The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a preliminary investigation into 17,198 examples of Rivian's Electric Delivery Van (EDV) following reports the seat belts are malfunctioning, leading to an increased crash risk.
The vans were manufactured between 2022 and 2023.
The agency's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has, so far, received six reports of possible failures with the seat belt's anchorage system on the driver's side. There have reportedly been several instances where the steel braided cable that connects the seat belt to the seat frame has either frayed, unraveled, or broken outright. According to the report, this leaves "the occupants unrestrained in the event of a collision."
The NHTSA cautioned that a weakened or detached seat belt anchorage might not meet the necessary load capacity standards, posing what it described as "an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety."
[Related: Rivian halts Amazon delivery van production, blames parts shortage]
Rivian confirmed it's cooperating with the safety agency's investigation. Fortunately, there haven't been any reported crashes, fires, related injuries or fatalities.
"Rivian takes the safety of everyone in our vehicles very seriously; all of our vehicles meet or exceed applicable safety requirements. We look forward to cooperating with NHTSA on its investigation," a Rivian spokesperson told Clean Trucking.
NHTSA investigators will begin accessing the seat belt assembly's integrity, installation process, and whether there's a manufacturing or design flaw. The preliminary investigation is only the first step but it could ultimately lead to a more in-depth engineering analysis and, if necessary, a recall.
To date, nearly 14,000 EDVs are operating on U.S. roads. Amazon has also introduced the van in Europe and plans to expand its presence there. Other major companies, such as Ben & Jerry's, have also purchased Rivian EDVs.
[Related: Rivian, Ben & Jerry's join forces for new 'scoop trucks']
Rivian's biggest EDV client continues to be Amazon which, to date, has received over 25,000 examples. A total of 100,000 are due to be delivered to the e-commerce giant by 2030.
