Rivian Campaign Addresses Ground Connection That Can Prevent R1T and R1S From Starting or Shifting

Rivian has launched a Customer Satisfaction Campaign for certain 2025 R1T and R1S vehicles that may have a loose or cross-threaded electrical ground connection inside the instrument panel.

Rivian campaign RCA-78-26-001-1 addresses an instrument panel ground nut that may not be properly secured.

According to Rivian, an affected vehicle may not turn on, may not shift into Drive or Reverse, or may display multiple fault indicator lights on the driver display.

The repair depends on what technicians find during inspection. Rivian may replace the ground nut, repair or replace the ground stud, or, in the most involved repair path, replace the instrument panel beam.

The campaign applies to certain 2025 R1T and R1S vehicles built approximately between October 2024 and April 2025.

What Is the Problem?

The issue involves an electrical ground connection located inside the instrument panel.

Rivian says the ground nut on certain vehicles may be loose or cross-threaded.

Electrical grounds are an important part of a vehicle's low voltage electrical system because they provide the return path used by electronic modules and other components.

In this campaign, Rivian specifically identifies several symptoms that can occur when the instrument panel ground connection is not correct:

• The vehicle may not turn on
• The vehicle may not shift into Drive
• The vehicle may not shift into Reverse
• Multiple fault indicator lights may appear on the driver display

Rivian categorizes the campaign under its Low Voltage Electrical vehicle system.

Which Rivian Vehicles Are Included?

RCA-78-26-001-1 applies to certain vehicles within the following ranges:

The campaign applies in the United States and Canada.

Being a 2025 R1T or R1S within those approximate build dates does not by itself establish that the vehicle is included.

Rivian instructs service personnel to check Open Containments in ServiceOS to determine whether the campaign applies to a specific vehicle.

How Rivian Inspects the Ground Connection

Rivian's inspection procedure requires technicians to remove interior trim panels to gain access to the instrument panel ground connection.

Once the connection is accessible, the existing ground nut is removed and the technician inspects the threads on the ground stud.

What happens next depends on the condition of those threads.

If the Threads Are Not Damaged

If the ground stud threads are undamaged, Rivian installs a new ground nut and reassembles the vehicle.

The bulletin specifies a torque of 6 Nm for the replacement ground nut.

If the Threads Are Damaged but Repairable

If the threads are damaged but appear repairable, the technician moves to Rivian's thread repair procedure.

If the Threads Cannot Be Repaired

If the threads are damaged beyond repair, Rivian instructs the technician to replace the ground stud.

Rivian Can Repair Damaged Threads Without Replacing the Stud

If the ground stud itself remains usable but its threads have been damaged, Rivian provides a repair procedure rather than immediately replacing the stud.

The technician removes additional instrument panel trim to improve access and uses a thread repairing kit to clean and restore the damaged threads.

The electrical ground terminal is then repositioned on the repaired stud and secured with a new nut.

Rivian again specifies a final ground nut torque of 6 Nm.

This repair path allows the original ground stud to remain in place when the damage can be corrected.

What Happens If the Ground Stud Has to Be Replaced?

If the original stud cannot be repaired, Rivian's procedure becomes more involved.

The technician removes additional instrument panel components and prepares the mounting location for a replacement threaded ground stud.

Rivian instructs technicians to drill the mounting location and enlarge the opening before installing a replacement stud using a dedicated riv-stud and riv-nut installation tool.

After installing the replacement ground stud, Rivian requires an electrical resistance check between specified points.

If Rivian's specified test shows 0 ohms of resistance, the technician can continue with the repair.

If the resistance is greater than 0 ohms, Rivian directs the technician to the Replace Beam procedure.

The Most Involved Repair Can Require Instrument Panel Beam Replacement

For vehicles where the ground connection cannot be satisfactorily restored through a replacement nut, repaired threads or replacement ground stud, Rivian provides a fourth repair path.

That procedure requires replacement of the instrument panel beam.

This is significantly more involved because Rivian instructs the technician to remove the instrument panel assembly and transfer or remove numerous components attached to the beam.

The bulletin contains several pages of component removal and installation instructions for this repair path.

Rivian's labor coding reflects the four possible outcomes:

• Replace the instrument panel ground nut
• Repair the ground stud threads and replace the ground nut
• Replace the instrument panel ground stud and ground nut
• Replace the instrument panel beam and ground nut

Why a Ground Connection Can Cause So Many Warnings

One notable part of this campaign is the range of symptoms Rivian says can result from a single low voltage electrical connection.

The vehicle can potentially display multiple fault indicators, fail to power on or refuse to shift into Drive or Reverse.

That can make the problem appear much broader than a single fastener behind the instrument panel.

For owners, the important point is that Rivian has identified a specific ground connection as the focus of this campaign and has developed several repair paths depending on what technicians find during inspection.

Is This a Recall?

Rivian identifies RCA-78-26-001-1 as a Customer Satisfaction Campaign Bulletin.

It is not identified in this document as a safety recall.

This also makes it different from the Rivian Technical Service Bulletins we have covered previously.

Rivian says it initiated the campaign for customer satisfaction and to help ensure the quality of Rivian vehicles.

Applicability is vehicle specific, so owners should not assume every 2025 R1T or R1S built during the approximate date range requires the repair.

What Should 2025 R1T and R1S Owners Do?

If you own a 2025 R1T or R1S built around the applicable production period, it is worth checking whether Customer Satisfaction Campaign RCA-78-26-001-1 applies to your vehicle.

This is particularly relevant if you have experienced symptoms such as:

• The vehicle failing to turn on
• The vehicle unexpectedly refusing to shift into Drive or Reverse
• Multiple apparently unrelated fault indicators appearing at the same time

Those symptoms can have more than one possible cause, so they should not automatically be assumed to result from this ground connection.

However, if your vehicle is included in the campaign, Rivian Service has a specific inspection and repair procedure for the instrument panel ground connection.

Owners can reference RCA-78-26-001-1 when contacting Rivian Service.

EV Outdoors Takeaway

RCA-78-26-001-1 is one of the more significant Rivian service campaigns we have reviewed because the documented symptoms can potentially prevent the vehicle from being driven.

Rivian says a loose or cross-threaded instrument panel ground nut can result in a vehicle that does not turn on, cannot shift into Drive or Reverse, or displays multiple fault indicators.

The good news is that Rivian has established a clear repair path.

In the simplest case, the fix is a replacement ground nut. If the stud threads are damaged, technicians can attempt to repair them. More extensive damage can require a replacement ground stud, and if the electrical connection still cannot be restored properly, Rivian's procedure can progress to replacement of the instrument panel beam.

For owners of certain 2025 R1T and R1S vehicles built approximately between October 2024 and April 2025, RCA-78-26-001-1 is a campaign worth checking against your specific vehicle.

Got questions? Drop a comment. I love hearing from all of you.

If you found this useful:

• Please consider buying me a coffee to help support future content.
• Did I get something wrong? Let me know in the comments section or visit our Link Tree to contact us.
• Also, please consider visiting our EV Accessories store to support us.

Sources

Rivian: Customer Satisfaction Campaign Bulletin RCA-78-26-001-1, "Loose or Cross-Threaded Instrument Panel Ground Nut," dated August 5, 2026.

NHTSA: Official manufacturer communication, NHTSA ID 11037100. View the official Rivian campaign bulletin hosted by NHTSA (PDF).