2022-2026 Rivian R1T Problems: 16 Known Issues

The Central Gateway Module is the routing hub of the R1T's vehicle network: it brokers messages between the CAN/Ethernet domains, gates OTA update delivery, and manages the wake/sleep state of the rest of the modules. When the CGM fails, the truck goes fully unresponsive — it will not wake from sleep, will not respond to the key fob, phone key, or Rivian app, will not unlock, and critically will not release a plugged-in EVSE connector, which leaves the truck physically tethered to the charger. A dead 12V battery produces the same symptoms and is by far the more common cause, so the 12V system is checked first; the owner-reported CGM failures are rare and were identified only after jumping and replacing the 12V batteries did not revive the truck. The distinguishing signature is that the truck stays dead despite a healthy high-voltage state of charge and despite fresh 12V batteries. A related module failure with overlapping symptoms is the telematics module, and Rivian ran a separate service campaign covering some 2022 R1T trucks for incorrectly assembled Body Control Modules. This is a tow-in event, not a roadside fix.

On 2025 R1T and R1S vehicles running software older than 2025.18.30, the Hands-Free Highway Assist (HWA) perception stack can misclassify the vehicle directly ahead. HWA is a hands-off Level 2 system that controls steering, throttle and braking on limited-access highways and depends on correctly identifying a lead vehicle to command deceleration. When the lead vehicle is misclassified the system does not brake adequately and a collision can occur if the driver does not intervene. Rivian reported to NHTSA that on May 14, 2025 a 2025 R1S experienced this exact functional limitation and struck another vehicle at roughly 6 mph. The recall covers 24,214 vehicles, of which 4,386 are R1T pickups built July 10, 2024 through May 13, 2025 (the R1S share is 19,828, built from April 29, 2024) — the truck is genuinely named in the campaign, not swept in by association. This is a Gen 2 electrical-architecture vehicle; the Gen 1 2022-2024 Driver+ system is a different stack and is not covered by this campaign.

R1T and R1S center display and driver display can freeze, reboot mid-drive, or go black entirely — particularly during cellular handoffs (entering/leaving tunnel), after wake from sleep, or during OTA installation. Loss of driver display means losing speed/range readout in motion (workaround: use the HUD if equipped, or a phone). Multiple OTA releases have improved stability but not eliminated the problem.

Improperly manufactured front turn signal lamps (the lower fascia direction indicator lamps) on Gen 2 R1T and R1S vehicles can leave one or both front turn signals dead — the signal fails to illuminate and flash at all. Because the front turn signal is a required exterior lighting function, the condition is a non-compliance with FMVSS 108 (Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment) rather than a wear item, and surrounding drivers get no indication of an intended lane change or turn. Rivian first filed this as NHTSA campaign 25V-387 in June 2025. The supplier failed to fully contain the bad parts, so Rivian later expanded the population as NHTSA campaign 26V-508 (Rivian FSAM-1833), adding 625 model year 2025-2026 R1T trucks built October 1, 2024 through March 19, 2026 alongside 3,204 R1S units. The expansion adds trucks that were not in the original 25V-387 population, so a VIN that was clear of the first campaign may still be covered by the second.

R1T and R1S report 12V drain after long parking — particularly with Gear Guard (cabin/exterior camera surveillance) enabled, which keeps cellular modem and cameras active. Owners report dead 12V in 7-14 days without Gear Guard, faster with it. Multiple OTA updates have reduced parasitic draw but not eliminated it.

R1T and R1S vehicles built roughly December 2022 through March 2023 received onboard chargers (OBC) that the supplier built with a faulty internal component. The OBC is the module that rectifies AC from a wall outlet or Level 2 EVSE into DC for the high-voltage pack. When the defective component fails, the truck loses ALL AC charging capability: it will not take a charge from a 120 V Level 1 cord or a 240 V Level 2 home or destination charger. DC fast charging bypasses the onboard charger entirely and continues to work, which is the diagnostic signature that separates this from a charge port, cable, or EVSE problem — a truck that fast-charges perfectly but refuses every wall charger is pointing at the OBC. In practice this strands owners at home overnight and forces them onto public DCFC for daily charging, which is both expensive and harder on the pack. Rivian handled this as a customer satisfaction campaign (advisory RCA-34-23-002-1), NOT as an NHTSA safety recall, so it never appeared in a federal recall lookup and many affected owners were never proactively notified.

Multiple owner reports of the charge port door motor failing — door refuses to open via app/touchscreen/button, sometimes stuck open after charge session. Cold weather amplifies failure rate. Rivian replaces under warranty; no NHTSA recall covers the charge port door.

On 473 early 2022 R1T pickups built August 27, 2021 through April 18, 2022 (Rivian's amended July 2022 count; the original May 2022 filing listed 502 trucks built September 21, 2021 through April 12, 2022), the Occupant Classification System (OCS) in the front passenger seat was calibrated incorrectly at the seat supplier (Hyundai Transys). The OCS is the sensing mat and control logic that weighs the front passenger and decides whether to enable or suppress the passenger frontal airbag. With a bad calibration the system can classify a child or a child restraint as an adult and leave the passenger airbag ENABLED. A deploying frontal airbag against a child or rear-facing infant seat can cause severe or fatal injury. This is an R1T-specific campaign — the affected seat build window did not extend to the R1S population under this campaign number, so do not assume sibling coverage. The fault is in the seat assembly itself, not in software, which is why the remedy is a full seat replacement rather than a recalibration or OTA.

NHTSA recall 22V-641 / Rivian FSAM-924 covers 207 model-year 2022 vehicles: 198 R1Ts and 9 R1Ss built from January 28 through August 8, 2022. A front driver and/or passenger seat-belt height-adjuster bolt may have been cross-threaded, weakening the attachment to the B-pillar. A loose assembly may rattle at the height-adjuster area or move excessively, and may not restrain an occupant as intended in a crash.

