Key facts
- Investigation: NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation PE26004, opened 05/26/2026 per the official ODI document (publicly reported late May 2026). This is an investigation, not a recall.
- Scope: 114,922 vehicles - 2022-2025 Rivian R1S and R1T (the full in-field fleet, not just serviced vehicles).
- Reports behind it: 2 owner questionnaires (VOQs), both on MY2023-2024 R1S; 1 crash, 0 injuries, 0 fatalities on the investigation record.
- Defect mechanism: The left rear toe link separated while driving after the toe-link bolt fractured, causing the vehicle to swerve across multiple lanes.
- Prior recall: 26V-003 (Manufacturer No. FSAM-1794), reported Jan 5, 2026 - 19,641 vehicles (R1S 7,031 + R1T 12,610) that received the old toe-link service procedure between April 1, 2022 and March 10, 2025.
- Recall remedy: Replace the rear toe-link bolts free of charge. 26V-003 VINs searchable from Feb 24, 2026; owner letters mailed on or before that date.
- Rivian's position (press-reported): "Rivian data indicates R1 toe link joints are operating as intended."
How do I check a used Rivian R1T or R1S before buying?
Start by separating the two things you need to verify: the vehicle's own history, and its regulatory status. A VIN check (NHTSA's free tool, or a paid vehicle history report) is the right tool for the vehicle's own history - accidents, airbag deployment, salvage, odometer, ownership, and whether any recall appears on the record. The regulatory status of the toe-link probe (PE26004) is a fleet-wide investigation that is not attached to any individual VIN, so you confirm that directly with NHTSA and confirm recall repairs with a Rivian service center.
For a used R1 specifically, prioritize three checks: (1) accident and airbag-deployment records, because a prior swerve or collision of the kind described in the toe-link reports would show as a damage/severity event; (2) recall presence, to see whether recall 26V-003 appears on that VIN; and (3) salvage/junk-auction records, which would surface a write-off after a serious crash. Then confirm the recall was actually performed at a Rivian service center, and check the live investigation status at NHTSA.
Is the Rivian R1S/R1T rear toe-link probe (PE26004) a recall?
No. PE26004 is a Preliminary Evaluation - the first, fact-finding stage of a NHTSA defect investigation. It does not order any repair and does not, by itself, mean a defect exists. NHTSA opened it on May 26, 2026 after consumer complaints, and it covers the full 114,922-vehicle MY2022-2025 R1S/R1T fleet.
A Preliminary Evaluation can be closed, or it can escalate to an Engineering Analysis and potentially a recall. As of this writing (June 7, 2026), it remains an open investigation with no outcome decided. The four stated objectives are to assess how sensitive the rear toe-link joint is to foreseeable road and service conditions, compare the physical failure evidence from the two reports, evaluate Rivian's current toe-link repair procedure, and assess the toe-link condition of the in-field population.
What's the difference between recall 26V-003 and investigation PE26004?
They are two separate actions with different scopes. Recall 26V-003 (January 2026) is a formal recall of 19,641 specific vehicles that had received Rivian's old toe-link service procedure before March 10, 2025 - identified through service records, not by model alone. PE26004 (May 2026) is an investigation of the entire 114,922-vehicle MY2022-2025 R1S/R1T fleet, examining whether the joint itself may be inherently sensitive, regardless of service history.
The investigation was triggered partly because the two newly reported failure vehicles had operated trouble-free for multiple months and thousands of miles after a prior service or collision before the toe link failed - raising the question of whether the design, not just the older repair, is at issue. Rivian, in March 2025, had concluded a root-cause investigation of a very small number of toe-link failures and revised its service procedure (effective March 10, 2025); that revised procedure is referenced in both the recall and the investigation.
| Item | Recall 26V-003 | Investigation PE26004 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Formal safety recall | Preliminary Evaluation (investigation) |
| Date | Reported Jan 5, 2026 | Opened May 26, 2026 |
| Vehicles | 19,641 (R1S 7,031 + R1T 12,610) | 114,922 |
| Models / years | 2022-2025 R1S & R1T | 2022-2025 R1S & R1T |
| Who's covered | Only vehicles serviced with the old toe-link procedure (Apr 1, 2022 - Mar 10, 2025) | The full in-field fleet, regardless of service |
| Action | Replace toe-link bolts, free | Fact-finding; no repair ordered |
| VIN-searchable? | Yes, recall presence from Feb 24, 2026 | No - not attached to individual VINs |
Which Rivian models and model years are affected?
