2023 Rivian R1S Driver assistance Problems

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 ID

11753900

Incident

Jul 29, 2026

The vehicle experiences recurring, uncommanded high-speed steering "lurches" where the Lane Keep Assist (LKA) system initiates aggressive, sudden steering inputs at highway speeds (65+ mph). These inputs force the vehicle out of its lane and require immediate, significant manual driver counter-steering to prevent collisions. These events occur without warning, despite no perceived environmental triggers. This issue involves the vehicle's automated steering and Lane Keep Assist software suite. This safety defect renders the vehicle inherently dangerous to operate at highway speeds for the driver, occupants and everyone on the freeway. This issue is not isolated to this vehicle; numerous owners have reported identical, terrifying high-speed steering shoves on public forums for over a year. There is credible evidence indicating that the manufacturer's executive leadership, including the CEO, has been aware of these fleet-wide issues for well over a year. Despite this knowledge, the manufacturer continues to characterize these life-safety events as "Operating as Designed" or "No Fault Found" (NFF). This issue has been reported to the manufacturer’s service center repeatedly over several months by myself and other owners. Despite the manufacturer claiming to be "diagnosing" or "duplicating" the steering failure, telemetry data from the vehicle (including odometer audits) confirms that the vehicle remains stationary at the service facility for extended periods with zero diagnostic miles driven during these "repair" attempts. Other service appointments show minimal miles driven. The manufacturer has replaced safety-critical steering hardware, including the steering column assembly, without resolving the persistent software-driven steering lurches. The manufacturer’s refusal to acknowledge the defect or conduct meaningful, speed-appropriate road validation, despite being notified of the systemic safety risk, suggests a failure to address an acute life-safety hazard.

NHTSA ID

11748472

Incident

Jun 1, 2023

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 ID

11740672

Incident

May 28, 2026

1> What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? * The sensors don't detect the object sometimes. There were 2 incidents when the car sensors did not detect the object a> In my office parking lot the rear sensors did not detect the fire hydrant and did not make the beep noise resulting in a collision. b> I was driving in my neighborhood; I was blinded by the sun and couldn't see the road ahead. Again, the sensors did not detect the car in front i ended up in a collision. 2> How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? * I had a collision with another car parked by the curbside. Luckily no one was in the other car but both cars had severe damages. I had bruises on my left-hand forearm. 3> Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? * When the first incident happened, I was not able to provide Rivian accurate date and time of the incident and the gear guard did not record the collision although it was supposed to record. So I went back to my office parking lot and i reproduced the problem 1 time after trying several attempts and shared the video with Rivian. I have had too many email exchanges with Rivian to help address the issue but they did not help. 4> Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? * When i reported the first-time issue first time, Rivian inspected the sensors on May 29th 2024 and they said there was no problem with the sensors. But it failed to detect the car in my street and hence i had this collision. I could not see anything as i got blinded by the Sun in the evening. I have a recording from the car's gear guard. 5>Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? * There were no warnings or messages during the incident. However, When it detects it applies the brake. But not this time.

NHTSA ID

11623847

Incident

Aug 27, 2024

Low Tire Warning either failed or is defective. On Dec 11, 2023 my rear tire went flat (to 4 PSI) while driving on the freeway. I was driving for about 25 miles on the freeway when the Rivian R1S truck kept swerving left and right between the lane markers like the lane assist was malfunctioning. Another driver pulled up on the side of me and got my attention by honking their horn to let me know my tire was flat. At this point the rear passenger tire was dangerously low. There was no warning message on the dash that my tire was dangerously low. This could have resulted in a serious accident simply because I was not given proper warning about the tire pressure. I believe that the tire is defective, so had the truck towed to a tire shop to inspect and replace the tire. The truck is about 30 days old with 1,801 miles on it.

NHTSA ID

11559589

Incident

Dec 11, 2023

I was headed straight but stopped so that I could move into a left turn lane. As I got into the left turn lane and was straightening up behind the person in front of me at almost a dead stop the R1S lunged forward and accelerated at a high rate of speed hitting the car in front of me (speed control issue already known on the R1T). The camera footage verifies it. No warning lights went off (forward collision avoidance, automatic emergency braking) that there was a car in front of me and to brake (normally if there is a car in front of you that close and the vehicle thinks there will be a collision the screen goes red and the letters BRAKE come up bold in black, the car will brake if it thinks you may hit something). Of course now all my side sensors don’t work. I am still waiting on diagnostics from Rivian. Additionally, my seatbelt didn’t lock throwing me forward. I have only had this SUV two months with 848 miles. The car in front of me had substantial damage. If anyone had been in her backseat especially a child they would have been injured. My safety was in danger with the seatbelt not locking. I am waiting on the diagnostics still from Rivian. Insurance is waiting on Rivian. There had been nothing like this prior to this incident.

