Model-year matrix

Rivian R1S
which year?

Compare every Rivian R1S model year the EPA recorded, 2022 to 2027. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Rivian R1S year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Rivian R1S?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Rivian R1S years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Rivian R1S model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

2026 Rivian R1S

NHTSA complaint allegations
13
Combined EPA economy
67–85 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations
25
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate
$900–1,150
Fuel labels
Electricity
Most-reported component labelslatches/locks/linkages 4forward collision avoidance 3electrical system 2
Open the 2026 evidence dossier →

2027 Rivian R1S

NHTSA complaint allegations
0
Combined EPA economy
67–85 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations
12
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate
$900–1,150
Fuel labels
Electricity
Most-reported component labelsNo component label indexed
Open the 2027 evidence dossier →
Observed complaint-record difference

2027 has 13 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2026.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Rivian R1S by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Rivian R1S model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
YearComplaintsMost-reported componentsCombined MPGEPA configsAnnual fuel costDossier
2027067–8512$900–1,150Dossier →
202613latches/locks/linkages 4forward collision avoidance 3electrical system 267–8525$900–1,150Dossier →
202551unknown or other 13forward collision avoidance 12exterior lighting 968–8522$900–1,100Dossier →
202416forward collision avoidance 4suspension 4unknown or other 363–8224$900–1,200Dossier →
202373air bags 29unknown or other 16electrical system 1563–7810$950–1,200Dossier →
20226air bags 3forward collision avoidance 3seats 3691$1,100Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated . “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.