Rivian Recalls Nearly All of Its Vehicles Due to Loose Fasteners

[Elderberry]

WSJ By Sean McLain 10/8/2022

Rivian Automotive Inc. RIVN -7.64%▼ is recalling nearly all of its vehicles to address a potential problem that could cause customers to lose steering control, the company said Friday.

The electric truck and SUV maker said the recall was made after it discovered a fastener connecting the upper control arm and steering knuckle may have been improperly installed. In rare cases, the problem could lead to a loss of steering control, the company said.

The recall campaign covers about 13,000 vehicles built in the 2021 and 2022 calendar years, and there are no known injuries related to this defect, a company spokeswoman said.

Rivian currently sells three all-electric models: a pickup truck, an SUV and a commercial delivery van.

The safety recall comes at a critical time for Rivian, which is accelerating production at its plant in Normal, Ill. in a push to hit its full-year production target of 25,000 vehicles.

More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/rivian-is-recalling-nearly-all-of-its-vehicles-11665188392?mod=djemalertNEWS

This reminds me of probably the first time I ever took a car into a mechanic. Around 37 yrs ago I took my wife to be's Camaro in for a front-end job. The first time she drove it to work, on the drive home, on the inside lane of Houston's IH59, she dropped a tie-rod end, and in traffic, her car went across all the lines of traffic, without hitting anyone, and she stopped on the shoulder. No cell phones back then. When I got there I saw the dropped tie-rod end and was able to tap it partially back into place and hold it in place with a pair of vice-grips. And drove it home.

[Idiot]

Oh my!  Loss of steering control....now that's a problem!

[sneakypete]

Am I the only one who has never heard of a "Rivian"?

[Elderberry]

Am I the only one who has never heard of a "Rivian"?

They are a Newby.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivian

Rivian Automotive, Inc. is an American electric vehicle automaker and automotive technology company founded in 2009. Rivian is building an electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pickup truck on a "skateboard" platform that can support future vehicles or be adopted by other companies. An electric delivery van is also being built as part of a partnership with Amazon.[8] Rivian started deliveries of its R1T pickup truck in late 2021. As of March 2022, the delivery van and R1S SUV were still in development.[9] The company plans to build an exclusive charging network in the United States and Canada by the end of 2023.[10]

Rivian is based in Irvine, California, with its manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois, and other facilities in Palo Alto, California; Carson, California; Plymouth, Michigan; Vancouver, British Columbia; Wittmann, Arizona; and Woking, England.[11][12] Additionally, Rivian has plans to build another US$5 billion factory in Georgia.[13]

The company raised over US$13.5 billion in financing following its IPO in November 2021.

History

The company was founded in 2009 as Mainstream Motors by Robert "RJ" Scaringe.[17] After being renamed as Avera Automotive[18] or Avera Motors, and finally Rivian Automotive in 2011 (a word play on the Indian River in Florida, where Scaringe grew up),[19] the company began focusing on autonomous and electric vehicles.[20]

Rivian's first car model was intended to be a sports car. This vehicle, dubbed the R1, was prototyped as a mid-engine hybrid coupe for the U.S. market, designed by Peter Stevens.[21] However, it was shelved in late 2011 as Rivian looked to restart its business in an effort to have a larger impact on the automotive industry.[22]

Rivian received a large investment and grew significantly in 2015, opening research facilities in Michigan and the Bay Area.[23] Shortly thereafter, Rivian began working exclusively on electric autonomous vehicles, in an attempt to build a network of related products.[24] It also began gearing its prototypes toward the "ride-sharing and driverless car markets."[25]

By September 2016, Rivian was negotiating to buy a manufacturing plant formerly owned by Mitsubishi Motors in Normal, Illinois.[23][26][27] In January 2017, Rivian acquired the plant and its manufacturing contents for $16 million, with the plant to become Rivian's primary North American manufacturing facility.[23][24][26][28] Rivian's acquisition of a near production-ready facility instead of building a new factory has been likened to Tesla's acquisition of the NUMMI plant in California.[28][26]

In December 2017, Rivian revealed its first two products: an electric five-passenger pickup truck and an electric seven-passenger SUV,[29][20] provisionally named the A1T and A1C, respectively. In November 2018, the truck and SUV were renamed the R1T and R1S, respectively, and unveiled at the LA Auto Show.[20][30][31][32] Both vehicles were described as ready for rough terrain and semi-autonomous, and the company outlined a plan for its next generation of models to be fully autonomous.[31] Production was scheduled to begin in 2020.[29]

Rivian had 250 employees at the start of 2018.[29] By February 2019, however, Rivian was employing 750 people[33] across facilities in Michigan, Illinois, California, and the United Kingdom. In November 2020, Rivian employed 3,000-plus workers.[34] Over the span of another year, employment roughly tripled, and in November 2021, Rivian was listed as having 9,000-plus employees.[35]

In late 2020, Rivian planned to begin shipments of the R1T in June 2021.[34] The June 2021 date later slipped to August. By August, vehicle shipments were delayed again, partly due to the global shortage of chips.[36] In September 2021, Rivian became the first automaker to bring a fully electric pickup to the consumer market, beating industry mainstays such as GM, Ford, and Tesla.[37] In October 2021, Rivian began delivering the R1T truck to customers.[38]

On November 10, 2021, Rivian became a public company through an IPO. 153 million shares were sold at an initial offering price of $78.00, valuing the company at $66.5 billion. The shares began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker "RIVN." On its first trading day, the stock closed at $100.73 per share, valuing the company at just under $100 billion.[39]

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Lawsuits and controversies

In July 2020, Tesla sued Rivian for allegedly stealing proprietary information, as well as for poaching employees.[133]

In March 2021, the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association filed a lawsuit against Rivian and fellow EV manufacturer Lucid Motors for their plans to sell electric vehicles directly to consumers.[134][135]

In November 2021, Rivian's former sales and marketing vice president Laura Schwab filed a suit against the company, claiming she was fired a month after raising concerns of discrimination and Rivian being a "boys' club" to the company's HR department. Schwab also claimed that she warned company executives of their vehicles being underpriced and the manufacturing process not conforming to security standards.[136] According to the lawsuit, issues she raised were ignored until male colleagues also raised them subsequently.[137] /quote]

[Bigun]

Am I the only one who has never heard of a "Rivian"?

Nope! Before today anyway. @sneakypete