The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a probe into 114,922 Rivian vehicles for a problem related to the rear toe link.
The suspension component in question could separate while driving, causing potential loss of control and even an accident. The issue, therefore, could lead to a serious injury, prompting the NHTSA to step in.
The NHTSA reportedly received two vehicle owner questionnaires that revealed the possibility of the rear toe link separating.
Unfortunately, one incident resulted in a crash with another vehicle and a roadside barrier. Now, the agency will investigate the root cause of the issue and introduce corrective measures, which would most likely be a safety recall.
2023-2024 Rivian R1S Vehicles Affected by Rear Toe Link Issue
According to a report by the NHTSA, in both cases, the bolt that holds the toe link was found fractured. It stated:
“In both separations, the bolt that maintains the integrity of the toe link fractured. Evidence collected from the complaint vehicles included repair histories, onboard video, imagery of the damaged components, and a police accident report.”
Both vehicles in question had different histories, which means a common feature that contributed to the incident was difficult to identify. The report added:
“The two vehicles with reported separation have different vehicle histories. One vehicle received prior service and the other was involved in a previous collision. In both instances, the vehicles operated for multiple months and thousands of miles of usage with no apparent problems between the previous service or the previous collision and the failures that prompted this investigation.”
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) listed the steps it would be taking to identify the source of the problem. The report stated:
“ODI is opening a Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to (1) assess the sensitivity of the rear toe link joint to foreseeable road and service conditions, (2) compare the physical failure evidence from the two VOQs to identify apparent similarities and potential differences, (3) evaluate Rivian’s current toe link repair procedure, and (4) assess the in-field subject population’s toe links conditions.”
Rivian R1 Vehicles Also Had Toe Link Joint Issues in the Past
Rivian had found that the toe link joints serviced using an older service procedure led to separations in model year 2022-2025 Rivian R1 vehicles. As a result, it issued a recall in January this year.
The issue stemmed from a service procedure followed before March 10, 2025, that caused the joint to experience “unintended forces.” Rivian said in its own recall report:
“Rivian has determined that on certain R1 vehicles, toe link joints reassembled during vehicle service with a service procedure before March 10, 2025, may result in a joint that is not reassembled to design intent and could experience unintended forces.”
Rivian revealed the heightened possibility of a crash due to the toe link separation and mentioned an incident that occurred due to the issue. The report added:
“In certain cases, if a toe link was serviced using the earlier service procedure, vehicle motion may eventually cause toe link joint separation. Separation of the toe link while the vehicle is being driven increases the risk of a crash without prior warning. Rivian is aware of one single-vehicle accident with alleged minor injuries related to this issue.”
As a remedy measure, Rivian stated it would replace “any potentially affected rear toe link bolts on the potentially affected vehicles using its updated service procedure free of charge.”
The American EV manufacturer urged affected customers to schedule a recall service repair with an official Rivian Service Center for parts replacement that would take less than an hour to complete.