Regenerative Braking Too Strong: Dealbreaker for Me?

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

For daily driving, regardless of traffic, strong regen gives confidence that you will slow in time to stop. It’s over 7k lbs. The strong regen is also necessary to counter momentum. Keep open mind, make effort to adapt, and you will get used to it. Within a week, you will become a smooth operator and laugh at yourself for making a big deal of it.

Low regen is preferred for open road spirited driving (winding canyon roads in sport mode, for example) where you want to carry more momentum, have more manual control of speed and weight transfer through actual braking, from corner to corner.

Any new car that is unfamiliar to you, if you expect it to be a carbon copy of your old car, your head is in the wrong place.

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[bfilippo]

I actually find myself wishing it was stronger. My R1T Dual only has low and regular settings for regen, and the regular isn’t as strong as my Tesla MYLR that I’ve become accustomed to.

 

[josh0]

The regenerative braking concerned us when we first started driving our new R1T about a year and a half ago. We had never owned or driven an EV before. We originally set it on low to become accustomed to the one pedal driving (OPD) feature. Within a day or two we had become used to OPD and set the regen up to the high level. OPD has become our favorite feature in our Rivian. Once you get the feel for it, you will be hooked.

We have also found that switching back and forth between the Rivian and our Silverado Diesel pick-up truck is seamless. Going from OPD to old school is a piece of cake.

Brian

I found the same thing, and it surprised me. After I got my R1T, it was months before I got behind the wheel of anything else, and I was a little worried I might have trouble switching back, but I guess 25 years of experience is pretty strong…

 

[Glembi2]

One day of off road driving and I’m never going back. OPD is SO much easier than two pedal driving.

 

[MATTELSEWHERE]

I’ve been really impressed with the R1S and recently got to take my neighbor’s 2025 model for a spin around the neighborhood. One thing that really stood out was the regenerative braking—it’s extremely powerful. Even on the lowest setting, every time the car came to a stop, it felt like I was getting pushed forward in my seat.

I’m concerned about how this would feel in stop-and-go traffic, especially with my wife driving and our baby in the back. I honestly think the constant strong braking could make the baby uncomfortable or even sick. This is a major reason I’m hesitating on getting a Rivian right now.

I’ve read a lot of similar complaints online and seen YouTube videos where people mention the same issue. So, is there any way to fully disable regenerative braking? Do you think Rivian might offer the option to turn it off in the future? This is something that’s really holding me back from pulling the trigger.

So I remember it feeling very weird when I test drove my first EV but within a couple days of driving, I found that I loved it - to the point that when we were shopping for our other car, we didn’t buy an Audi because it didn’t have strong regen or true one pedal driving. If you are still not sure, I would rent a Rivian for a week off Turo so you have time to get used to it and give it a fair chance (assuming this is your biggest concern for purchasing).

 

[Franksmartin]

Within a day you will love it. Using 2 pedals seems so complicated to me now.

 

[Cavalryscout18]

I love the strong regen. It’s designed to stop a 7,000 pound car. I have a Tesla and that has a weaker regen so always annoyed that I overestimate the regen and have to use my pedal. But I can see how some people may feel it is strong at first. You’ll get used to it. Just ease off the pedal more gradually.

 

[docwhiz]

I definitely disliked it after my test drive, especially coming from a Ford EV where they use blended regen brakes for a more regular 2-pedal drive (maybe go give one of those a try for comparison). I would still very much prefer lower settings (and an off one for certain situations), I don't know if that will ever happen. That said, I did get used to feathering the throttle as you come to a stop so it is much more "normal".

One pedal driving is the best.
I almost never use the brakes.
It's easy to learn to feather the pedal to come to a smooth stop.
You're probably used to ICE cars where you take your foot off the go pedal completely and put it on the brake. Just keep your foot on the go pedal and lift it slowly to stop. You'll quickly learn.

 

[zjl19902003]

Put it on snow mode then you will be able to change the regeneration to low which is really weak. That may wear up your break sooner though.

