Parking brake malfunction

[Robin]

I’m posting this while in a tow truck with my month old R1t on the back on our way from Long Beach, Washington to the service center in Tualatin, Oregon.

The truck has less than 1000 miles on it. We were cruising around Long Beach yesterday enjoying the weekend and we were in heavy traffic on the main 2 lane road through town when a warning light flashed saying there was a parking brake malfunction and to service immediately. By the time I read that warning, then stopped for traffic in front of me about 10 seconds later I felt the wheels lock up (rear I’m assuming) just as I was coming to a stop. Truck then went in to park and would not shift out of park.

I was now blocking traffic, so we called Rivian service while I tried a hard reset, and my wife called police to let them know we were stuck in the road. Hard reset did not solve the problem, still stuck. Rivian service answered right away and said if the hard reset did not work we would need a tow, so she started working on getting a tow truck.

I went in to the settings and tried to put it in tow mode to release the parking brake so we could push it out of traffic, but each time I tried it would indicate tow mode was active and start counting down the timer for 15 minutes, but 2-3 seconds later it would deactivate and definitely could not push the car.

Police showed up and started directing the traffic jam we were causing. With no other option at that point I just started messing with other settings hoping something would change. I was in sport mode at lowest ride height so I changed to all purpose standard and went back to try tow mode and to my surprise it worked that time! I felt a little roll when I tried to push, so some good Samaritans came over and pushed while I steered it on to a side street and a parking space.

I still had some warning lights on but at that point I was able to shift back in to drive and get back to the house we were staying at. Rivian service had me try another hard reset followed by a sleep cycle to see if the errors cleared but when I woke it up the errors were still there and again it would not go in to drive. After changing ride height settings a few more times I was able to get in to drive again but we decided it definitely needed a tow at that point.

So I just wanted to share my experience in case it happens to someone else. Very embarrassing but no one was hurt. Unfortunately there are no local rental car agencies open for the holiday weekend so I have to get to the Portland airport to get my rental, then drive back to pick up my family of 4 plus dog, then drive back to Eugene.

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[Scottm]

Update: Well, things were good for a month but I am now getting an error again, “Service Park Brake System Immediately.” So far I have still been able to drive the truck and it seems to happen randomly when I’m slowing down and close to stopping, but it’s not reproducible. The error goes away after a bit. Rivian service had me do some hard resets but it happened again, so it looks like I’ll need another service visit. Hopefully it doesn’t lock up in the middle of the road while I’m driving before I get it into the service center.

 

[sjg]

Update: Well, things were good for a month but I am now getting an error again, “Service Park Brake System Immediately.” So far I have still been able to drive the truck and it seems to happen randomly when I’m slowing down and close to stopping, but it’s not reproducible. The error goes away after a bit. Rivian service had me do some hard resets but it happened again, so it looks like I’ll need another service visit. Hopefully it doesn’t lock up in the middle of the road while I’m driving before I get it into the service center.

Did you have a follow up service visit? I ask because my R1T is currently at the Austin, TX service center for the exact same issue. It was towed there about 5 days ago. They said that the vehicle is no longer exhibiting this behavior but they wanted to run it by "engineering" before they release it back to me. Unfortunately, they could not provide any timeline for engineering to review the data. I was told it could be multiple days before I hear anything.

Based on your experience with this issue, are there any questions I should be asking the service center?

 

[evhelphub]

Following this. I hope both of you get the issue resolved.

 

[Scottm]

Did you have a follow up service visit? I ask because my R1T is currently at the Austin, TX service center for the exact same issue. It was towed there about 5 days ago. They said that the vehicle is no longer exhibiting this behavior but they wanted to run it by "engineering" before they release it back to me. Unfortunately, they could not provide any timeline for engineering to review the data. I was told it could be multiple days before I hear anything.

Based on your experience with this issue, are there any questions I should be asking the service center?

My official cause the second time was reported as “Soft-set connector in Electric Parking Brake circuit”. They were initially going to replace a caliper and a wiring harness but I think they ended up just fixing the bad connection. No problems since then, another 1000 miles on the odometer. Fingers crossed!

 

[HYH315]

I’m posting this while in a tow truck with my month old R1t on the back on our way from Long Beach, Washington to the service center in Tualatin, Oregon.

The truck has less than 1000 miles on it. We were cruising around Long Beach yesterday enjoying the weekend and we were in heavy traffic on the main 2 lane road through town when a warning light flashed saying there was a parking brake malfunction and to service immediately. By the time I read that warning, then stopped for traffic in front of me about 10 seconds later I felt the wheels lock up (rear I’m assuming) just as I was coming to a stop. Truck then went in to park and would not shift out of park.

