US auto safety regulator opens probe into nearly 115,000 Rivian vehicles

May 28 (Reuters) - The ‌U.S. National ​Highway ​Traffic Safety Administration said on Thursday it has opened a preliminary probe into 114,922 Rivian ‌vehicles over an issue with the rear ⁠toe link.

The issue relates to the company's R1S and R1T electric ‌vehicles.

The agency's office of ‌defects investigation received two vehicle owner questionnaires reporting that the left rear toe link separates while ​driving, causing vehicles to swerve across multiple lanes of traffic, NHTSA said.

One incident resulted in a ⁠collision with an adjacent vehicle and roadside barrier, NHTSA said.

In an emailed ​statement, Rivian said its internal data indicates that the R1 toe link joints are operating ​as intended.

"We are cooperating with ‌NHTSA’s preliminary evaluation, but our internal investigation revealed that the two vehicle owner questionnaires ⁠upon which NHTSA is basing this Preliminary Evaluation do not implicate the joint itself," it added.

NHTSA's probe will ⁠assess the sensitivity of the rear toe link joint to foreseeable ​road and service conditions and evaluate Rivian's current toe link repair procedure, among other steps.

The company had in January recalled ‌nearly 20,000 previously serviced R1S and R1T electric vehicles in the U.S., citing incorrectly ‌assembled rear toe link.

The automaker will replace the ⁠rear toe‑link bolts free ‌of charge, the ​regulator had said then.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala and Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy ‌Leo)

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