Rivian has announced a voluntary recall for 12,212 vehicles to fix an improperly tightened fastener that connects the front upper control arm and steering knuckle.
In a letter to owners that InsideEVs senior editor and R1T owner Tom Moloughney also received, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said affected vehicles include certain 2022 model year R1T pickups and R1S SUVs built during a 13-month period and EDV vans produced between December 10, 2021 and September 27, 2022.
That's pretty much all the vehicles Rivian has delivered so far, although the safety recall report submitted to NHTSA notes that only 1 percent of the total number is estimated to actually have the defect.
The company has seen seven reports potentially related to this issue across its fleet to date and said an insufficiently torqued steering knuckle fastener "could cause excessive wheel camber, or, in rare instances, a separation, affecting the driver's ability to control the vehicle, and increasing the risk of a crash."
Scaringe added that while only a small percentage of vehicles are potentially affected by the issue, Rivian has decided to recall nearly all of the vehicles it has delivered to customers so far. That's because its records cannot confirm that the front upper control arm and the steering knuckle retention fastener for each front wheel was sufficiently torqued.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we made the decision to issue a voluntarily recall and have built out the capacity to address every impacted vehicle in the next 30 days. For the vast majority of you, the process will take a few minutes, simply requiring the fastener in question to be tightened to a higher torque tolerance."
Owners can schedule a Mobile Service appointment by calling 855-748-4265 or bring their vehicles to a Rivian Service Center without requiring an appointment. Our friend from the Rivian Dad YouTube channel already had his R1T fixed over the weekend at a service center in Denver, Colorado, and you can see how that went in the video at the top of this page.
His electric truck did not need parts replacements, but for the "very small percentage" where parts replacements are required, Rivian says it will make loaner vehicles available to owners. Furthermore, trip interruption and towing services will be available at no cost to customers.
While RJ Scaringe stressed that the issue is "extremely rare," he advised owners to call Rivian immediately if they experience "excessive noise, vibration or harshness from the front suspension, or a change in steering performance or feel." In case they don't feel safe driving their vehicle, owners should call Rivian, which will either send a Mobile Service vehicle to apply the fix or a team to pick up the vehicle and bring it in.
