What 37 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Rivian R1t Bev

The vehicle caught fire and was completely destroyed. The fire was due to an electrical or battery system defect.

NHTSA ODI 11662648

The components that failed are Traction Control, Stability controls, and Anti-Lock Braking while in high regeneration mode. Vehicle can easily become incontrollable in low traction situations (in high regeneration mode) that is a danger to the driver and others on the road. Sequence of Events 1.Vehicle begins to Aquaplane 2.Driver (myself) removes foot from the accelerator pedal (standard technique to regain control) 3.The tires in the front loose more traction and skid due to high regeneration mode. 4.With even less traction the vehicle is out of control In the moment, my first concern and priority was other drivers. I was able avoid six lanes of traffic in the direction of travel without hitting another vehicle before hitting the should barrier. The vehicle felt like there was no ABS (Antilock Braking System) and no traction control. It felt like the vehicle locked all four wheels (like I had placed the vehicle in park). In addition, I had a service scheduled at the end of May 2024 (scheduled in January 2024) for issues with the rain sensor(s). I do not know if these sensor(s) comes into play. It is my belief that there should be a safety warning when using High Regeneration mode and the vehicle should automatically switch back to Low Regeneration mode with each new startup. I have noticed this feature in other electric cars (Audi/BMW) and have begun to understand why these vehicles perform this function. In addition, I have searched the Forum website and have discovered others that have experienced the same issue related to traction in this mode.

NHTSA ODI 11585044

Car was lane corrected into other lane and started accelerating. Like getting hit by a bumper in a pinball machine. Avoided a head on collision but managed to safety maneuver into a fence instead of a tree.

NHTSA ODI 11582833

The vehicle was parked on a 8 degree slope in the driveway with approximately 2 inches of snow on the drive way. Within thirty minutes of the vehicle being parked the truck slide down the driveway and crashed into the house. The parking brake failed and or is miss-engineered seeing that only two of the wheels were locked and two rolled noting the tire tracks in the snow. The saftey of myself and others could have been much worse if the truck hadn't hit the house and kept rolling down the hill into an adjacent street or house. There is other vehicle reports of this happening on online forums. The vehicle component has not been inspected by the manufacturer. The issue lies with it being an electrical motor and does not have a differential to lock the remaining tires as in an automatic gas powered vehicle. This company has relied on the parking break to only lock the rear wheels for the parking break despite it being an extremely heavy vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11572970