2022 Rivian R1T Adventure

Scope: This report covers the 2022 Rivian R1T Adventure as a model year in general. It is not tied to any specific VIN. Recall applicability and open campaigns must always be verified by VIN at NHTSA.gov/recalls and with Rivian service. Complaint counts and recall populations change over time as NHTSA and the manufacturer update records.

Prepared from publicly available NHTSA recall filings, manufacturer communications, long-term press tests, and aggregated owner reports. Sources are listed at the end.

Here is a 2022-generation R1T Adventure — close to your truck's look (Limestone, Adventure Package, 20-inch all-terrain wheels).

The 2022 Rivian R1T is the first model year of Rivian's battery-electric crew-cab pickup. Adventure was the primary production trim for most 2022 deliveries (a limited Launch Edition was similar in equipment; Explore was announced but essentially not produced).

Typical Adventure specification (2022)

•   Powertrain: Quad-motor all-wheel drive; combined output about 835 hp and 908 lb-ft.

•   Battery: “Large” pack, approximately 129–135 kWh usable/nominal depending on source; EPA-estimated range about 314 miles on 21-inch wheels.

•   Performance (press tests): roughly 3.1–3.3 seconds 0–60 mph; towing rating up to 11,000 lb; payload around 1,760 lb.

•   Chassis: Adaptive air suspension with multiple ride heights and drive modes; independent front and rear.

•   Adventure equipment typically includes: ventilated/heated front seats, heated steering wheel, Meridian audio, panoramic glass roof, power tonneau cover, Gear Guard camera security, onboard air compressor, 120V outlets, and gear tunnel storage.

•   Warranty (as sold): 5 years / 60,000 miles vehicle limited warranty; 8 years / 175,000 miles battery and drive-unit coverage (confirm current terms with Rivian).

As a first-year vehicle from a new manufacturer, 2022 trucks carry the highest density of early-production assembly issues, software immaturity, and safety campaigns of any R1T year. Later years generally show a lower NHTSA complaint rate per vehicle sold.

Aggregators drawing from NHTSA owner complaints have reported on the order of about 90-plus complaints for the 2022 R1T, with a high complaints-per-10,000-sold rate compared with later years (one compilation cited ~95 complaints per 10,000 U.S. units versus a much lower rate for 2023). Figures vary by the date of the pull and whether multi-year campaigns are counted against 2022 only.

Recurring high-volume NHTSA complaint categories for 2022 R1T include:

•   Suspension and steering (control-arm / knuckle concerns, noises, alignment, air-suspension behavior).

•   Forward-collision avoidance / adaptive cruise / automatic emergency braking (including phantom braking).

•   Electrical system and 12-volt auxiliary battery.

•   Airbags and occupant classification.

•   Powertrain / drive unit / inverter.

•   Build quality, water intrusion, and HVAC.

3.1 Steering and suspension

The most serious early safety theme is the front upper-control-arm-to-steering-knuckle fastener that may have been under-torqued. If the joint loosens, camber can change or, in a worst case, the knuckle can separate, with loss of control. This became NHTSA campaign 22V-744. Owners and press also report chirps/squeaks from hydraulic jounce lines or air suspension at low speed, rattles after rough roads, and alignment or vibration issues. A later campaign addresses rear toe-link joints that may have been reassembled incorrectly during prior service.

3.2 Drive units, inverters, and sudden no-drive

Quad-motor early trucks have documented front drive-unit and inverter failures. Symptoms include grinding/whining, “AWD permanently engaged / service soon” messages, reduced-power safe states, or the truck refusing to leave Park. Edmunds' long-term 2022 R1T stopped and would not move; diagnosis was a short in the front drive-unit inverter requiring the entire front drive unit to be dropped. Failures of this type have generally been handled under the long powertrain warranty when diagnosed at a Rivian service center. A customer-satisfaction campaign also addressed drive-unit drain-plug sealing on early-build units.

3.3 12-volt auxiliary battery and low-voltage electrical

Repeated 12V battery failures and parasitic drain (Gear Guard cameras, cellular modem, and other always-on loads) are among the most frequent owner complaints. A dead 12V pack can brick access, charging, or propulsion even when the high-voltage pack is charged. Consumer Reports owner comments describe multiple replacements in a short period and initially mixed billing before Rivian treated it as a known issue. Key-fob / phone-key passive entry that is unresponsive or overly sensitive is also widely reported and was only partly improved by over-the-air updates.

3.4 Driver assistance (Driver+ / Highway Assist)

NHTSA complaints cluster around adaptive cruise, forward-collision warnings, and automatic emergency braking. Owners describe phantom braking on rural two-lane roads, inability to engage Highway Assist on roads where competing systems work, and inconsistent lane-keeping. These issues are largely software- and sensor-calibration related; Rivian has issued multiple OTA updates, but 2022 hardware and early software remain a source of dissatisfaction versus later calibration.

