Loose Steering Knuckle Bolt Experience and Tools to avoid a Tow

[natcc99]

Background Info:

On 2022 models, there were issues where the bolt on the steering knuckle would back out and hitting the half shaft.​

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a41568314/2022-rivian-r1s-r1t-steering-bolt-recall/​

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Looks like the issue is not isolated to 2022 models​

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a...e-reporting-loose-bolts-in-steering-knuckles/​

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The Objective:

The goal of this post is to share my experience with the issue and Rivian's service.​

Most importantly, share my tool set to help me and others in the future.​

History Info:

I have a 2023 Quad R1S with approx 27k miles​

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Prior to the event where my bolt became loose, I knew of the issue from the articles and performed a visual inspection. All the bolts appeared tight *visually*, plus I can see the witness marks which gave me a clue that there were some quality inspections during manufacturing. I had false confidence that everything was okay.​

The Event:

I heard a very faith squeaking sound while on the highway. It sounded like a little mouse, but honestly I only heard it because I had the radio off. In any other condition, it would have been impossible to hear.​

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I pull over at the next town and suddenly my car was making a terrible loud metal on metal sound. After a quick inspection, I see the bolt was interfering with the half shaft. With no tools with me, I was stuck.​

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See videos and photos for reference.​

Rivian’s Roadside Assistance:

A+ to Rivian’s Roadside Assistance. It was a long event, but here are the highlights​

• Took a while to find a tow truck
• Needed a 60 mile tow
• It was night time
• Rivian’s Roadside Assistance was very helpful and kept me up-to-date throughout the process
• Seamless hand-off between Rivian’s personnel during their shift change

Once they found a tow truck, they were only willing to take the car half way to Rivian’s Service Center because it was too far. I’m not sure whose policy was causing the road block. The plan was to tow us half way, drop us off at a hotel, and get another tow truck in the morning to finish the journey. Obviously, this wasn’t ideal and Rivian Roadside Assistance knew that. They kept working with the tow company as my car was being loaded.​

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I was rewarded with good news because they towed us all the way to the Service Center. No need for half-way drop off shenanigans. Service Center was closed, but we had the code for the gate to safely drop off the car. Rivian offered me a ride-share to get me home, but I had a friend already there to help me.​

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Note: I had my family with me at the time and surprised how often Rivian would check up on them throughout the night.​

Towing:

My car kept unlocking and locking while on the tow truck. The lights would shine right into the tow truck driver’s mirror.​

If you happened to be in the same situation, turn off your phone’s bluetooth.​

Rivian Service Center:

A to Rivian Service Center​

With all the terrible stories here, I was expecting the worst. To my surprised, they fixed my car in one day once it was inside their building. It sat outside for a few days while waiting in queue. Overall, I was without my car for 3 working days. During that time, they gave me a Jeep Wagoneer as a loaner. Once my car was done, they delivered the car to me and took the loaner back.​

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It was strange not being able to call the Rivian Service Center directly. Instead, I have to call the hotline who later transferred me. Nevertheless, they did provided me daily updates by phone even when I didn’t call. They left clear voicemails when I couldn’t pick up.​

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Don’t try to use the App to ask for service updates. They ask you to call their hotline number.​

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I’m glad they replaced all the parts and not simply tighten the bolt and call it day. It was a honest and well executed job. See attachment for details.​

Warranty:

Everything was paid for by Rivian including the tow and rental. They told me to not even fill up the rental car.​

Preventing Future Events:

(1) Torque stripe all the bolts. Rivian Service Center added stripes on the repaired side. I added identical stripes to the other bolts. Witness marks are worthless.​

(2) Make it a habit to check the bolts before any road trip.​

(3) Bring the following tools. In case the bolt does back out, you can tighten it back down and get you home. It’s not a fix; you still need to schedule an appointment to have the parts replaced and torque down correctly.​

