Rivian is turning its R1 and R2 vehicles into ghost-hunting machines with a Ghostbusters-themed Halloween update, its earliest Halloween release so far and the first to include the recently launched R2 SUV.
Halloween Mode goes live on Friday, October 9, and runs through November 2, the company said on Thursday.
The theme comes from a collaboration with Sony Pictures, and Rivian brought in original Ghostbuster Bill Murray for a promotional spot directed by Gil Kenan.
The features arrive with software version 2026.36.0 on the R1 and 2026.36.40 on the R2.
Rivian began pushing both versions to vehicles on Wednesday, according to tracking site Rivian Roamer.
What the Update Does
Halloween Mode now has its own dedicated in-vehicle Ghostbusters app, which gathers the season’s features in one place.
Opening the app while parked transforms the driver display, while key visual cues stay on during driving and the full feature set returns once the vehicle is back in Park.
A single red toggle syncs the interior lighting, themed audio and exterior displays.
A Trick or Treat Mode takes over the driver and rear displays, plays the Ghostbusters theme song and switches the exterior lights and sound effects to match.
Owners can run most of the features from the Rivian mobile app without being in the vehicle, the company said.
Six exterior light shows, called Ecto-1, Proton Pack, Slimer, Ghost Trap, Peter Venkman and Random, pair custom LED sequences with their own soundscapes.
A Motion Mode plays the selected show whenever someone walks past the vehicle.
For lock sounds, first-generation R1 vehicles get one option, Ecto-1, while second-generation R1s and the R2 can choose between Ecto-1, Proton Pack and Chant.
A scavenger hunt hides characters inside the Drive Modes, Gear Guard settings, side-camera and Energy app screens, and finding one triggers its own animation and audio.
Rivian Assistant, the company’s AI voice assistant, takes on an “eerie” tone for the season and can run a light show, read a clue or play a sound effect on request.
A parked arcade game called ‘Mallow Mash has drivers pop Mini-Puft marshmallow men against the clock.
Earliest Release Yet
Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid wrote in September that Halloween “will be epic this year… and early.”
Earlier this year, he posted a string of 25 letters on X that rearranges into “Halloween Mode October Ninth,” about two hours after Tesla began rolling out its own Halloween update.
Neither Bensaid nor Rivian confirmed the meaning at the time, and the date in Thursday’s announcement matches it.
Previous editions became available on October 21 in 2023, October 18 in 2024 and October 21 in 2025.
This year’s mode will be live for 25 days, compared with 12 days for last year’s Spooky Swamp theme, which ended on November 1.
In 2024, Bensaid had to pause the second-generation costumes on the day they launched.
Tesla’s Halloween Mode, delivered with software version 2026.38.3, began rolling out on October 6, and its release notes suggest it will remain available after the month ends.
R2 Gets Its First Halloween
The R2, which reached its first external customers on June 9, is getting Rivian’s Halloween treatment for the first time.
Its update also delivers features Rivian had promised for the SUV.
Version 2026.36.40 brings Rivian Assistant to the R2, which Bensaid had said on October 2 would come in the next over-the-air update, after the feature missed the summer launch Rivian had set.
The assistant works in English only and requires a Connect+ subscription or trial, according to the release notes.
R2 owners also get Pet Cam, a live view of the cabin while Pet Comfort Mode is running, which Rivian announced on September 29 and which also requires Connect+.
The R2 can now store a custom liftgate opening height, useful for low garages or bike racks.
On the R1, the assistant gains Gmail integration and support for secondary Google calendars, and owners of both models can switch Pet Comfort on remotely from the mobile app.
Version 2026.31, released on September 4, moved both R1 generations onto RivianOS 2, putting the whole lineup on one software stack with the R2.
Subscribers Get It First
Rivian Roamer data show the update reaching Connect+ subscribers well ahead of other owners.
As of Thursday, 74% of tracked vehicles with Connect+ had been offered the update, compared with 8% of those without it.
Across all 7,824 R1 and R2 vehicles the site tracks, 68% had been offered the update and 39% had installed it.
Rivian Roamer covers only vehicles whose owners link their accounts, so its figures are not a full picture of Rivian’s fleet.
Last year, the first wave of Spooky Swamp went almost entirely to subscribers, with non-subscribers following in volume the next week, according to the site’s data.
Ecto-R1 and Bill Murray
Rivian’s Special Projects team built full-scale Ecto-R1 vehicles inspired by the Ecto-1 from the 1984 film.
The builds use 22-inch Aero wheels with white-painted covers and a bright silver finish, a nod to the original car’s chrome hub caps, along with a red body graphic and No-Ghost logos on the hood and front doors.
The roof rack carries sirens, spotlights, a radar dish and side tanks that mirror the film car.
The Ecto-R1 builds will be on display at Rivian’s spaces in Laguna Beach, Austin, Venice, Miami Brickell, San Francisco and New York’s Meatpacking District, alongside limited-edition merchandise.
Rivian will also appear at the New York Village Halloween Parade and at a Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt pop-up in Los Angeles.
In the launch spot, Murray helps clear Slimer out of a suburban house on Halloween eve.
The company framed the update as “a playful showcase of our vertical integration,” crediting its in-house hardware and software for pushing the features to the vehicles’ displays, lighting and sound systems.
“Having control over every pixel, light and speaker let us turn the vehicle into an immersive playground that brings those movies to life in a really unique way,” Bensaid said.
