2026 Rivian R1S

Rivian owners report that changing the delivery address to a service center, as sometimes advised online, significantly delays delivery timelines. One owner saw their window push from July-September t...

Buyers pay full price upfront expecting imminent delivery, but Rivian repeatedly changes plans without clear timelines on vehicle readiness. One Gen 2 R1S buyer wired payment before quarter-end but fa...

Rivian owners shipping their vehicles risk voiding the battery warranty due to undisclosed transport restrictions. Analysis of 340 EV shipments found 23% of owners unaware until after shipping.

Rivian sales reps make enticing promises like gear credits or free charging that fail to materialize post-delivery. One buyer was promised $500 credit and 6 months free RAN charging via referral code,...

Rivian quotes one price for accessories like spare tires but charges significantly more after installation. One owner was invoiced ~$488 for an R1S compact spare but charged ~$820.

The high-performance quad motor R1S lacks exterior badges or identifiers to distinguish it from cheaper dual motor models. Owners and reviewers find it insane that the $100K+ version looks identical t...

Rivian charges extra for a key fob, which functions only as a phone key duplicate prone to unwanted unlocks from inside the house. Unlike traditional fobs, it lacks independent functionality.

Rivian does not disclose vehicle build dates before delivery, despite the info on the door sticker, leading owners to unknowingly accept old inventory. One buyer took a 15-month-old R1S without realiz...

Rivian's privacy policy and service centers give conflicting guidance on disabling the eSIM to stop data collection, with DIY options unclear. Online policy states service centers must disable for non...

The R1S parking or proximity sensors falsely detect obstacles when driving at low speeds or parking, even with clean sensors and no objects nearby. Owners report incessant false alarms that cannot be ...

Rivian's Driver+ hands-free driving assist frequently disengages on curves, without road markings, or near trucks, causing sudden takeovers and discomfort. Shorter drivers face additional issues with ...

The automatic emergency braking system unexpectedly activates in safe conditions and reactivates itself even after being turned off, posing a safety risk.

Owners report frequent beeping, loud turn signal sounds that don't auto-cancel after lane changes, strange tones through speakers, and other intrusive 'nanny state' alerts.

The adaptive headlight system sends erroneous service alerts, contributing to ongoing unresolved issues.

The Rivian R1S infotainment system is the central touchscreen interface for navigation, media, climate, and vehicle controls. Owners frequently complain it is laggy, clunky, and requires too many taps...

The R1S relies entirely on the central touchscreen for common adjustments like AC vents, heated seats, steering wheel position, mirrors, frunk, and charge port, lacking physical buttons or knobs. This...

The R1S lacks Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, forcing exclusive use of its native infotainment system for phone integration, navigation, and media. Owners miss familiar interfaces and feel it ...

The R1S phone-as-a-key (PAAK) and digital key system uses Bluetooth or UWB for passive entry and starting, but frequently fails to unlock reliably, recognize phones, or match driver profiles. Issues i...

The built-in navigation system fails to account for HOV lanes, provides inaccurate ETAs and routes, and lacks trip planning features. It often leads to suboptimal charging stops and traffic miscalcula...

The R1S struggles to correctly detect and switch between driver profiles based on phone keys or fobs, often defaulting to the wrong settings like seat position or preferences. This affects shared fami...

The Rivian mobile app for remote control often shows 'limited activity,' fails to wake the vehicle for preconditioning, or mismatches car status. This disrupts features like pre-heating seats or check...

The R1S regen braking cannot be fully turned off, only reduced to a low setting, preventing coasting in traffic or specific driving scenarios. Owners want full control for better efficiency or comfort...

The built-in Alexa voice assistant fails to use the correct home address pulled from old Amazon data and cannot be easily fixed. It routes navigation incorrectly despite car settings.

Switching driver profiles requires multiple taps in the touchscreen menu with no quick shortcut. This slows daily use for multi-driver households.

The R1S premium audio has phase cancellation, muddled sound, poor imaging, and frequency issues, lacking realism despite high power.

Side mirrors and steering wheel position are adjusted via the touchscreen and steering wheel thumb wheels instead of physical door controls. Owners find this tedious, imprecise, and unsafe while drivi...

Climate system vents are adjusted by dragging icons on the touchscreen, with no physical knobs. This is imprecise and distracting while driving.

Volume is adjusted using a touchscreen slider instead of a physical dial or knob.

Steering wheel buttons lack labels, forcing drivers to guess their functions.

Electronic door handles have an unlabeled manual release hidden in a dark area, posing safety risks.

Gear selector requires specific half-pull and hold motions to shift into neutral, confusing new drivers.

Doors lack visible physical lock/unlock buttons, relying on proximity or key card.

Dashboard range estimate and efficiency graphs misrepresent actual achievable range for Gen 2 vehicles.

