New Video - Motortrend - R1T Suspension Explainer

[Temerarius]

The only issue I've had with air suspension has been the compressor dying. Typically a pretty quick fix.

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[SeaGeo]

If Rivian R1 vehicles have an air spring suspension as good as our 2006 Land Rover (anecdotally a low bar) we’ll all be fine.

I seem to recall we had our LR3’s air spring/shock units replaced at around 125,000 miles because one had a slow leak so I figured I may as well replace them all. About a year ago (~205,000 miles) we started getting occasional warning messages caused by valve block issues but it’s been well-behaved since we had the valve block replaced.

We haven’t had a catastrophic failure of the air spring system in 225,000 miles and counting… er, yet. Even when it displayed a warning message it did everything we needed it to do while off-road so we weren’t stranded.

During a particularly rough off-road trip a couple weeks ago I kept thinking, “I wonder how much better the Rivian will be?”

Thanks, that's really helpful. Out of curiosity how much did the repair run?

 

[Blueassassin]

One part I am really exited to feel is the handling and ride of this truck the Chicago pot holes and roads are insane. Also i cant find the video...

 

[SoCal Rob]

Thanks, that's really helpful. Out of curiosity how much did the repair run?

The air springs with shocks were around $2,700 for all 4 back in 2015, IIRC. Given the combination of handling, ride comfort, and off-road capability we got from the system I didn’t resent spending the money on it one bit.

My understanding is that Rivian doesn’t use a strut system like Land Rover where there are conventional shocks air springs combined into a single unit. If the Rivian air springs are separate from the hydraulic system which replaces the traditional shocks, then I’d assume that parts and labor should be less than what you’d pay for doing the same air spring replacement work on a 2022 Land Rover. I’m pretty sure the Tesla Model S & X use a setup like Land Rover where the two functions are combined into one strut unit.

The recent air valve block replacement was $351 in October of 2020.

 

[JeremyMKE]

This suspension is one of the key value props for me. Its critical in that mission to be excellent on road and off. I truly mean excellent, with this power poor on-road handling could be catastrophic.

Hey guide, time to give me a jingle...

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