R1S Gen 2 Dual Max: Buy back program advice?

[SreyaColvard]

Just another data point - a friend has a 2018 tesla MX that he had multiple issues in the first two years of ownership - mostly software and had it in the shop perhaps a dozen times. However, my general experience is that Tesla software seems to be a bit more mature and bullet proof compared to Rivian. But then again R1 is more complex than the my early tesla's (2016 MX, 2018 M3)

This forum has had a few other R1's lemoned but as the poster mentioned all of the bad issues get posted with little positive experiences. This doesn't help you any but would be an interesting software engineering study to understand why a small percentage of complex vehicles get so many issues.

Your requirements for volume, utiliity, range, capability, cost, etc will be hard to find at the moment but I believe you will be taking a bit of risk with any other recent new model of EV even from legecy manufactures. Wtih any vehicle it is always good practice to wait a year or so before buying a new model - but in this day of SW defined stuff one or more SW updates help on fixing issues - assuming a solid hardware architecture integrated tightly with SW.
Interesting that VW group is paying Rivian 5.8B for their SW.

Very good considerations you point out. And we did check reviews of Volvo EX90 and some say service experience is a nightmare cos the dealer has no clue how to fix the issue.

Also, as you point out, I would love to understand why a small percentage of vehicles have a serious problems. I'd also like to know what % of Rivian have such issues as that may help assess our risk on the replacement option. What happens if the replacement is as bad or worse? Can we buy back again? We're going through a lot of unanswered questions but plan to ask during buy back.

I saw the other post about the person who's wife wants him to Lemon the Rivian. He lives in cold weather region unlike us and we have not had to face some of the cold weather impacts on EV living in California. His problems are severe and some overlap with us. The 12V battery failure happened twice for us. Because we knew about this on the forum the first thing we did was open one of the doors before the restart so we wouldn't get trapped. The second time they said it was a 12v recall and we never got the notification before the car died. We've also had that door not locking issue. It was quite strange. When we got the new car the maps froze (sales showed how to restart and it was fine) at the time of pickup but being new Rivian and EV owners we didn't pickup the issue until a few days later and right before our planned drive to Santa Barbara. The maps was the first issue and the software reset broke the camera software and it just never came back to normal. The cameras stopped working, maps stopped working, and the software would loop in self restart. Our new Rivian specifically had issues when parked at home and connected to our phone and WiFi..it would keep hooting and unlocking.

They fixed this by replacing the entire computer module. This issue was a hardware problem the software resets couldn't fix. Then the first issue with the 12V battery was when we were parked with the whole dog crew and about to head back from SF, the brake was hard and we called support and the reset caused the batter to die completely even though we had 149 miles prior to restart on our 400 mile range. The service guy said they also replaced the computer module (again) and sometimes the software updates break things in some of the Rivians.

My observations are that the software handles the profiles of my husband and myself very poorly. Sometimes it doesn't switch if I'm in the driver's seat. Sometimes it's very slow to wake even in warm weather and I act get my bookmarked locations to open quickly to head out. Unlock doesn't always work at home so I use the key card instead of the app.and that works right away. The app in particular has problems handling the two profiles simultaneously and even charging if both our phones are on the charging pad. The majority of our problems have stemmed from us both being in the car or in the range of the car at the same time and both our mobile apps active. Our driveway is very close to the house and it's where the charger is. Given the history of our issues I suspect this is a contributing factor for issues faced at home.

We plan to test drive Kia EV9 today. But you are right it doesn't compare with the capabilities Rivian offers and the dealer near has a stock of exactly 2 cars right now. It's pretty new so they don't know a lot about it. I doubt we will go back to Volvo at this point. Other options suggested to others who are about to Lemon such as Cadillac Escalade IQ and equivalent such as Hummer are too wide will not fit our current driveway where the charger is and we don't need that big of a car. Rivian is the perfect size and we could go a tad smaller to the EV9 size if it turns out a good option but it's pretty new and I don't know what it's going to be like. I appreciate your insights. Thank you!

