21:14 29-12-2025

Hidden rear-door emergency release on Rivian R1S/R1T sparks safety concerns

Owners of second-generation Rivian R1S and R1T models are voicing a new safety worry: getting the rear doors open in an emergency has become unnecessarily difficult. With the 2025 model-year update, Rivian relocated the rear-door emergency release cable behind the interior panel. According to the instructions, a passenger must rip off a section of trim and then feel around for a cord buried deep inside. Previously, a conventional handle could pop the door even with no power; that straightforward backup now remains only for the front doors.

In real-world terms, this raises the bar for a quick escape—an adult may struggle to reach the cable under stress, and for a child it’s close to unrealistic. As a result, some owners, especially those who carry kids in the second row, have been making simple tweaks: adding a paracord extension to the factory cable, or attaching a small carabiner, ring, or zip ties to grab and pull without tools and without removing the panel. They also caution about the trade-off: an extended manual linkage could be pulled while the car is moving, so children are being told to touch it only in a genuine emergency.

The episode highlights a broader challenge with EVs that rely on electronic latches. When everything functions, it’s sleek and tidy; after a crash or a power loss, the mechanical fallback needs to be obvious and within reach. Burying a lifeline behind trim feels like an odd choice for vehicles aimed at adventurous families, where clarity in a panic matters more than clean panel lines. Rivian has said it will revisit the approach in future models, and across the industry there’s growing momentum to blend electronic and manual actuation into a single, intuitive control.