Tool #1: 18mm combination wrench​

Tool #2: screw driver or something to add leverage​

Tool #3: 18mm offset box wrench that needs to be modified. Use a grinder to trim down the tool so it fits in between the gap of the half shaft and knuckle​

Tool #4: Adjustable flashlight. Yes, we have a flashlight in our door, but you’ll need two hands to work on the car. So, it’s nice to have one that can stand on its own and point the light to where you need it.​

Tool #5: Mechanic Gloves​

Tool #6: Floor mat​

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The Process:

If this happens to you, use the following *guide*. Please be safe.​

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Step 1: Park in a safe location as soon as possible. Driving too much is not only noisy, but you’ll risk grinding down the bolt head and you won’t be able to tighten it back down. Not all is lost if the bolt is rounded. There is always a tow truck.​

Step 2: Put the car in its highest position​

Step 3: Turn the wheel to gain access to the bolt​

Step 4: Use the 18mm combination wrench to try to tighten the bolt.​

Note: Clearance will be a problem so the only way to grab the bolt will be at a perpendicular angle. To have enough leverage, put the screw driver into the box end of the wrench to slowly rotate the wrench. It's not a typical way to use a wrench so be careful to not slip and round out the bolt. Once it’s clear from the half shaft, it will be easier to tighten.​

Step 5: When there is enough space, use the modified 18mm offset box wrench to finish the job.​

Note: I don’t know the torque spec. The goal is to avoid the tow and get home. Have Rivian repair the issue and torque everything properly. (If anyone knows the torque spec, please share)​

I had basic tools with me and able to accomplish steps 1-4. I didn't have the Tool #3 so I couldn't complete Step 5; thus, needed the tow.​

Some Final Words:

Of course, I don’t want this to happen to anyone. It wasn’t fun. Please check your bolts regularly.​

I checked my friend’s 2023 R1S before an off-road trip and he also had a loose bolt. Thank goodness we found it before it became a problem.​

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If this does happen, the noise will be very loud. Don’t panic, just pull over to a safe location.​

Call Rivian Roadside Service for help. If getting a tow is a problem, I hope these tips and preparation gets your home safely.​

When I was stuck on the side of the road I was devastated and lost confidence with the vehicle, but all that changed after Rivian took care of me and fixed my vehicle. I am worried about my other bolts, but I have confidence that everything will turn out okay if the worst happens.​

Request:

If anyone in the Community has some better alternatives for tools and techniques, please share.​

For example, if you know the torque spec for these bolts, please share. Also, what tool can we use to torque down without disassembling the hub/knuckle.​

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[Dark-Fx]

They are replacing the bolts when they do that service, I'd be concerned they might be torque-to-yield.

 

[Riviot]

Would a 18mm socket on a short extension to a flex head socket wrench work? I often stick my sockets and bits on extension to hand tighten things in tight spaces, then plug in and crank.

A flex socket drive could solve the same angle problem.

Edit to add: I'll check this out next time I'm under there, probably this week, it needs a good wash after this weekend first.

 

[Jayzhao]

Same as me. Read what I posted. More Rivian Owners will experience this.
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/wheel-bearing-hubs-failure.35933/

 

[JonW716]

Thank you for posting this, I will now make sure I have a few extra items in my tool kit to address this down the road. I am surprised there is no lock tight or something similar but then again my HD rams wheel bearings required 250 ft. lbs. as the torque spec. Rivian is doing an excellent job fixing stuff now under warranty, I am fearful what will happen when repairs are not covered and we're forced to use the service center exclusively for repairs.

 

[WhidbeyIsland]

I just got my R1T back from Service for other reasons and they replaced/re-torqued all hub bolts under warranty.

 

[natcc99]

Would a 18mm socket on a short extension to a flex head socket wrench work? I often stick my sockets and bits on extension to hand tighten things in tight spaces, then plug in and crank.

A flex socket drive could solve the same angle problem.

Edit to add: I'll check this out next time I'm under there, probably this week, it needs a good wash after this weekend first.

