Lately, Tesla has received plenty of attention—legal and otherwise—for the electromechanical door system in some of its vehicles, like the Cybertruck and Model Y. Rivian adopted similar tech in the Gen 2 R1S SUV and R1T pickup, and it’s also received some criticism. Now, the company is reportedly redesigning it for the smaller, upcoming R2, per Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources.
The first run of R1 EVs had fully mechanical door latches, but the revision beginning in 2025 changed to a system where there is no physical connection between the handle or button that an occupant interacts with, and the release. This necessitated backup, failsafe door handles all around, and for the front passengers, they’re not hard to find—they’re black plastic that sits flush with the bottom of the door’s armrest, not far from the button. They’re actually in the same place that the mechanical handles were on Gen 1 vehicles, for front passengers.
For rear occupants, however, it’s a bit more complicated—and this is what Rivian is reportedly addressing for the R2 series. The manual pullcord release is not exposed in the rear door for the Gen 2 R1S and R1T. Instead, it’s actually obscured by a plastic panel that must first be removed, opposite the electronic door release button. The tweet below, showing diagrams from the Gen 2 R1 instruction manual, explains the new design best:
Something I haven’t seen discussed at all is the fact that the new Rivian R1 Gen 2 requires rear seat passengers to have to take a piece of the door panel off to access the manual release.
In the event of an emergency, people don’t typically react correctly and wouldn’t be… pic.twitter.com/Z5zagbsab7
You’d imagine that in a panic—especially if, god forbid, a kid is trapped inside—someone could lose precious seconds trying to locate the emergency release. According to Bloomberg, employees and customers raised concerns about this design to Rivian, and that’s prompted the young automaker to reassess its approach for the R2. For the smaller SUV, “the mechanism for the rear doors and positioning will be similar to the front doors,” one source reportedly told the outlet.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Rivian said only that “…similar to R1, R2 will meet or exceed all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, including passenger egress from all doors in the event of a crash or emergency.” The company also noted that there has not yet been a reported injury from rear doors failing to open on newer R1 vehicles.
At this stage, it’s unclear if Rivian will also fix the system already in place on the R1 duo. With global regulators strangely all taking notice of the dangers of new-fangled door handles at the same time, it wouldn’t be surprising if the manufacturer established consistency across its whole range, using the R2 approach as the template.
Got a tip? Email us at tips@thedrive.com
Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.
