Knocking Suspension Noises

[jemenake]

Mine makes the same noise you describe (in exactly the same conditions; when turning as the wheel is either encountering the bump or the suspension is unloading). At my last SC visit, I couldn’t get the car to make the noise, but the tech said he’d make sure to torque all of the suspension components up to spec. That didn’t fix it.

I’m now to the point where I want to start stashing little wireless mics around the front suspension so that I can compare the amplitudes of what they record to be able to hone in on the exact source of the knocking.

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[Kaiju]

What drive height and suspension setting are you using?

Also, do you feel the ka-thunk through the floor or is it just a noise?

 

[Singletracker]

My Gen 1 R1T can thunk around pretty loudly when making turns on even slightly irregular road surfaces. This is coming from the rear. It’s the one thing that really annoys me about my rig. I had the rear shocks replaced last fall, as they were leaking, and the racket sounded and felt like something beating on the underside of the truck. New shocks helped with the worst of it, but it still clunks a lot on turns. It feels and sounds like something is about to fall off. Over time, there have been a couple of over the air updates that seemed to make for a huge improvement with this condition. Not sure what Rivian did on those updates. I thought, aha, problem solved. But, over time, the thunking always seems to return. I’m on the verge of reaching out to my SC to see what can be done.

 

[Jonger1150]

I think it's mostly to do with the half-shaft spline. My sounds got worse AFTER getting new half-shafts. I have a cheap Go-Pro that I'd like to mount and aim it at the half-shaft and see how paired up the sound is with HS movement.

 

[Ilovejunebugs]

It's a 2023 gen 1. It's good to hear your gen 2 is much quieter. I have seen other posts where there gen 2 wasn't any different than the gen 1, so maybe it's hit and miss?
I had a loaner gen 1 R1T for a couple weeks and it actually sounded great! Almost no rattles. So it can be achieved.
It's interesting you mention the gen 2 feels more solid. I've heard the opposite where people say the gen 1 feels more solid and like it was built better. Would you say overall, the build quality and ride of the gen 2 is better?

In my opinion yes, the build quality and ride of my gen 2 is better than my gen 1 was. Though rivian had greatly improved my gen 1. Both quads, I should also mention (not sure if the dual or tri is any different).

 

[lmerani]

Mine makes the same noise you describe (in exactly the same conditions; when turning as the wheel is either encountering the bump or the suspension is unloading). At my last SC visit, I couldn’t get the car to make the noise, but the tech said he’d make sure to torque all of the suspension components up to spec. That didn’t fix it.

I’m now to the point where I want to start stashing little wireless mics around the front suspension so that I can compare the amplitudes of what they record to be able to hone in on the exact source of the knocking.

Is yours a gen1?
That's funny because I was beginning to research wireless mics that could be placed on components as well.

I also thought about placing it on something like a dyno, but with features on the dyno wheels to simulate bumps and then run diagnostics that way. With something like that, you could run tests at different speeds and perhaps lift the truck to simulate various suspension loading.

I wish there was a way to disable the front motor and only run the truck on the rear motor. Then remove the front half shafts and run tests.

 

[lmerani]

What drive height and suspension setting are you using?

Also, do you feel the ka-thunk through the floor or is it just a noise?

I hear the sounds in standard and low ride heights. I've never placed it in a higher ride height or put it in an offroad setting.

It's only a noise. I haven't felt anything out of the ordinary. Of course, when it hits a bump, you feel that, but otherwise, I can't say I feel anything odd through the floor.

 

[Kaiju]

Change the suspension stiffness and see if anything changes. I had similar problems but not all of the listed symptoms.

It may help narrow it down if it does something or nothing though.

 

[impulsoren]

I had a “knocking” noise on the left side front only while going over bumps. Some might call it a clunk. Worried about things falling apart, I put in a service request and got in there to look at it.
the accordion dust boot on the strut was loose. I could grab and shake it and it made the exact noise I heard. Looking at the design and speaking to the Rivian representative who called me resulted in “the strut has to come out and be either disassembled or replaced” to fix the loose boot.
I didn’t want to cost Rivian several hours of labor and anywhere between $25-$1000 to fix that, as those costs are passed along to customers buying more cars later. So I cut a short piece of small rubber hose and jammed it in the gap to keep the boot tight to the strut body.
I wonder how many strut replacements for noise were for this issue that could be easily fixed by mobile service with a simple engineered wedge shaped rubber strip.

 

[Druidspirit]

I think I have this issue. I picked up my 2026 R1S on 02/25 and took it into service last Monday 03/16. It’s a very distinct and loud clunk sound when I go over bumps but only in the rear. It also makes a dribbling sound when going over bridge joints and you can feel it in your seat.

I took the service guy for a ride, half expecting him to say that’s normal. Fortunately he didn’t and said it shouldn’t be making the sounds it does. Unfortunately they haven’t been able to figure out what is causing it. They gave me an ICE loaner, I guess they don’t so loaners yet in Malvern, which sucks because I haven’t driven a gas car in 6+ years. I forgot how bad gas smells, I forgot how much of a PITA it was to wait in line at gas stations, and I forgot what a slug gas cars are.

hopefully they figure out the issue soon so I can get it back.

 

[Rxorcist1]

For what it’s worth my 2022 R1T had a very similar clunking noise any time I encountered a slight bump in the road. It was most noticeable at low speeds and when it was cold. Took it to 2 different service centers and for test drives with the techs. They inspected everything and said it was a normal gen 1 suspension noise coming from the dampers. About a month ago I took it in for the rear toe link recall and while in service the hydraulic pump failed. They replaced all 4 dampers, pump and valve with the gen 2 suspension retrofit. I would say it solved 99% of the clunking noise.

 

[kozak79]

I’ve had the same on my ‘22 R1T and had the suspension, front subframe, and half shafts replaced with Gen 2 parts. It fixed my issues. I have since traded it in for a ‘25 R1T which has no suspension noise issues.

 

[Golfer04]

I had a “knocking” noise on the left side front only while going over bumps. Some might call it a clunk. Worried about things falling apart, I put in a service request and got in there to look at it.
the accordion dust boot on the strut was loose. I could grab and shake it and it made the exact noise I heard. Looking at the design and speaking to the Rivian representative who called me resulted in “the strut has to come out and be either disassembled or replaced” to fix the loose boot.
I didn’t want to cost Rivian several hours of labor and anywhere between $25-$1000 to fix that, as those costs are passed along to customers buying more cars later. So I cut a short piece of small rubber hose and jammed it in the gap to keep the boot tight to the strut body.
I wonder how many strut replacements for noise were for this issue that could be easily fixed by mobile service with a simple engineered wedge shaped rubber strip.

I have this noise. Any additional info on where to easily look is appreciated.

 

[Shaqdeez]

The other odd issue w/ , at least Gen 1, is that when the temperature is on the colder side (let's say around freezing temp and lower) I don't hear any suspension noises. However when it warms up, it starts to make all sorts of rattling noises. I've heard something to do w/ the hydraulic fluid changing and causing different pressure levels which may result in these different behaviors.

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