NHTSA Reopens the Rivian Toe Link Issue and Now It Covers 114,922 Vehicles

NHTSA reopened the Rivian rear toe link issue in late May, and the new investigation covers 114,922 R1T and R1S vehicles. That is essentially the entire modern R1 fleet, and far more than the roughly 20,000 that were part of the recall back in January. It applies to 2022 through 2025 R1 vehicles.

The agency opened the investigation on May 28 after two owners reported the left rear toe link separating while driving, both 2023-2024 R1S. In both cases the vehicle swerved across multiple lanes, and one struck another car and a barrier. The bolt holding the joint together fractured both times. No injuries were reported. A toe link separating at speed can cause a sudden loss of directional control.

The January recall was narrower. Rivian recalled 19,641 vehicles that had received rear suspension work using an older service procedure that could leave the toe link joint reassembled incorrectly. Rivian had updated that procedure in March 2025, and the remedy is a free bolt replacement that takes under an hour.

The new investigation is broader because it is not limited to vehicles that had that service. By covering 114,922 vehicles, regulators are looking at whether the joint is sensitive across the whole fleet rather than only on cars that were previously worked on. The two vehicles that prompted the probe had different histories, one with prior service and one with an earlier collision, and both drove for months before the failures.

An investigation is not a recall. It is the first formal step, and NHTSA can close it or upgrade it to the stage that typically precedes a recall.

Owners can run their VIN through NHTSA’s recall lookup to check status. Anyone covered by the January recall who has not completed the fix can schedule it at no cost. The investigation arrives weeks before Rivian begins R2 deliveries in June.