Halloween is just a day away. Are you ready to sport all of your Rivian’s new Halloween features? Rivian added various features in their annual spooky update with Rivian update 2024.39. This year, Rivian has gone all out, with not one but three Halloween car costumes and various other features.
The car costumes are selectable through the Rivian app when the vehicle is parked - and so are all the other fun features.
Halloween Update
Rivian’s Halloween update this time is the biggest it's ever been. Before we dig into the Car Costumes, let’s take a look at the sprinkling of other spooky features they’ve provided.
New Drive Mode Animations
First up is the drive modes menu. Every drive mode in your vehicle has taken on a spooky look, so pan through your available drive modes while you’re parked to see all the Halloween fun. Look closely because some of the spooky surprises are well hidden. The only mode that doesn’t have a spooky surprise is snow mode.
Camp Mode also got a little something special. The flame of the campfire is lit by some witch’s evil magic and is burning green alongside some pumpkins and crows in the background. And just like last year, pedestrians are zombies - but that’s not all. Motorcyclists and bicyclists take on a new form in the visualization - they’ve come back as headless horsemen.
Rivian has also introduced two additional lock sounds for Halloween, an owl and a crow. While all of the Halloween goodies will go away once the season is over, Rivian has already said that the owl lock sound will come back as a standard lock sound in the future.
There are also two new interior lighting modes, the red Crimson Moon, and the green Foggy Bog. To go with that, there’s a new selection of three songs to play internally, as well as a sound effect board, all done from within the Rivian app.
The best plan is to play some spooky sound effects while your Rivian is parked outside on Halloween night to give some trick-or-treaters a fright!
The Costume Selector in the App
Rivian Wave
Knight Rider Car Costume
The Knight Rider costume dresses up Gear Guard Garry as Michael Knight and K.I.T.T.'s super intelligence takes over your car in the classic original TV show style. On Gen 2 vehicles, the lightbar up front will mimic K.I.T.T.’s unique red beam scanner, including the sound effect!
The Knight Rider interior screens
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Over in the interior, you’ll get three unique displays inside your vehicle. On the driver’s display, you’ll see revs, speed, and a ton of other information, while the main display will tell you all about how ready K.I.T.T. is to tackle the bad guys. Finally, the passengers will have access to the tools K.I.T.T. has access to - everything from energy cannons and radars to Missiles and Turbo Boost.
Back to the Future Car Costume
Back to the Future dresses up Garry as none other than Doc Brown, and you’ll get a super cool set of movie-inspired interfaces on the inside of your vehicle. Gen 2 owners can hit the 88 mph button on their driver’s display and engage in Back to the Future-themed interior and exterior lighting, along with sound effects to match.
The Back to the Future Interior Screens
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The driver’s display has all the information you’ll need to get your flux capacitor up and running, telling you all about the plutonium chamber and power you’ll need to hit 88 mph. The primary display will tell you when you’ve got your destination, what time it is now, and when you originally departed. The passengers get to keep an eye on the flux capacitor, and dial in the destination time!
Trunk or Treat Car Costume
Trunk or Treat has Garry as a scarecrow this year and has eight different sound effects and three color themes. That’s also alongside the option to select the thematic music for the interior of your vehicle.
All three interior screens will be haunted by ghosts and static, and Gen1 vehicle owners will get a green animation on the lightbar. Gen 2 owners will have their lightbar match their selected color.
Video Overviews
Jenna Ezarik over on X put together this awesome recap - so go take a look.
Rivian has released its latest owner’s manual (version 2024.39), outlining several details about changes to its 2024.39 software update and several hardware changes coming to Rivian vehicles.
While the 2024.39 update includes several big improvements, such as improved driver display widgets, improvements to Autonomy Platform+, the automatic front camera, support for Dolby Atmos in TIDAL, and more, the owner's manual also lists a few other changes.
New Wiper Speed Positions
This change was mentioned under in the Additional Improvements section of the release notes, but given how useful it is, we’ll outline it here as well.
