The Dreaded Axle Clunk is Back for Gen 1 AND Early Gen 2! But my R1S Now is Better Than New from Factory

[Riviot]

The tech just lubricated mine and showed me where to do it with a dry lubricant. Didn't replace anything. But yeah I'm interested to see after winter as well!

Maybe I should actually drive the Riv in sport mode every once in a while. Ha

Where does the dry lube go?

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[C12farmer]

2 - When taking off from a stop at low speed there was a feeling like for just the tiniest little fraction of a second the motors were starting to push forward while the brakes were still engaged. Then the brakes would let go. At least that's what it felt like. I figured it was just a tuning thing (again that 10% of "smoothness")
But it turns out I was wrong on both counts.

I have a Gen2 R1S, July 24 build. ~17K miles on the car.
I felt from day 1 that very low speed modulation is really difficult, especially trying to inch forward or back from Hold. Like when trying to inch up in the garage . It always seems like the brakes are "sticking" and then they finally let go and you get a surge. I had a loaner Gen1 and the low speed parking was very smooth and predictable.
I did complain to the service center and they just said the brakes are still very new and need to "break in". Definitely something I will need to complain about again before my warranty is up.

I really wonder how durable those ting washers can be on these heavily stressed axels.

 

[krb1183]

I got the sport upgrade post purchase and don't regret it one bit. I use it ALL THE TIME and love it

If you feel so inclined, I would LOVE to learn about said lubrication technique

He said put a dry lubricant like a graphite in here. That's about all I got. But to try and get it on this swivel post

 

[DKM_R1S]

Thanks for posting about this topic. I literally just returned from the Melrose Park SC to have them look at this issue in our R1S Quad Gen 1. So I dropped off the vehicle yesterday. Before leaving I rode with the service technician. We tested it in Conserve and was still making the subtle noise. He immediately recognized the issue and stated it might be the half shafts and he would “need to do a diagnostic” to see if they were “out of spec.” Last night they provided an update stating everything is in spec. Obviously, I know my R1; have had it 18 months. I know something has changed. Although subtle, I can feel and hear it. Feels and sounds like something is slightly loose in the drivetrain. Most noticeable in Sport and starting from a standstill or decelerating at low speeds with high regen. So what happens when this is out of spec? How will I know?

 

[foxerson]

Thanks for the insights. I had my Gen1 QM in for service back in Feb 2024 when a faint clunk first started in the left front. The SC said it was “within tolerance.”

The clunk has gotten a bit more noticeable since then. I am now coming up on 50k miles and have an appointment next week for this plus a left front air suspension that gradually sags when parked.

Neither issue is severe. But both are clearly evident. Hopefully they are deemed “outside tolerance” this time.

 

[Riviot]

Where does the dry lube go?

He said put a dry lubricant like a graphite in here. That's about all I got. But to try and get it on this swivel post

Oh you meant the handle, not the halfshaft. I was very intrigued by a dry lube halfshaft.

 

[Riviot]

Thanks for posting about this topic. I literally just returned from the Melrose Park SC to have them look at this issue in our R1S Quad Gen 1. So I dropped off the vehicle yesterday. Before leaving I rode with the service technician. We tested it in Conserve and was still making the subtle noise. He immediately recognized the issue and stated it might be the half shafts and he would “need to do a diagnostic” to see if they were “out of spec.” Last night they provided an update stating everything is in spec. Obviously, I know my R1; have had it 18 months. I know something has changed. Although subtle, I can feel and hear it. Feels and sounds like something is slightly loose in the drivetrain. Most noticeable in Sport and starting from a standstill or decelerating at low speeds with high regen. So what happens when this is out of spec? How will I know?

Thanks for the insights. I had my Gen1 QM in for service back in Feb 2024 when a faint clunk first started in the left front. The SC said it was “within tolerance.”

The clunk has gotten a bit more noticeable since then. I am now coming up on 50k miles and have an appointment next week for this plus a left front air suspension that gradually sags when parked.