I was now blocking traffic, so we called Rivian service while I tried a hard reset, and my wife called police to let them know we were stuck in the road. Hard reset did not solve the problem, still stuck. Rivian service answered right away and said if the hard reset did not work we would need a tow, so she started working on getting a tow truck.

I went in to the settings and tried to put it in tow mode to release the parking brake so we could push it out of traffic, but each time I tried it would indicate tow mode was active and start counting down the timer for 15 minutes, but 2-3 seconds later it would deactivate and definitely could not push the car.

Police showed up and started directing the traffic jam we were causing. With no other option at that point I just started messing with other settings hoping something would change. I was in sport mode at lowest ride height so I changed to all purpose standard and went back to try tow mode and to my surprise it worked that time! I felt a little roll when I tried to push, so some good Samaritans came over and pushed while I steered it on to a side street and a parking space.

I still had some warning lights on but at that point I was able to shift back in to drive and get back to the house we were staying at. Rivian service had me try another hard reset followed by a sleep cycle to see if the errors cleared but when I woke it up the errors were still there and again it would not go in to drive. After changing ride height settings a few more times I was able to get in to drive again but we decided it definitely needed a tow at that point.

So I just wanted to share my experience in case it happens to someone else. Very embarrassing but no one was hurt. Unfortunately there are no local rental car agencies open for the holiday weekend so I have to get to the Portland airport to get my rental, then drive back to pick up my family of 4 plus dog, then drive back to Eugene.

This just happened to me twice. First, both of my screens went blank and would only turn on when I put the truck in gear. When the dash screen would show, the battery life would say 0% which wasn't accurate and the none of the music/media would play through the speakers - the truck would still drive though. They had my truck towed into service where they said it just needed a simple firmware update - update was done and the truck was operating normally for about 2 weeks, when the "SERVICE PARK BRAKE SYSTEM IMMEDIATELY" message came up on my screen and the truck completely locked up. It happened when I was going from reverse back into drive while trying to park my truck in my garage. No matter how many vehicle and computer resets I performed, I couldn't get rid of the error and the truck WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF PARK - couldn't even put it in tow mode or Neutral. I was in a very narrow alleyway and ended up blocking it and my neighbors for over 5 hours while we waited for 3 different towing companies to try and get the truck out - each flatbed was too big to come down the alleyway.

Truck was diagnosed with a "internal electrical failure of the stability control module" and that module was removed and replaced with a new one.

I picked up the truck yesterday and after trying to park her back in my garage ... IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!! Same scenario - was trying to go from reverse back into drive and then she locked up. This time, all of the warning lights came up one by one and my dash screen lit up light a Christmas tree. The other errors eventually went away after I tried resetting the truck and only the "SERVICE PARK BRAKE SYSTEM IMMEDIATELY" warning remained. Went through the entire ordeal over again and had the truck towed back into Rivian service. I spoke to a manager at the service center and asked if they even test drove the truck after deeming the issue "fixed" and they said the did. They said this time, they will get their engineering team involved and will do an "extended test drive" to make sure they can fix the issue.

I asked about deeming the truck a lemon as this is a MAJOR safety concern as I have a 2yr old daughter. I can't even imagine this happening to us while we're on a freeway/highway or out in the middle of nowhere adventuring. The service manager said that they could start the return/buyback paperwork at any time, but that corporate would be the ones to approve it. Note that the buyback does not cover the money you may have paid to tint the windows, wrap the truck (like mine), etc.

Has anyone else had to have the conversation around lemoning their truck???

I've had my truck for a little over a year and have around 13k miles on her and haven't had any issues up until now. We love our truck and preach to the choir about how awesome it is whenever anyone asks about it. Really feel bad about this situation I'm in

 

[dleepnw]

sorry to hear that happened. i had a brake system malfunction and then it limited me to turtle mode so it wasn't as bad as what you experienced as i was able to still drive it home. when i called Rivian they told me i should have it towed, which i did. it turned out to be a sensor issue. i had just picked up the vehicle from the service center for wheel alignment and rotation so they could have possibly damaged or inadvertently done something to the sensor.

my guess is some of these issues were seeing are sensor related as opposed to an physical/mechanical issue. not so say yours is a sensor issue but some are. on one hand its great they have so many sensors and that they tend to "overreact" to be on the safe side, but on the other hand there are probably some false positives that occur because of that. im sure they will dial that in over time to be more accurate.

 

[Scottm]

Sorry that happened. Trust me I know how much it sucks. The same thoughts were going through my head the second time it happened. FWIW, since they fixed my “soft set connector” problem I have had zero issues and we’re getting close to six months out. I bet they will get it right this time.

