My Rivian Was Plugged In and Ready to Charge Overnight, but I Woke Up to a Dead Battery and a Big Mystery

One of the biggest perks of owning an EV, especially something as cool as a Rivian, is the simplicity of plugging in at home and waking up with a full charge, ready for whatever adventure you have planned. At least, that’s the idea. But sometimes, things don’t go as planned, even when you think you did everything right.

Tonight, as I was scrolling through the "RIVIAN Electric Vehicles Discussion" group on Facebook (yes, my idea of fun is reading Rivian stories), I came across a post that made me do a duo. Sara Caren Morroin shared something that instantly caught my attention because honeble-takestly, it’s the kind of thing that would drive me a little crazy too.

Sara wrote, “Hey all, why isn’t my Rivian charging overnight? Plugged in, verified by starting and stopping a charge (green lights) before going to bed.”

Now, that might sound simple, but if you’ve ever owned an EV, or honestly, even just dealt with anything that has wires, you already know sometimes, weird stuff just happens. And this situation had "weird" written all over it.

When Everything Looks Perfect, But Isn’t

What made Sara’s post so relatable is that she didn’t just plug the car in and assume it was charging. She double-checked. Started the session. Stopped it. Saw the green lights. In my book, that’s more careful than most people would be (and probably more careful than I am half the time).

Yet when she woke up, nothing had changed. Just a Rivian sitting there, looking innocent but staying suspiciously silent.

Honestly, if this happened to me, my first thought would be “okay, what did I do wrong?” But when you check everything, and it still doesn’t work, you realize it might not be you at all. And that’s both reassuring and slightly terrifying at the same time.

You're Not Alone, Sara

Sara isn’t the first Rivian owner to run into a mystery like this. As I dug around more, I found other owners sharing similar stories. Some even had their own advice ready to go in the comments.

Aldo chimed in with a suggestion that, if I’m being honest, I wish more people remembered before panicking: “Most of the time (assuming everything works well otherwise), doing a full reset solves this issue.”

A full reset, also called a "deep sleep" reboot on Rivians, can fix little software hiccups that build up over time. Think of it like turning your phone off and on when it acts up. It’s not a bad first move, and in my experience, it’s almost always worth trying before assuming the worst.

Then there was Tera, who added another good point that made me nod in agreement: “Is your charger faulting? Mine did that. Turns red. I had to replace the breaker.”

She’s right. Sometimes it’s not the car at all, it’s the home charging setup. Breakers wear out, chargers fault without flashing warnings, or something as simple as a loose wire can cause issues that are nearly impossible to spot unless you’re looking for them.

Honestly, hearing both sides, the car reset and the home charging setup, makes me think it’s super important to cover both bases before stressing out too much.

What Could Have Caused Sara’s Charging Fail?

After seeing so many comments and thinking about my own EV experiences, I realized there’s actually a handful of reasons why Sara’s Rivian might not have charged overnight, even though everything seemed fine:

• Scheduled Charging Settings: One possibility is that a delayed charging schedule was set by accident. A lot of EVs, including Rivians, let you schedule charging to start at cheaper off-peak electricity times. If that setting is active and your utility company changes their peak hours (which happens more than you'd think), your car could be waiting for a start signal that never comes.

• Software Updates: Sometimes Rivians push over-the-air updates silently at night. If there’s an update pending, in progress, or if something glitched mid-update, it could easily interfere with a charging session. Other owners have run into strange charging quirks tied to software updates too, so this definitely isn’t a crazy theory.

• Power Outages or Fluctuations: Even a tiny power blip overnight could cause a charger or a car to trip off. Some EVs (and some chargers) don’t automatically resume charging after a brief outage unless manually restarted.

• Handshake Failures: If the charger and the car somehow miscommunicate during the initial connection, charging can fail silently. I’ve seen it happen more times than I care to admit, and it’s one of those problems that feels invisible until you notice your battery percentage hasn’t budged.

The thing is, Rivian's have proven to be tough and capable vehicles, owners are road-tripping them across the country and off-roading them into places most trucks would fear to tread. So it’s safe to say these trucks aren’t fragile. But just like any tech-heavy vehicle, there’s a learning curve to figuring out these little nuances.

Is This a "Rivian Thing" or just an "EV Thing"?

Personally, I don’t think Sara’s situation points to some Rivian-specific problem. It feels more like a natural side effect of EV ownership in general. Every EV brand, from Tesla to Ford to Lucid, has its share of posts like this floating around.

And if you look around, you’ll see that even among Rivian owners, the experiences vary wildly. Some owners have dealt with incredibly slow charging speeds at public stations. Others have had random perfect sessions at home without ever lifting a finger. It’s not about bad quality; it’s just the growing pains of relatively new technology blending into aging power grids and imperfect home setups.

Honestly, I’m still amazed at how much Rivian has gotten right this early in their journey.

My Advice? Stay Proactive, Stay Patient

If I were in Sara’s shoes, here’s exactly what I would do:

• Reset the Rivian fully. Quick and easy first step.

• Double-check the scheduled charging settings. Make sure no weird delay is active.

• Inspect the charger, breaker, and wall connections. Even feel the plug to make sure it's not too hot (safely, of course).

• Try plugging into a different outlet or charger, if possible, to isolate the issue.

And if all else fails? Open a service ticket and give Rivian a chance to check it out. From what I’ve seen, their service teams are genuinely trying to improve the ownership experience in real time.

Final Thoughts: Why Stories Like Sara’s Actually Help the Whole Community

I think what makes EV ownership special is how open the community is. When people like Sara share their stories, even the frustrating ones, it makes it easier for the rest of us to learn, adapt, and help each other avoid similar headaches.

Sara’s story isn’t a disaster. It’s a tiny learning moment wrapped up in a mystery. And honestly, it's these small mysteries that make us smarter owners (even if they're annoying at 7 a.m. when you realize you’re running late and your Rivian didn’t charge).

The takeaway here? Stay curious, stay proactive, and don’t assume green lights mean everything is perfect.

Sometimes the simplest fixes, like a reset or checking your home setup, can save you from a morning of head-scratching.

I’d love to hear from you:

• Have you ever had a charging session fail even though it seemed like everything was working?

• What’s your best "EV charging tip" you’ve learned from owning your Rivian (or any other EV)?

Drop your stories in the comments! I’m genuinely curious how many of us have been caught off guard like Sara, and what tricks you’ve picked up along the way.

Narek Hareyan is a young automotive journalist with experience in a golf cart dealership and an interest in the automotive industry. Follow Narek on X for daily news coverage about cars.

Image source: Rivian & Sara's Facebook Post