While driving the entire computer shuts down and reboots, both screens go black for several minutes. Speed display disappears, turn signals stop working, after the screens come back on there are warning lights for emergency braking disabled, cruise control disabled, and the headlights won’t come on for several minutes.
2025 Rivian R1S: headlights failing or too dim
6 of the 55 complaints about the 2025 Rivian R1S describe headlights failing or too dim.
- owner complaints
- 6
- of this car's complaints
- 11%
- recalls
- 3
Is there a fix? There are 3 recalls for this area of the car. See below
What owners say
I am submitting this complaint regarding repeated ineffective repair attempts by Rivian Automotive, Inc. at its Costa Mesa Service Center on my 2025 Rivian R1S Adventure. During multiple service visits at Rivian’s Costa Mesa Service Center (January 29, June 18, July 16, and October 11, 2025), Rivian repeatedly failed to diagnose or correct the same issues affecting my 2025 Rivian R1S Adventure. • Drive Cam / Diagnostics Error: Rivian’s diagnostics incorrectly reported my drive storage as 119 GB when I have a 2 TB SSD (the maximum recommended). After five hours of testing, they failed to identify the issue. The in-car viewer still shows only partial clips, even though the full recordings are visible on a computer. • A/C Vibration and Noise: Despite Rivian tightening and insulating the A/C components, the vibration persists and is noticeable on the passenger side. This issue did not exist in the 1st generation R1S loaner vehicle, suggesting a design issue in the 2nd generation R1S, where A/C components are placed in the front compartment. • Proximity Lock and Bluetooth Delay: The vehicle frequently fails to unlock for 5–15 seconds even when I’m standing next to it. Rivian attributes this to “deep sleep mode,” which is unreasonable—no other automaker treats slow unlocking as normal. This delay is a safety concern in emergencies or bad weather. • Lighting / Camera Malfunctions: I provided video of headlights turning off while idling in a drive-thru and of the reverse camera freezing. Rivian could not replicate the issues and closed the cases. • Privacy Concern: A technician asked me to change my Rivian password and share credentials so they could log in for diagnostics. This raises privacy and data security concerns. After repeated visits and software updates (including version 2025.38.0, reissued October 21 and October 25 without listed fixes), all defects persist. These failures have caused significant inconvenience, time loss, and ongoing safety concerns.
During an early season wet snow storm within minutes of driving the lights had become covered with snow and deflected the light in such a way that created a very unsafe driving environment. There was zero snow on the road because of it not being cold enough to stick but the deflection of the light and limited light on the road it was nearly impossible to see the road markings and lines to stay in the lane and created a very unsafe environment around me requiring me to drive significantly lower to try to stay on the road which could have caused an accident with other drivers who were not driving as slowly. There are a significant amount of reports of incidents like this across multiple forum platforms (ie: reddit) where drivers of the Rivian have indicated a drive that was very unsafe and something they had never experienced before. Rivian needs to create a retrofit to the existing headlamp that has a heating element of something to continue to melt the snow off the light as driving since the truck face is flat and the LEDs do not conduct enough heat to melt snow as driving.
The contact owns a 2025 Rivian R1S. The contact stated received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 25V085000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). The local dealer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the parts not being available. The contact stated that occasionally, during colder weather, the headlights failed to function properly. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000.
Winter weather led to snow buildup on the headlamps which made them useless. Fortunately this was during the day so there was plenty of sunlight. 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
Driver side high beam lights are out or malfunction. No warning on dashboard except for "Adaptive High Beam not working." 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.
Related recalls
Exterior lighting: turn signal
- What is wrong
- Rivian Automotive, LLC (Rivian) is recalling certain 2025-2026 R1S and R1T vehicles. One or both front turn signals may fail to illuminate and flash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
- Risk
- Turn signals that do not function properly increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Rivian will inspect and replace the front turn signals as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 28, 2026. Owners may contact Rivian customer service at 1‑888‑748‑4261. Rivian's number for this recall is FSAM-1833. This is an expansion of Recall 25V387. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on on August 31, 2026.
Recall number 26V508000 · Recall details
Exterior lighting: turn signal
- What is wrong
- Rivian Automotive, LLC (Rivian) is recalling certain 2025 R1S and R1T vehicles. One or both front turn signals may fail to illuminate and flash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
- Risk
- Turn signals that do not function properly, failing to indicate the driver's intention to change direction, increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Rivian will inspect and replace the front turn signals as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 22, 2025. Owners will receive a second notice once the remedy becomes available. Owners may contact Rivian customer service at 1‑888‑748‑4261. Rivian's number for this recall is FSAM-1693.
Recall number 25V387000 · Recall details
Exterior lighting: headlights
- What is wrong
- Rivian Automotive, LLC (Rivian) is recalling certain 2025 R1S and R1T vehicles. The headlight low beams may fail to illuminate when starting the vehicle in cold weather. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
- Risk
- Headlight failure can reduce visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Rivian will replace the headlight control modules, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 22, 2025. Owners may contact Rivian customer service at 1‑888‑748‑4261. Rivian's number for this recall is FSAM-1612.
Recall number 25V085000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2025 Rivian R1S headlights
Is headlights failing or too dim a common problem on the 2025 Rivian R1S?
6 of 55 owner complaints about the 2025 Rivian R1S (11%) mention headlights failing or too dim.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2025 Rivian R1S?
There are 3 recalls and 0 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
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