Thanks for the idea. I thought the same thing.
My shallow socket wasn't able to fit.
See attached photo. This is why I went with the off-set wrench. It works. I was asking in case there were other ideas that didn't require modifications.

 

[natcc99]

Same as me. Read what I posted. More Rivian Owners will experience this.
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/wheel-bearing-hubs-failure.35933/

I just read your post. It's unfortunate that it happened to you a few times.
It sounds like once they repair it, it doesn't back out again. Fingers crossed that holds true for the long run.

Yes, I have the same fear. They fixed the one side that failed, but the other side still has the original hardware. I don't know if there are any difference between old and new hardware.

This is what motivated me to make this post.

Anyways, now that you have both sides repair, hopefully you're safe. I haven't heard of bolts backing out on the rear hubs/knuckles. Thank goodness because those are harder to get to.

 

[Riviot]

I just got my R1T back from Service for other reasons and they replaced/re-torqued all hub bolts under warranty.

Was it part of the FSAM, did you prompt it, or was it an unprompted additional work item?

Thanks for the idea. I thought the same thing.
My shallow socket wasn't able to fit.
See attached photo. This is why I went with the off-set wrench. It works. I was asking in case there were other ideas.

While I resent you for getting my telework jammies all dirty crawling under the truck before it's had a bath, I learned something new to check for and where to look. My hub bolts are fine, and sure enough the socket doesn't fit in there.

Should we need to remedy this ourselves, it looks like you'll need to lift the wheel off the ground and disconnect the halfshaft assembly to access the bolts properly, right?

 

[WhidbeyIsland]

Was it part of the FSAM, did you prompt it, or was it an unprompted additional work item?

It was entirely an unplanned warranty item identified when I arrived for my service work.

 

[natcc99]

While I resent you for getting my telework jammies all dirty crawling under the truck before it's had a bath, I learned something new to check for and where to look. My hub bolts are fine, and sure enough the socket doesn't fit in there.

Should we need to remedy this ourselves, it looks like you'll need to lift the wheel off the ground and disconnect the halfshaft assembly to access the bolts properly, right?

Glad I can assist you in getting dirty, but at least you know your bolts are secured.

Yes, I think you're right. To correctly torque the bolts probably requires disconnecting the half shaft. That a big job. Since our vehicles are under warranty, I suggest we have Rivian do that part.

 

[Riviot]

Since our vehicles are under warranty, I suggest we have Rivian do that part.

Speak for yourself! I'm 4k away from being out of warranty. I'm in this truck for at least 100k miles, and ideally the next 7 years, to bring down my TCO and cost/mile. I've already realized a ton of depreciation, so now I need to average it out.

 

[natcc99]

Speak for yourself! I'm 4k away from being out of warranty. I'm in this truck for at least 100k miles, and ideally the next 7 years, to bring down my TCO and cost/mile. I've already realized a ton of depreciation, so now I need to average it out.

Technically I'm still correct. ...at least for the next 4k miles.

Yes, once warranty has ended, it's a different story. Fingers crossed your bolts will stay in place.
Cheers

 

[dicion001]

> (If anyone knows the torque spec, please share)

105Nm

Last page

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/attachments/mc-11008362-0001-pdf.115725/

This also has the rivian approved tools and method to tighten them. Unfortunately it involves removing the halfshaft bolt and replacing it, as you cannot reuse it.

So unless you have spare halfshaft bolts laying around to replace it with, you can't do it their way.

Halfshaft bolt spec:

Based on the above, it looks like they are

M10-1.5x50 Class 10.9 Hex Flange Bolts

With these matching for example:

https://boltsandnuts.com/shop/m10-1-5x50-class-10-9-hex-flange-bolts-phos-oil-300363

I don't know what the 'WSHR LOCK SPCL' or 'R105G' part mean, however. I couldn't find any flange bolts with integrated lock washers, as the flange itself acts as a lock washer?. I dunno, they might be custom.

 

[natcc99]

@dicion001
Thank you so much for sharing the service article and details. This is very helpful.

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