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emoore
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I've gotten mine aligned 3 times at the SC. I still have a slight drift to the right but much better than it was. But now I have the steering wheel shake at high speeds since they rotated my tires. I guess I'll have Discount Tire balance the tires since I think that's the issue.
R1TLG20BM
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You can definitely go elsewhere. Alignments are s skill, even though it's just nuts and bolts. Look up some reviews ahead or time and ask around if you're not familiar with your local shop. Once you've honed in a couple options make sure they know it's a Rivian ahead of time and confirm they have the specs for it. Most do by now I think. Bring your jack pucks in case they don't have those as well.
UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan
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You can go anywhere as long as you or they have information on what specs to align to (it’s not to make each wheel perfectly straight vertically or horizontally).
WattTruckMatt
Well-Known Member
I had a decent pull to the right during August and SC said they should be the ones to do alignments and noone else. Earliest appointment was December. I even sent them a video on my 20hr drive from CO to TX to show them how much it pulled. Apparently it wasn't severe enough for them to move up my appointment.
I tried taking it to a few alignments places and they wouldn't touch it. The particular shop should have someone who is trained is what I was told. Mobile tech I talked to this week says if things are 1mm off in each suspension mode, it can screw everything up.... who knows... seems overly complicated.
Anyways, I did have it aligned at the SC in December which fixed my pull. Now though, I get major torque steer during hard acceleration... so maybe they didn't do a perfect job on it.
I tried taking it to a few alignments places and they wouldn't touch it. The particular shop should have someone who is trained is what I was told. Mobile tech I talked to this week says if things are 1mm off in each suspension mode, it can screw everything up.... who knows... seems overly complicated.
Anyways, I did have it aligned at the SC in December which fixed my pull. Now though, I get major torque steer during hard acceleration... so maybe they didn't do a perfect job on it.
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Riviam
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I feel like the weight of the vehicle is accenting any slight drift in the alignment. On roads that are cambered slightly, there is slight pull (To the right). On roads more heavily angled, the pull is greater. There have been times, when the road is empty, that I cross over the center line and try and find the most level part of the road, and the drift goes away. Not sure what all to make of that.
LL75
Well-Known Member
Apparently many of us have that slight drift to the right. I brought it in to SC twice but it didn't really improve. They want to charge me $250 for the last time because my tires was at 8k miles and I refused to do it. I'm thinking about taking it to Firestone Auto and see what they can do.
not_a_car_guy
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I also have a slight drift to the right on my R1T. When using Driver+ it is constantly adjusting because of this.
Three questions:
1) Has anyone had this problem and found a solution? Most folks in this thread that went to a Rivian SC said their attempts at alignment hasn't really helped. Does getting alignment done at tire/wheel places have a better record of success?
2) For the folks that took it into a Rivian SC and the problem remains, does the SC think the problem is fixed? I.e., are they able to take a technician in the car and the technician says that "yes, the problem is still there after attempted alignment"?
3) I wonder if it is software related because sometimes the pull to the right is not present in my truck and sometimes when I'm not using Driver+, the truck will tug the wheel one way or another to track a curve in the road. So I wonder if this could be some kind of weird software bug.
Three questions:
1) Has anyone had this problem and found a solution? Most folks in this thread that went to a Rivian SC said their attempts at alignment hasn't really helped. Does getting alignment done at tire/wheel places have a better record of success?
2) For the folks that took it into a Rivian SC and the problem remains, does the SC think the problem is fixed? I.e., are they able to take a technician in the car and the technician says that "yes, the problem is still there after attempted alignment"?
3) I wonder if it is software related because sometimes the pull to the right is not present in my truck and sometimes when I'm not using Driver+, the truck will tug the wheel one way or another to track a curve in the road. So I wonder if this could be some kind of weird software bug.
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LL75
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to answer your number 2. SC said it is within Spec after 2nd attempted and blamed it on the road slant right bias. I think I gave up after they told me that.
connoisseurr
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So, I've been through many alignments with my R1T and here's what I can say...
TL;DR, 3rd party shops can do alignments, and while they may be within spec for what Hunter alignment machines provide, they will most likely not match up to what Rivian does when the truck is set to their alignment readiness mode with diagnostic equipment.
From my own experience and feedback I've reviewed by others, some RSCs do better alignments than others. My truck was aligned twice by Richmond VA RSC between Dec '22 and Feb '23, and never felt right. I ended up living with it because the truck tracked straighter than it did upon delivery. Fast forward to September '23, Gaithersburg MD RSC did another alignment and found the previous alignment to be completely trashed up. Mind you we're mostly driving in Northern VA with very well maintained roads. It's not like we're hitting potholes daily causing the alignment to be messed up.
That September '23 alignment promoted excessive tire wear, however what Rivian tells me is that the factory 22" Pirellis are expected to last around 10k-15k miles (mine were toast at 9500). Oh, and there aren't any mileage guarantees with OEM tires.
Foundational information that does not contribute to 9500 mile premature tire wear:
I had a 3rd party shop do an alignment last week of November '23 when I had new tires mounted and balanced (went with Continental TerrainContact H/T in 275/50R22 - fantastic tire btw). Since they were not a 3rd Party Rivian shop, I prepared a brief slide deck (attached) in order to get the truck in the best possible state for an alignment, which still wasn't enough (apparently what Gaithersburg RSC says; more on this later). I've known the shop foreman for many years who is a God at factory and custom alignment, and really knows what he's doing.
The alignment he provided for the R1T felt fantastic. The truck tracked straight, did not walk on any road imperfections, and the steering felt taught, but not too loose or tight. Additionally, when the 3rd party shop was setting up the R1T for alignment, we measured each corner fender-to-hub and fender-to-ground, just as you'd do when dialing in an adjustable coilover setup. We were very close to perfect on all 4 corners before starting the alignment. Last, I had a lengthy conversation with the shop foreman about the premature tire wear and what could be done to address it. He recommended a bit more negative camber in the rear to help get the contact patch closer to center, since it seems it was biased middle-to-outside at all four corners.
