Brake System Malfunction & Limp Mode - 19MPH

[Dark-Fx]

Based on how Rivian service behaves I think they are more likely quite quitting some customers.

And how.

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[rpo]

I did a 100 mile drive in a Model X *from* the Tesla service center after picking up my "fixed" vehicle for the 5th time....at a max speed of 47 MPH. It would not go faster and I had no other way to get home. I thought 47 was bad, but 19 would quadruple the frustration.

 

[Riptide]

That's my lay-person assessment too, but if it were that simple:
1) That should have been an easy fix the first time, and
2) why does the vehicle seem to work fine for a while after it goes to sleep (no errors when getting into drive) but a hard reset after an error didn't clear the issue.

A loose connector or similar would be sensed regardless of the state of the vehicle IMHO which is why I think it may be a bit more complex.

I'm sitting in the car now waiting for my tow and all seems fine, even after a quick drive around the block.

Gradual heat buildup near the malfunctioning sensor after a longer drive sounds like a possibility.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Glad to hear you got an update. Sounds like Tesla service. They really will not share much info other than "we were able/unable to duplicate the problem" and "we are still in the process of diagnosing your concern". Tesla gives estimated time of completion but those really don't mean anything....they just keep pushing the car off. Most likely when they extend time of completion by two days I think that basically means service is authorized to spend another two days on it before they have to get more authorization to proceed further.

Unfortunately, service is managed very carefully. The first time someone goes in, if the problem isn't completely obvious (and sometimes even if it is) it will not be duplicated or resolved. They just want to get the car in/out as fast as possible. As you continue to take it back it escalates and they are authorized to spend more time on it and it usually will go to a more senior tech as well. I can't confirm this is how Rivian works...but because they are overloaded...you can bet service is being very closely and carefully managed.

 

[R1Tom]

Glad to hear you got an update. Sounds like Tesla service. They really will not share much info other than "we were able/unable to duplicate the problem" and "we are still in the process of diagnosing your concern". Tesla gives estimated time of completion but those really don't mean anything....they just keep pushing the car off. Most likely when they extend time of completion by two days I think that basically means service is authorized to spend another two days on it before they have to get more authorization to proceed further.

Unfortunately, service is managed very carefully. The first time someone goes in, if the problem isn't completely obvious (and sometimes even if it is) it will not be duplicated or resolved. They just want to get the car in/out as fast as possible. As you continue to take it back it escalates and they are authorized to spend more time on it and it usually will go to a more senior tech as well. I can't confirm this is how Rivian works...but because they are overloaded...you can bet service is being very closely and carefully managed.

My concerns they are patterning after Tesla too much. Tesla had only game in town status for a really long time. Rivian already does not, and pretty soon will be one of everybody in town. Many of those others are significantly better than Tesla in the post sale support role....

 

[rivpop]

Finally got my R1T back today. Technically it was ready on Saturday but I was out of town and only picked it up this evening.

Diagnosis- this time it appears the Orlando Service Center actually did a diagnosis (compared to last time the Nashville/Franklin service center basically said they couldn't reproduce and returned the vehicle to me without doing anything).

Diagnosis: Faulty Stability Control module. Now I don't know all this module is supposed to do, but in other vehicle this module uses brake and steering data to determine if the vehicle is sliding/skidding etc and cut power and may also initiate braking through the ABS system. This was replaced and at least in my 70 Mike drive home seemed to work. Time will tell.

Definitely better experience in Orlando than in Franklin, TN. Communication still is a sore point for me, but I was at least able to speak with the SC manager in Orlando

Still, it will be some time before I have confidence to take this vehicle on a long trip or anywhere away from easy service.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Excellent glad they got you fixed up! Service will improve with time and become more convenient.

 

[R1Tom]

Excellent glad they got you fixed up! Service will improve with time and become more convenient.

I honestly do wish Rivian would put anticipated dates on future service center locations.

 

[dleepnw]

have had my R1T for 6 months without a single issue. i took it in for some minor issues: body panel adjustment, door handle issue, camp speaker issue and tire rotation. was done in less than a week, which was awesome. on my drive back home got the "brake system malfunction". don't know if its a coincidence or something they did affected the brake system. only thing i can think is that during the tire rotation something happened.

its late in the day so getting it towed in the morning. SC is only 13 miles from me so im tempted to limp there at 19 mph before it closes tonight.

 

[teethdoc2]

Anyone have a "Brake System Malfunction" causing their R1T/S to go into limp mode?
TL/DR version:
Couple of weeks ago, my R1T showed a "Brake System Malfunction" on a road trip. Was presumably fixed and returned to me and after a couple of days, the same issue came back. This error causes the truck to go in to limp mode with 19MPH max.