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[ukyank]

Cult like devotion my ass, I don't see something that's a minor issue being some major world changing event. Many people here clearly haven't faced much adversity in their lives, as something as minor as their car camera not working is considered a major emergency. My rancor has little to do with Rivian and everything to do with not making a mountain out of a molehill.

When someone has posted a legitimate serious safety issue I have not questioned it or given them shit. There are many examples of this on this forum. I won't pretend minor issues are major just to pad people's egos.

Then I guess you didn’t actually read what they wrote & somehow concluded that Rivian would agree to do a buy back because a camera wasn’t working

 

[SkiLizardHead2]

Very good considerations you point out. And we did check reviews of Volvo EX90 and some say service experience is a nightmare cos the dealer has no clue how to fix the issue.

Also, as you point out, I would love to understand why a small percentage of vehicles have a serious problems. I'd also like to know what % of Rivian have such issues as that may help assess our risk on the replacement option. What happens if the replacement is as bad or worse? Can we buy back again? We're going through a lot of unanswered questions but plan to ask during buy back.

I saw the other post about the person who's wife wants him to Lemon the Rivian. He lives in cold weather region unlike us and we have not had to face some of the cold weather impacts on EV living in California. His problems are severe and some overlap with us. The 12V battery failure happened twice for us. Because we knew about this on the forum the first thing we did was open one of the doors before the restart so we wouldn't get trapped. The second time they said it was a 12v recall and we never got the notification before the car died. We've also had that door not locking issue. It was quite strange. When we got the new car the maps froze (sales showed how to restart and it was fine) at the time of pickup but being new Rivian and EV owners we didn't pickup the issue until a few days later and right before our planned drive to Santa Barbara. The maps was the first issue and the software reset broke the camera software and it just never came back to normal. The cameras stopped working, maps stopped working, and the software would loop in self restart. Our new Rivian specifically had issues when parked at home and connected to our phone and WiFi..it would keep hooting and unlocking.

They fixed this by replacing the entire computer module. This issue was a hardware problem the software resets couldn't fix. Then the first issue with the 12V battery was when we were parked with the whole dog crew and about to head back from SF, the brake was hard and we called support and the reset caused the batter to die completely even though we had 149 miles prior to restart on our 400 mile range. The service guy said they also replaced the computer module (again) and sometimes the software updates break things in some of the Rivians.

My observations are that the software handles the profiles of my husband and myself very poorly. Sometimes it doesn't switch if I'm in the driver's seat. Sometimes it's very slow to wake even in warm weather and I act get my bookmarked locations to open quickly to head out. Unlock doesn't always work at home so I use the key card instead of the app.and that works right away. The app in particular has problems handling the two profiles simultaneously and even charging if both our phones are on the charging pad. The majority of our problems have stemmed from us both being in the car or in the range of the car at the same time and both our mobile apps active. Our driveway is very close to the house and it's where the charger is. Given the history of our issues I suspect this is a contributing factor for issues faced at home.

We plan to test drive Kia EV9 today. But you are right it doesn't compare with the capabilities Rivian offers and the dealer near has a stock of exactly 2 cars right now. It's pretty new so they don't know a lot about it. I doubt we will go back to Volvo at this point. Other options suggested to others who are about to Lemon such as Cadillac Escalade IQ and equivalent such as Hummer are too wide will not fit our current driveway where the charger is and we don't need that big of a car. Rivian is the perfect size and we could go a tad smaller to the EV9 size if it turns out a good option but it's pretty new and I don't know what it's going to be like. I appreciate your insights. Thank you!

Some of the minor issues like the car getting confused between profiles from two cell phone keys happened to me months ago but SW updates fixed that. the most recent SW update 2025.18.30 or the one previous to that reset my access to Apple music and would not allow me access. Phone support had me reboot (which I did already) and when that did not fix the issue they scheduled me with mobile service and he showed me a quick and easy workaround that fixed apple music. I asked him why phone support did not mention the workaround - he indicated Rivian wanted to visit remote vins like me instead of towing to do the 12v battery recall - which was a manufacture issue I think. I really doubt another R1S will be lemoned. I really like mine and I have had EVs for 9yrs. I suggest if you decide on another R1S look for a recently manufactured VIN say in the last couple months. Do not get a Gen 2 VIN manufactured in 2024 - many early Gen 2 R!S had HVAC issues. i wish you success in what ever you do. Please let us know your decision and experience.

