Rivian will recall 34,824 electric delivery vans (EDVs) in the United States after discovering that a damaged driver-side seat belt pretensioner cable could fail to properly restrain occupants in a crash, increasing the risk of injury, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.
The recall covers certain 2022–2025 Rivian EDV models built between Dec. 10, 2021 and Nov. 8, 2025, all of which are fully electric light trucks. Rivian said the issue affects 100% of the recalled population based on manufacturing records.
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According to the recall filing, the seat belt pretensioner cable can become damaged due to repeated misuse, such as when a driver sits on the seat belt while it is buckled underneath them. A damaged pretensioner may fail to activate properly in a collision.
The affected component is identified as the first-row driver seat belt pretensioner, part number PT00049165-D. NHTSA opened a preliminary investigation into the issue on Sept. 22, 2025, and Rivian decided to conduct a voluntary safety recall on Nov. 18, 2025. As of the filing date, the company said it was not aware of any related crashes or injuries.
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As part of the remedy, Rivian has released an over-the-air software update that enables automatic detection of seat belt misuse. The company will also inspect and replace the driver’s seat belt pretensioner assembly as necessary at no cost to owners.
Rivian said the updated hardware combined with the new software detection system will prevent recurrence of the defect in future vehicles. Owner notification letters are scheduled to be mailed starting Jan. 19, 2026, and affected vehicle identification numbers will become searchable on the same date.
