2025 Gen 2 RIS heating problems and more...

[good2go]

I feel the entire system puts out the most heat when you turn on defrost.

I also feel the heat works best on auto.

lastly the heat appears to work differently if I turn it on from my phone instead of controls in the vehicle.

I have had my vehicle in MN and WY. I fought the cold feet in MN, until I turned the heat on from phone app.

I was going to look at adding insulation behind the plastic dash in foot well. I have not research because I have had an issue since using defrost setting and phone app to turn on heat.

Try defrost to get heating going. Also try the phone app to turn on heat. good luck.

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[atrieger]

We recently purchased a 2025 Gen 2 RIS and have had numerous issues since day 1. We were not aware there was a new HVAC system in the 2025 model when we purchased the vehicle . Compared to the 2024 that we test drove, the 2025 is very loud when turning on the heat and it does not heat properly. We compared our 2025 directly to the 2024 and there is a definite difference in the capacity to warm the cabin, the 2024 heated immediately and maintained good cabin heat. The 2025 never got warm at the feet and took over 5 mins to warm up. I read the 2025 was supposed to be more efficient but this is definitely not the case.

Is anyone else experiencing these problems .

Other problems with the "fit and finish" include a large seat gap between the seat bottom and back (can see electronic components in the seat), plastic wheel rims not attached, frunk uneven , and many small inconsistencies that I wouldn't expect in a vehicle with this price tag.

Disappointed because I love the drive but thought I was getting a higher quality car

gen2 r1s. Negative 1 here today. Heat pump gets luke warm about a minute. Gets hot maybe 5 to 10 min. It’s comfortable from the first minute or so. Compressor is loud. But efficient. If it keeps working then no complaints. Resistive definitely uses more power I’ve measured in my old Tesla also cut range in half. My Rivian while driving only about 9 percent power for heat. Maybe15. Once front motor heats up takes from there and isnot loud anymore.

 

[bcerv8]

The 2025 has a heat pump which is more efficient than the resistive heater in the 2024 which is a good thing for range in the winter but it will take a bit longer to warm up. 5 minutes doesn't seem too out of line.

My heat pump turns on, buzzes loudly, shuts off within a minute or two and heat never comes out of the vents. Unfortunately I think the heat pump design or parts used are subpar. I have never had this issue in my tesla with the heat pump or my 2021 model 3 which did not have the newer heat pump. I essentially bought a car while its snowing in Colorado that never heats above 35 degrees in the cabin.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

My heat pump turns on, buzzes loudly, shuts off within a minute or two and heat never comes out of the vents. Unfortunately I think the heat pump design or parts used are subpar. I have never had this issue in my tesla with the heat pump or my 2021 model 3 which did not have the newer heat pump. I essentially bought a car while its snowing in Colorado that never heats above 35 degrees in the cabin.

There's something wrong with yours, mine doesn't do that at all. Yes it makes noise, but it quiets down in that same min or two and I have heat.

 

[atrieger]

My heat pump turns on, buzzes loudly, shuts off within a minute or two and heat never comes out of the vents. Unfortunately I think the heat pump design or parts used are subpar. I have never had this issue in my tesla with the heat pump or my 2021 model 3 which did not have the newer heat pump. I essentially bought a car while its snowing in Colorado that never heats above 35 degrees in the cabin.

That definitely sounds like something is wrong. I haven't read of heat pump failures, just it's loud and annoying and I think they're working on placing it elsewhere so you don't hear it as much. But mine gets cabin plenty warm (68 usually because I have a jacket on) when it's zero outside. I have noticed cold feet, a side effect of it just not blowing that much when I have feet, windshield and front sides open. I can either turn up the fan or close other vents and it blows more out of the feet and they get warm. Sometimes my feet are plenty warm because they're dry and I have good shoes on, sometimes they're wet with melted snow and I want it to blow more so I have to adjust settings but it ends up working.
And I have noticed a marked normalization of battery usage in summer vs winter, my 2021 tesla X which I'm now thankfully without (elon being crazy) would use 40% more battery in winter.

