R1T steering wheel shaking past 65 mph on freeway after hitting 5k mi

[The J-Man]

Mine was shaking at 65+ and pulling to the right. Service center found the drive side rear wheel out of balance by 50 grams. The shaking is improved, but still there. You could balance an egg on my BMW X5 steering wheel at 65 mph. Something still isn't right with the Rivian. It definitely gets annoying on a long drive when you feel like you're always fighting the wheel.

All of these little nuances will be plaguing Rivian indefinitely. As impressive as the vehicle is, they don't have the experience or engineering knowledge base to create a polished product.

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[SACDFJC]

I think the Pirelli tires being a new model might be the issue. Not saying that Rivian doesn't have issues, but...

I recently ordered a set of Pirelli AT tires for my R1T. The local tire shop installed them. They road matched them and then balanced them. Road matching basically matches the placement of the tire on the wheel in order to minimize the amount of weight required to balance the tire.

When I got my truck back I drove it about 200 miles. Out and back in the same day. It drove really well on that first trip. I let the truck sit for 2 days before driving it again. On the next drive I noticed a good amount of vibration in the steering wheel at 70mph.

I took the truck back to the tire shop. They rechecked the road match and rebalanced them. Almost all of them had increased the amount of out of round numbers when road matched. The tire shop said that the heating and cooling cycle has caused the tire to change shape, thus impacting the overall tire balance.

They rebalanced the tires and recommended driving the truck on a longer trip again to see if it happens again. The said they will replace the tires that are not within spec next time.

For comparison... I had 21" wheels and road tires originally on my truck. They were smooth as glass for 1600 miles. Now the AT's are no where as smooth. The tire shop has ordered 2 new tires expecting to change out the two that are most out of spec.

So... long response, but I think the problem is partially on Pirelli tires and not all on Rivian given my experience with the 21's was amazing and the 20's are meh...

 

[The J-Man]

I think the Pirelli tires being a new model might be the issue. Not saying that Rivian doesn't have issues, but...

I recently ordered a set of Pirelli AT tires for my R1T. The local tire shop installed them. They road matched them and then balanced them. Road matching basically matches the placement of the tire on the wheel in order to minimize the amount of weight required to balance the tire.

When I got my truck back I drove it about 200 miles. Out and back in the same day. It drove really well on that first trip. I let the truck sit for 2 days before driving it again. On the next drive I noticed a good amount of vibration in the steering wheel at 70mph.

I took the truck back to the tire shop. They rechecked the road match and rebalanced them. Almost all of them had increased the amount of out of round numbers when road matched. The tire shop said that the heating and cooling cycle has caused the tire to change shape, thus impacting the overall tire balance.

They rebalanced the tires and recommended driving the truck on a longer trip again to see if it happens again. The said they will replace the tires that are not within spec next time.

For comparison... I had 21" wheels and road tires originally on my truck. They were smooth as glass for 1600 miles. Now the AT's are no where as smooth. The tire shop has ordered 2 new tires expecting to change out the two that are most out of spec.

So... long response, but I think the problem is partially on Pirelli tires and not all on Rivian given my experience with the 21's was amazing and the 20's are meh...

Hmm, I have the 22" and still have the shake. If I had to make a long-term prediction, I would say this mystery will never be solved. I don't think the root cause is tires or wheels or balancing. I think it is something much less obvious and a potential design flaw in the truck. Jeeps have had similar issues forever and they never investigate or fix it.

 

[SACDFJC]

Hmm, I have the 22" and still have the shake. If I had to make a long-term prediction, I would say this mystery will never be solved. I don't think the root cause is tires or wheels or balancing. I think it is something much less obvious and a potential design flaw in the truck. Jeeps have had similar issues forever and they never investigate or fix it.

Maybe...

My R1T ran smooth as glass on 21's with road tires. Only since changing to Dark 20's and ATs has the shaking started. I'm pretty confident that it's the wheels and tires on my truck.

 

[crashmtb]

I think the Pirelli tires being a new model might be the issue. Not saying that Rivian doesn't have issues, but...

I recently ordered a set of Pirelli AT tires for my R1T. The local tire shop installed them. They road matched them and then balanced them. Road matching basically matches the placement of the tire on the wheel in order to minimize the amount of weight required to balance the tire.

When I got my truck back I drove it about 200 miles. Out and back in the same day. It drove really well on that first trip. I let the truck sit for 2 days before driving it again. On the next drive I noticed a good amount of vibration in the steering wheel at 70mph.

I took the truck back to the tire shop. They rechecked the road match and rebalanced them. Almost all of them had increased the amount of out of round numbers when road matched. The tire shop said that the heating and cooling cycle has caused the tire to change shape, thus impacting the overall tire balance.

They rebalanced the tires and recommended driving the truck on a longer trip again to see if it happens again. The said they will replace the tires that are not within spec next time.

For comparison... I had 21" wheels and road tires originally on my truck. They were smooth as glass for 1600 miles. Now the AT's are no where as smooth. The tire shop has ordered 2 new tires expecting to change out the two that are most out of spec.

So... long response, but I think the problem is partially on Pirelli tires and not all on Rivian given my experience with the 21's was amazing and the 20's are meh...

The only tires I’ve had problems with going out of round quickly have been pirelli ?

 

[nani]

I have had the truck for 7 weeks now already been to service center once asking them to fix it and i was told it got fixed but I am still seeing the issue. It was a little better than before but the wheel still shakes past 65mph. I have another appointment coming tomorrow with one of the many repeated issues. Will post here when i get the truck back

 

[DJG]

HQ is researching a fix for this known issue, which may just be a "heavier steering wheel". Which would suggest it is a non-fixable root issue but they can at least fix the symptom/effect.

 

[r1tshivermetimbers]

Just got the truck a few days ago. When I hit 80mph and above, it shakes/vibrates. I've submitted a service ticket for balancing, and alignment (it steers slightly to the right).

Got the truck back today (2 weeks at SC, but have other issues to also resolve other than this).

See photo before/after. It was veering to the right slightly. Now it's better but it's still not centered. If above 75mph+ steering vibrates. SC can't fix this. According to SC, there's a longer term solution from Rivian Eng for a heavier steering (edited, not steering column).

 

[SecretService]

HQ is researching a fix for this known issue, which may just be a "heavier steering wheel". Which would suggest it is a non-fixable root issue but they can at least fix the symptom/effect.

This is what I was told as well. They did an alignment and rebalance a couple weeks back but said that the steering wheel itself is the problem because the shaking stops when you put your hands on the wheel (ignoring the fact it required external interaction to stop the shake) and said they are considering a heavier steering wheel as a potential solution.

 

[DJG]

This is what I was told as well. They did an alignment and rebalance a couple weeks back but said that the steering wheel itself is the problem because the shaking stops when you put your hands on the wheel (ignoring the fact it required external interaction to stop the shake) and said they are considering a heavier steering wheel as a potential solution.

I do feel as though it has diminished over time, and particularly after the alignment. Which is also what they were telling some people on AT's, that it tends to diminish after a few thousand miles. It's at a point now where I would be fine if it never got better, as long as there are no wear issues to consider. It's very minor.

 

[619RivianR1T]

What was the outcome of your most recent SC visit? I think we have identical problems with our R1T steering vibration/shake/wobble (vin8858)

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