Suspension is broke… AGAIN

[jjswan33]

So call me frustrated but my suspension is not working again.

So far had all 4 dampers replaced (3 of them twice), also a valve block and the compressor. Most recent earlier this month they replaced all 4 of them and it had been working fine. Last night I did some sub-zero camping with camp level on but now my truck won’t level, I just get ‘service suspension soon’ type errors and I can’t drive more than 8mph. I have some slight hope that as it warms up later it may correct itself but otherwise going to need a tow again.

Granted I am frustrated at the moment but this may be the last straw, sick of my Rivian stranding me in various places. Maybe time to sell and get something I can rely on.

Edit: photos added

Edit 2: Suspension woke up after leaving it sleep in the sun for 2-3 hours. Either whatever was frozen thawed out or the long sleep cycle. I very much suspect something was frozen. TBD what Rivian wants to do to address this issue.

Edit 11/30: Dropped off at PDX service on Tuesday morning. Today after reviewing event logs they have confirmed that a blockage on the compressor exhaust is what caused the fault. They are planning on replacing the compressor and the exhaust line. They are also trying to determine if there is a leak that caused the compressor blockage.

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[Donald Stanfield]

That sucks man. I hope it fixes itself when it warms up.

 

[beyondgravity]

It would frustrate me too; even as a stoic. What conditions did it break last two times? I am just curious and for my awareness. I wouldn’t be able to give any input on anything on car.

 

[SDH]

Don't get me started on suspension! I've been banging on about this for ages.

Please Rivian, give us the option to have standard coils/shocks. Do a deal with Fox (or someone) and I can assure you there'll be less traffic coming into your SC's as a result. Probably more profitable per vehicle too.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Wouldn’t be the first air suspension sagging in cold temperatures. Some Ram trucks are plagued by that issue to this day.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Wonder if you have an issue with water in the air lines. I haven't dug into the Rivian system enough to know if it's a problem but the accessory compressor will definitely blow water after a long run.

 

[COdogman]

Man, that sucks. Don't blame you for being frustrated. I would probably be considering bailing too.

 

[mikehmb]

So call me frustrated but my suspension is not working again.

So far had all 4 dampers replaced (3 of them twice), also a valve block and the compressor. Most recent earlier this month they replaced all 4 of them and it had been working fine. Last night I did some sub-zero camping with camp level on but now my truck won’t level, I just get ‘service suspension soon’ type errors and I can’t drive more than 8mph. I have some slight hope that as it warms up later it may correct itself but otherwise going to need a tow again.

Granted I am frustrated at the moment but this may be the last straw, sick of my Rivian stranding me in various places. Maybe time to sell and get something I can rely on.

Edit: photos added

Sounds like it needs to be lemon’d and you get your money back. There’s clearly something else going on in your suspension that they haven’t tracked down, and this failure is going to repeat until they actually diagnose the core issue.

Really sorry you’re going through this. What a PITA.

 

[Riviot]

It's already halfway fixed! Just face the right side towards the sun, it'll wake up.

 

[HaveBlue]

That's pitiful. I don't think Rivian is fully understanding the adventure part. If it bricks itself at the slightest error and needs a tow, I'd rather use a range Rover which, shockingly, might be more reliable. The philosophy should be if it's got four motors, if three break, it should get you home on one. Do you think a Toyota or jeep just stops going if a leaf or coil spring breaks? Fk no, it keeps going as best as it can not to strand you. The irony of it won't drive if the parking brake is broken. So far I see reports of drive units getting replaced as often as an ice vehicle needs an oil change. They need to fix this sht!

 

[HaveBlue]

Wonder if you have an issue with water in the air lines. I haven't dug into the Rivian system enough to know if it's a problem but the accessory compressor will definitely blow water after a long run.

You're thinking water freezing in the system? Not a bad guess as it looks cold where this guy is. The accessory compressor (arb) is oil-less but humid damp conditions definitely collect moisture. I've put a water trap on my air up systems so that moisture didn't collect in the steel tank. The suspension solenoids and sensors could be pretty sensitive to moisture or something freezing in them.

Not a vent this time lol

 

[R.I.P.]

Wonder if you have an issue with water in the air lines. I haven't dug into the Rivian system enough to know if it's a problem but the accessory compressor will definitely blow water after a long run.

You're definitely onto something there. It is not a closed system, so the moisture in the air in the PNW is going to cause problems. Beyond the icing issue, air systems that don't include a dryer are also likely to fall victim to other water related problems such as component corrosion.
?

 

[Riviot]

You're definitely onto something there. It is not a closed system, so the moisture in the air in the PNW is going to cause problems. Beyond the icing issue, air systems that don't include a dryer are also likely to fall victim to other water related problems such as component corrosion.
?

I blew out my DeWalt compressor tank recently and it left a sweet rust-colored puddle in the garage. I never thought about wet air and sticking it into my wheels and other things until I saw this. How can a system prevent it or blow itself out without manual intervention? Is that perhaps the sound we hear when it goes into park sometimes; compressor running slightly, air hissing out, and compressor running again?

 

[pnwr1s]

That's pitiful. I don't think Rivian is fully understanding the adventure part. If it bricks itself at the slightest error and needs a tow, I'd rather use a range Rover which, shockingly, might be more reliable. The philosophy should be if it's got four motors, if three break, it should get you home on one. Do you think a Toyota or jeep just stops going if a leaf or coil spring breaks? Fk no, it keeps going as best as it can not to strand you. The irony of it won't drive if the parking brake is broken. So far I see reports of drive units getting replaced as often as an ice vehicle needs an oil change. They need to fix this sht!

totally get your point but don’t think this is a Rivian issue. Modern vehicles go into limp mode for lots of reasons,
many of which are silly.

My 200 series Land Cruiser will absolutely brick itself if it fails an evap check.

Someone I know took their 200 series into the rubicon and had to get dragged out because it wouldn’t go in to 4lo because an evap issue and nobody had an OBD reader.

 

[sierraskier]

I blew out my DeWalt compressor tank recently and it left a sweet rust-colored puddle in the garage. I never thought about wet air and sticking it into my wheels and other things until I saw this. How can a system prevent it or blow itself out without manual intervention? Is that perhaps the sound we hear when it goes into park sometimes; compressor running slightly, air hissing out, and compressor running again?

Water anywhere in the system can freeze and affect operation of check valves, manifold...really anything in the system.

I don't know the details of how the R1T air system is put together, but my ER has a Keldermann airbag system with a 10g tank and includes a water separator specifically to purge water. When the separator purges water it will release it (along with some air hissing) from the bottom of separator. They also recommend you manually purge the tank once a day in cold winter temps as a precaution.

When I was in Jackson Hole one time it was really cold (zero to single digits) and I was being lazy about purging the tank and the check valve froze, causing the system to not hold air and compressor to run constantly. The only fix at that point was to heat the check valve up with a torch. Luckily my buddy had one, but it's now something I keep in the rig, and I'm better about purging the tank on trips.

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