Between October 20, 2021 and May 31, 2024, Rivian service technicians removed and then reused upper pillar trim panels instead of replacing them with new parts. Removal damages the attachment clips that hold the trim to the pillar. The side curtain (inflatable) airbag deploys from behind that trim, and it relies on the panel breaking away in a controlled, predictable way. With damaged or weakened clips the panel can release improperly, which may result in improper side curtain airbag deployment and increase the risk of occupant injury in certain crashes. On the R1T only the upper B-pillars are affected (the R1S recall also covers the C-pillars). 1,723 vehicles across both nameplates, with an estimated 100 percent defect rate in the affected population. The defect is service-induced, so inclusion depends on repair history, not build date alone.

Rivian technicians disassembled and reassembled the rear suspension toe link joint using an outdated service procedure in effect from April 1, 2022 through March 10, 2025. Joints reassembled under that procedure may not meet design intent and can carry unintended loads. Over time and vehicle motion the toe link joint can separate, causing the rear wheel to steer itself and producing a sudden loss of vehicle control without prior warning. Rivian recalled 19,641 previously-serviced R1T and R1S vehicles (12,610 of them R1T pickups) on December 26, 2025, filed with NHTSA as campaign 26V-003. Separately, NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened preliminary evaluation PE26-004 covering roughly 114,922 R1T and R1S vehicles after owner reports of left-rear toe link separation, so the investigation population is far larger than the recall population. Note this is a SERVICE-induced defect: only vehicles that actually had rear suspension work performed in that window are in the recall, which is why VIN lookup matters more than model year here. Rivian reported one crash with alleged minor injuries as of January 5, 2026.

Quad-Motor R1T and R1S, particularly early-production vehicles, have documented front drive unit failures — typically presenting as a grinding/whining noise, vehicle warnings about drive system, or sudden loss of front-axle drive. Rivian has replaced many under warranty; reports cluster around 20,000-40,000 miles. Quad-Motor architecture (separate motors per wheel) means a single DU failure leaves three working motors but with warning lights.

The R1T's motorized hard tonneau cover over the bed is an R1T-exclusive assembly (the R1S has no equivalent) built from articulated panels driven by a single motor. Early covers suffer from panels falling out of synchronization with each other, at which point the mechanism jams mid-travel and the panels can bind, deform, or physically break apart. Dirt, grit, and trail dust entering the track accelerate the failure — exactly the use case the truck is sold for. Owners report failures very early in ownership, and a substantial number report that factory REPLACEMENT covers subsequently failed as well, indicating the original design rather than a single bad batch. A jammed cover often leaves the bed either stuck open (no security or weather protection) or stuck closed (no bed access), and the truck may flag a fault and restrict the cover's operation. Rivian eventually acknowledged the design and offered a redesigned cover retaining the single motor but adding an updated spring system to keep the panels aligned, reinforced panels and gearing, and a cleaning provision to keep debris out of the mechanism.

The gear tunnel is an R1T-exclusive storage compartment between the cab and the bed, closed by two powered drop-down doors. Owners report two opposing failure modes. In the first, the latch will not release: the actuator motor whirs or buzzes loudly but the door does not open, leaving cargo locked inside. In the second, the latch will not engage: the striker hook bounces off the latch instead of catching, so the door reports 'unable to latch or close', the truck drops into a reduced or safe drive mode, and the door can swing open in motion and dump its contents. A related annoyance involves the small inner storage compartment on the gear tunnel door that holds the onboard compressor hose: its hinge pins pop out and its weak latch can let it fall open. Root causes reported by owners and technicians include a weak or worn latch mechanism, and in at least some cases an electrical connector that was never fully seated at the factory. Owners also warn that using the emergency mechanical release on a stuck door can make the situation worse and complicate the eventual repair.

On R1T pickups produced between September 9, 2023 and March 25, 2024, the headlamps left the factory aimed slightly too low and do not meet current production specification or the beam-pattern and intensity requirements of FMVSS 108. The practical consequence is insufficient forward illumination of the road at night — the usable light falls short well before the driver's stopping distance at highway speed, which raises crash risk in unlit conditions and on the unlit trails these trucks are marketed for. 2,334 Rivian vehicles across the R1T, R1S and EDV lines were covered. This is an aiming/setup defect rather than a lamp hardware failure, so it presents as chronically poor night vision that owners often blame on the LED projector design instead of recognizing as a recallable condition.

This is a Gen 2 specific issue and does not apply to Gen 1 trucks. For model year 2025-2026 Rivian replaced the Gen 1 (2022-2024) PTC resistive cabin heater with a heat pump, which is far more efficient in cold weather but mechanically far more complex — it runs the refrigerant circuit in reverse to pull heat from ambient air. Gen 2 owners report an unusually loud compressor (commonly described as a jet engine or lawnmower noise from the front of the vehicle when heat or A/C is active), followed in a meaningful number of cases by a 'Thermal system fault' message and complete loss of cabin heat. Some failures are refrigerant loss from a leaking heat pump / AC compressor, which drains the circuit and takes cabin cooling down with the heat. Others present as slow warm-up: owners directly comparing a 2025 to a 2024 report the Gen 1 truck heating almost immediately while the Gen 2 takes five-plus minutes and never fully warms the footwells. Loss of heat also means loss of windshield defrost, which is a genuine safety problem in freezing or wet conditions. There is no NHTSA recall for this — it is a warranty pattern, not a campaign. Separately, Gen 1 trucks have their own HVAC problem addressed by service bulletins RCA-26-24-002-1 and RSB-26-26-001-1, covering a faulty front HVAC case drain that leaks water into the front footwells.