Rivian, the electric vehicle company backed by Amazon, has been facing some issues with its infotainment system after a recent software update.
Some owners have reported that Amazon Music, the streaming service integrated with Alexa, won’t play any songs on their Rivian vehicles.
According to posts on Reddit and Rivian Forums, the problem started after the version 2022.47 update, which added new features such as snow mode, address sharing, TIDAL music source, and independent volume controls.
However, it also seems to have broken Amazon Music for some users.
One owner wrote on Reddit: “Anyone else having this issue? I can’t get amazon music to play any music (which I recently fell in love with due to the much higher bitrate). u/wassymrivian any chance you can help?”
Another owner wrote on Rivian Forums: “I have everything paired, Alexa in the Rivian says it’s going to play the song I request and it doesn’t. The Rivian shows up on the Alexa app under devices.”
Some users suggested that the issue might be related to a server-side problem with Amazon Music or Alexa, rather than a bug in the Rivian software.
One user commented on Reddit: “Bet it was a server-side issue with the Amazon Music Streaming services and/or an Amazon Alexa service issue where error conditions aren’t properly handled in a safe or resilient way (client retries, backoff, etc).”
However, some users also reported that other streaming services such as Spotify and TIDAL worked fine on their Rivian vehicles, which suggests that the issue might be specific to Amazon Music.
Some possible solutions that users have tried include clearing notifications, doing an infotainment reset, logging out and back into Amazon Music, and checking the internet connection. However, none of these seem to have resolved the issue for everyone.
It is unclear whether Rivian is aware of this issue and working on a fix. The company has not issued any official statement or response to the complaints.
However, some users have tagged Wassym Bensaid, the head of software at Rivian, on Reddit and Twitter, hoping to get his attention and assistance.
Amazon Music is one of the features that Rivian offers as part of its partnership with Amazon.
The service allows users to access millions of songs and playlists through Alexa voice commands or touchscreen controls. Rivian also uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its cloud computing and data storage needs.
Rivian has been praised for its innovative and user-friendly infotainment system, which runs on a custom-built operating system based on Linux.
The system features a 15.6-inch touchscreen display on the dashboard and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel. The system also supports over-the-air (OTA) updates, which allow Rivian to add new features and fix bugs remotely.
However, as with any new technology, there are bound to be some glitches and bugs along the way. Rivian owners have reported various issues with their infotainment systems since they started receiving their vehicles last year.
Some of these issues include phantom drain, camera button not working, navigation errors, Bluetooth connectivity problems, and slow boot times.
Rivian has been responsive to customer feedback and has released several software updates to address some of these issues. However, some owners are still waiting for more improvements and fixes for their infotainment systems.
Rivian is not the only electric vehicle company that has faced challenges with its infotainment system. Tesla, the market leader in electric vehicles, has also had its share of software bugs and glitches over the years.
Tesla has also been sued by some customers who claimed that their infotainment systems were defective and prone to failure.
The infotainment system is an important part of the electric vehicle experience, as it provides entertainment, information, navigation, and connectivity for drivers and passengers.
As electric vehicles become more mainstream and competitive, customers will expect more from their infotainment systems in terms of functionality, reliability, and security.
Rivian will need to continue to improve its infotainment system and ensure that it works seamlessly with its partners such as Amazon. Otherwise, it might risk losing customer satisfaction and loyalty in the long run.
