Rivian is recalling nearly 100,000 vehicles because a rearview camera display may not appear quickly enough under a specific sequence of conditions, creating an issue tied to federal motor vehicle safety requirements.

Rear Camera Display Could Be Briefly Blocked

The recall covers 62,259 R1S SUVs from 2022-2027 and 34,008 R1T pickups from 2022-2026. It also includes 2,481 2027 R2 SUVs.

Rivian says the rearview camera display may not pop up quickly enough in certain situations. The camera does appear, but a notification related to the vehicle’s stability control system can temporarily remain on the center display and block part of the camera view.

The sequence required to trigger the issue is unusually specific. A driver must have stability control turned off and be in a particular drive mode or modes, which Rivian did not identify. The driver must then walk away from the vehicle.

When the driver returns, a safety alert may appear on the center display indicating that stability control is off and asking whether the driver wants to turn it back on.

The driver can then get in and shift the vehicle into reverse without selecting a new drive mode. The vehicle enters reverse and the rear camera view appears immediately. However, the drive mode selection notification may remain on the screen until the vehicle moves, at which point the notification disappears.

Rivian Issues Software Update to Address Recall

The issue is tied to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 111, or FMVSS 111, which requires the camera display to appear within two seconds of “the start of a backing event.” In this case, the overlap between the notification and the vehicle’s initial movement means the system does not meet that requirement.

Rivian has issued a software update to resolve the problem. The automaker says the update is already available and that more than 95% of the affected vehicles have already received the software over the air.

Owners whose vehicles have not received the update can get it now. Rivian will begin sending letters to owners of all affected vehicles on November 9.

Owners will not be able to search to determine whether their vehicle identification number is included in the recall until that date. Rivian says vehicles with the latest software update should have the issue fixed.