3.5 Airbags and restraints

Early 2022 trucks were recalled because the front-passenger Occupant Classification System might not turn the passenger airbag off when a child or child seat was present (FMVSS 208 noncompliance). Separate campaigns cover improperly secured front seat-belt anchors/D-rings and, on some later filings that still include 2022 VINs, second-row retractor bolts. Owner complaints also mention airbag warning lamps and occupant-detection quirks.

3.6 HVAC and water in the cabin

A well-documented pattern is HVAC condensate or case sealing that lets water reach front carpets, producing damp floors, odor/mold, and in rare reports concern about water near electronics. Rivian issued a technical service bulletin to inspect, reseal the HVAC case/drip pan, and replace drain valves and related gaskets. This is one of the more common “quality of life” shop visits on early R1 trucks.

3.7 Tonneau cover, tailgate, charge port, and body

The power tonneau is frequently called out for clunking, binding, or incomplete close (some early guidance even advised leaving the cover open). Charge-port doors that fail to motor closed, frunk auto-close pinch concerns on some early campaigns, panel gaps, paint bubbling under door handles from inner-door adhesive/corrosion, and cabin rattles (B-pillar, door trim, tailgate flap) appear in both TSBs and owner forums.

3.8 Infotainment and software

Frozen center screens, black-screen reboots, Bluetooth dropouts, heated-steering-wheel faults, and general software lag were common on launch software. Many items improved with OTA releases; others required module resets or hardware replacement. First-year owners also complained about the sparse service network and multi-week waits for mobile or center appointments.

3.9 Tires and consumables

The truck is very heavy (press long-term vehicles around 7,050–7,170 lb). All-terrain EV tires have worn quickly in some tests (Car and Driver replaced a set near 20,000 miles). This is more a duty-cycle/weight issue than a defect, but it is a recurring ownership cost.

3.10 Service experience

Even when individual defects are covered, owners consistently cite limited service-center density, long queues, loaner availability, and multi-visit repairs. Some lemon-law summaries describe trucks with many repair orders spanning years (fitment, sensors, software, suspension noise, recalls). This operational friction is as central to 2022 ownership reports as any single mechanical failure.

NHTSA and third-party tallies commonly cite on the order of 11 (and in some later counts more) campaigns that include 2022 R1T VINs. Populations and dates below are from manufacturer Part 573 filings and NHTSA summaries. Always confirm by VIN; some campaigns apply only to a subset of 2022 production or only to trucks that had prior service.

NHTSA ID	Component	Defect / risk / remedy (summary)
22V-319	Seats / OCS / airbag	Front-passenger Occupant Classification System may not deactivate the airbag for a child or child seat (FMVSS 208). Remedy: replace front passenger seat. Early production through about April 2022; hundreds of trucks.
22V-641	Seat belts – front anchorage	Front seat-belt anchors may not have been properly attached to the B-pillar. Risk of inadequate restraint in a crash. Remedy: inspect and secure bolts.
22V-744	Steering / front upper control arm	Front upper-control-arm-to-steering-knuckle fastener may be under-torqued. Loose joint can alter camber or separate, with loss of control. Remedy: inspect and tighten (replace if needed). Major early campaign covering 2022 R1T/R1S/EDV (on the order of 12,000 vehicles in the combined filing).
23V-883	Accelerator pedal / speed control	Early-revision accelerator pedal may not detect pedal release, so Auto-Hold or Park may not engage; risk of rollaway. Remedy: OTA software plus pedal replacement on affected 2022 R1T/R1S (thousands of units).
25V-370	Seat belts – front D-ring	Front seat-belt D-ring bolt(s) may not have been properly installed in production. Inadequate attachment under crash load. Inspect/secure. Includes certain 2022–2025 R1T/R1S.
26V-003	Rear suspension toe link	Applies to vehicles that had rear toe-link service before the March 10, 2025 procedure update. Joint may not be reassembled to design intent and could separate. Remedy: replace toe-link bolts using the updated procedure. Combined R1T/R1S population in the filing is large; only previously serviced trucks are in scope.
26V-009	Seat belts – 2nd-row retractor	Second-row seat-belt retractor bolt(s) may be improperly tightened. Inadequate restraint. Inspect and tighten. Certain 2022–2025 R1T and later R1S.

Table: Selected NHTSA campaigns that include 2022 R1T. Additional campaigns (labels, lighting, software, HVAC-related communications, trim clips after service, airbag fasteners on subsets, etc.) appear in NHTSA's year/make/model search. Counts of “11 recalls” vs. higher later totals reflect new campaigns that still list 2022 in the population.

