The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Thursday it has opened a preliminary probe into 114,922 Rivian vehicles over an issue related to the rear toe link. NHTSA said the agency’s office of defects investigation received two vehicle owner questionnaires reporting that the left rear toe link separates while driving, causing vehicles to swerve across multiple lanes of traffic.
The agency also mentioned that one incident resulted in a collision with an adjacent vehicle and roadside barrier.
The probe will assess the sensitivity of the rear toe link joint to foreseeable road and service conditions and evaluate Rivian’s current toe link repair procedure, among other steps, according to a Reuters report.
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This isn’t the first time of late this happened as in January, Rivian said it is recalling 19,641 previously serviced R1S and R1T electric vehicles in the U.S., citing incorrectly assembled rear toe link. NHTSA said the automaker will replace the rear toe‑link bolts free of charge. Several other companies like Volvo, Audi, and Porsche had also recalled vehicles earlier this year.
More recently, the NHTSA announced Ford is recalling 422,613 vehicles in the U.S. over a windshield wiper failure. Earlier this year, Ford recalled approximately 600,000 vehicles over a similar issue. As per Fox News, Ford Motor Company recalled 604,533 vehicles — including 2020-2022 Ford Explorer, Ford Escape, Lincoln Aviator, and Lincoln Corsair — due to a windshield wiper motor defect.
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Rivian’s vehicle recall comes while it is anticipating the delivery of its latest vehicle, the R2 SUV. The first customers of the company’s new R2 SUV will reportedly get their vehicles on June 9.
The R2 has been mentioned to be more affordable and aimed at a larger market than its current R1 lineup. The new SUV will initially be available in a trim that starts just under $60,000, though Rivian has announced plans to release a “standard” version that starts at $48,490 in 2027.
The company has teased an even more affordable version “starting around $45,000” late next year. The company said it has high expectations for the R2. Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has said it is “maybe the most important thing we’ve launched to date.” According to TechCrunch, Rivian ultimately hopes R2 and its hatchback variant R3 will help the company turn a profit for the first time since its founding in 2009.