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babalegba

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During my recent tire rotation at a local tire shop, the technician informed me that there was some abnormal brake pad wear on one of my front wheels. I normally replace pads on rotors on previous vehicles myself, but there wasnt much info on Rivian vehicles, so i thought to let Rivian take care of this one.

I had an appointment already scheduled, so i was able to add this work items to that upcoming service. The estimate however seemed high to me at ~$800. To be fair - Rivian was going to replace both pads and rotors on the two front wheels, and since these were Brembos, perhaps the cost aint so bad. But with ~56k miles in about 2 years, i figured warranty is about wrapping up, and i should start gearing up to do such maintenance myself (as i have done with previous vehicles).

If you have done Brembo brake pad replacements before, this is pretty standard. Needed a few items:
  1. Jack pucks. Already had these lying around for about a year, so i didnt have to purchase for this maintenance.
  2. Jack Stands. Already had some in the garage, so didnt buy new ones.
  3. Jack. My old jack in the garage definitely wont handle the Rivian height. Wasnt about to do some trial and error, so i bought this one from Harbor Freight. Its a 3-ton offroad jack with a max height of about 29 inches. Definitely got the job done. ~$320 but i got it about $60 off with my membership.
  4. Brake Pads. I believe R1 has some pads, but eventually just picked these from my local O'reilly's. ~$65.
Couldn't find rotors, but i also didnt do an exhaustive search because i doubted i would need them. If i however pulled the wheel and found the rotors in bad shape, then i'd just put things back together, and let Rivian do the job.

Here's the inner pad from the front-right wheel. Not terrible, but there was a lot of gunk build-up, right into the grooves (which is why it might look worn down badly). Weird.

Rivian R1T R1S Brake Pad Replacement DIY for Rivian R1 IMG_0261




Old pad set (left) vs new pad set (right). Inner pad had definitely worn down quite a bit (vs outer pad). No gunk on the outers, their grooves were clear, and lots of material left.

Rivian R1T R1S Brake Pad Replacement DIY for Rivian R1 IMG_0262



Cleaned up the pins with a wire wheel. Cleaned-one on left, yet-to-clean on right.

Rivian R1T R1S Brake Pad Replacement DIY for Rivian R1 IMG_0264




This is the first time the wheel's coming off in my garage, so might as well clean up the calipers.

Rivian R1T R1S Brake Pad Replacement DIY for Rivian R1 IMG_0265



Wheel back on. Shoutout to AW. Love the wheels...they could do with some cleaning though...whatever...ok...i digressed...

Rivian R1T R1S Brake Pad Replacement DIY for Rivian R1 IMG_0266



I figured someone might want to know the OEM Brembo Pad Part Number:

Rivian R1T R1S Brake Pad Replacement DIY for Rivian R1 IMG_0268



Overall, took me a little over an hour, but i do these things very leisurely.


FINAL NOTES
  • Rotors were in very good shape, so i went ahead and completed the job myself
  • Inner pad gunk buildup was on both wheels. Not sure whats going on there. Perhaps they had been lubed too much from factory?
    • I'd always felt my actual brakes could be grippier. Perhaps this is why they didnt feel as grippy?
  • This one is important - Inner pads didnt have the wear indicators, but outer ones did. Thought this was weird. All replacement pads had wear indicators, but i quickly figured out why the original inners didnt have them - the pads dont fit with the wear indicators on. You face an issue while trying to slide the pins back on. So i had to snip the wear indicators off the new ones as well. Lesson here is - keep an eye on your pads, otherwise you'll destroy the rotors, and will therefore need to replace those as well
  • Based on the point above, i might just replace the rear pads over the next few weeks as well (even though the tire shop said they're still decent). Who knows - there might also be some gunk buildup on the inners as well.
  • I drive with High Regen, and i believe that uses the friction brakes a bit more

Hope this helps someone.
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Riviot

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You took the road I did not a couple weeks back. I had mine replaced front and back for $800, they didn't do rotors but included fluid flush, I found it fair. Interesting to see someone else do it.
 
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babalegba

babalegba

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You took the road I did not a couple weeks back. I had mine replaced front and back for $800, they didn't do rotors but included fluid flush, I found it fair. Interesting to see someone else do it.
I think this definitely sounds fair with the fluid flush included. My quote showed the front brembo pads at ~$260 and 2 rotors at ~$310. Not terrible.

I will do the fluid flush at some point in the future through Rivian. I def don’t mess with fluid flushes as DIY.
 

R1Thor

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So, you didn't mention but:
1- I assume you greased those pins before reinserting, yes? They shouldn't go in clean. In fact, most of the (hopeful) hypothesizing around why there's uneven wear (because uneven brake wear is NOT normal on a floating caliper system) is due to the pins not being greased properly during assembly.

2- Where's the brake booster reservoir to pop the cap? I assume you had to re-compress the pistons to fit the thicker/new brake pads

3- Do you have a solution/plan for releasing the rear brakes? On my Volvo, we were able to use a 9V battery and some alligator clips on the harness to 'release' the parking brake. I'm not sure how this might be achieved unless the Rivian system is the same since we won't have access to the software tools to put the vehicle in 'brake change' mode or whatever they use...