Rivian publishes TSBs (RSB-*) and customer-satisfaction or field campaigns (RCA-*, FSAM-*) rather than a large public TSB catalog like legacy OEMs. Many are visible through NHTSA “manufacturer communications.” The following are representative items that include 2022 R1T Adventure-class trucks:

•   RSB-18-24-001-1 — Front hydraulic suspension chirp/squeak below ~20 mph on uneven surfaces. Replace front hydraulic jounce lines with updated parts. Noise only; not a performance defect.

•   RSB-26-26-001-1 — HVAC water ingress / wet front carpets. Inspect cabin heater, reseal HVAC case and drip pan, replace drain valve, gaskets, and related seals.

•   RSB-93-24-001 (rev. 2) — A/C compressor noise and vibration; refrigerant-line bracket retrofit and, on some build dates, cowl-harness reroute.

•   RSB-56-25-002-1 — Paint bubbles / corrosion under exterior door handles from inner-door reinforcement adhesive allowing contamination. Collision-center repair or door-shell replacement if perforation exceeds spec.

•   RSB-64-23-001-1 — Early upper tailgate trim that can abrade cargo; replace with rubber-insert panel.

•   Communications on B-pillar / door-trim rattles (anti-rattle tape at seat-belt retractors; door-trim noise kits).

•   Ultrasonic sensors detaching from the front fascia (sensor hang / parking-aid faults).

•   RCA-78-22-006-1 — Customer-satisfaction campaign: add a cable tie to keep the left-front frame harness clear of the steering-column intermediate shaft (wear-through risk if misrouted).

•   RCA-38-23-003 (multiple revs.) — Drive-unit drain-plug threads/O-ring sealing; inspect, install enlarged-washer plug, or replace the drive unit if fluid loss exceeds threshold.

Recall repair instructions (for example RRC-72-22-002-1 seat-belt height-adjuster bolt; RRC-78-24-001-1 accelerator-pedal replacement) are issued alongside the NHTSA campaigns in Section 4.

Car and Driver's 2022 R1T Adventure long-term test (~40,000 miles) described the truck as largely faithful mechanically aside from expected EV-startup quirks: stubborn key-fob passive entry, gear-tunnel “door open” false alerts, a stuck Bluetooth camp speaker, cabin squeaks and rattles that worsened, rapid tire wear, and long waits for the thin service network. They did not experience a catastrophic drive-unit failure in that test.

Edmunds' long-term 2022 R1T did suffer a sudden no-drive event from a front inverter short and required a tow and front drive-unit work. Combined with owner forums, the picture is: many trucks run well after software maturity and completed recalls; a meaningful minority need major drive-unit, 12V, HVAC, or suspension work, and service access remains the bottleneck.

•   Run the VIN on NHTSA.gov/recalls and in the Rivian app / owner portal before purchase or after any service that involved rear toe links or interior trim.

•   Ask for documentation that 22V-744 (knuckle fastener), restraint campaigns, and 23V-883 (pedal/Auto-Hold) are closed.

•   Test 12V health, frunk/tonneau/charge-port operation, HVAC for damp carpets or odor, and Driver+ behavior on a varied road.

•   Budget for tires and possible out-of-warranty air-suspension or 12V costs after the basic warranty.

•   Factor service-center distance; mobile service does not cover every campaign.

Later model years (especially after mid-cycle hardware and software changes) generally show lower complaint rates, but 2022 trucks that have completed recalls and have a clean recent service history can still be capable adventure vehicles. First-year risk is real and should be priced and inspected accordingly.

NHTSA Part 573 filings and owner notices: 22V-319 (OCS/passenger seat); 22V-641 / related seat-belt anchorage; 22V-744 (steering knuckle / upper control arm, FSAM-997); 23V-883 (accelerator pedal / Auto-Hold, FSAM-1342 / RRC-78-24-001-1); 25V-370 (front D-ring); 26V-003 (rear toe link after service, FSAM-1794); 26V-009 (second-row retractor, FSAM-1795). Searchable at NHTSA.gov/recalls and static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/.

NHTSA manufacturer communications / TSB indexes (examples): RSB-18-24-001-1 (suspension chirp); RSB-26-26-001-1 (HVAC water ingress); RSB-93-24-001-2 (A/C noise); RSB-56-25-002-1 (door-handle corrosion); RSB-64-23-001-1 (tailgate trim); RCA-78-22-006-1 (frame harness clearance); RCA-38-23-003 (drive-unit plugs). Indexed via NHTSA manufacturer communications and industry TSB databases.

Complaint and reliability aggregations: NHTSA complaint extracts summarized by VinItel and similar compilers for 2022 R1T; Consumer Reports 2022 R1T reliability owner comments; Edmunds consumer reviews and long-term “quits without warning” inverter report (Oct. 2023); Car and Driver 2022 R1T Adventure 40,000-mile wrap (Nov. 2023).

Specifications: Car and Driver, Edmunds, Cars.com, and contemporaneous Rivian order guides for 2022 Adventure / Large pack / quad-motor.