Rivian Responds to LFP Battery Range Fault After Multiple Owner Incidents

Rivian finally sent an email today about the Dual Standard LFP range estimation issue, and it confirms what a lot of owners have been dealing with quietly for weeks. The message explains that a software calibration problem can cause the range estimate to get less accurate as the state of charge drops, especially below 20%. The fix is part of OTA 2025.38.30, and Rivian is asking owners to charge to 100% more often over the next few weeks so the estimator can recalibrate.

The email makes it clear this is a software issue and not a failure of the battery itself. That is the good news. The frustrating part is that not everyone was told about this until today. Some Dual Standard owners received some sort of notice, others did not, and some only learned about the problem after their vehicle left them stranded. That inconsistency is exactly what worries people.

Over the weekend I shared a series of tweets about a friend who ran into the worst version of this problem. His R1S showed more than 20% state of charge before it suddenly died on the side of the road during a family roadtrip. They were stuck for four hours waiting for a tow, then both a DC fast charger and a Level 2 charger faulted. The vehicle had to be hauled from Jacksonville to Orlando, and he had to rent a gas car just to keep his trip going.

This kind of thing damages confidence. Most owners are happy to deal with a bug if the company gets ahead of it and communicates clearly. The problem here is that the communication was partial. Some people got the warning and the update instructions, others didn’t, and in a situation that can leave families stranded, uneven messaging is a real issue.

Rivian has been improving fast and doing a lot of things right, but moments like this make it clear why new automakers have to over communicate. When a range estimator is off by that much, owners deserve a direct, universal heads up and a clear explanation of what to do next.

Trust in an EV starts with trusting the numbers on the screen. Rivian’s email today is a step in the right direction, but the rollout shows they still need to tighten how they handle issues that affect safety and basic usability. Until every owner gets the message, people are going to keep finding out the hard way.

Thank you Jose for sending this in.