Gary Zhou 
Rivian is recalling 2022-2023 R1S all-electric SUVs to confront potentially improper securing of the side curtain airbags. It is the second issue related to airbags in the past month.
Rivian issued the recall on March 9, affecting only 30 units of the R1S SUV. The issue stems from fasteners that are responsible for securing the right and left side curtain airbags, and they could be improperly secured.
“The potentially affected vehicle production began on October 28, 2022, when Rivian Automotive, LLC (“Rivian”) started to build vehicles with the suspect side curtain airbag fastenings and ended on January 21, 2023, when Rivian stopped building with the suspect fastenings,” NHTSA documents show. “The suspect population was determined using Rivian manufacturing records.”
The airbags may not perform as intended and increase the risk of injury during certain accident conditions due to their improper fastening, the description of the safety risk describes.
Rivian identified a vehicle at its Normal, Illinois, facility on February 16, 2023, that showed some of the fasteners did not secure the airbag to the roof rail. The automaker said it is not aware of any crash, death, or injury reports related to the issue in any market.
Rivian will inspect and properly secure the side curtain airbag fasteners in affected vehicles. If a vehicle is affected, the automaker will replace the components free of charge.
The side curtain airbag recall is the second airbag-related recall from Rivian in the past month. On March 1, Rivian issued a recall on 12,716 R1T and R1S vehicles as a faulty sensor could cause issues with the vehicle’s airbag system.
The automatic locking retractor, or ALR sensor, in the front passenger seat belt system, could report as “ON” when it is actually “OFF.” This increased the risk of improper deployment or suppression of the airbag.