Rear camera fails to activate automatically when reversing, has poor resolution, and lacks split-screen view.

Rivian R1S receives over-the-air (OTA) software updates wirelessly to add features and fix bugs. Multiple owners report charging stops working or slows dramatically after specific updates like 2025.46...

The Rivian R1S audio system handles infotainment, turn signals, alerts, and chimes. Owners report complete audio loss after OTA updates like 2026.03 or 2025.06.30, requiring service center visits.

OTA updates download and install new software overnight or while parked. Installations frequently fail at specific percentages like 7%, 17%, 33%, or 45%, pause indefinitely, or lose WiFi connection mi...

Phone-as-a-Key (PAK) uses UWB/Bluetooth for proximity unlock/start without physical key. After updates like holiday or 2025.34/2025.46, PAK stops recognizing phones, requires re-setup, or loses proxim...

Exterior cameras provide 360° views, streaming, and driver assists. Latest OTA updates cause all cameras to fail completely, unresolved by resets and needing service or ECU replacement.

OTA updates can 'brick' critical systems like 12V battery or infotainment, leaving the vehicle unusable and requiring towing to service. Examples include August OTA bricking 12V and November bricking ...

Rivian vehicles continuously upload large volumes of data, such as 291GB in 30 days, likely including driving video content, to Rivian's servers. Owners question the purpose and extent of this data tr...

Rivian's privacy settings and user options do not fully stop data collection or transmission, including location data via LTE/eSIM, requiring service center intervention or hardware disconnection to d...

Rivian shares vehicle location data with third parties like ABRP via undocumented APIs, regardless of user privacy settings. Owners cannot prevent this sharing without disabling hardware.

Rivian collects detailed telematics data on driving behavior like hard braking and acceleration for insurance purposes, but owners cannot access or view this data themselves through the app or vehicle...

Rivian discloses personal and vehicle data to affiliates, third-party advertisers, and service providers for business purposes, as outlined in their privacy policy.

Using Rivian features like driver assistance, Gear Guard security, and voice commands requires consenting to collection, sharing, and retention of personal and core vehicle data including GPS and diag...

The Rivian R1S's phone key feature allows owners to unlock and start the vehicle using their smartphone app. New owners report frequent failures where the phone key suddenly stops working shortly afte...

Rivian's remote control systems allow financial companies or tow services to unlock the R1S remotely. Owners complain this can occur without their notification or approval, such as during towing or re...

Rivian's remote services, including app-based controls for the R1S, are governed by terms allowing the company full discretion. Owners note Rivian can terminate or suspend access without notice, poten...

The Rivian's cellular connectivity and app integration fail randomly, causing maps, Spotify, remote commands, and notifications to go offline despite an active premium subscription. Owners report the ...

The R1S loses significant battery charge while parked and sleeping due to unexpected wake-ups, often triggered by passing phones or poor sleep mode. Owners compare it unfavorably to other EVs, noting ...

The built-in navigation system fails to search for specific addresses or update maps, showing errors like 'Unable to fetch search results' or completely disabling GPS position and routing. Point-of-in...

Music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and radio cut out, buffer endlessly, change tones between tracks, or fail to play consistently, often requiring reboots. Dolby Atmos sounds distorte...

Phone-as-a-key (PaaK) and proximity lock/unlock stop working reliably, failing to detect phones, recognize profiles, or execute remote commands via app. Owners must use key cards or manual locks as wo...

Driver profiles forget personal settings like seat positions and access configurations overnight or after parking, requiring profile switches or remote wake-ups to restore. Features like Roomy Entry/E...

The infotainment system requires repeated soft or hard reboots to fix glitches like frozen screens, disabled features, or cascading errors. This is a common workaround for daily issues including camer...

Rivian app loses ability to control locks, climate, liftgate, or frunk after updates, showing commands as pending without effect. Deleting and re-adding PaaK or reinstalling the app provides only temp...

The entire vehicle becomes unresponsive or 'bricked,' failing to unlock, start, or drive due to critical battery errors or system failures, often requiring towing. Dash lights indicate severe issues w...

Doors unlock automatically without phone proximity or input, posing safety risks. This occurs randomly and is not tied to key detection.

Rivian's Connect+ is a paid subscription service ($14.99/month or $149.99/year after trial) that unlocks features like streaming music (Spotify, Tidal), Alexa, and entertainment apps such as YouTube a...

Connect+ subscribers get priority access to over-the-air (OTA) software updates, ahead of non-subscribers. Owners suspect Rivian deliberately throttles updates for non-Connect+ vehicles, making it fee...

Connect+ subscription and trial features stop working on used Rivian R1S after ownership transfer, even if the subscription shows as active. Owners report losing connectivity-dependent features when a...

Rivian's Connect+ requires a cellular data subscription for internet-dependent features like satellite Google Maps, but the connection is unreliable with poor data speeds. This causes significant dela...