That said, I'm at 36k miles and just rotated my tires. There's albeit 0 wear on my pads to date. They're thiccc and symmetrical. At least so far! I'm sincerely betting I'll get well over 100k before I need new ones, unless something goes sideways.
 

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Yup. $800 isn’t out of line. BMW dealers charge more than that… and not even for Brembos.


So, you didn't mention but:
1- I assume you greased those pins before reinserting, yes? They shouldn't go in clean. In fact, most of the (hopeful) hypothesizing around why there's uneven wear (because uneven brake wear is NOT normal on a floating caliper system) is due to the pins not being greased properly during assembly.

2- Where's the brake booster reservoir to pop the cap? I assume you had to re-compress the pistons to fit the thicker/new brake pads

3- Do you have a solution/plan for releasing the rear brakes? On my Volvo, we were able to use a 9V battery and some alligator clips on the harness to 'release' the parking brake. I'm not sure how this might be achieved unless the Rivian system is the same since we won't have access to the software tools to put the vehicle in 'brake change' mode or whatever they use...

That said, I'm at 36k miles and just rotated my tires. There's albeit 0 wear on my pads to date. They're thiccc and symmetrical. At least so far! I'm sincerely betting I'll get well over 100k before I need new ones, unless something goes sideways.
Good point regarding rears… The service tool site has a parking brake release kit. https://rivianservicetools.com/Catalog/Search?term=Brake
 
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Killer95Stang

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3- Do you have a solution/plan for releasing the rear brakes? On my Volvo, we were able to use a 9V battery and some alligator clips on the harness to 'release' the parking brake. I'm not sure how this might be achieved unless the Rivian system is the same since we won't have access to the software tools to put the vehicle in 'brake change' mode or whatever they use...
Disclaimer: I will most likely be using the parking brake release tool that Rivian sells, but only because my neighbor said he had access to it.
When the time comes, If not available I'll probably put the car up on a four post lift and engage carwash mode like I read about on Reddit. You can search the details, but in summary, he pick a flat surface so the car obviously wouldn't roll, engaged tire change mode, chocked the front tires, and then lifted one rear axel to remove the tire. Before removing the brake caliper, he engaged carwash mode and put the R1S in neutral. While in carwash mode, he worked on the brakes without being rushed. Seems like a decent solution, but could be dangerous if you do not know what you are doing.
 

R1Thor

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Disclaimer: I will most likely be using the parking brake release tool that Rivian sells, but only because my neighbor said he had access to it.
When the time comes, If not available I'll probably put the car up on a four post lift and engage carwash mode like I read about on Reddit. You can search the details, but in summary, he pick a flat surface so the car obviously wouldn't roll, engaged tire change mode, chocked the front tires, and then lifted one rear axel to remove the tire. Before removing the brake caliper, he engaged carwash mode and out the R1S in neutral. While in carwash mode, he worked on the brakes without being rushed. Seems like a decent solution, but could be dangerous if you fo not know what you are doing.
I had thought through a similar (or towing mode), but I've both heard and actually experienced my vehicle spontaneously coming out of car wash mode, so this does leave me a tad unsettled...

Yup. $800 isn’t out of line. BMW dealers charge more than that… and not even for Brembos.



Good point regarding rears… The service tool site has a parking brake release kit. https://rivianservicetools.com/Catalog/Search?term=Brake
Good to know, but $350 for the privilege of working on brakes like ...twice, is dumb. Should be like the Advanced Auto tool rental programs. Charge me $20/day with a $150 core charge (credit hold) in case I don't bring it back.

Unless I open my own after-hours Rivian service side hustle. I'm getting pretty good at installing rock sliders/running boards and what-not. I wonder what kind of liability insurance I need since I'm not a licensed automotive tech.
 

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QUOTE="R1Thor, post: 717860, member: 13879"]
I had thought through a similar (or towing mode), but I've both heard and actually experienced my vehicle spontaneously coming out of car wash mode, so this does leave me a tad unsettled...

[/QUOTE]
Tow mode lasts 15 minutes to get it up on a flat bed. Carwash mode lasts a little longer, but requires the key to be in proximity. Keeping your phone inside the car while working should satisfy this.
 

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I thought I saw a brake service option added to the service menu.

Also the brake controller looks to only have a 2 pin wire so most likely only needs 12v power swapping polarity to engage/disengage the parking brake so may not need specialized tools to actually DIY. Probing those wires while it engages/disengages should confirm it.
 

R1Thor

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I thought I saw a brake service option added to the service menu.

Also the brake controller looks to only have a 2 pin wire so most likely only needs 12v power swapping polarity to engage/disengage the parking brake so may not need specialized tools to actually DIY. Probing those wires while it engages/disengages should confirm it.
That's what I was thinking; and similar to the 2-wire 9V hack I used on my Volvo.
 

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Nice write up - thank you.

