Feds Investigating 115K Rivian R1T, R1S Vehicles

by Michael Strong

Published: May 29th, 2026

feds investigating 115k rivian r1t r1s vehicles

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into nearly 115,000 Rivian R1T and R1S vehicles after receiving complaints about a left rear toe link separation in some 2023 and 2024 model year vehicles.

The agency received two complaints from owners — one involved a collision — who lost control of their vehicle after the separation occurred. According to the May 26 filing, the vehicle showed no signs of problems prior to the events. No injuries or fatalities were reported related to collision or the issue.

“Both (owners) report component separation while driving, causing the vehicles to swerve across multiple lanes of traffic,” the agency reported. “One incident resulted in a collision with an adjacent vehicle and roadside barrier.

“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.”

The report also suggests that Rivian has been dealing with this for some time, including a recall in January. The EV maker noted the problem in March 2025 when it issued an update to service procedures. As part of the January recall, which included select 2022-2025 R1S and R1T vehicles, the toe link could have been “reassembled incorrectly during service procedures performed before March 10, 2025.”

The company received 19 warranty claims and one other claim potentially related to the toe link problem, according to the recall report. The initial recalled covered 19,641 vehicles.

[Images: Rivian]

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Michael Strong

Michael Strong has spent more than 25 years writing about the automotive industry. A Detroit-area native, he’s written about everything from local car shows to product reviews to financial news. Currently he writes and edits for a variety of national and local publications. He’s also a longtime member of the Automotive Press Association and the International Motor Press Association, and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Hail Southern! Despite a love for ’70s land yachts and BMWs from the late ’80s and early ’90s, his personal vehicle is neither of those.

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2 of 5 comments

Stellantis Guy 23 hours ago

One accident, no fatalities.
If assembled to design intent, it works fine.

1 Reply
Stellantis Guy 23 hours ago

3,250 people died in road traffic crashes yesterday (worldwide, daily average). Where is my TTAC story on that?
Learn to drive, people.
Learn to do math.
Learn where to focus.

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Verbal 23 hours ago

Bolts were over- or under-torqued?

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Master Baiter 2 hours ago

This is what happens when you take a chance on a startup auto company. Designing and building cars is hard.

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Tag Thompson 11 seconds ago

Does anybody like it?? That is the worst design I have ever seen!!!

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