Rivian has issued another recall for the R1S, the second recall for the electric SUV in the past month. This time the recall involves 5,030 R1S SUVs, or every single one that has been delivered, as they have backup lights than don’t meet federal requirements for visibility.
According to the recall notice posted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website, the 5,030 impacted vehicles were built between November 19, 2021, or the very start of R1S production at Rivian’s factory in Normal, Illinois, and March 21, 2023, just a few weeks ago.
Despite having built the R1S for nearly a year and a half, the automaker apparently only found out the backup lights may not meet the federal FMVSS 108 requirements on March 8, 2023. After becoming aware of a potential issue, Rivian launched an investigation which found that the backup lights might not be visible from all angles.
“[FMVSS] prescribes horizontal and vertical planes to the rear of the vehicle from which the optical center of at least one backup lamp must be visible. On certain R1S vehicles, the optical center of at least one lamp may not be visible from these planes.”
While this does increase the risk of a crash, Rivian says they are not aware of any, attributing that to the R1S still emitting its pedestrian warning sound when reversing, and other vehicle sensors that detect pedestrians and other objects in close proximity.
The fix will require a visit to a Rivian service center where the faulty backup lights will be replaced with ones that do meet FMVSS requirements.
You can read the full recall notice below. (via InsideEVs)
RCLRPT-23V233-4885