Do you have the regen brake assist activated in the software? Odd that it wore through the inner pad - something was sticking.

Don’t forget to go out and bed in those new pads to ensure they mate with the old rotors. I’d do about 10 hard brake applications (hard but don’t engage ABS) from 60-20 mph in low regen. Don’t stop while the rotors are hot, and be mindful of traffic!
 

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I have can not wait for someone to come out with a carbon ceramic brake kit. Not so much for the braking performance but to ditch something like 10-15 lbs off each corner of unsprung rotational mass would do wonders for the dynamics and especially ride quality (less unsprung weight lets the wheels move faster to soften bumps and keep the wheel on the ground).
 

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Great write up, and helpful tips in the comments. Thanks for this.

One question: for the rotors, can you tell if they're bolted on or otherwise any difficulty in removing once the calipers are out of the way? My previous truck, the rotors were hydraulic-pressed onto the hubs. Dumbest design ever. It was pretty common for people to just beat them off with a sledge. Any sign of similar issues here? Ty!
 

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Nice write up. I’ll add to the comment above that you should grease at least the pins with caliper grease. I’d also like to add torque specs to this write up as I had a hard time finding that too. I don’t like to mess around with GNT for something as critical as brakes!

I took my pads out a couple of months ago to clean them since I had some brake squeaks. Just did the fronts and just under 40k miles on them. Pads had plenty of meat, just needed cleaned and greased. I always grease all the touch points including the back of pads and piston surfaces.
 

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During my recent tire rotation at a local tire shop, the technician informed me that there was some abnormal brake pad wear on one of my front wheels. I normally replace pads on rotors on previous vehicles myself, but there wasnt much info on Rivian vehicles, so i thought to let Rivian take care of this one.

I had an appointment already scheduled, so i was able to add this work items to that upcoming service. The estimate however seemed high to me at ~$800. To be fair - Rivian was going to replace both pads and rotors on the two front wheels, and since these were Brembos, perhaps the cost aint so bad. But with ~56k miles in about 2 years, i figured warranty is about wrapping up, and i should start gearing up to do such maintenance myself (as i have done with previous vehicles).

If you have done Brembo brake pad replacements before, this is pretty standard. Needed a few items:
  1. Jack pucks. Already had these lying around for about a year, so i didnt have to purchase for this maintenance.
  2. Jack Stands. Already had some in the garage, so didnt buy new ones.
  3. Jack. My old jack in the garage definitely wont handle the Rivian height. Wasnt about to do some trial and error, so i bought this one from Harbor Freight. Its a 3-ton offroad jack with a max height of about 29 inches. Definitely got the job done. ~$320 but i got it about $60 off with my membership.
  4. Brake Pads. I believe R1 has some pads, but eventually just picked these from my local O'reilly's. ~$65.
Couldn't find rotors, but i also didnt do an exhaustive search because i doubted i would need them. If i however pulled the wheel and found the rotors in bad shape, then i'd just put things back together, and let Rivian do the job.

Here's the inner pad from the front-right wheel. Not terrible, but there was a lot of gunk build-up, right into the grooves (which is why it might look worn down badly). Weird.

IMG_0261.jpeg




Old pad set (left) vs new pad set (right). Inner pad had definitely worn down quite a bit (vs outer pad). No gunk on the outers, their grooves were clear, and lots of material left.

IMG_0262.jpeg



Cleaned up the pins with a wire wheel. Cleaned-one on left, yet-to-clean on right.

IMG_0264.jpeg




This is the first time the wheel's coming off in my garage, so might as well clean up the calipers.

IMG_0265.jpeg



Wheel back on. Shoutout to AW. Love the wheels...they could do with some cleaning though...whatever...ok...i digressed...

IMG_0266.jpeg



I figured someone might want to know the OEM Brembo Pad Part Number:

IMG_0268.jpeg



Overall, took me a little over an hour, but i do these things very leisurely.


FINAL NOTES
  • Rotors were in very good shape, so i went ahead and completed the job myself
  • Inner pad gunk buildup was on both wheels. Not sure whats going on there. Perhaps they had been lubed too much from factory?
    • I'd always felt my actual brakes could be grippier. Perhaps this is why they didnt feel as grippy?
  • This one is important - Inner pads didnt have the wear indicators, but outer ones did. Thought this was weird. All replacement pads had wear indicators, but i quickly figured out why the original inners didnt have them - the pads dont fit with the wear indicators on. You face an issue while trying to slide the pins back on. So i had to snip the wear indicators off the new ones as well. Lesson here is - keep an eye on your pads, otherwise you'll destroy the rotors, and will therefore need to replace those as well
  • Based on the point above, i might just replace the rear pads over the next few weeks as well (even though the tire shop said they're still decent). Who knows - there might also be some gunk buildup on the inners as well.
  • I drive with High Regen, and i believe that uses the friction brakes a bit more

Hope this helps someone.
I sent you a DM, but figured I'd ask here too. Are those 275/60's? If so, do you have more pictures? I'm looking to do a similar setup
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