 

[LR4toR1S]

Who did you initiate your buyback through? I'm wanting to replace my R1S with one that is built better. Mine has been a nightmare. 2024 December, Gen2 R1S Dual Max.

 

[CampfireWisdom]

You got a Rivian for a reason and got unlucky. I’d roll the dice again… although I admit that I’m risk tolerant.

 

[SreyaColvard]

Some of the minor issues like the car getting confused between profiles from two cell phone keys happened to me months ago but SW updates fixed that. the most recent SW update 2025.18.30 or the one previous to that reset my access to Apple music and would not allow me access. Phone support had me reboot (which I did already) and when that did not fix the issue they scheduled me with mobile service and he showed me a quick and easy workaround that fixed apple music. I asked him why phone support did not mention the workaround - he indicated Rivian wanted to visit remote vins like me instead of towing to do the 12v battery recall - which was a manufacture issue I think. I really doubt another R1S will be lemoned. I really like mine and I have had EVs for 9yrs. I suggest if you decide on another R1S look for a recently manufactured VIN say in the last couple months. Do not get a Gen 2 VIN manufactured in 2024 - many early Gen 2 R!S had HVAC issues. i wish you success in what ever you do. Please let us know your decision and experience.

Thanks for sharing your experience. My understanding is the profile confusion issue leads to other computer module issues when it happens repeatedly and had to deal with proximity of two profile and also car parked in driveway. They had to tow ours to fix 12v issues cos it just died completely even though there were 149 miles on it and the trunk, glove box, and back wouldn't open.
That's a great tip on the 2025 Vin. Will ask about that once we progress through the buy back process.

We just test drove the EV9 and it's a very nice drive. It doesn't have the space like Rivian but there are pluses. Manual overrides and options like traditional cars will be a benefit and we won't have the issue of glove box or frunk not opening when everything dies which I hope it doesn't. It doesn't have a 400 mile range but we don't need that on a daily basis just when we drive out on trips. No strong rails to strap down down crates or other items. The screen is smaller and I don't think the maps are as robust but we have to do more research. They do have Android auto. They offered a very competitive lease and mark down. We were transparent with them on the Rivian buy back & replacement option and they are happy that we decided to test drive. The dealership experience was great and it's the same location for service. Very close to where we live.

My husband is leaning towards EV9. I'm still more attached to Rivian despite having freaked out with our problems starting the week we picked it up. Will keep you posted on what we decide. Thanks much! Appreciate all the data points and considerations.

 

[SreyaColvard]

FWIW, I have had three Rivians. My early vin Gen1 R1T, my wife had a Gen1 R1S that we traded in for a Gen2 R1S. I'm about 80k miles in on Rivians. So three anecdotes:

My R1T has had several minor things and one major issue happen over three years, which was the rear inverter dying and I became a sitting duck on the side of the road. They got me a tow directly to the SC and I was back on the road in less than a week. It sucked, it was stressful, it was also an extremely rare incident.

Neither R1S has had any real issues that hampered use. I actually don't remember if the first one had any real issues. The second one's only real issue so far was the air compressor hose got pinched beneath the frame at the factor and didn't work on delivery. It has a couple of interior rattles when on specific rough roads that we are getting addressed this month, which is one year after taking delivery.


They have a lot to work on with service and reliability. However, the vast majority of the reliability issues I've seen among a very large network of friends and acquaintances with R1 vehicles has been tied to the suspension and quad motor half shafts.

I know a few people who had early Vin Gen1 vehicles that ended up doing a buyback, and they all stayed with Rivian and as far as I can recall, none of them have had any real issues with their second vehicle. Other than a giant tree fell on one of them, the truck survived, has been repaired, and is back in his hands.

Getting stranded sucks. It's emotionally tiring. I wouldn't blame you at all for moving on to another vehicle entirely. I'm not trying to convince you into getting another R1. But I figured I'd share someone else's experience while you're considering a straight swap.