 

[Feetdry]

For this 81-year-old and driving 5,000 miles per month for many years, I purchased my R1T and never gave a thought about the 1 peddle driving. It was so easy to get used to and I used to think about how it saves on the brakes. As someone who drove that much, I got used to using my CC 90 percent of my driving. So now I really like the adaptive CC in my R1T because I can just set a speed and take my foot off the accelerator and brake pedal completely. In stop and go traffic it will stop and restart and resume to the set speed all on its own. (It's fun to watch others on the interstate struggle with stop and go driving).



















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[MidnightRivian]

One tip I would say is learn to feather the acceleration pedal similar to how you would feather a clutch for more smoother shifter / driving experience.

 

[SRO]

I’ve been really impressed with the R1S and recently got to take my neighbor’s 2025 model for a spin around the neighborhood. One thing that really stood out was the regenerative braking—it’s extremely powerful. Even on the lowest setting, every time the car came to a stop, it felt like I was getting pushed forward in my seat.

I’m concerned about how this would feel in stop-and-go traffic, especially with my wife driving and our baby in the back. I honestly think the constant strong braking could make the baby uncomfortable or even sick. This is a major reason I’m hesitating on getting a Rivian right now.

I’ve read a lot of similar complaints online and seen YouTube videos where people mention the same issue. So, is there any way to fully disable regenerative braking? Do you think Rivian might offer the option to turn it off in the future? This is something that’s really holding me back from pulling the trigger.

I love it, I’ve been using rege since 2017. At first I would time it and totally release the gas pedal to stop where I wanted. But after about 50 miles of driving I just feathered the gas pedal. It got natural very quick. I guess I should call it a KW pedal. My wife’s EV6, at max regen, is too light and I use my brakes a bit more. Probably because I’m so used to my Rivian.

 

[malditofman]

I’ve been really impressed with the R1S and recently got to take my neighbor’s 2025 model for a spin around the neighborhood. One thing that really stood out was the regenerative braking—it’s extremely powerful. Even on the lowest setting, every time the car came to a stop, it felt like I was getting pushed forward in my seat.

I’m concerned about how this would feel in stop-and-go traffic, especially with my wife driving and our baby in the back. I honestly think the constant strong braking could make the baby uncomfortable or even sick. This is a major reason I’m hesitating on getting a Rivian right now.

I’ve read a lot of similar complaints online and seen YouTube videos where people mention the same issue. So, is there any way to fully disable regenerative braking? Do you think Rivian might offer the option to turn it off in the future? This is something that’s really holding me back from pulling the trigger.

It's one of the differences in EV vs ICE. It recovers braking energy back into the battery. Most people adapt to it just fine. Test drive other EVs like Model Y, EV9, and Mustang Mach E. See how they deliver regen braking and if it's much different than R1S. Buy what feels best to you. But note that the R1S is very much loved by many thousands of drivers. Drive well.

 

[Captain JB]

If the normal setting is too strong, merely select “SNOW” setting and it does a bit less regen braking and is smoother. We use that around town and it is nice.

 

[docwhiz]

Bottom line: You get used to it within a day or two and then it's awesome.

Explanation for why that is the case with Rivian:
It's very complicated to make a braking system (Fly by wire) that has the ability to take advantage of regen when the brake pedal is pressed. I Own an iX and that car is amazing when it comes to braking(Drivetrain in general is one of the best in the EV industry), they have various modes of regen and assisted driving, including changes to the regen on the fly, based on road conditions and traffic.
You can press the brake pedal half way and it still only uses regen sometimes.
Rivian can do that too, but it's easier to make a primitive pedal that connects to a plunger that presses the brakes when you hit the pedal, rather then a system that's going to use computers to take advantage of regen when pressing the brakes, then blend in friction brakes when needed. So to take advantage of the regen capabilities, Rivian had to use the throttle, because their braking system engages the friction brakes as soon as you move the pedal.

Don't use the brake pedal.

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