[RESOLVED] My R1T is leaking brake fluid

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For previous EV owners. Were there leaks in your vehicles this early???

For previous pickup truck owners, were there leaks in your vehicle this early???

But seriously this isn't an EV thing, or a pickup truck thing, or a Rivian thing. There not any product by any manufacturer that does not occasionally have defects slip through. Until other people start reporting the same problem there's no reason to think this is anything other than a random defective part.

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[AllInev]

Shouldnt be much of a line.

 

[kanundrum]

@plasmdude any update?

 

[the long way downunder]

Is it just me, or do those hydraulic lines look seriously exposed?

Edit: as I look at them...wheel off and presumably the strut fully extended...the angle to the hose on the rear one looks...sharp. In my mind I see the wheel coming UP and the half loop of line hanging down and...well it looks exposed. It's just the roll control but still.

I think you're right, but it's still a totally crap design. No doubt they've run tens of thousands of miles of real world torture testing, but that design is a non-starter for hard core off-road … even with the wheel at normal mid-travel, the location of the "in" and "out" ports is absurdly low … just redesign the housing to move those ports up 6 inches and duct the fluids through oversized galleries.

 

[plasmdude]

@plasmdude any update?

Just waiting for the San Francisco service center to come get the truck next Tuesday. They did not sound like they have any loaner trucks. They booked me a rental on their dime, save for the gas.

I guess they only have two service centers this part of California. In Sacramento and San Francisco. Actually my truck was delivered by forks from Sacramento, about an hour further than SF from me.

 

[plasmdude]

My appointment with the service center came due on Tuesday. The expectation when I first took delivery, was if a visit to service center was needed that my vehicle would be picked up by flat bed and a loaner truck given. This did not occur, they mentioned that they have no loaner trucks and no flat beds to transport. They asked that I drive the truck about 40 miles to South San Francisco service center. This gave me some confusion as I had not been driving my truck for 2 weeks due to safety concerns. Then they agreed to send a tow truck to transport to the service center. I believe that used the road side assistance service they have to contract an independent flat bed tow truck.

Got my truck back from the South San Francisco service center. Turns out it was overflow lubricant from the drive front motors. The under covers have a diaper that soaks up leaking fluids. At the factory they must have overfilled the dive motors and spilled on to the diaper. Then the fluid sat in the diaper as the truck was mostly flat. Then my driveway has a decent slope and with it parked there the fluid had enough time to start dripping out.

At the service center, they drained the lubricant fluid from the drive motors to confirm the expected amount was in present. Then they drove for 15 miles and used an IR camera to look for any hot fluid that could be leaking out.

The service center granted Uber credits for the ride out to the service center. The pick up only took a few minutes once I arrived. Did not eat into my work day too much as I was Zooming from the Uber

Notes about the colors of fluids in the Rivian:
- Brake fluid is Red
- Drive lube is Yellow-Brown
- Hydraulic dampener fluid is Blue
- Coolant of engines and battery is Blue

Things were sure busy at the service center. There were a ton of new R1T for delivery. The rep mentioned that it was the end of their quarter and racing to deliver as many as possible. Note, spied the first Red R1T!

 

[NY_Rob]

....The service center granted Uber credits for the ride out to the service center.

Things were sure busy at the service center. There were a ton of new R1T for delivery. The rep mentioned that it was the end of their quarter and racing to deliver as many as possible...

Hmmmm... sounds just like that other EV manufacturer; no loaner vehicles, Uber credits and end of quarter delivery crush.


Glad it turned out to be a minor issue!
And thanks for the fluid color education.. that could come in very handy.

 

[Iwannarivian]

Don't get me wrong. I love the truck! But they are having some growing pains.

Took delivery of a launch edition green on Saturday in the Bay Area. Similar story to others, day of price hike got a call that the truck is ready.

Their website really wants you to finance and insurance through them. Both were high. The financing though Chase was going to be 3.6% for 72 months. Got that down to 3.1% from a credit union, First Tech out of Portland. Then their insurance through Nationwide was going to be $350 a month. Got that down to $85 additional with my State farm with multiple cars and umbrella coverage.

Delivery was mostly smooth. Some issues with having to resign the purchase agreement a second time due to backend issues. Also needed to resign the DMV title papers.

Watch out for the updates! Had my laptop in the gear tunnel after lunch. Then hit the update button. All doors and locks then died for 30-40 minutes for the update to complete. Would have liked it too warn about update duration or schedule it to run at 3am. Let's just say I was a bit late getting back from lunch.

The update did add a super cool composite overhead view. Makes it crazy simple to park in the lines! Added a screen shot from that.

Then got email about my accessories are on the way! Sweet. But to my old house that I have not lived in since before covid. It's strange because my address was updated and truck delivered correctly. Contacted my guide and they put though a request to change the delivery address. Fingers crossed.

I park in a driveway with a good slope. Noticed a puddle after a drive to dinner and thought it was condensation. But today after got home from work there was lots of marks down my driveway. Upon inspection it was oil of some sort. Mostly seemed to be coming from around under the driver. Guessing that it's brake fluid or some oil from the half axels? Either way, get to test the Rivian service center sooner than expected. Will not dive until they service.

When it was delivered, the guides said if the mobile tech can not resolve then a flat bed truck will swap you a loaner truck. Then they will haul the truck to a service center. The mobile app has a section for reporting service needs.

that seriously sucks to have issues with a brand new vehicle…I just watched a YT videos of another R1T owner looking like he’s having similar issues!

Have you pulled the front trunk cover to see if your brake fluid reservoir was low?

Has Rivian resolved the issue yet?

 

[plasmdude]

that seriously sucks to have issues with a brand new vehicle…I just watched a YT videos of another R1T owner looking like he’s having similar issues!

Have you pulled the front trunk cover to see if your brake fluid reservoir was low?

Has Rivian resolved the issue yet?

Yup, turns out it was just overflow oil from the factory. Put 2k miles on the truck since and no issues

 

[kewlasu]

Yup, turns out it was just overflow oil from the factory. Put 2k miles on the truck since and no issues

I didn't see in the owner's manual where you can check for the brake fluids.

 

[plasmdude]

I didn't see in the owner's manual where you can check for the brake fluids.

It turns out it was not brake fluid. It was an overflow of light weight oil in the reduction gear on the motors. Not sure if its user serviceable, at least without taking out the front trunk.

 

[lostpacket]

Sorry I'm still chuckling that your truck's diaper was leaking.

Yes I do have the sense of humor of an 8 year old but that's hilarious.

Glad it's all set for you OP and glad it wasn't something more serious.

 

[Weeyam eyesore]

 

[Weeyam eyesore]

@plasmdude does this look familiar to you? Got my truck yesterday. It was 97 degrees out and I had the ac blasting to see how well it was working. Problem vs condensation?

 

[Weeyam eyesore]

Hmm not sure if video is working this is under drivers side door

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