 

[HaveBlue]

Don't feel bad. All the people behind me were pissed today because the car refused to go more than 20mph. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to limit the speed of the car if the suspension is higher than standard?

 

[Riviot]

I asked about deeming the truck a lemon as this is a MAJOR safety concern as I have a 2yr old daughter. I can't even imagine this happening to us while we're on a freeway/highway

Does the Lemon law in your state mention children and their age? I'm surprised you didn't try the same reverse/forward motion when you picked it up. There must be something unique about either you or your driveway to make it freak out like this

I hope you aren't trying to put the truck in reverse on the highway, if so there are bigger problems to deal with...

 

[Carscott]

Hi PDM 2024 R1S now has this exact issue.

Is the OP got a quad? Any of these dual motors?

 

[shipdriver]

ME TOO!!
There may be other similar threads but I’ve just experienced the OP’s scenario in a less impactful set of circumstances and got home and safely parked yesterday. My introduction to this issue was on the interstate at speed with first the loss of ACC, then the caution that “Hold” was no longer available (use brakes), and then the warning “Driving Disabled Service Park Brake System” over a period of about 10-15 minutes. After home, multiple resets were unhelpful, stuck in Park for now. Even after receiving the 2025.18.01.

Submitted a ticket using the Artificially Intelligent feature of the app. Remotely located so it scheduled a mobile service appointment three weeks out! Expected a call, but none yet. Will be on the phone with Roadside Assistance this morning.

 

[Scottm]

Yes definitely call them. They were very proactive about getting mine fixed quickly. If you need to move it I had luck getting it to go into drive mode after messing with the ride height settings and drive modes. It was hit or miss but we were able to drive it up onto the tow truck and back off at the service center instead of dragging it. And it was eventually found to be a “soft set connection” somewhere, so hopefully that’s all it is in your case. I’m now two years out from this issue and that has been my only major problem with the truck. Good luck.

 

[Carscott]

Please stick your head under the rear wheels. Look at the back of the rear calliper. Look for a black wire that goes to the rear calliper. The fittings are blue. If the fitting has come loose reconnect and problem will be solved.

At least in my case.

I’m posting this while in a tow truck with my month old R1t on the back on our way from Long Beach, Washington to the service center in Tualatin, Oregon.

The truck has less than 1000 miles on it. We were cruising around Long Beach yesterday enjoying the weekend and we were in heavy traffic on the main 2 lane road through town when a warning light flashed saying there was a parking brake malfunction and to service immediately. By the time I read that warning, then stopped for traffic in front of me about 10 seconds later I felt the wheels lock up (rear I’m assuming) just as I was coming to a stop. Truck then went in to park and would not shift out of park.

I was now blocking traffic, so we called Rivian service while I tried a hard reset, and my wife called police to let them know we were stuck in the road. Hard reset did not solve the problem, still stuck. Rivian service answered right away and said if the hard reset did not work we would need a tow, so she started working on getting a tow truck.

I went in to the settings and tried to put it in tow mode to release the parking brake so we could push it out of traffic, but each time I tried it would indicate tow mode was active and start counting down the timer for 15 minutes, but 2-3 seconds later it would deactivate and definitely could not push the car.

Police showed up and started directing the traffic jam we were causing. With no other option at that point I just started messing with other settings hoping something would change. I was in sport mode at lowest ride height so I changed to all purpose standard and went back to try tow mode and to my surprise it worked that time! I felt a little roll when I tried to push, so some good Samaritans came over and pushed while I steered it on to a side street and a parking space.

I still had some warning lights on but at that point I was able to shift back in to drive and get back to the house we were staying at. Rivian service had me try another hard reset followed by a sleep cycle to see if the errors cleared but when I woke it up the errors were still there and again it would not go in to drive. After changing ride height settings a few more times I was able to get in to drive again but we decided it definitely needed a tow at that point.

So I just wanted to share my experience in case it happens to someone else. Very embarrassing but no one was hurt. Unfortunately there are no local rental car agencies open for the holiday weekend so I have to get to the Portland airport to get my rental, then drive back to pick up my family of 4 plus dog, then drive back to Eugene.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

@Scottm: I'm sorry your stay in Pacific County didn't go well.

I'm not surprised people in Long Beach (Washington) helped you. That's been my experience in this area -- lots of small-town helpfulness, even (or maybe especially) in the "tourist town" neighborhood of downtown Long Beach. Excellent police department too.

I was surprised to see the tow truck was from Jerry's Automotive in Olympia -- about 110 miles away. Maybe Rivian's tow network is pretty narrow. There are very good tow companies locally on the Long Beach Peninsula, part of the AAA tow network but apparently not part of Rivian's.

Glad you made it home safely!

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