Problems · NHTSA complaints
2023 Rivian R1T problems
Owners filed 41 complaints about the 2023 Rivian R1T with NHTSA between Apr 2023 and Oct 2026. The most-cited component is air bags (14).
Complaints
41
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
4
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Air bags14
- Electrical system7
- Service brakes5
- Forward collision avoidance4
- Lane departure3
- Power train3
- Fuel/propulsion system3
- Vehicle speed control3
- Seats3
- Seat belts2
- Visibility/wiper2
- Back over prevention2
- Wheels1
- Visibility1
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 28, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
14
10
9
8
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 14 |
| 2024 | 10 |
| 2025 | 9 |
| 2026 | 8 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Air bags
14 reports1 related recall
“Rivian passenger airbag is usually disabled (70 % cases) with adult passengers weighing about 125 lbs while they sit correctly in the front passenger seat. There is a warning light "Passenger airbag off". No problems with heavier passengers (> 140 lbs). There are tons of threads about this issue on Rivian forums, Reddit or Facebook groups. Based on these threads, sometimes Rivian service centers try to fix it (often unseccessfully) and sometimes they say it's normal. I've contacted a Rivian service through the Rivian app and they told me that it's a normal behavior because 125 lbs is near the treshold. But I never had similar issues with other cars.”
Electrical system
7 reports1 crash1 fire
“In my recordings, the backup camera image took 6 to 11 seconds to appear after shifting into reverse. FMVSS 111 (S6.2.3) requires 2.0 seconds. It happens on software 2026.23 and newer, which is the fix software for Rivian recall 26V597. Crash: Around the end of August 2026 (I don't know the exact date), I was turning around in a parking lot in Stone Mountain, GA with a rooftop tent on the truck. I shifted into reverse, the backup camera image never came up on the center screen, and the truck backed into a pole at under 3 mph. The rear bumper and tailgate were damaged. I recorded it on September 24, 2026: 1. Shifted from Park to Reverse. The center screen showed a Loading spinner and no camera image for about 10.8 seconds. 2. Already in Reverse when I started recording. The truck was rolling backward at 2 mph while the center screen was blank. The camera image first appeared about 6 seconds into the recording. Frame-by-frame stills are attached. A link to both videos is in the attached PDF. Software: Rivian told me the truck was on 2026.23.0 at the time of the crash. It is on 2026.31.0 now. Recall 26V597 says R1 software before 2026.23 is affected, and it…”
Service brakes
5 reports3 crashes
“I Was driving down highway and receive a fe messages in quick order -front sensors off, front camera off, collision detection off, regenerative braking off - started moving toward right shoulder prior to pulling off - car lost speed at high rate putting me in jeopardy of being rear ended. 2025.06.012 code was loaded into truck the day before - this was first real drive after new code loaded into truck - early in the morning the warning for front sensors off, collision detection off, regenerative braking off did come and I pulled off and rebooted system. Everything seemed to be fine - made into office and again on return the loss of speed at high rate was a safety issue.”
Forward collision avoidance
4 reports
“The vehicle’s Driver+ advanced driver assistance system (including Adaptive Cruise Control and Highway Assist) repeatedly failed during normal highway driving. The system would display “Driver Assistance Features Unavailable – Service Soon” and immediately disable all assisted-driving functions, even in clear weather and well-marked lanes. This occurred intermittently from approximately 1,200 miles onward and continued for over a year despite multiple repair attempts by the manufacturer’s service centers. The malfunction directly affected safe operation, as the system could disengage without warning at highway speeds, forcing sudden driver intervention. The issue was reproduced and documented by the manufacturer’s technicians during at least one service visit, which resulted in replacement of the vehicle’s driver-assistance computer. The failure continued even after that replacement. The vehicle has been inspected and serviced numerous times by the manufacturer, with diagnostics performed on the cooling system, cameras, sensors, and ADAS module. Each repair attempt either failed to duplicate or failed to permanently correct the defect. The safety risk is loss…”
Lane departure
3 reports1 crash
“When driving on the highway with ADAS on with lane keeping assist turned on with software 2024.39.01, the truck would constantly pull me back into the center line even if I were not close to the white line on the road. This is very concerning as on a two-lane highway, it pulled me over the center line and towards an oncoming traffic. The latest software update seemed to make it more sensitive, not allowing "ping-ponging" and trying to keep the truck almost too centered, as other cars I have are not this aggressive. I ended up turning off LKA, but that should not be the solution.”
Power train
3 reports
“Rivian R1T was brought to independent tire center for tire rotation on same day before 1,000 mile trip. Technician documented: "Drivers side front CV axle bolt almost completely backed out". Bolt took less than one rotation by hand to come off. Documented by tire shop technician. - Possible safety impact by possible failure of half-shaft and loss of steering control and/or wheel loss - The vehicle is scheduled for an inspection by manufacturer July 14, 2025 - There were no warnings or symptoms prior to discovery”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 28, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.