Rivian Recalls 35,000 Amazon Delivery Vans Over Seat Belt Failure Risk

Rivian is recalling nearly every electric delivery van it has ever built after federal regulators flagged a seat belt defect that could leave drivers unrestrained during a crash. We’ve been tracking Rivian’s quality control struggles for over a year, and this recall affecting Amazon’s signature EV fleet confirms the pattern.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Tuesday that Rivian Automotive is recalling 34,824 Electric Delivery Vans (EDVs) spanning model years 2022 through 2025. The affected vehicles were built between December 10, 2021, and November 8, 2025, according to Reuters.

The issue centers on the driver’s seat belt pretensioner cable, a critical safety component designed to tighten the belt instantly during a collision or sudden deceleration.

What Caused the Defect

Rivian traced the problem to driver behavior. The pretensioner cable becomes damaged when drivers repeatedly sit on a seat belt that is already buckled underneath them.

This wear pattern is hardly surprising given how delivery drivers operate. Amazon drivers hop in and out of their vans dozens of times per shift. Some leave seat belts buckled to speed up the process, sitting on top of the restraint rather than wearing it properly.

“Rivian has determined that on certain EDV vehicles the driver side seat belt pretensioner may be damaged from repeated misuse,” the NHTSA recall notice states.

The damaged cable may fail to properly restrain the driver during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

NHTSA Investigation Preceded Recall

This recall did not come out of nowhere. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened a preliminary probe on September 22, 2025, after receiving six complaints about seat belt failures in Rivian delivery vans.

Those initial complaints described steel-braided cables that frayed, broke, or unraveled, potentially leaving drivers completely unrestrained. The original investigation covered 17,198 vans from 2022-2023 model years.

Rivian acknowledged the issue on November 18, 2025, and expanded the recall to include all EDVs ever produced, nearly doubling the affected population to 34,824 vehicles.

The Fix: Software and Hardware

Rivian has already deployed an over-the-air software update that automatically detects seat belt misuse by the driver. The update alerts drivers when they sit on a buckled belt rather than wearing it properly.

Beyond software, Rivian will inspect the driver’s seat belt pretensioner assembly in all affected vehicles and replace it if necessary. The repairs are free of charge.

“Rivian said it was not aware of any incidents or injuries related to this issue in any market,” according to the NHTSA filing.

Owner notification letters will be mailed starting January 19, 2026. The production defect was resolved on November 8, 2025, when the seat belt misuse detection feature was added to vehicles before they left the factory.

Amazon’s Fleet Exposed

The recall encompasses virtually Amazon’s entire Rivian delivery fleet in the United States. Amazon has deployed more than 35,000 EDVs globally, with the vast majority operating in American cities.

Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian back in 2019 as part of a $700 million investment. The retail giant aims to have all 100,000 vehicles on the road by 2030 as part of its net-zero carbon commitment.

These vans have delivered more than 1.5 billion packages worldwide, according to Amazon. The recall raises questions about how delivery pace pressures may be contributing to equipment wear that Rivian did not anticipate.

Another Recall in a Difficult Year

This marks Rivian’s sixth recall of 2025. The EV maker has issued safety notices for headlight failures in cold weather, improperly installed seat belt anchorages, turn signal malfunctions, high-voltage distribution box grounding issues, and Highway Assist software defects.

The Highway Assist recall in September affected 24,214 R1S and R1T vehicles after the system failed to identify a lead vehicle, causing a low-speed collision with no injuries.

Rivian’s consumer vehicles, the R1S SUV and R1T pickup truck, are not affected by this delivery van recall.

EVXL’s Take

Let’s call this what it is: Rivian designed a premium electric delivery van, but Amazon’s relentless delivery pace is destroying the safety equipment.

The company frames this as “driver misuse,” but that label obscures the real problem. Delivery drivers are under intense pressure to complete routes as quickly as possible. Sitting on a buckled belt to speed up dozens of daily stops is not stupidity. It is a rational response to an irrational workload.

We’ve been documenting Rivian’s quality and safety struggles for over a year. Back in October 2024, we reported on the safety crisis looming at Rivian’s Normal, Illinois factory, where workers suffered serious injuries including skull fractures and severed fingers as the company rushed to meet production targets.

The pattern continues. In October 2025, Rivian slashed 600 jobs, its third workforce reduction in four months. The same week, the company agreed to pay $250 million to settle an IPO fraud lawsuit alleging it misled investors about vehicle pricing.

Now we have a recall covering essentially every commercial van Rivian has ever built. That is not a minor quality hiccup. That is a systemic issue that went undetected for nearly four years of production.

The timing could not be worse. As we covered last month, Rivian’s Q3 earnings beat masked an October sales collapse of 43% following the federal tax credit expiration. The company is burning through cash while racing to launch its make-or-break R2 SUV in 2026.

Commercial vans were supposed to be Rivian’s stable revenue foundation. Amazon’s 100,000-vehicle order was the contract that made Rivian’s IPO possible. Now that foundation is cracking, one frayed seat belt cable at a time.

Credit where it is due: Rivian caught this before anyone got hurt, deployed an OTA fix quickly, and is offering free hardware replacements. That is responsible corporate behavior.

But the broader question remains unanswered. Can Rivian scale production quality fast enough to survive? The R2 launch will tell us everything.

What do you think about Rivian’s quality track record? Share your thoughts in the comments below.