Rivian built its reputation on clever engineering and outdoorsy flair, but some of its most dedicated owners are now quietly reengineering a far more basic feature: how the rear doors open in an emergency. Worried about kids or passengers getting trapped, they are modifying the factory emergency releases so they are easier to find and use when electronics fail. The result is a grassroots safety campaign that is already nudging the company toward a rethink of its next-generation door hardware.
Why Rivian parents are nervous about the rear doors
For families using the Rivian R1T pickup and R1S SUV as daily kid haulers, the anxiety starts with a simple scenario: the power system cuts out after a crash, and the rear passengers suddenly have no obvious way to get themselves out. Reports describe how the rear manual releases are tucked behind trim and are not intuitive for a panicked adult, let alone a child, to locate in low light or under stress. In one detailed account, the piece titled Rivian Owners Are Hacking Rear Doors So Kids Can Get Out In An Emergency explains that parents are specifically worried about kids being unable to operate those hidden door releases after a crash.
The concern is not just theoretical. Owners have circulated stories of first responders struggling to open Rivian doors from the outside when the usual electronic methods fail, which only amplifies fears about what happens from the inside. One section labeled Instances of highlights that if trained rescuers can be delayed, a child in a car seat has even slimmer odds of getting out quickly without help. That combination of hidden hardware and high stakes is what pushed a subset of Rivian drivers to stop waiting for an official fix and start experimenting with their own.
The DIY “hacks” spreading through the Rivian community
Once the problem became a regular topic in owner forums and group chats, the solutions came fast. Some Rivian drivers are literally jerry-rigging the rear manual releases so they are always within reach, adding straps, tabs, or small handles that poke through the trim. One owner, who introduced himself with the line “I’m a Rivi…” in a discussion captured under the phrase So owners are jerry-rigging, described rerouting the cable so a child could pull it like a low-tech ripcord. The goal is not to defeat the electronics, but to make sure there is a clear, mechanical backup that any passenger can understand in a split second.
One of the most detailed walkthroughs comes from a post titled What, where the author lays out a “DIY solution for Gen-2 R1T/R1S rear manual door release.” The steps start with “Pry open the rear door trim panel,” followed by the instruction “Pry” and a “Tip” that advises, “Start prying the trim from the leading edge of the door.” That kind of granular guidance, complete with photos and closing notes, has turned a niche modification into a template that other owners can copy in an afternoon. It is a classic EV-community move: identify a weak spot, then crowdsource a fix long before a service bulletin shows up.
How Rivian’s sleek design created a safety blind spot
The irony is that Rivian’s door setup was supposed to be a selling point. Flush handles and button-based latches keep the R1T and R1S looking clean and aerodynamic, and they pair nicely with the brand’s high-tech image. But as one analysis of the R2 SUV put it, While this approach allows for sleeker presentation and more aerodynamic design, it often leads automakers to tuck the manual releases out of sight. That is fine when the 12 volt system is healthy and the buttons work, but it becomes a problem the moment the car’s electronics are compromised.
Rivian is hardly alone in chasing that minimalist look, and the company is not the first to discover the downside when power fails. A separate breakdown of the R2’s hardware, framed as Rivian R2’s Door Handle Shake-Up: The Small Change That, walks through how a seemingly tiny tweak in handle design can have outsized consequences for safety and usability. The broader pattern is clear: the more an automaker hides the mechanical bits in the name of style, the more it has to think about worst case scenarios where those hidden parts are suddenly the only way out.
Regulators, complaints, and the push toward a redesign
Owner frustration did not stay confined to forums. An anonymous consumer complaint about Rivian’s R1 handles landed with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Adm, flagging concerns about how the doors behave when power is lost and how clearly the manual functions are labeled. That formal nudge, combined with the growing chorus of DIY fixes, helped set the stage for a broader rethink of the hardware. Safety advocates also picked up the issue, noting that the owner’s manual instructions for emergency operation are not much help if a child cannot see or reach the release in the first place.
By early fall, the company’s next-generation plans were starting to reflect that pressure. Internal discussions described in a report titled Rivian Plans EV Door Redesign to Address Safety Concerns outlined a change on the R2 that would add a manual release near the electrically powered interior handle on the front doors, according to one person familiar with the design. A separate safety-focused summary noted that Rivian plans to incorporate a manual release that is more clearly visible and located near the main handle, instead of hiding it deep in the door panel as described in the owner’s manual. In other words, the company is now baking into the R2 what owners have been trying to retrofit into their R1s.
From hacked R1s to a safer R2, and what comes next
As the R2 program moves forward, the company is treating the door handle as a small part with big implications. One overview of the upcoming SUV, titled Rivian R2 Door Handles Receive Safety Upgrade, notes that Rivian is reconsidering one of the smallest components on its forthcoming model so that drivers and passengers can still get out of the car when the systems fail. Another analysis, framed as Rivian’s Problem May Be Smaller, points out that the company only recently moved to button-equipped doors and now plans to incorporate a manual release that is easier to find and close, a shift that follows high profile debates about similar hardware at other EV brands. Together, these changes suggest that the hacked R1s are not just one-off experiments, but early prototypes for how Rivian wants its future fleet to behave in a blackout.
Owners, for their part, are not waiting around for the R2 to arrive. A section labeled Owners are turning to DIY makes it clear that Some Rivian drivers see these modifications as a necessary bridge until factory hardware catches up, and that the brand is not alone in facing this kind of scrutiny. The original report by [email protected], credited to Iulian Dnistran and tagged with Dec and Mon, under the headline Rivian Owners Are Hacking Rear Doors So Kids Can Get Out In An Emergency, underscores that Some Rivian parents are not modifying their trucks for style points, but because they want a kid in the back seat to have a fighting chance if the worst happens. As the R2 and its updated hardware roll out, the real test will be whether those owners feel confident enough to retire their homemade fixes and trust the factory handle to do its job when everything else goes dark.
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