How noisy is your front end?

[31ectr0nicB0b]

I have to take mine into the Chelsea SC in a couple of days for an alignment. And I was going to discuss noise from front end especially the noise over bumps. So I suppose I will get the same story from them.
BTW, I just realized the alignment issue is common. They have quoted me $250 for alignment work. Is this a common issue for them to fix? Why are they charging me if they know its an issue.

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[DaveA]

I have to take mine into the Chelsea SC in a couple of days for an alignment. And I was going to discuss noise from front end especially the noise over bumps. So I suppose I will get the same story from them.
BTW, I just realized the alignment issue is common. They have quoted me $250 for alignment work. Is this a common issue for them to fix? Why are they charging me if they know its an issue.

How many miles you have on it? If it wasn't noted early on that there was an alignment issue, they are just assuming it has gone out of alignment from normal driving, I imagine, hence the charge.

 

[runwithscissors]

Would an underbody shield help at all? I thought I've read somewhere that people who had them experienced less noise but no idea if that's from the "Front End". I wish I had configured mine for the shield if that is the case but don't want to mess up the potential delivery in the next 6 months.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I was getting a popping noise going over thresholds and turning at low speeds. Definitely not a clunking noise. Rivian replaced the damper and it hasn't returned.

 

[madgrey]

My truck is a mid 15k vin with 20AT’s. The SC set me up with a loaner that’s a 12k win with 1,600 miles and 22’s. Much smoother ride generally. I was surprised. Maybe it was that they’re at 47psi to my AT’s 50 or 51? I was surprised by that.

I'm experiencing the opposite. My loaner has 20" ATs. The ride is less firm than my R1T with the 22s. All else equal, taller sidewall tires tend to ride softer, more luxury boat like, than the lower profile, sportier tires. Maybe there's something else to account for the smoother ride or maybe it's just a terminolgy thing... my high spring rate, low profile tire cars seem "smooth" to me!

 

[WSea]

So I took mine in to the Chelsea SC this am. I took a tech for a drive looking for conditions that would mimic what I experience twice a day on a pretty banged up road near my house. He directed me to some train tracks and sure enough, we heard it BUMP BUMP BUMP as we went over. His response was that they all sound that way. We pooped around and hit it on the way back and he said it was normal and they’d check it over, but they air suspension is not silent over that type of road surface.

We talked through the other issues (there are a few, nothing earth shattering) and drove back.

Here’s where things get interesting.

My truck is a mid 15k vin with 20AT’s. The SC set me up with a loaner that’s a 12k win with 1,600 miles and 22’s. Much smoother ride generally. I was surprised. Maybe it was that they’re at 47psi to my AT’s 50 or 51? I was surprised by that.

Anyway, I was eager to get it back to my neighborhood to try I it on my favorite stretch of annoying garbage tarmac. Not quite apples to apples as we have a couple of inches of snow right now which might have impacted my drive with the tech, though I don’t think it would have made that much of a difference.

Anyway, the loaner was definitely *louder* than my truck over my test patch of road. So I’m guessing this is actually normal. Shrug.

This is disappointing. Dropping mine off today and hope they find something causing the clunky sounds mostly at under 30mph on City streets with small potholes and misaligned concrete panels.

 

[R1Tom]

Normal is what service center people say when they don't have a solution. Somehow we have to escalate this to management or even RJ. It isn't right that some do it and some don't.

 

[Sleektruck22]

Air suspension is always noisy, but I agree these are noisier than usual.

Service center said everything is to spec.

We must also take into account that we don't have ICE's making noise. Much harder to keep an EV quiet. Even the wiper motor seems loud due to cabin insulation.

 

[WSea]

This is disappointing. Dropping mine off today and hope they find something causing the clunky sounds mostly at under 30mph on City streets with small potholes and misaligned concrete panels.

Service tech did a ride along to listen for suspension noises and interior squeaks. He definetely heard some but I'm afraid I couldn't replicate the suspension noise enough on this drive. Damn, Bellevue's streets are much smoother than Seattle. Tech tried to tell me these trucks have trophy truck suspensions so they will make noise. Had to drive on road turtles to get any noise. Not confident anything will change. My Driver+ alignment error I was getting prior to the .47 update was due to a software glitch and related to the rear tire camber. Driver+ supposedly uses the rear tires for tracking.
For how busy this service center is supposed to be you would never know it. Place was so peaceful with no visible activity. I was the only customer the whole time before and after ride a long.
Told me the truck would just sit for 3-4 days before any work starts. Wouldn't it have been better to tell me to drop off Thursday or Friday instead of Rivian paying for a rental? Said they need vehicle for atleast 2 weeks. They hope to replace my rental with a R1T by end of week so I can participate in the ECRC offroad event. This SC covers all of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and parts of Norcal.
They had no new info on new Seattle SC. Mentioned one possibly in Redmond. And confirmed the current Bellevue one will become EDV specific.

 

[danen1973]

I have a week old R1T with a noisy front end. It sounds like a 1992 Ford Explorer. The best words I can use is rattles and squeeks. Does anyone have a video they can share to see if we are all talking about the same issue. Here is a link to my video. It's hard to capture the noise on the phone but you'll get the idea.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-5UE3_jnBNCtrItP5dU1Et6mT8sNF6w3?usp=sharing

 

[DaveA]

I have a week old R1T with a noisy front end. It sounds like a 1992 Ford Explorer. The best words I can use is rattles and squeeks. Does anyone have a video they can share to see if we are all talking about the same issue. Here is a link to my video. It's hard to capture the noise on the phone but you'll get the idea.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-5UE3_jnBNCtrItP5dU1Et6mT8sNF6w3?usp=sharing

Exactly what mine sounds like....3600 vin. Probably normal unfortunately.

 

[R1Tom]

Exactly what mine sounds like....3600 vin. Probably normal unfortunately.

I have to ultimately believe it isn't normal as many have said theirs are super quiet. So I am really hoping Rivian can focus on this and fix them. I love the truck and only real issue, and for me it is big...is noisy suspension that should not be.

 

[BourboNole]

Mine is extremely noisy. It sounds like an older car with worn out bushings. Or as someone said earlier, it simply sounds fragile. At first I babied it and avoided rough roads, but now I drive it like I would any other truck because if its going to break I want it to now.

 

[danen1973]

If it ultimately normal, I will ultimately be replacing with something other than Rivian. I don't keep vehicles long enough to sound like Fords with 200k on them.

I have a service appoitment for this Friday (Jan 20) and will see what they say. They will give me a R1T loaner, I'll be able to compare.
If this is normal or within spec I'm going to list my truck for sale. It might end up being the cheapest used R1T sold to date.

 

[jakef801]

Would an underbody shield help at all? I thought I've read somewhere that people who had them experienced less noise but no idea if that's from the "Front End". I wish I had configured mine for the shield if that is the case but don't want to mess up the potential delivery in the next 6 months.

Mine has the reinforced underbody and, well....I'm not going to jinx myself by saying anything more than that.

Taking it to Moab in a few weeks. Should be fun....errr, interestingly fun.

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