The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into allegations that 115,000 2023-2024 Rivian R1S and R1T vehicles could have a rear toe link defect that can lead to potential crashes. NHTSA has not issued a recall at this point, but it has opened an investigation. The Rivian R1S is a seven passenger SUV. The truck version is called the Rivian R1T.
What NHTSA is Investigating
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received two Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) reporting left rear toe link separation in certain Model Year (MY) 2023-2024 Rivian R1S vehicles. Both VOQs report “component separation while driving, causing the vehicles to swerve across multiple lanes of traffic. One incident resulted in a collision with an adjacent vehicle and roadside barrier.”
In both separations, the bolt that maintains the integrity of the toe link fractured. Evidence collected from the complaint vehicles included repair histories, onboard video, imagery of the damaged components, and a police accident report.
The two vehicles were both Rivian R1S SUVs. One of the SUVs had been serviced for the problem before, the other had not. The other SUV was involved in a previous collision. In both instances, the vehicles operated for multiple months and thousands of miles of usage with no apparent problems between the previous service or the previous collision and the failures that prompted this investigation.
Rivian Issued a Recall for Similar Problem in January 2026
Rivian had reported problems with the toe links before. Rivian realized that the bolt that holds the toe link in place could fracture after being serviced.
According to the Safety Recall Report, “The recall population includes certain Model Year 2022 to 2025 R1T and R1S vehicles that may have received service resulting in a joint that is not reassembled to design intent during a repair requiring separation and reassembly of a rear suspension toe link joint. The suspect period began on April 01, 2022, when Rivian service started to service vehicles requiring separation and reassembly of a rear suspension toe link joint using an older service procedure and ended on March 10, 2025, when Rivian service started using an updated service procedure.” At that point Rivian didn’t recall all of the vehicles because the majority of them had not been in for the service.
In March of 2025, Rivian updated its service procedures. In January of 2026, Rivian issued a recall extending the new, improved repair procedure to any Rivian vehicles that received toe link service prior to the March 2025 improvement. That recall is 26V-003. The manufacturer's number for the recall is FSAM-1794. The recall affected 20,000 Rivian SUVs and Trucks built between Aug 23, 2021 and Mar 06, 2025.
The concern now is that only one of the vehicles involved in the loss of control had been in for the toe link service. So, why did the other SUV's toe link separate? Does Rivian have a larger issue?
The January 2026 NHTSA Safety Recall Report said that "Between November 08, 2022, and November 20, 2025, Rivian received 19 warranty claims and 1 other claim potentially related to this issue." At that point, Rivian was aware of only one single vehicle crash with alleged minor injuries.
What NHTSA is Investigating Now
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation is reexamining the toe links to determine how sensitive the rear link joint is road and service conditions. The ODI will also compare the physical failure evidence from the two incidents to identify similarities and potential differences. The investigation will also evaluate Rivian’s current toe link repair procedure and assess the other Rivian trucks and SUVs toe links conditions.
NHTSA did not give any estimate for how long the investigation will take.
Image by Rivian
About the Author
Mary Conway is a professional automotive journalist and has decades of experience specializing in automotive news analysis. She covered the Detroit Three for more than twenty years for the ABC affiliate, in Detroit. Her affection for the Motor City comes naturally. Her father ran a gas station while Mary was growing up, in Wisconsin. Follow Mary at @MaryConwayMedia on X and on Facebook, and send her car news tips for future stories. Mary Conway is an esteemed automotive and business reporter who was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 2019. Mary is a member of the Automotive Press Association, Rocky Mountain Automotive Press, Society of Professional Journalists, and NATAS.
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