If you do, I would really caution you against getting an EX90 if you're considering it. I know of a few people who have one and they have all had a shit experience. Like, getting stranded, getting locked out, being unable to charge properly, it's all over the place. Everyone says that people go to forums to complain, which is true, but there is usually some balance (maybe like 80/20 complainers?). Check out the EX90 subreddit. It's a disaster.
https://www.reddit.com/r/VolvoEX90/

Thanks for sharing your experience with 3 Rivains. Wow.

We are no longer considering the Ex90. It was the only other option in Dec 2024 when we picked Rivian over it because they had no inventory, the lease and trade in offer was terrible, and the dealership knew nothing about the car to show off to us. Rivain's sales had been far superior and we were blown off with the rest drive. Hence we picked Rivian. As I said it's a great car and has everything we want. We don't love not having manual options to open things like the glove box, frunk or the back and it's very disappointing we're at this point of buy back in 6 months and multiple tows.

The only option we're considering right now is the EV9. Not as spacious,.doesn't have 400 mile range, and doesn't have dog mode, and the cool Rivian feature, but it drives nicely and will work for the majority of our needs.

We plan to do some more research. But the dealership is very close by and extremely nice. They've given us a competitive lease with no mark ups. So it's an option and my husband is leaning towards it more than me. The three row option gives enough space for our dog crates and has AC in the back for them.

So not EX90, but we will decide between a replacement Rivian and EV9. I know it's not close to Rivians capabilities but has it's pros and cons. Thanks for sharing your experience! Appreciate it.

 

[HaveBlue]

Sounds like you have option in the EV9. I think there are some software issues (niggles) with them as well. Read up on them so you are familiar with possible issues beforehand.

One other thing to consider if you decide to give Rivian another shot is if you have issues with the replacement, will Rivian allow another buyback. That's an important question. If the answer is no, you shouldn't consider being in a worse position than you are now. A replacement won't resolve some of the annoyances like phone as a key not working well, since pretty much everyone has that issue. The serious drive failures where the car is unusable is completely unacceptable though. Also if you stay, this forum has a handy block feature to filter combative responses.

Best of luck whatever your choice is.

 

[SkiLizardHead2]

Thanks for sharing your experience with 3 Rivains. Wow.

We are no longer considering the Ex90. It was the only other option in Dec 2024 when we picked Rivian over it because they had no inventory, the lease and trade in offer was terrible, and the dealership knew nothing about the car to show off to us. Rivain's sales had been far superior and we were blown off with the rest drive. Hence we picked Rivian. As I said it's a great car and has everything we want. We don't love not having manual options to open things like the glove box, frunk or the back and it's very disappointing we're at this point of buy back in 6 months and multiple tows.

The only option we're considering right now is the EV9. Not as spacious,.doesn't have 400 mile range, and doesn't have dog mode, and the cool Rivian feature, but it drives nicely and will work for the majority of our needs.

We plan to do some more research. But the dealership is very close by and extremely nice. They've given us a competitive lease with no mark ups. So it's an option and my husband is leaning towards it more than me. The three row option gives enough space for our dog crates and has AC in the back for them.

So not EX90, but we will decide between a replacement Rivian and EV9. I know it's not close to Rivians capabilities but has it's pros and cons. Thanks for sharing your experience! Appreciate it.

HaveBlue has a great tip asking Rivian if another R1S has major reoccuring issues will they buy it back? I think you are in the "driver seat" with Rivian - if they want to retain you as a customer and sharing your positive experience online as how Rivian resolved this issue.

You are obviously very methodical and data driven in making a major decision. Be careful with sales folks in dealerships. Instead checkout the forums for the other car options you are looking at and as you know check out the service department, which I am sure you are doing.

Best of Luck in whatever you do!

 

[BTOR]

Yes we are just starting the buy back process. The email they sent us after evaluating our case mentions replacement and we are considering that option. This is why I made this post. We do love the car and the features. It's just been a very disappointing and stressful new car experience until now which makes us hesitate to take a replacement. It's hard to say how many of their cars are just badly quality and which one we will end up with.

