The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a formal inquiry into Rivian regarding a potential failure of the rear toe link on R1 electric pickups and SUVs, the agency and the company have said. The action covers an estimated 115,000 vehicles.
The investigation was prompted by two separate owner complaints in which the suspension rod - identified by regulators as the rear toe link - separated from the vehicle. According to the complaints, the separation caused the affected vehicles to swerve across multiple lanes. One of the reported events resulted in a collision.
Rivian has confirmed it is cooperating with the NHTSA's examination. The company has also stated that its own telemetry and engineering data indicate the toe links are operating as intended, and that it does not believe that the component was responsible for the two reported incidents.
This inquiry follows an earlier action by the automaker in which Rivian recalled nearly 20,000 vehicles earlier in the year due to concerns involving the same suspension component. That recall and the current probe are both focused on the rear toe link.
The investigation by the federal safety agency will determine whether a defect exists that could create an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety. At this stage, the NHTSA's inquiry is fact-finding; it will review the complaints, examine available data, and determine whether further regulatory steps are warranted.
All parties involved have provided limited public comment beyond acknowledging the probe and their cooperation with investigatory procedures. Rivian's statement emphasizing its internal data contrasts with the complaints alleging toe link separation; the regulator's review will consider both the owner reports and company-provided material.
Stakeholders and market observers note the inquiry addresses a component that is both safety-critical and linked to a previous recall action by the company this year. The outcome of the NHTSA review could influence further operational, regulatory, or remedial steps, but no such additional actions have been announced at this time.
Note: This report is based solely on publicly disclosed statements regarding the NHTSA investigation and Rivian's responses. Where available, exact counts and descriptions from those statements have been used without addition or inference.