Beware of rumble noise. Could be front drive unit issue like mine

[Soupdc]

About two weeks ago I started to hear a new noise coming from my drivers side front wheel. It happened at about 20 mph +. As accelerating it sounded like a ICE vehicle stuck in 2nd gear. When I let off pedal it sounded like an 18 wheeler using a Jake brake. I finally got into service center Tuesday and got alert finally today.

Hi xxxx, we have completed diagnosis of your vehicle and will be replacing the front drive unit under warranty and the part is showing an ETA of 4/14.

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[madgrey]

If I heard ICE vehicle sounds coming from my R1, I'd definitely be concerned!

 

[boogedrew]

@Soupdc

Does that sound similar to this thread? https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/rear-wheel-noise.11738/

 

[swaggner]

About two weeks ago I started to hear a new noise coming from my drivers side front wheel. It happened at about 20 mph +. As accelerating it sounded like a ICE vehicle stuck in 2nd gear. When I let off pedal it sounded like an 18 wheeler using a Jake brake. I finally got into service center Tuesday and got alert finally today.

Hi xxxx, we have completed diagnosis of your vehicle and will be replacing the front drive unit under warranty and the part is showing an ETA of 4/14.

I just dropped mine off to an SC yesterday for similar noise (seemed to be drivers side front around 20-30 mph) and they are replacing the front drive unit under warranty.

Wonder if there was a batch with some manufacturing defects. I’m VIN range 157xx. How about you?

 

[Soupdc]

Vin 08xx.

 

[boogedrew]

Captured a video of it, curious if this is what others hear. This is recorded near the passenger rear motor. The sound is like a gurgle at low speeds and like a dirt bike at high speeds.

I have an R1S, VIN is 34XX. Built in Feb 2023.

 

[swaggner]

Captured a video of it, curious if this is what others hear. This is recorded near the passenger rear motor. The sound is like a gurgle at low speeds and like a dirt bike at high speeds.

I have an R1S, VIN is 34XX. Built in Feb 2023.

Yes that’s very similar to the sound mine was making. Primarily around 20-30 mph and not applying much throttle or regen (slack drivetrain). They will likely recommend a new drive unit.

 

[whiskeyfarmer]

Yes this seems to be becoming a more common complaint. Around 1100 miles it first started. My sound starts as a rhythmic ticking at low speeds, at about 20-30 mph it becomes a light growl that it increasingly noticeable until about 40mph. At speed It is reminiscent of an ICE motor noise. At that point wind noise tends to drown it out. It seems to originate from the front driver’s side wheel motor as near as I can tell. The Chicago Service Center had me bring it in, tested it and said, while noticeable and likely annoying it was “normal” and then a few days later said that the engineers had “reconsidered” it and decided to completely replace the wheel motor assembly. I asked why the change and he didn’t have a good answer. He also suggested that if Rivian comes up with a long term fix, what’s considered “normal” today could become “not normal” and eligible for replacement tomorrow. Mine is still in the shop. BTW -- the loaner they gave me has similar miles and sounds nearly identical...

 

[whiskeyfarmer]

Yes this seems to be becoming a more common complaint. Around 1100 miles it first started. My sound starts as a rhythmic ticking at low speeds, at about 20-30 mph it becomes a light growl that it increasingly noticeable until about 40mph. At speed It is reminiscent of an ICE motor noise. At that point wind noise tends to drown it out. It seems to originate from the front driver’s side wheel motor as near as I can tell. The Chicago Service Center had me bring it in, tested it and said, while noticeable and likely annoying it was “normal” and then a few days later said that the engineers had “reconsidered” it and decided to completely replace the wheel motor assembly. I asked why the change and he didn’t have a good answer. He also suggested that if Rivian comes up with a long term fix, what’s considered “normal” today could become “not normal” and eligible for replacement tomorrow. Mine is still in the shop. BTW -- the loaner they gave me has similar miles and sounds nearly identical...

I am at Chicago Service Center now. Picking up my R1T that has been in for service for past 23 days (they did give me a loaner). During time here they are now telling me that the “normal” sound really meant it was a known issue but that it didn’t seem to be causing any long term damage that they were aware of. And they didn’t have a permanent fix yet. However while here, engineering came out with a tech alert that they had a new batch of wheel motor assemblies that addresses the problem and mine is one of the first replacement units. They replaced the whole front drive assembly ($13k value I’m told). I haven’t even driven it yet as I’m in the service lounge. More to come. Hopefully it does the trick.

 

[Soupdc]

Update for me. They got a new front drive assembly into the shop and started to replace. They noticed the bearings on the front wheel were worn out. They replaced them without replacing the drive assembly. Test drove it for 30 minutes and it was fixed.

 

[Milo]

Yes this seems to be becoming a more common complaint. Around 1100 miles it first started. My sound starts as a rhythmic ticking at low speeds, at about 20-30 mph it becomes a light growl that it increasingly noticeable until about 40mph. At speed It is reminiscent of an ICE motor noise. At that point wind noise tends to drown it out. It seems to originate from the front driver’s side wheel motor as near as I can tell. The Chicago Service Center had me bring it in, tested it and said, while noticeable and likely annoying it was “normal” and then a few days later said that the engineers had “reconsidered” it and decided to completely replace the wheel motor assembly. I asked why the change and he didn’t have a good answer. He also suggested that if Rivian comes up with a long term fix, what’s considered “normal” today could become “not normal” and eligible for replacement tomorrow. Mine is still in the shop. BTW -- the loaner they gave me has similar miles and sounds nearly identical...

I have the same noise, and the sounds is coming from the driver side front. Front drive unit was replacement one month after delivery, because of electrical isssues. And now I am hearing the ticking noise when slowing down, more like between 3-10 mph. I had the service center check it out, and I was told the tech couldn’t duplicate the issues, even though I provided an audio/video.

I just have to drive it until the problem get serious.

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