Rivian rear door mechanical exit fails the test

Rivian rear door

We got access to a Rivian R1T and tested front and rear door mechanical back-up open options and the Rivian rear door failed at every level.

The front door works as advertised, with a handle that is easily accessed at the front of the arm rest on both sides of the vehicle.

However, there is nothing remotely obvious or even discoverable that can be removed from the rear door that would expose the release cord noted by the company.

Both the vehicle’s owner and myself looked for a means of removing the trim that is found behind and below the arm rest. It is the shape of what is shown in the illustration (below right).

But, again, there is no obvious way to remove the piece, and as the owner said, there is no way it could be done in a panic, as would likely be the case.

Ironically, looking it over with the door open was not helpful either. We are forced to recommend that anyone in the back seat should crawl over the console to the front to escape in a time of need.

This will be taken to NHTSA in the next few days. As far are we at DashboardSymbols.com this is a massive safety issue and adds to our call to have ALL electronic locks and latches banned.

Our Get Out page, including instructions for Rivian, can be seen here.

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