Half-Shaft issue thread

[jrmbadger]

What exactly were you hearing? The clunks or chatter?

We have a chart of Rivian suspension sounds and explanations on this forum somewhere.

Clunks, Chatter, scrapes, howls, pops, whistles? LOL

Not entirely sure what you would call it, but it was more of a clunk when transitioning between acceleration/ deceleration, although I guess you could call it a scrape or chatter when heard from the outside. See my earlier post where I recorded it going through a drive through. Earlier Post.

As I noted, when I went for my test drive with the service advisor, we didn't even make it out of the parking lot and he heard it right away and diagnosed it as the half-shafts.

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[Jonger1150]

Not entirely sure what you would call it, but it was more of a clunk when transitioning between acceleration/ deceleration, although I guess you could call it a scrape or chatter when heard from the outside. See my earlier post where I recorded it going through a drive through. Earlier Post.

As I noted, when I went for my test drive with the service advisor, we didn't even make it out of the parking lot and he heard it right away and diagnosed it as the half-shafts.

Those are tocks mixed with clanks and scrapes.

Half-Shafts.

 

[Jonger1150]

Han anyone been able to figure this out? Thinking about sending a message to the Rivian support about this. Had the -F revision shafts installed and now my front end is quite clunky compared to what I had previously. Installed around Sept 15th. 9 days later this comes out.

 

[kyledmb]

After 3 hellish years with a Gen1 quad and a Gen2 Tri, I can say that my F150 Lightning is smooth as butter and whisper quiet! My sanity is slowly returning to me.

All the half-shaft and damper noise and failure is NOT normal.

 

[AuburnRivian]

Just had my '23 R1T Quad in for service last week for drivetrain noise and to have the V2 tonneau installed. Ended up with 4 new half shafts. Here's the work order:

 

[Jonger1150]

After 3 hellish years with a Gen1 quad and a Gen2 Tri, I can say that my F150 Lightning is smooth as butter and whisper quiet! My sanity is slowly returning to me.

All the half-shaft and damper noise and failure is NOT normal.

If you don't off-road, don't care about highway driving dynamics -- then the F150 or Silverado EV is probably a quiet lower maintenance truck. The air suspension with this much adjustable travel is just not possible without variable length shafts. The F150 is coil over suspension with no adjustment height. Perfect for the guy who doesn't need it.

 

[Riviot]

If you don't off-road, don't care about highway driving dynamics -- then the F150 or Silverado EV is probably a quiet lower maintenance truck. The air suspension with this much adjustable travel is just not possible without variable length shafts. The F150 is coil over suspension with no adjustment height. Perfect for the guy who doesn't need it.

Having driven both for a while, the Lightning is very smooth on the highway. And definitely quieter.

 

[kyledmb]

Having driven both for a while, the Lightning is very smooth on the highway. And definitely quieter.

My Lightning is smoother and quieter on the highway that either of my R1Ts. Wind noise is particularly less in the Lightning, which surprised me.

 

[Jonger1150]

My Lightning is smoother and quieter on the highway that either of my R1Ts. Wind noise is particularly less in the Lightning, which surprised me.

It's a chassis with years and years of refinement. Rivian suspension is WAY more capable, but quite noisy. A stock Rivian completed the Rubicon trail. An F150 stock probably wouldn't get too far past the trailhead.

I just hope some independent shops start working on these things so I'm not on the hook for replacing halfshafts and dampers every 30,000 miles. Aftermarket parts that are more durable. I do expect Rivian to replace these half-shafts with a new design at some point.

 

[Noplacelikeloam]

It's a chassis with years and years of refinement. Rivian suspension is WAY more capable, but quite noisy. A stock Rivian completed the Rubicon trail. An F150 stock probably wouldn't get too far past the trailhead.

I just hope some independent shops start working on these things so I'm not on the hook for replacing halfshafts and dampers every 30,000 miles. Aftermarket parts that are more durable. I do expect Rivian to replace these half-shafts with a new design at some point.

To be fair my Raptor required air shaft rebuild after 50K. Less if you actually drive off road.

 

[Bitterent]

Just had my '23 R1T Quad in for service last week for drivetrain noise and to have the V2 tonneau installed. Ended up with 4 new half shafts. Here's the work order:

How long did this service take? Asking for a friend...

 

[AuburnRivian]

How long did this service take? Asking for a friend...

I had it in for a V2 Tonneau install and to fix a couple of other minor issues, as well as the half shaft issue, and it only took maybe 2 days. Replacing all the half shafts is a pretty quick job once they have the parts. Work order shows 3.8 billable hours for replacing the half-shafts, but I imagine it only takes ~2 hours. I'm guessing if that is all they are doing they should only need it a day, but it depends on how busy your service center is.

 

[Bitterent]

I had it in for a V2 Tonneau install and to fix a couple of other minor issues, as well as the half shaft issue, and it only took maybe 2 days. Replacing all the half shafts is a pretty quick job once they have the parts. Work order shows 3.8 billable hours for replacing the half-shafts, but I imagine it only takes ~2 hours. I'm guessing if that is all they are doing they should only need it a day, but it depends on how busy your service center is.

Thanks. I live in WNC and my closest SC is in Duncan, SC (Greenville area, around 90mins from me). I can ostensibly take my Rivian to the Roswell SC as my office is in Alpharetta and I have family there... But getting the car to and fro is kind of annoying. Which SC in Atlanta did you use and would you recommend them?

 

[AuburnRivian]

Thanks. I live in WNC and my closest SC is in Duncan, SC (Greenville area, around 90mins from me). I can ostensibly take my Rivian to the Roswell SC as my office is in Alpharetta and I have family there... But getting the car to and fro is kind of annoying. Which SC in Atlanta did you use and would you recommend them?

I used the one near downtown, and they were great. When I had mine done it was right after they were opening the new SC in Roswell, so they were just starting to get caught up on service requests. That service center used to cover a massive area, including surrounding states, so they are very experienced (and previously overworked). The service technician took the time to take a drive with me to make sure he understood the issues I was seeing/hearing. He had previously worked at Mercedes and Tesla, and had been with the Atlanta Rivian SC since they opened. Honestly probably the best service experience I've ever had with any vehicle. I know Rivian has struggled to keep up with service requests mainly due to the lack of SC's, but it seems they are slowly getting things right, which is promising. I'm less than 10 minutes from the Roswell SC, so I will likely use them the next time I'm in for service.

 

[mkhuffman]

I used the one near downtown, and they were great. When I had mine done it was right after they were opening the new SC in Roswell, so they were just starting to get caught up on service requests. That service center used to cover a massive area, including surrounding states, so they are very experienced (and previously overworked). The service technician took the time to take a drive with me to make sure he understood the issues I was seeing/hearing. He had previously worked at Mercedes and Tesla, and had been with the Atlanta Rivian SC since they opened. Honestly probably the best service experience I've ever had with any vehicle. I know Rivian has struggled to keep up with service requests mainly due to the lack of SC's, but it seems they are slowly getting things right, which is promising. I'm less than 10 minutes from the Roswell SC, so I will likely use them the next time I'm in for service.

The calm before the storm.

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