rivian get into the halloween spirit adding new “car costumes” to their electric vehicles that can customize their screens to look like the Time Machine interface from back to the future or KITT knight rider. (It will also animate red KITT-type scanner lights on the front of the car.) There's also a non-IP-specific “Haunted” theme that shows a ghostly static TV screen inside the car.
The costumes will arrive via a software update that Rivian will release just after midnight local time tonight (October 18 at 12:01 a.m.). R1T and R1S vehicles must already have update 2024.39 installed to get the new features as well as the latest version of the mobile app.
There are some feature differences you should be aware of depending on whether you have a Gen 1 or Gen 2 Rivian vehicle; for example, Gen 1 will not receive the red light beam from the outside KITT scanner.
Once you get the update, they work as follows:
To set Knight Rider as your car costume, look for the Get Spooky card on the main page of your Rivian mobile app. You will select the Gear Guard dressed as Michael Knight to activate it. From there, your interior display system will present KITT diagnostics on screen and play the program's original intro music. For Gen 2 owners, the exterior light bar will emit a cascading red beam like KITT and emit its iconic scanner sound effect, creating the ultimate Knight Rider experience.
In the mobile app, you'll see Gear Guard dressed as Doc Brown. When you select 'Time Machine' as your car costume, you'll see the interior screen display the iconic Back to the Future interface, as well as music and the Time Machine speeding-up sound effect from the movie.
Press Gear Guard Scarecrow Costume to activate our Rivian Haunted Car Costume via the mobile app. This car costume has eight different sound effects and three different color themes to choose from, ranging from purple, yellow, red, and green. This will take over your interior screen with static and ghosting. Gen 1 owners will get a green animation on the exterior of the vehicle and, exclusively for Gen 2 owners, the exterior light bar will reflect the color option you choose, for a tremendously fun experience.
Rivian vehicles typically display pedestrians, cars, and cyclists around you on the driver's display, and with the Halloween update, it will now turn them into zombies and headless horsemen. There are also other Easter eggs, including crows, pumpkins, and green llamas in Camp mode, plus “spooky” 3D artwork in the vehicle's different driving modes.