It's encouraging to o learn about your positive experience with Rivian.. When I look at posts on this forum , the frequency of similar issues or serious issues seems high.

The first time the new Rivian stalled before our winter trip to Santa Barbara we had a terrible support experience they wouldn't consider that a new car wasn't working. So we had to escalate..they took the car and gave us a replacement Gen 1. We didn't have the app tied to it and just used the key card. We didn't run into a single glitch and charged in various places along the way. That actually gave us confidence at first.

But our Gen 2 has had one problem after another each time needing a major fix such as the computer module needing replacement in addition to the 12 v battery issue. That says something when it happens multiple times in the first six months of purchase. Rivian have done their bit to give us Uber credits and refund the first month lease because the car wasn't even with us the first month after going to service in the first week itself. It does seem Rivian is draining cash big time. But are they really watching quality? A lot of the other comments seem skeptical about build quality. We are as well and while the replacement seems tempting, we're not confident the quality of the new one will be solid.

It helps to hear about your positive experience. Thanks!

Hello, first off I’d like to say I’m very empathetic to your situation and I’m sorry you’re having to go through such headaches. I can’t imagine how frustrating it is for you and your family.

Having said that, I vote for you taking another swing with Rivian and go for a replacement. I think the percentage of vehicles that have major issues is very low. We’ve had similar issues to yours with other new vehicles. One was even a Toyota Prius. It was really a headache to deal with. But once we got through the initial issues, the cars became more reliable..

I own a 2025 R1S. I have just over 8000 miles. I bought it about a year ago. I have not had any issues. There are several in our neighborhood. I’ve spoke with the owners and their experience has been similar to mine. I really think the odds of you getting a replacement vehicle with the same level of issues is unlikely.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Mathme]

The OP said she purchased her Gen 2 in December so she may have had an early build. I typically avoid buying an any new model during the first year it has been released as there are always bugs to be shaken out of them. Overall I'd say Rivians have their quirks and issues ... like any other car out there and as a new company, Rivian may have more of then than others.

That being said, Rivian has well about 150k vehicles out there and I'd hazard to guess that more of them than not are fine (mine has over 27k miles on it and I don't doubt it's ability to get me where I need to go). You may want to try a completely different vehicle and you may have a completely different experience.

 

[AndreC]

I didn't sift through all the comments BUT, I'd say go for replacement, what are the odds of getting another bad one? Plus once you drive a Riv, it's hard to go back. I got mine in Jan and it's currently at SC, again. That's twice. The 1st time it was in for 16days or so, we'll see this time. It's in for sensor issues (I think it's the sensor module not sensors but I digress) 1st time I got an R1t like mine as loaner, although a gen 1. The Gen 2 is much better and it took me a bit to get used to it, this time I got a 4runner because they did not have any R1s to lend. Boy.... what a difference, My R1t is SUPERIOR in EVERY way imaginable, from comfort to acceleration to visibility and features. In no way are they similar, well they both have doors, wheels and seats, that's about it.
All this to say, even with the issues I've had, I would NOT get a different vehicle, not a tesla, not a Volvo, not a GM, not a ford or any other ev. And over everything else not any ICE veh either!! (BTW I come from driving nothing but Lexus for the last 9years so I'm service spoiled)
Just as an aside, 4runner cost to drive 350mi $65. Cost for my R1t to drive over 350mi, even if I charge at a supercharger at peak time, $50 max. TBH, I'm overestimating, I've never paid mote than $43. I usually charge in the am so $20-23.

KEEP WITH RIVIAN...

 

[HaveBlue]

If only the Rivian had Toyota reliability we'd be set!

 

[AndreC]

If only the Rivian had Toyota reliability we'd be set!

That would be great but in all honesty, Toyota has had roughly 88 years to get it right...

 

[Donald Stanfield]

If only the Rivian had Toyota reliability we'd be set!

That's never going to happen because Rivian wants to push the envelope of innovation and tech. Doing that makes being reliable very difficult. It's not realistic to have both ends of the spectrum.

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