Rivian announced on Friday evening it is voluntarily recalling nearly every vehicle it has delivered so far, over a potential loose fastener.
The voluntary recall is expected to be published by the National Transportation and Safety Administration on Saturday. Affected Rivian customers received an email on Friday evening.
Rivian says as of September 28, 2022, it has seen seven reports of this loose fastener that can cause a potential loss of steering control, out of the 13,000 vehicles included in the recall. Rivian has produced 14,000 vehicles in the first three quarters of 2022, so this recall affects 93% of vehicles in 2022 so far.
“The safety of our customers will always be our top priority, and we are committed to fixing this issue on any affected vehicles as quickly as possible. We will begin immediately contacting affected customers to schedule appointments for inspections and repairs if needed,” said Rivian in a statement to media outlets including the Wall Street Journal.
“We will make any necessary adjustments free of charge at one of our service centers. The repair takes a few minutes to complete, and with customer collaboration, we have built out the capacity to complete the needed action in as little as 30 days. To date, we are not aware of any injuries that have resulted from this issue,” said the company.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told customers in an email to stop driving their electric vehicles, if they see issues with steering or suspension. “It’s important not to minimize the potential risks involved and why we are volunteering to conduct this recall,” wrote Scaringe. “In rare circumstances, the nut could loosen fully. I want to reiterate that this is extremely rare, but it does reinforce why we are acting with such urgency and caution,” said the Rivian CEO.
Earlier this week, Rivian reported in Q3, it produced 7,363 vehicles at its manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois and delivered 6,584 cars in the same period. The company says it is on track to produce 25,000 cars for the year. It will share its Q3 earnings on November 9, 2022.
