Well, that didn't take long. That's what I was thinking to myself when the email came in to inform me that Rivian was recalling my 2022 Rivian R1T less than a month after receiving it.
Fortunately, after doing a little research, and inspecting the two bolts on my R1T that are at the center of the recall, I realized that fortunately, it's a minor issue that can be easily resolved.
Rivian is recalling all R1T and R1S models, as well as some of its electric delivery vehicles (EDVs) that have been delivered to Amazon. In the recall notice letter, Rivian said the total number of vehicles included in this recall was 12,212. The issue is the bolt that holds the vehicle's front upper control arms to the steering knuckle could come loose. Rivian explained that in some cases, the fastener may not have been properly tightened before delivery.
"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." - Rivian recall notice
I also received a follow-up letter from Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe that stated Rivian is aware of seven reports possibly related to the nut loosening up, which is why they voluntarily issued this recall.
Owners were prompted in the notice to call Rivian to call and set up the service which simply included a technician tightening up the nut on both front wheels. The vehicles came out of the factory with the nuts tightened to 70 newton-meters (Nm).
The recall service will now tighten the bolts to 120 Nm, nearly twice as tight as they were when they came out of the factory. During the recall service, the technician first measures the torque of the bolts as they are, and mine had already begun to loosen and were measured at 64 Nm.
Owners have the option of visiting a Rivian service center to have the service performed and are not required to make an appointment. Just pull up and wait in line as my InsideEVs podcast partner Kyle Conner did with his Rivian R1T.
I, however, live 70 miles from the nearest Rivian service center in Brooklyn, New York, which can be difficult getting to and from and elected to have a Rivian mobile service technician come to my house to perform the service which Rivian offers as an option.
The technician arrived in a regular Rivian R1T, which was a little disappointing because I wanted to shoot some video of the Rivian Mobile Service vehicle. These are custom R1T trucks that are outfitted with the tools and parts to perform many on-site repairs.
However, since this recall only requires the use of a simple torque wrench, (and probably because the service center doesn't have many specialized mobile trucks yet) I didn't get the opportunity to fully explore the vehicle as I wanted to. I did however spend a little time with one at the Rivian R1S first drive event, so I cut that short clip into the video to give the viewers a quick look at it.
The letter from Scaringe stated that Rivian has also added pop-up service centers in high-density areas and between those, service centers, and mobile units, the company has the capacity to service all the vehicles within 30-days. Overall, I'm happy with my first Rivian service experience, but this was a relatively simple fix. If and when future issues arise with my R1T, I'll report on whether the level of service seen in this recall continues.
