Rivian Unexpectedly Goes to Neutral While Driving, Owner Sees ‘Keep Holding To Shift to Neutral’ Error Message on the Dashboard

Ian Plitt, a Rivian owner, recently experienced an incident where his vehicle went into neutral by itself while driving. His initial observation was that it was correlated to hitting the bumps, but this was not confirmed. This phenomenon has raised questions about the safety of the brand’s drive system. Per the post, “Has anyone else had an issue with their Rivian going into neutral by itself while driving? It seems to be correlated to hitting bumps or whoops in the road...I'm getting the error shown in the photo right before it shifts into neutral. "Keep holding to shift to neutral."

Reports of Unexpected Neutral Shifts 

Others have apparently reported instances of their Rivians suddenly going into neutral, unfortunately. In one case, an Edmunds editor had their long-term R1T come to a complete stop on the freeway without warning after it shifted into neutral. This is not the only case. Another Rivian R1S became immobilized after a slight bump into a garage pillar. It gives credence to the earlier assumption that bumps or impacts to the vehicle may have caused the shift to neutral. Rivian referred to it as a safety feature, leaving the owner to tow it. There have been other incidents, though, claiming the opposite. 

A Reddit user claimed an edge-case scenario where the vehicle shifted from neutral to drive when rolling downhill. This caused the Rivian to accelerate backward for some feet before he stopped it unintentionally. It does pose questions, though, on the car’s drive structure and reliability. These instances have been reported in other brands, though. The situation was so severe in F-150 pickups that Ford had to recall nearly 50,000 trucks because of a diagnostic trouble code that caused the transmission to shift to neutral unexpectedly, increasing the potential for an accident. 

Potential Causes and Related Issues 

Rivian’s gear selector is found on the stalk, which also controls the adaptive cruise control. It could be that the driver accidentally activated the neutral shift function while adjusting the cruise control settings. Previously mentioned reports involved gear selector sensitivity cases leading to unintentional shifts. Rivian issued a software update in November 2022 to make unintended shifting less likely, but some owners continue to report incidents.

Ian also noted that his Rivian may tend to stop after hitting bumps. This may allude to a potential suspension or alignment issue causing the gear to change. Similarly, a discussion on the Rivian owner's forum highlighted that the R1S tended to illustrate more float or drift on the highway than the R1T. It was mainly when navigating bumpy roads. If the suspension components are too sensitive to the road conditions, they could be affecting the drivetrain’s behavior. It may be part of the problem behind the neutral shift problem. 

The owner also received the error message “Keep Holding to shift to neutral.” This message may have been on because the system potentially found an unintended input or misinterpreted sensor information. Rivian’s shift by wire depends on electronic input rather than mechanical linkage. So, if the software misinterprets a jolt after hitting something as a shift command, it could prompt the error message. 

It is also part of Rivian’s safety protocol to enter neutral if it detects a potential drivetrain error or a sensor issue. That means road vibrations can potentially be interpreted as a problem that is solved by disengaging the gear. Alternatively, it may be an electrical or wiring problem. Loose connections within the drive control systems can potentially disrupt communication and trigger the prompt to neutral gear.

Rivian has acknowledged the customer complaints in the past and is investigating the issue to completion. The company usually encourages affected owners to report experiences to service centers, allowing the technicians to collect enough information. While some problems may be resolved through software updates, there are cases where the manufacturer needs to implement additional hardware. 

In the meantime, it would be advisable to ensure the vehicle’s software is up to date to take advantage of any fixes that have been implemented. While driving, avoid making sudden gear changes, especially over harsh terrain, as they could prompt a malfunction. If you have experienced abrupt neutral shifts, please visit a Rivian service center and explain the problem thoroughly. Document incidents thoroughly as well by taking photographic or video evidence of error messages or problematic operations. 

Image source: RIVIAN Electric Vehicles Discussion Facebook Group and Rivian.com Inventory

Nicholas Muhoro is an automotive journalist covering car news and has a decade of experience sharing working at HotCars and TopSpeed. You can follow Nicholas on X and on LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow his news coverage at Torque News.