I have also read of folks who prefer to spend more battery power to have less compressor noise turning on all the seat heaters where nobody is sitting . I tried this for fun, not mine because I don't like them, but turned on every OTHER one, used power and started just warming everything up in the car and then the compressor notched down a few levels as it didn't need to work as hard. Maybe rivian might just add a backup or extra resistive coil and let folks switch from compressor to resistive.. or like a "turbo heat" button which just adds resistive heat at the start, just so the compressor doesnt get so loud at startup when it needs to get the cabin from zero to 60 ish and then slows down.

I wouldnt mind wasting power on heat to gain quiet, just because power is cheap where I am. And folks who want the most efficient could turn off "turbo heat" .

Also, just for fun, in case this is helpful to anyone, it was maybe 12 degrees and I took my 2025 gen2 r1s out without the heat at all onto the highway, actually cracked the window so as not to fog up the windshield, and after 5-8 miles the front motor was over 90 degrees and THEN I turned the heat on and I could barely hear the compressor and I noticed the motor heat dropped to 75 or so. I don't know for sure but I suspect it takes heat from there to the cabin, if there's a large enough difference which is super cool if true. But only when driving generally fast or longer periods.

 

[bcerv8]

My heat pump turns on, buzzes loudly, shuts off within a minute or two and heat never comes out of the vents. Unfortunately I think the heat pump design or parts used are subpar. I have never had this issue in my tesla with the heat pump or my 2021 model 3 which did not have the newer heat pump. I essentially bought a car while its snowing in Colorado that never heats above 35 degrees in the cabin.

Update!
I took my vehicle into service and the heating issue was a leak as well as a lack of enough refrigerant. Apparently they’ve been filling it lower than needed for the new heat pump at the factory so a lot of 2025’s didn’t have enough refrigerant to run properly.
Second issue was clicking And knocking when I’d turn left only on drivers side front. The axel’s are being replaced in front as a known issue to wearing and tearing ultra fast on 2025 as the new axel system is a dual system so you have half axel’s instead of one in front one in back.
Last issue was the infotainment randomly rebooting while I was driving. They found the coolant to be low which is needed to aid in the smooth operation of the infotainment. All this was complete in 3 business days so I’d say that is super fast compared to what I am used to for other dealerships for other manufacturers. Ultimate I’m pleased with the service and the fix. Hopefully it resolved the issues fully.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Update!
I took my vehicle into service and the heating issue was a leak as well as a lack of enough refrigerant. Apparently they’ve been filling it lower than needed for the new heat pump at the factory so a lot of 2025’s didn’t have enough refrigerant to run properly.
Second issue was clicking And knocking when I’d turn left only on drivers side front. The axel’s are being replaced in front as a known issue to wearing and tearing ultra fast on 2025 as the new axel system is a dual system so you have half axel’s instead of one in front one in back.
Last issue was the infotainment randomly rebooting while I was driving. They found the coolant to be low which is needed to aid in the smooth operation of the infotainment. All this was complete in 3 business days so I’d say that is super fast compared to what I am used to for other dealerships for other manufacturers. Ultimate I’m pleased with the service and the fix. Hopefully it resolved the issues fully.

I'm glad they were able to diagnose and resolve your issues.

 

[bcerv8]

Update!
I took my vehicle into service and the heating issue was a leak as well as a lack of enough refrigerant. Apparently they’ve been filling it lower than needed for the new heat pump at the factory so a lot of 2025’s didn’t have enough refrigerant to run properly.
Second issue was clicking And knocking when I’d turn left only on drivers side front. The axel’s are being replaced in front as a known issue to wearing and tearing ultra fast on 2025 as the new axel system is a dual system so you have half axel’s instead of one in front one in back.
Last issue was the infotainment randomly rebooting while I was driving. They found the coolant to be low which is needed to aid in the smooth operation of the infotainment. All this was complete in 3 business days so I’d say that is super fast compared to what I am used to for other dealerships for other manufacturers. Ultimate I’m pleased with the service and the fix. Hopefully it resolved the issues fully.

I spoke too soon. All problems fixed but once the temp outside dropped below 60 the heater blows slightly warm air on hi, for 30-45 seconds then blows cool air for another 5 minutes, then switches back to warm air and repeats this process. I was driving for 45 minutes last night and that’s what happened. So now since we just picked it up from service yesterday with them cleaning the main AC line was blown so it was replaced, we are just showing up today to drop it off again. This is a bummer!

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