Recall remedy issued for headlamps / headlights issue in cold weather (2025 R1T / R1S)

[ACDC]

Headlamp Performance in Cold Weather

Rivian Automotive, LLC has decided that certain model year 2025 Rivian R1S and R1T vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 108 and Technical Standards Document (TSD) 108 - "Lamps, reflective devices, and assoc. equipment."

What Is the problem?

One or more headlamps, when operated in cold temperature conditions, may not illuminate at vehicle startup due to incorrectly configured parts from a supplier and may not fulfill the requirements of FMVSS 108 and TSD 108 -

"Lamps, reflective devices, and assoc. equipment." Diminished lighting performance may cause reduced visibility in certain conditions. Reduced visibility may increase the risk of a crash. Rivian is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this condition.

What will Rivian do?

Rivian will send notices to owners of all potentially affected vehicles via first-class mail. Owners will be asked to schedule an appointment to bring their vehicles to a Rivian Service Center to have it repaired. The recall service will be available at no cost to you.

What should you do?

You will receive a letter from Rivian with instructions on how to proceed. In the meantime, if your vehicle exhibits these signs, we encourage you to contact our service support team at 1-855-748-4265 to schedule an appointment.

If you have further questions, please call Rivian Service Support at 1-855-748-4265. For additional information please visit our Support Center.

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[mkg3]

I was hoping that this recall is to solve the ice/snow buildup on the headlamps while driving in snowy weather.

 

[NY_Rob]

I was hoping that this recall is to solve the ice/snow buildup on the headlamps while driving in snowy weather.

There is no (easy) remedy for that issue. Some vehicles have dedicated washer fluid squirters for their LED headlights which will melt ice/snow buildup. Some have suggested adding a heat filament to/over the headlight lens, if done by Rivian that would work to. IMO, Rivian is not working on either at this time. Hopefully they've taken complaints in to account when designing the R2 headlights.

 

[CO-rayman]

There is no (easy) remedy for that issue. Some vehicles have dedicated washer fluid squirters for their LED headlights which will melt ice/snow buildup. Some have suggested adding a heat filament to/over the headlight lens, if done by Rivian that would work to. IMO, Rivian is not working on either at this time. Hopefully they've taken complaints in to account when designing the R2 headlights.

I clear bra'd my headlights and ceramic coated them on top of that. It seemed to work better in snow storms by letting the ice build-up slide off. Nowhere as good as the squirters but better than nothing.

 

[mkg3]

Agree that it's not an easy fix. It's also not unique problem to Rivian. All LED lights run cooler and energy efficient (hence, high lumens and low wattage).

The industry probably needs to address this and one way, as an example, is to run hot wires - like rear window defogger - on the the lens. It just takes low voltage and not hot enough to yellow or damage the plastic lens.

 

[Dark-Fx]

All your posts are weird. It's okay to be critical of Rivian where it's deserved.

Drive well.

 

[NY_Rob]

Agree that it's not an easy fix. It's also not unique problem to Rivian. All LED lights run cooler and energy efficient (hence, high lumens and low wattage).

The industry probably needs to address this and one way, as an example, is to run hot wires - like rear window defogger - on the the lens. It just takes low voltage and not hot enough to yellow or damage the plastic lens.

Waaaay back in 2012 I had a Plug-In-Prius, it had LED headlamps which was kind of a novel thing 13 years ago. Toyota realized the low temp LED issue and addressed it by adding dedicated headlight squirters which pretty much solved the ice/snow buildup issue. That was 13 years ago, kind of sad that only a handful of manufacturers have acknowledged and addressed the issue being it was known as far back as 2012.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Waaaay back in 2012 I had a Plug-In-Prius, it had LED headlamps which was kind of a novel thing 13 years ago. Toyota realized the low temp LED issue and addressed it by adding dedicated headlight squirters which pretty much solved the ice/snow buildup issue. That was 13 years ago, kind of sad that only a handful of manufacturers have acknowledged and addressed the issue being it was known as far back as 2012.

My '21 launch polestar 2 had heated squirters, but they took it away for every other year. It did seem to help, but it was really wasteful as it wasn't optional when clearing the windshield. Dunno if that was just a volvo thing as it was my first volvo/polestar.

 

[LR4toR1S]

This recall was developed using my Gen 2 R1S after it broke OTW from delivery in December 2024. They kept it for a month. Details in my History. My journey has been pretty rough. Everything seems to be OK now after 10 months.


This is super old news. I am however glad my pain was able to help others. At the time I was told it was a bad chipset lot that failed QC that made it into the supply chain.


The adaptive lights actually fail when the chipset starts warming up after being in really really cold conditions. Either half the array fails, or the whole thing. They then randomly start working once the car equilibrates in much warmer temps.

 

[ahoover]

Porsche offers headlight washer nozzles to clear away snow/ice with windshield washer fluid. I can say they worked great in snow/ice conditions. Just a thought...

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