Rivian vehicles continue having issues with their headlights. You may recall that the company has to issue an over-the-air update to resolve a software issue that was causing some vehicles’ exterior illumination to fail. But there have likewise been some mechanical problems pertaining to cold weather, with the latest issue forcing a recall of roughly 17,000 examples of the Rivian R1S and R1T.
The most-recent problem stems from the automaker’s headlight supplier OPmobility. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the units were manufactured incorrectly and may not even work once the weather gets cold enough. This is obviously a violation of the Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standards and places the vehicles out of regulatory compliance — requiring a recall.
It’s not exactly clear why Rivian keeps having issues with its headlamps. But, in addition to the software problem we originally mentioned, the company has had problems with the headlight leveling sensor and even shipped its initial batch of vehicles with lamps that couldn’t get warm enough to melt any snow that accumulated on them.
That latter issue is more of a problem with modern LEDs (the bright blue-white lights that blind you on modern vehicles) because they don’t produce nearly as much warmth as older halogen bulbs. However, ice accumulation can also be mitigated or exacerbated by vehicle design. Take for example, Tesla’s Cybertruck. The headlamps on the all-electric pickup are situated directly above the front bumper, which serves as a shelf to catch falling snow.
Rivian owners have been issuing similar complaints, noting that the vehicle’s flat face tends to catch particularly wet snow that will then accumulate around the headlamps.
But that’s not the case this time. The 17,260 vehicles being recalled by Rivian just seem to have been shipped some duds put together by OPmobility, which were then installed into vehicles between April 29th, 2024, and February 3rd, 2025. Based on the recall report, it’s estimated that about 2,905 vehicles are suffering from defective headlamps — or about 8 percent of the total.
While owners of the impacted vehicles will need to check to see if their R1T or R1S was built within the relevant timeframe, there will be no guessing once the failure manifests itself. The vehicle (in most cases) will issue a warning via the display stating “Low beam lights not working. Service low beams soon.”
The problem can allegedly only manifest in cold weather (typically during startup) and may not take out both headlamps at once. Reports stipulate that it’s possible to have one headlamp go out while another remains active.
Rivian has said that it will replace the headlamp control modules on impacted vehicles. It will also reimburse drivers for “previous out-of-pocket repairs according to the plan submitted to the agency on May 10, 2022; however, systems affected by this recall are covered under Rivian’s new vehicle limited warranties.”
Owners will be informed by mail before the end of March. However, concerned parties can certainly contact the manufacturer directly (888-748-4261) or head over to the NHTSA recall website and lookup their model using the VIN. For reference, the agency’s recall campaign code is 25V-085. Rivian’s number for this recall is FSAM-1612.
[Images: Rivian]
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