Long version:
After having my R1T for a little over a month, I made a last minute decision to take it on an ~750mi drive instead of my Jeep Grand Cherokee to attend my daughter's college graduation. The drive up to Nashville from Florida was largely uneventful until I was about an hour from my destination. First thing was the adaptive cruise control stopped working. I presumed it was the setting sun messing with the camera/sensors which I recall having read before. Make it to where we're staying for the week. Next day doing some errands, it looks like almost every indicator on the driver's display goes off and I get the warning "Brake System Malfunction - Pull over immediately and call a tow truck". I pull over, and noticed both the regen brake and friction brake are working fine. However, the truck is now in limp mode and won't exceed 19MPH.
I figured I had nothing to lose with a hard reset and it came back up without error. Started driving again, but within a few blocks the error popped up again. I was able to limp a few miles via back roads to where we were staying. Called Service and they arranged a tow to the Franklin TN SC the next morning (after initially asking if I would be OK with driving it in that condition). The Franklin SC had my R1T for a couple of days but no comms. More on that later. Finally got someone in service to respond but they ended up having to ship it back to FL. Drove fine for a couple of days until I got the exact same error after going on a longer excursion. Again, hard resets did nothing. Error popped up immediately going into drive mode. Now getting flat bedded to Orlando SC and given what I've heard elsewhere on these forums don't have a lot of confidence they'll figure this out quickly.

Additional info:
Service experience has been a mixed bag, but mostly negative. While Rivian was able to get a tow to the SC quickly, the truck sat there with no activity for 2-3 days with no activity and the service ticket stating that I still need to drop off the vehicle. No updates on progress and calling the SC directly is a waste of time I've never had anyone pick up there. Calls to central service were moderately better but I got conflicting updates. Finally got a supervisor who said she would take over this issue and would keep me up to date regularly on progress. I did get an email a couple days later that the truck was fixed. However, at my insistence (they reluctantly relented) the vehicle was kept to deal with other service items (body panels, tonneau track that had a hole from the cover coming out janked before I even took possession, etc). They initially also said I would have to come back to TN from FL to drive it home. Again, had to argue to finally get them to agree to flat-bed it back to me. I had a business trip the next week and upon landing in CA, I notice texts and voice mail that my truck was returned to me and they left it in my condo parking lot locked with the keys in the truck. I was out of town for a week so I wouldn't get to check if everything was fixed (and hate to not have it garaged for that long). No coordination to let me know when it was coming.
Now with the recurrence of the brake system malfunction a few days after my return, again had to tell central service that I'm not driving to the SC that's 68 miles away in limp mode at 19MPH with a brake malfunction error on a highway (no other way of getting there). They finally agreed to the tow but I'm shocked they would even consider having the car driven in that condition for safety reasons. With all the long scheduling lead times I'm hearing, I'm starting to wonder how long it will be out of service (and how will I know that it's actually fixed or they "couldn't recreate the problem". Starting to think about lemon laws...

Hi- this sounds similar to what has happened to my brand new 2025 R1S. I’ve had it for 2 weeks. The customer service is horrible- they asked me to drive it as well and tried to push my service appointment out 2 weeks.
Did it end up being a lemon or was it finally fixed?

 

[rivpop]

I guess third time was the charm so no lemon. They were able to properly diagnose the problem instead of kicking the tires and saying it looks good. It's been a year since getting the truck repaired without the problem recurring. It ended up being the stability control module which was errantly sensing a brake fault and causing the vehicle to go into limp as a precaution. With that module replaced, I could tell a difference right away that the vehicle drove more smoothly (and over 19mph).

Since then, I've had to bring the vehicle twice, once for a safety recall (air bag sensor IIRC) and to finally get my power tonneau replaced which didn't work from day 1. But happy I kept the truck and have taken some longer distance road trips without incident as well.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

I guess third time was the charm so no lemon. They were able to properly diagnose the problem instead of kicking the tires and saying it looks good. It's been a year since getting the truck repaired without the problem recurring. It ended up being the stability control module which was errantly sensing a brake fault and causing the vehicle to go into limp as a precaution. With that module replaced, I could tell a difference right away that the vehicle drove more smoothly (and over 19mph).

Since then, I've had to bring the vehicle twice, once for a safety recall (air bag sensor IIRC) and to finally get my power tonneau replaced which didn't work from day 1. But happy I kept the truck and have taken some longer distance road trips without incident as well.

Thanks for coming back to update us. Sorry it took you three tries though. Glad Rivian was able to get it sorted finally.

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