The investigation PE26004 covers 2022-2025 Rivian R1S and R1T - 114,922 vehicles in total. The two consumer reports that prompted it were both on 2023-2024 R1S models, but the investigation scope is the full 2022-2025 R1S/R1T fleet, not just 2023-2024. The earlier recall (26V-003) also spans 2022-2025 R1S and R1T, but only for the 19,641 units that received the old service procedure.
The NHTSA documents define scope by model, model year, and (for the recall) prior service history. They do not break scope down by trim - so there is no Dual-Motor versus Quad-Motor or battery-pack distinction stated in the official records, and none should be assumed.
| Scope | Models | Model years | Count | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PE26004 (investigation) | R1S + R1T | 2022-2025 | 114,922 | Whole-fleet toe-link investigation |
| Reports within PE26004 | R1S only | 2023-2024 | 2 VOQs (1 crash, 0 injuries) | Left rear toe-link bolt fracture |
| 26V-003 recall - R1S | R1S | 2022-2025 | 7,031 | Recalled (serviced pre-Mar-10-2025) |
| 26V-003 recall - R1T | R1T | 2022-2025 | 12,610 | Recalled (serviced pre-Mar-10-2025) |
| 26V-003 total | R1S + R1T | 2022-2025 | 19,641 | Replace toe-link bolts, free |
Does the toe-link issue affect Rivians that were never serviced?
The recall (26V-003) only applies to vehicles that received the old toe-link service procedure between April 2022 and March 10, 2025 - so a Rivian that never had that service is not part of the recall. The investigation (PE26004), however, deliberately covers the whole 2022-2025 R1S/R1T fleet, including vehicles that were never serviced.
That broader scope is the point of the investigation: NHTSA wants to determine whether the toe-link joint is sensitive to foreseeable road and service conditions across the fleet, not only on vehicles that had the older repair. No defect determination has been made for unserviced vehicles - that is what the open evaluation is meant to assess.
What can a VIN check tell you about a used Rivian R1?
A VIN check (NHTSA's free lookup or a paid vehicle history report) is built for vehicle-specific history, not for regulatory investigations. It can confirm whether recall 26V-003 appears on a given VIN and surface that vehicle's accident, airbag, salvage, odometer, and ownership records. It cannot confirm whether a recall was actually repaired, cannot flag a NHTSA investigation like PE26004, and does not state the legal title brand (it shows junk/salvage auction records, not the title-brand classification itself).
For this story, the most useful thing a VIN check surfaces is accident and airbag-deployment history: the failures described in the two reports involved a vehicle swerving across lanes, with one collision - exactly the kind of event that would appear as a damage, severity, or airbag record. Salvage and junk-auction records would catch a vehicle written off after such a crash, and sales-listing history can reveal a vehicle quickly re-flipped after an incident. A Zilocar VIN check pulls these records together - recall presence, accident and airbag-deployment data, salvage and junk-auction history, odometer rollback, theft (NICB), ownership, and past sales listings - for screening one used R1 against another.
| Question | VIN check | Where to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Is recall 26V-003 listed on this VIN? | Yes (presence/count) | VIN check or NHTSA recall lookup |
| Was the recall actually repaired? | No | Rivian service center / NHTSA |
| Is this VIN "under investigation" (PE26004)? | No | NHTSA investigation lookup (nhtsa.gov) |
| Prior accident, severity, airbag deployment? | Yes | VIN check |
| Salvage or junk-auction record? | Yes (auction records) | VIN check |
| Legal title-brand classification? | No (shows auction records, not the brand) | State DMV / title |
| Odometer rollback, theft (NICB), ownership? | Yes | VIN check |
| Past sales listings, prices, mileage? | Yes | VIN check |
Is it safe to buy a used Rivian R1 right now?
There is no recall instructing owners not to drive the broader fleet, and the investigation (PE26004) records 1 crash and 0 injuries among 114,922 vehicles as of its opening - but the evaluation is open and its outcome is undecided, so treat each vehicle individually. The practical move is verification: confirm whether recall 26V-003 is listed and remedied for that specific VIN, and check its accident/airbag and salvage history.
Note that the 26V-003 recall report includes "Do Not Drive / Park Outside" advisory fields for the recalled population, and the remedy (free toe-link bolt replacement) became available with VINs searchable from February 24, 2026. If a Rivian you're considering falls under 26V-003, ask the seller and a Rivian service center whether the bolt replacement was completed before purchase.
