a “Limited Performance Mode” indicator light illuminating on the driver display. Rivian has stated it will replace the HV battery in affected vehicles as part of its “campaign for customer satisfaction and to ensure the quality of Rivian vehicles.”
Our analysis of these complaints show that battery malfunctions and various HVAC and thermal system issues top the list. Exterior lighting is another common problem, which isn’t surprising since two of the three recalls affecting the 2025 Rivian R1S relate to this component. There are also several complaints that list alarming warning messages that the dealers can’t help with.
R1S Recalls
The three recalls that affect the 2025 Rivian R1S relate to exterior lighting, the electrical system, steering, and vehicle speed control. Two relate to exterior lighting, so we will start with these.
NHTSA Campaign Number 25V085000, issued in February 2025, warns that 17,260 2025 Rivian R1S vehicles have headlight low beams that may fail to illuminate when starting the vehicle in cold weather. It stands to reason that headlight failure can reduce visibility, increasing the risk of a crash. This recall also affects the 2025 R 1 T.
NHTSA Campaign Number 24V827000, issued in November 2024, states that 5,128 Rivian R1S and R 1 T 2025 MY vehicles require a software update repair. The problem with the software version they have is that it may prevent certain exterior lights from turning on when the animated light and sound Car Costume feature is activated. The irony is that this fun feature ended up triggering a serious safety recall that the automaker warns increases the risk of a crash.
NHTSA Campaign Number 24V686000, issued in September 2024, relates to missing cruise control markings on the steering column control module (SSCM) in 33 vehicles. The risk is that drivers may not know how to activate or deactivate cruise control without these markings, also increasing the risk of a crash. This recall only affects the 2025 R1S.
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2025 Rivian R1S Complaint Summary
Complaint Category
Number of Complaints
Unknown Or Other
7
7
Steering
3
3
Vehicle Speed Control
3
3
Air Bags
2
2
Electrical System
2
2
Engine
2
2
Exterior Lighting
2
2
Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control
An owner from California experienced the total shutdown of his Rivain R1S in January 2025. The vehicle suddenly displayed, “Drive stalk not working” before spontaneously stopping in the middle of a busy road. The battery was at 55%, and once stationary, the hazard lights, power steering, and infotainment system locked up. After several attempts to reboot, the screen showed a “Critical battery error” before shutting down completely. The car was at Rivian’s service center at the time of the complaint.
In a complaint listed as a steering, vehicle speed control, and fuel/propulsion system problem, a Washington owner reports a visual message and audible alarms that started about five minutes after recharging the battery. The message warned the driver (who was on the road with his family in heavy traffic) to pull over immediately as the car was about to shut down. The power steering and braking became unresponsive and the car began slowing down as he drove through the intersection. “I tried to guide the car to the gas station. While pulling into the gas station the car could barely be controlled. Once dropping below 5 mph or so it immediately shut itself down. The inability to effectively control the vehicle was extremely unsafe.”
Customer service told him to reset the vehicle using button pushes. However, “The car then went dark and nothing worked from there out.” He called a tow truck and found a hotel for the family. The Rivian service center was unable to diagnose or recreate the issue, even though, at the time of the complaint, they had been in possession of the vehicle for 17 days.”
In a post on Rivian Forums, an owner states that after only two weeks of picking up the Rivian, the battery was draining about 10% every day while parked.
Exterior Lighting Malfunctions
In a complaint that appears to relate to the most recent recall, an owner from Ohio states that winter weather led to snow buildup on the headlamps which made them useless. Luckily, this happened during the day and there was plenty of sunlight for visibility. “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.”
An owner from Washington reports that the hazard light switch suddenly stopped functioning in February 2025. “It is completely unusable and is a safety issue.” However, according to the complaint dated March 13, 2025, Rivian could not provide an ETA to fix the issue.
The only warning an owner from California got alerting him to the fact that the driver-side high beam lights were malfunctioning was a dashboard alert, “Adaptive High Beam not working.” The complaint states that “When the high beam assistance is set to Off, and I turn on the high beam manually, there are no warnings about the high beam malfunction whatsoever.”
Heating System Problems
When an owner from Massachusetts tried to use the car’s heating system, only cold air would come out of the vents and an error message, “thermal system fault” appeared on the screen. The owner was instructed by the service center not to drive the car, which was towed to the center for repairs. On its return, the owner confirms that hot air came out of the vents, but this was “often accompanied by extremely loud noises (like a jet engine) as well as some pulsating and odd noises. Also, periodically, only cold air comes out of all vents (even though the screen shows heat) if the defog is selected with temperature and fan speed regulated. The safety and performance of the battery have been impacted by the faulty thermal management system.”
An owner from New Jersey describes a similar problem. “The heat pump compressor had a loud noise for days, similar to a jet engine.” Then while driving in freezing temperatures, “the heat pump compressor made (a) different noise that sounded like 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.”
This same owner also had a problem using the Pet Comfort feature in sub-freezing temperatures. “The HVAC system does not respect the set temperature and the vehicle keeps heating the inside nonstop.” On one occasion, the Pet Comfort feature was set to 68º F however, the driver received an alert that the inside of the cabin was above 75º F.
What Should You Do If You Have a Lemon
If your 2025 Rivian R1S is experiencing persistent issues that impact its safety, performance, or value, it may be considered a lemon. Lemberg Law offers free case evaluations to help you understand your options.
Under lemon law, Rivian would be responsible for covering all legal fees, so there’s no financial risk to you. We’ve successfully helped many drivers secure buybacks, replacements, or monetary settlements, and we may be able to help you too.
To get started, simply complete our online form or contact our Helpline today.
About the Author:
Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
