Rivian, an American electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, issued a recall for more than 12,700 Rivian EVs with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) last week.
According to Electrek, the automaker has started notifying certain 2022 R1T and R1S owners of the voluntary recall due to a concern about a passenger seatbelt sensor that may result in improper or no deployment of the airbag.
Recall History
Three recalls have been issued by Rivian with the NHTSA thus far. The most recent one was in October 2022 due to the steering knuckle of the EV being detached from the control arm. Prior to that, Rivian recalled a few hundred electric cars because of a loose seatbelt anchor and improperly calibrated front passenger seats.
The carmaker has informed its customers of yet another recall just recently. This involves a seatbelt issue once again but poses a bigger threat to passengers.
Nonetheless, this latest recall is expected to impact just a tiny fraction of all Rivian automobiles.
Despite the massive number, Rivian only anticipates 100 of the 12,761 EVs being recalled will actually need repairs.
Airbag Issue
Certain 2022 Rivian R1T and R1S EVs are being recalled because a malfunctioning automatic locking retractor (ALR) sensor in the front passenger seat belt system may falsely report as "on" when it is really "off," as stated in a document filed with the NHTSA last week. This leads to the airbag being suppressed or deployed incorrectly.
While Rivian claims in the document that impacted EV owners would get letters notifying the recall on Apr. 8, it seems that such messages have already been sent out through email.
Current Rivian owners potentially affected by the recall will continue receiving the letter and may take their vehicles to any Rivian Service Center at no cost.
Results in Rivian's Favor
When compared to other EV automakers, Rivian is still in its early stages and is still trying to hit its pace in mass-producing EVs.
Although sales were somewhat behind projections in 2022, the US manufacturer still managed to create almost 25,000 EVs and deliver over 20,000 to a market that was still clamoring for the company's R1T truck and R1S SUV.
Delivered Rivian models have generally performed successfully. In fact, JD Power has just recognized the R1T as the highest-scoring premium car in customer satisfaction, surpassing the Tesla Model 3.
Nonetheless, there are always some hiccups in the initial phases of adoption.
