The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary investigation into nearly 115,000 Rivian electric vehicles over a rear suspension issue that could cause a vehicle to swerve while driving.
The probe covers 114,922 Rivian R1S SUVs and R1T pickup trucks, NHTSA said Thursday. The agency is examining a potential problem with the rear toe link, a suspension component that helps control the angle and stability of a vehicle’s rear wheels.
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation received two vehicle owner reports saying the left rear toe link separated while the vehicles were being driven. The reported failures caused the vehicles to swerve across multiple lanes of traffic, according to Reuters. One incident resulted in a collision with another vehicle and a roadside barrier.
The investigation will assess whether the rear toe link joint is sensitive to normal road and service conditions. NHTSA will also evaluate Rivian’s current repair procedure for the component. Rivian did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The new probe is broader than a recall Rivian announced in January for 19,641 previously serviced R1S and R1T vehicles in the United States. That recall involved rear toe link joints that may have been incorrectly reassembled during earlier service work. Rivian said at the time that the issue could allow the joint to separate and increase crash risk.
Rivian’s January recall notice said the problem applied to certain R1 vehicles that had rear toe link joints reassembled during service under a procedure used before March 10, 2025. The company said those joints may not have been reassembled to design intent and could experience unintended forces.
The recall remedy was to replace potentially affected rear toe-link bolts using Rivian’s updated service procedure. NHTSA said the replacement would be completed free of charge.
The latest investigation does not mean NHTSA has determined that all vehicles under review have a defect. A preliminary evaluation is an early stage in the agency’s safety process. The probe could be closed without further action, or it could lead to a recall request or an expanded recall if regulators find a broader safety problem.
The size of the new review makes it significant for Rivian. The company’s R1T pickup and R1S SUV are its main consumer vehicles, and the probe covers a much larger population than the January recall. A safety issue affecting vehicle control could draw close regulatory attention even when the number of reported incidents is small.
For owners, the immediate issue is whether the rear suspension component can fail under ordinary driving conditions or after service work. Toe link separation can affect a vehicle’s alignment and stability, making the reported swerving incidents central to NHTSA’s review.
Rivian has faced several recalls and safety actions as it scales production and service for its electric vehicles. Safety probes and recalls are common across the auto industry, but they can create added pressure for newer automakers trying to build customer trust while expanding deliveries and service capacity.
NHTSA’s investigation will focus on the rear toe link joint, Rivian’s repair procedure and whether the January recall addressed the full scope of the issue. The agency has not announced a final conclusion.