Neither issue is severe. But both are clearly evident. Hopefully they are deemed “outside tolerance” this time.

See my previous post with the diagnostic attached. The specs are listed. Just tell them it's now out of spec

 

[DaveA]

On the quad you’ll basically have to live with it. Good news is it doesn’t really get worse. It’s the nature of the Gen 1 beast.

 

[RivianMatt]

I had that infamous clunk big time in my 2023 Gen 1 R1S. We also had the related issue of a hub bolt backing out and contacting the axle shaft. If you ever experienced that, you know what it sounded like: a scraping noise so fierce that you thought your car was going to collapse. Couple those two items with the fact that air suspension completely collapsed in our first two weeks of ownership, and we had zero confidence in wheel/axle/suspension system of our R1S, so much so that we had no confidence the in the car. So, when Rivian put out the offer last fall to get a $3,500 haircut on a Gen 2 dual motor R1S, we cut our losses and made the trade. Although I miss the power of the QM, our Gen 2 DM has been problem free for the 10 months we’ve had it now - thank god.

I’ll also mention something that I find interesting. I pretty sure that Rivian has not re-sold my Gen 1 QM R1S. At trade in, we of course signed over the title to Rivian. However, over the intervening 10 months, I’ve received four or five notices from the State of California DMV notifying me of delinquent registration fees on that R1S, lack of insurance updates on the car, lack of certificates of non-operation (given that I hadn’t paid the new registration), etc. The most recent notice I received was in the last week. I did reach out to Rivian to complain about this at one point, and they told me not to worry about it and that I could ignore the notices. That being said, if Rivian had successfully re-sold the car, even at an auction, re-titling would have happened and I wouldn’t be getting any more of these notices. That has made me wonder if there are certain Gen 1 R1S’s that Rivian tacitly is acknowledging are lemons and are not reselling.

 

[Mljmam]

I was also having the clunk when first accelerating after coming to a firm stop. After the most recent update didn't fix the issue, I started adjusting settings. I have found that lowering the regenerative braking setting to the lowest level has solved the issue for about 600 miles of city driving so far. I own a 2023 Quad motor. I'll be watching this topic to see what develops about this. I can't believe that a washer is going to be the ultimate/permanent solution. If that repair by Rivian does indeed cure the issue for you, this sounds like something that should be a recall. It is often a very noticeable/obnoxious clunk, which gives the impression that something is coming loose. From what they have done to your vehicle, it also sounds like a poor design that needs to be remedied by Rivian. Thanks for your very complete notes for reference if needed.

 

[Gen2R1T2025]

Unfortunately, I’ve had this looked at too many times and as recently as 3 weeks ago had half shafts replaced again. The dual-motor loaner was super smooth compared to my quad…but the clunk in that with the rear motor kicking on with acceleration was just as annoying. I’m just going to live with it at this point. Trading in for R2 anyway.

Using Snow mode in my Gen 2 Dual for full time two motor 4wd.

 

[Proxy]

I pretty sure that Rivian has not re-sold my Gen 1 QM R1S.

Rivian should turn these into loaners. Then they can say “they all do that.”

 

[Jonger1150]

This just got automatically added to my work order for Tuesday. I'm pretty sure these half-shafts are worn out.

 

[Jonger1150]

its a conundrum, that's for sure. The nice thing is it's not really a safety issue (aside from the wheel speed sensor potentially?) More of just an NVH comfort thing, I've learned. Hopefully the fixes stick, though. Definitely some hard engineering work from the folks at Rivian to get something this heavy, and with this much power to drive smooth after being beaten up on and off raod

Now if they can just do the same for the squeaky door handles lol

This is an extremely complicated suspension for a new company. We are beta testing these for sure.

 

[umzzy]

Anyone have a video of what it sounds like? My R1S is going in for service on Monday with a clunk noise every time I my foot goes on/off the throttle and it's really loud inside and outside the car

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