Rivian has announced a recall involving 5,140 of its 2025 R1T pickups and R1S SUVs in Canada and the US. The issue stems from a glitch in their Halloween software update when the “Car Costume” feature was activated. Even though the company has already fixed the issue through an over-the-air (OTA) software update, the recall notice was necessary under US federal law.
According to the recall notice posted to the Transport Canada and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) websites, the problem originated with Rivian’s OTA software update 2024.39.30, first released on October 15, 2024. This update included a “Car Costume” feature, allowing owners to transform their vehicle interfaces into themes inspired by iconic pop culture cars, like KITT from Knight Rider or the DeLorean from the Back To The Future movie series.
However, shortly after its release, the “Car Costume” feature was remotely deactivated on October 18. The company didn’t announce why it was pulled, only saying it was a temporary move.
We're temporarily pausing car costumes on Gen 2. We will make them available again as soon as possible. Rest of Halloween in-car features still in.
— Wassym Bensaid (@WassymBensaid) October 18, 2024
Now thanks to the recall notice, we know it was because of an issue with exterior lights. Rivian says that when the feature was activated after the vehicle entered its “Ready” state, exterior lights, such as headlights and taillights, might fail to illuminate, posing a potential safety risk.
One day later, on October 19, the company released an updated software patch (2024.39.31) to correct the issue and reinstate the Car Costume feature.
While Rivian was able to quickly fix all impacted vehicles remotely, federal regulations require manufacturers to formally notify owners of safety recalls, even ones that are completed via an OTA software update. Despite the fix already being implemented in mid-October, Rivian will have to send paper recall notices to affected owners by December 18, 2024, highlighting the need for change to the NHTSA’s antiquated regulations.
Fortunately in Canada, affected Rivian owners were notified by email.
You can read the full NHTSA recall notice below, or read the Transport Canada recall here.