Previously, the wiper positions, from top to bottom, were: Storm, Downpour, Shower, Drizzle, Sprinkle, Off, and Auto. With the 2024.39 update, the positions have been rearranged, and Off is now the lowest position, while Auto is placed just above it. This makes it easier to turn off the wipers in the vehicle since you can hold the switch down to jump to the last setting.
Rivian Wave
Automatic Front Camera Display
One of the nicest changes with this update is that the front camera will now turn on automatically when it detects objects in front of the vehicle. When Park Assist detects an object in front of the vehicle and the car is moving at speeds below 6 mph, the front camera will automatically be displayed.
Previously, the front camera would only be displayed if the vehicle was shifted from reverse to drive and moving under 7 mph, a threshold that has now been slightly reduced.
LFP Battery Calibration Notifications
Rivian’s 2025+ Dual Standard vehicles come with LFP batteries that need to be charged to 100% in order to be properly calibrated. In the updated owner’s manual, Rivian now clearly states when the owner will receive a notification about fully charging the battery. Owners will receive a notification to fully charge the battery if it hasn’t been charged to 100% in over two weeks or 500 miles. This will help ensure that the LFP batteries remain well-calibrated and the stated range is correct.
Charge Port Locking Behavior
Rivian has also updated when the vehicle’s charge port is locked for their second generation vehicles. Previously, the charge port was only locked when the vehicle itself was locked. Now, with the 2024.39 update, the charge port will lock any time the vehicle is charging, even if the vehicle is left unlocked. If the car is unlocked, the charge port will automatically unlock once charging is complete. If the vehicle is locked, the port will remain locked as well, just like it was before.
Right now, the owner’s manual for Gen 1 vehicles does not have the same statement.
Passenger Seat Storage
According to the manual, Rivian is preparing some changes to the interior storage compartments in future models. The storage drawer located under the passenger seat will no longer be available, leaving only the driver seat with this compartment.
In addition, the R1T, which features storage under the rear row seats, appears to be undergoing some changes. In the manual, Rivian no longer lists the rear seat storage where it used to list it as lockable and waterproof. It’s not clear whether Rivian is no longer claiming these compartments as lockable and waterproof or if there will be other changes.
When purchasing a new Dual Motor Rivian, you might have considered the Performance option, which was offered as a $5,000 upgrade at the time of ordering. However, Rivian is now offering the Performance upgrade as an in-app or in-car purchase for Dual Motor R1S and R1T owners.
The Performance upgrade boosts the vehicle’s horsepower and torque, while also introducing new driving modes.
Features
The Dual Motor Performance upgrade adds additional features to the R1S and R1T vehicles, with the most notable being a major performance boost.
This upgrade increases both horsepower and torque, reducing the 0 to 60 mph time from 4.5 seconds to an impressive 3.4 seconds.
In addition to the power boost, the upgrade introduces new driving modes: Sport, Soft Sand, and Rally. Each mode adds specialized capabilities—Sport for track performance, Rally for off-road adventures, and Soft Sand for tackling sandy terrains.
The Performance upgrade is available for Gen 1 and Gen 2 vehicles.
Config
Dual Motor
Dual Motor Performance
Horsepower
533 hp
655 hp
0-60 mph / 0-100 km/h
4.6 seconds
3.5 seconds
Torque
610 lb-ft
829 lb-ft
Launch Mode Reserved for Tri and Quad
Even if you’re familiar with the roller-coaster-like feeling of launching an EV, the performance upgrade is going to be a big step up, and it’ll be a useful upgrade for off-roading too. The noticeable increase in horsepower not only helps you launch with more power but also makes crawling over rocks or pushing through water more effortless.
However, for owners hoping to take their R1 series vehicles to the track, there’s something to keep in mind—this upgrade, just like buying a Dual Motor Performance model, doesn’t include Launch Mode. That feature is only reserved for the Tri and Quad configurations.
Price
If you’re craving a bit more power or want to relive the thrill of launching your Rivian for the first time, the Performance upgrade is likely a great choice. It adds over 120 horsepower, giving you about a 25% boost in performance.
The upgrade costs $5,000 USD / $7,000 CAD, whether purchased over-the-air or at the factory. If you own a Dual Motor Rivian, you can easily buy it through the app or the vehicle itself, available with software update 2024.06 or later.