NHTSA ID

11558104

Incident

Dec 1, 2023

Rivian pushed a software update to owners on the evening of 11/13/2023. This update made the driver information and infotainment screens non-functional and also disabled all driver saftey aids and any ability to turn exterior lights or windshield wipers off or on. As of 11:24 am CST on 11/14/2023, owners have still not been officially notified or provided any status updates aside from a reddit post by Rivian's VP of software development [XXX] ). Rivian has no estimated time to have a solution in place. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11555051

Incident

Nov 13, 2023

Software update rolled out version 2023.42.0 and now the vehicle screen is black and HVAC does not work. It is unclear if any safety or airbag systems are operational. Cameras not working.

NHTSA ID

11555040

Incident

Nov 14, 2023

Rivian released a software update that bricked my vehicle. It is drivable but the infotainment screen and safety features are inaccessible. It is unclear what features work and which ones do not. Rivian has only released limited information on Reddit, and there has been no other formal communication to impacted owners. Customer service said it was aware and that the team was working on a resolution, but this is a major red flag and should be investigated. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11555021

Incident

Nov 13, 2023

Stopped at McDonalds drive through waiting to order with my foot on the brake and the vehicle lunged forward rearending the car stopped 5 feet in front of me ordering. I was trying to brake but it kept pushing the car in front of me then careened to the right hitting a sign and a parked car. I kept pumping the brakes and I thought it was going to run into a building when the vehicle finally stopped about 30 feet from the 2nd parked car it struck. Apparently it was "sudden unintended acceleration" and I've been reading on-line this has happened to many people including Actor Alan Ruck (see article). Rivian has not been responsive to us. Crash involving ‘Ferris Bueller,’ ‘Succession’ actor Alan Ruck was not a crime: LAPD by: Marc SternfieldPosted: Nov 2, 2023 / 03:22 PM PDT No charges will be filed as a result of the multi-car crash in Hollywood involving “Ferris Bueller” and “Succession” actor Alan Ruck, Los Angeles Police told KTLA on Thursday. The collision happened around 9 p.m. on Halloween night at the busy intersection of La Brea Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard. In two surveillance videos obtained by KTLA, Ruck’s Rivian electric pickup truck is seen stopped behind another car at a red light as pedestrians cross in the crosswalk. For reasons still unclear, the truck suddenly lunges forward and rear-ends the other car, and then careens across lanes of traffic, hitting another vehicle before crashing through the wall of Raffallo’s Pizza. At least one person is hospitalized after a three-vehicle collision sent a truck crashing through a pizza shop in Hollywood on Oct. ... Actor Alan Ruck is seen at the crash scene. Tim Ratcliff, who owns several adjacent restaurants, rushed to help the actor who he says was more concerned about the safety of the people he hit than his own wellbeing. “I asked him, ‘Are you okay? And the first thing out of his mouth was, ‘Is everyone [else] okay? I think I hit someone. Is he okay?’,” Ratcliff told KTLA.A 32-year-old man from one of th

NHTSA ID

11553554

Incident

Oct 18, 2023

Immediately after purchasing the vehicle, I got error codes thrown to service the suspension while driving to my house, specifically at 15-20mph over traffic calming bumps. This fault cleared immediately the first few times. On July 25 I submitted a service request as my family headed out on a two week, 900 mile trip. The service suspension fault had returned and disabled my ability to change modes/ride heights, blind spot sensors and cruise control, all of which I was counting on using during trip. I shut off and restarted the vehicle several times trying to clear the fault and regain functionality, but the fault inevitably returned. On July 25, Rivian added a response in the service portal that they would address the problem by July 28th. I heard nothing more. On August 1, I was driving south on HWY 57 in North Idaho. I hoped that code would have cleared, but it came back on almost immediately. After driving for about 5 miles, I decided to pull over at a visitor center parking lot to try and reset again to change modes, regain safety sensors, and cruise control. While turning left into the parking lot, another driver tried to pass on my left on a double yellow line driving above the 55mph speed limit. He collided with the front left part of my vehicle, damaging the body and breaking the front tie rod ends, leaving me unable to steer or drive forward, disabled, in the oncoming traffic lane. I asked Rivian to share data about the turn signal use, brake light, and speed data at the time of the accident with me. They did not respond in writing, but called and refused, getting quite angry during the call. After researching and observing other Rivians, I don't believe that my brake lights were on during regenerative braking. The rear, side, and blind spot sensors were disabled. Turning 1/4 second sooner or 5º sharper would have killed me.

NHTSA ID

11550710

Incident

Aug 1, 2023