Right Rear Wheel Suddenly Shifted Rearward – Rivian Diagnosed Impact Damage, No Known Impact

[goongsang]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for opinions from anyone who has seen a similar failure or repair.

2023 R1S, approximately 47,000 miles.

The vehicle was operating normally. I drove to lunch, parked, and when driving home noticed the right rear wheel was no longer centered in the wheel opening. The wheel had shifted rearward and was rubbing the wheel liner during normal driving.

On that day, the vehicle was only driven on local roads at approximately 30 mph or less, for a total of about 3–4 miles before the issue was discovered.

I do not recall any curb strike, pothole impact, collision, off-road event, or other significant impact prior to the issue appearing. The change seemed very sudden.

Rivian inspected the vehicle and determined the damage was impact-related and therefore not covered under warranty.

The estimate includes replacement of the right rear knuckle, upper longitudinal link, toe link, hub bearing, and halfshaft, along with an alignment.

I've attached photos of the wheel position when the issue was discovered and the damaged components during inspection.

At this point I'm simply trying to understand whether anyone has experienced a similar failure mode or seen these components fail in a way that could result in secondary damage. I'm also interested in whether anyone has had a similar diagnosis where impact damage was determined despite no known impact event.

Any thoughts or similar experiences would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

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[DuoRivians]

Wonder if this is related to the recall / investigation

 

[Dark-Fx]

Looks like the toe link bolt? Report to NHTSA. That bolt looks like it's been broken for a while and just finally gave up the ghost

 

[Budman]

That bolt does show signs of a slowly growing fatigue crack then a sudden tensile fracture. Do report that to the transportation safety board. .

 

[DuoRivians]

FYI, this is the investigation that the NHTSA is currently doing. I suggest reporting your incident to them as well.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...tsa-2022-2025-r1s-r1t-114-922-vehicles.59563/

 

[Mellowyellow]

Could the truck have gotten hit while parked for lunch? Anything on gear guard?

 

[goongsang]

Thanks for the reply and for pointing me to the toe link investigation thread.

I just submitted a report to NHTSA as well.

The vehicle was parked in an indoor garage, in a corner spot with no adjacent vehicles, and I have not found any evidence of an external impact.

I also left a USB drive in the vehicle that may contain recent Gear Guard footage. I'm planning to pick it up from the service center tomorrow and review the footage to see if it provides any clues leading up to the failure.

 

[SwampNut]

You can call Rivian and ask them to escalate this to a manager for review. I did this once, and she was excellent. Reviewed my call recordings, text conversations, and photos. It was fast too. They decided to cover $2k in towing and repairs. (The issue was totally different though.)

 

[Ecupip]

Did you have the toelink recall performed?

 

[Mathme]

I'd go back to them and say it looks like that toe link bold was fatigued and then finally snapped and broke. Although there is some scuff marks on the inside of the tire, I'd argue if I hit something hard enough to do that much damage, there would be more impact marks.

 

[goongsang]

Did you have the toelink recall performed?

No, my vehicle was not part of the recall.

 

[goongsang]

Quick update:

Rivian reviewed the case further and has now approved the repair under warranty.

The service manager told me they could not definitively determine that the damage was caused by an external impact, so they decided to cover the repair.

I still don't know exactly what failed first, and I'm continuing to review the available Gear Guard footage. I also submitted the case to NHTSA and have been in contact with them regarding additional information.

 

[CrazyOne]

Whatever caused the bolt to crack, happened long time back. The corrosion on part of that tells that.

 

[R1Driver]

I had a similar incident in my new 2026 R1S last week. As I was turning, I lost control of the vehicle, slid into a curb and the car bounced to the other side of the street. Fortunately, I have gear guard video and you can see the tire shaking uncontrollably prior to impact. However, this was my front right tire- not back tires, which seem to be the focus from the recent investigation/recall. Came here looking to see if others had a similar experience, as well.

 

[Zoidz]

I'm glad that an appeal worked out for you. With the combination of recalls and NHTSA investigations in this area, my opinion is that Rivian should initially assume that this was their issue, not look for warranty denial excuses. It's disappointing it took an appeal to get this resolved.

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