When Rivian does an alignment, they use diagnostic tools to set the truck into Standard All-Purpose mode, with each corner of the truck within 1-2mm of each other (for the most accurate alignment). Since 3rd party non-Rivian shops don't have the diag. equipment, they cannot enable this "alignment readiness mode", and comfortably said something along the lines of "...there's no way the alignment you got is within spec"
I had my truck at Gaithersburg RSC today (12/6/23) for Rivian to do a diagnostic on my truck and check the suspension at all 4 corners, with hopes to recoup some cost from what I thought was premature tire wear (apparently not the case). 9500 miles and had cords showing on outer edge of rear wheels, which only happened after my 9/8 RSC alignment. They found my 3rd party alignment from 11/30 to also be out of spec, which tells me Rivian aligns at a height that is not exactly All Purpose Standard height, because if that was the case, there should have been little-to-no discrepancy between latest 3rd party shop and Rivian alignment. Their "in-spec" alignment doesn't feel as great as my 3rd party alignment, but all final measurements are closer to accurate
I've attached alignment reports with date markers. I also had to convert toe inches to toe degrees on my 3rd party report, as they are different units of measurement. Moving forward, as I have new tires that I'd really appreciate lasting more than 10,000 miles, I'll be checking and logging tread depths every 2 weeks over the next 2 months to monitor wear. I'll gather depths at all 4 corners with inside, middle and outside depths. I've also scheduled another alignment appointment with Rivian at the end of January to see what changes in 2 months.
If you made it this far, thanks for your time. You owe yourself a pat on the back.
TL;DR, 3rd party shops can do alignments, and while they may be within spec for what Hunter alignment machines provide, they will most likely not match up to what Rivian does when the truck is set to their alignment readiness mode with diagnostic equipment.
From my own experience and feedback I've reviewed by others, some RSCs do better alignments than others. My truck was aligned twice by Richmond VA RSC between Dec '22 and Feb '23, and never felt right. I ended up living with it because the truck tracked straighter than it did upon delivery. Fast forward to September '23, Gaithersburg MD RSC did another alignment and found the previous alignment to be completely trashed up. Mind you we're mostly driving in Northern VA with very well maintained roads. It's not like we're hitting potholes daily causing the alignment to be messed up.
That September '23 alignment promoted excessive tire wear, however what Rivian tells me is that the factory 22" Pirellis are expected to last around 10k-15k miles (mine were toast at 9500). Oh, and there aren't any mileage guarantees with OEM tires.
Foundational information that does not contribute to 9500 mile premature tire wear:
- 90% of miles completed at All-Purpose STANDARD height
- 1 tire rotation done at roughly 7000 miles
- No more than 300 miles of conserve mode with my truck
- No heavy hauling or towing
- Mostly conservative driving with light spirit here and there, nothing excessive
- Driving on very well groomed roads in Northern VA region
I had a 3rd party shop do an alignment last week of November '23 when I had new tires mounted and balanced (went with Continental TerrainContact H/T in 275/50R22 - fantastic tire btw). Since they were not a 3rd Party Rivian shop, I prepared a brief slide deck (attached) in order to get the truck in the best possible state for an alignment, which still wasn't enough (apparently what Gaithersburg RSC says; more on this later). I've known the shop foreman for many years who is a God at factory and custom alignment, and really knows what he's doing.
The alignment he provided for the R1T felt fantastic. The truck tracked straight, did not walk on any road imperfections, and the steering felt taught, but not too loose or tight. Additionally, when the 3rd party shop was setting up the R1T for alignment, we measured each corner fender-to-hub and fender-to-ground, just as you'd do when dialing in an adjustable coilover setup. We were very close to perfect on all 4 corners before starting the alignment. Last, I had a lengthy conversation with the shop foreman about the premature tire wear and what could be done to address it. He recommended a bit more negative camber in the rear to help get the contact patch closer to center, since it seems it was biased middle-to-outside at all four corners.
When Rivian does an alignment, they use diagnostic tools to set the truck into Standard All-Purpose mode, with each corner of the truck within 1-2mm of each other (for the most accurate alignment). Since 3rd party non-Rivian shops don't have the diag. equipment, they cannot enable this "alignment readiness mode", and comfortably said something along the lines of "...there's no way the alignment you got is within spec"
I had my truck at Gaithersburg RSC today (12/6/23) for Rivian to do a diagnostic on my truck and check the suspension at all 4 corners, with hopes to recoup some cost from what I thought was premature tire wear (apparently not the case). 9500 miles and had cords showing on outer edge of rear wheels, which only happened after my 9/8 RSC alignment. They found my 3rd party alignment from 11/30 to also be out of spec, which tells me Rivian aligns at a height that is not exactly All Purpose Standard height, because if that was the case, there should have been little-to-no discrepancy between latest 3rd party shop and Rivian alignment. Their "in-spec" alignment doesn't feel as great as my 3rd party alignment, but all final measurements are closer to accurate
I've attached alignment reports with date markers. I also had to convert toe inches to toe degrees on my 3rd party report, as they are different units of measurement. Moving forward, as I have new tires that I'd really appreciate lasting more than 10,000 miles, I'll be checking and logging tread depths every 2 weeks over the next 2 months to monitor wear. I'll gather depths at all 4 corners with inside, middle and outside depths. I've also scheduled another alignment appointment with Rivian at the end of January to see what changes in 2 months.
If you made it this far, thanks for your time. You owe yourself a pat on the back.
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