Rivian recalls nearly 13,000 electric cars due to airbag problems

Rivian is forced to recall 12,716 vehicles. This was the decision of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Here's What We Know

Rivian is recalling the 2022 R1T pickups and R1S SUVs. The cause was a faulty sensor in the seatbelt, which causes the airbags to deploy incorrectly. According to the manufacturer, it takes no more than 30 minutes to rectify the fault.

The NHTSA report indicates that Rivian has not received any information about passenger injuries triggered by improper deployment of the airbags. The company notes that out of 12,716 electric vehicles, a sensor problem can be observed in no more than 1% of the vehicles. Rivian also adds that production of vehicles with the problematic sensor ceased on 15 September 2022.

When it comes to the number of vehicles, the recall is tiny compared to competitors. For example, Tesla was recently forced to recall over 360,000 electric cars to update its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. What's more, 1 million vehicles from Elon Musk's company were subject to a recall last fall.

However, Rivian has only produced 24,337 electric vehicles throughout 2022, meaning it now needs to recall almost half of the vehicles. Also keep in mind that a few months ago the company recalled 13,000 vehicles due to steering problems.

Source: NHTSA