Rivian Air Suspension concerns?

[crashmtb]

DIdn't know that. I have Rancho 2" lift struts on the front of my Avalanche, no lift on the rear - levels it out. For some inane reason, Avalanches and Silverados had 2" rake for years. Stupidest design ever, especially if you have a snow plow. Rancho came to the rescue with a 2" drop in replacement. Here's a before/after pic I found online of a Silverado. You can see the difference in the wheel well and ground clearance. Thanks Tenneco/Rancho!

Most IFS pickups of the last 15 years or more have a similar rake. Fortunately there are lots of levelling kits!

Or if one is frugal, 750lbs of used grader blades in the bed from a friend at the highways department accomplishes a similar visual result

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[rpmtexas]

Why would Rivian be using the same components? The only commonality is air. Rivian’s system was purportedly entirely designed in house.

Because they said they used existing components. Maybe do your research before picking a meme

 

[crashmtb]

Because they said they used existing components. Maybe do your research before picking a meme

An air strut made by Tenneco to Rivian’s spec is ”an existing component”.

it is not necessarily the same as an air strut made to FCA’s specs for a grand Cherokee.

 

[Mysta]

Wouldn't be so sure it is early adopter blues. Jeep/Chrysler/Dodge had this problem with their air ride system and never fixed it. If Rivian used the same system/components, the problem could be permanent. Looks like my concern about the air ride system was dead on. Unlucky owners should get ready for problems for the life of the vehicle.

And not to be all 'old manufacturers are bad' but previously recalling something like this meant bringing all the vehicles in for component updates software wise or just replacing the part. With software OTA they can much more quickly roll out iterative updates to see how they do.

 

[Forager]

I’m late to the party on this but my experience with air suspensions is they are generally simple to diagnose and repair if the technician has the right diagnostic tools and a scientific process to follow.

I was initially very turned off by the air suspension on the R1, but as I’ve done work on the air suspension on my LR3 I’ve come around.

Hopefully there will be aftermarket OBDII support for Rivian capable of pulling manufacturer DTCs (not just the standard generic ones) by the time warranties are expiring. A good OBD and the Rivian shop manual, which will be leaked at some point, will have us set up well.

 

[opnwide]

@PoorDick , do you have any suspension update yet for us?

 

[R_1_T]

An air strut made by Tenneco to Rivian’s spec is ”an existing component”.

it is not necessarily the same as an air strut made to FCA’s specs for a grand Cherokee.

The main issue is that we have no idea where the Rivian air spring design is relative to those very different extremes.
The following both satisfy the "built to Rivian specifications" descriptor:

• Exact same materials and construction as another OEM component, but with different attachments and dimensions (which is what I suspect). Designing the "interfaces" rather than the "heart" of the component.
• Rivian specified EVERYTHING, including materials, assembly method, etc. Basically build to print contract manufacturing. I don't believe Rivian had the resources to do this.

The complexity of Rivian's system is further compounded by the use of the McLaren inspired damper system with its own set of potential leaks, valve, sensor, and controller issues.

When it's all working as intended, the system is amazing according to every single review. I believe the main question is will these performance benefits outweigh the potential reliability issues which we're assuming will be similar to comparable systems we've experienced with other vehicles.

 

[PoorDick]

@PoorDick , do you have any suspension update yet for us?

Sorry, I've been out of town ever since the issue occurred. The service guys came to my house one day last week and said they completed the repair, but I won't know for sure until I can drive it again, which should be next Wednesday. Apparently the entire issue was a small hole in the back left "air bag" (their words). The small leak caused the air compressor to overheat and eventually fail, and the problems cascaded from there. Will report after I finally get to drive her for only the third time...

 

[Sts9fan]

Why even consider the truck if you are so concerned?

 

[ATL_Canes]

I've had an on-going issue/non-issue, and am just curious if anyone else is seeing something similar. I've been convinced that the front-passenger side is sitting slightly lower then the front-driver's side (maybe 1/2"). I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks, but I took a tape measure to it and it is. I called service, sent them pictures/video, etc. They did their due diligence and pulled the logs. I received a call from Service saying that they'll take the truck in and look, so I said I'd get back to them once I figure out a time that works for me. I then I got a follow-up call yesterday from someone else that was reviewing my file, and they believe the suspension is performing as designed.

Also of note is that I had a suspension service light pop on on Day 2 of ownership, and they took the truck to the SC and fixed that issue promptly (and presumably did a diagnostic on the suspension at that time). There is no fluid leaking either.

There are no warning lights and the truck seems to drive fine. The air suspension does raise and lower on all four wheels. I saw the other post where there was significant sagging, and I would not put my issue/non-issue in that category.

Having said all of that - I'm still not 100% convinced that something isn't a little off. My concerns have been noted in my file, so if something more severe does happen, I am on record with them as expressing concern. Or if I still think it's an issue a month from now, I will schedule an appointment for them to look.

For those that are well-versed in the world of air suspension, what say you? Issue or non-issue?

 

[Craigins]

I've had an on-going issue/non-issue, and am just curious if anyone else is seeing something similar. I've been convinced that the front-passenger side is sitting slightly lower then the front-driver's side (maybe 1/2"). I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks, but I took a tape measure to it and it is. I called service, sent them pictures/video, etc. They did their due diligence and pulled the logs. I received a call from Service saying that they'll take the truck in and look, so I said I'd get back to them once I figure out a time that works for me. I then I got a follow-up call yesterday from someone else that was reviewing my file, and they believe the suspension is performing as designed.

Also of note is that I had a suspension service light pop on on Day 2 of ownership, and they took the truck to the SC and fixed that issue promptly (and presumably did a diagnostic on the suspension at that time). There is no fluid leaking either.

There are no warning lights and the truck seems to drive fine. The air suspension does raise and lower on all four wheels. I saw the other post where there was significant sagging, and I would not put my issue/non-issue in that category.

Having said all of that - I'm still not 100% convinced that something isn't a little off. My concerns have been noted in my file, so if something more severe does happen, I am on record with them as expressing concern. Or if I still think it's an issue a month from now, I will schedule an appointment for them to look.

For those that are well-versed in the world of air suspension, what say you? Issue or non-issue?

place a level on the hood. perhaps your garage is sloped and the suspension is evening it out.

 

[opnwide]

I've had an on-going issue/non-issue, and am just curious if anyone else is seeing something similar. I've been convinced that the front-passenger side is sitting slightly lower then the front-driver's side (maybe 1/2"). I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks, but I took a tape measure to it and it is. I called service, sent them pictures/video, etc. They did their due diligence and pulled the logs. I received a call from Service saying that they'll take the truck in and look, so I said I'd get back to them once I figure out a time that works for me. I then I got a follow-up call yesterday from someone else that was reviewing my file, and they believe the suspension is performing as designed.

Also of note is that I had a suspension service light pop on on Day 2 of ownership, and they took the truck to the SC and fixed that issue promptly (and presumably did a diagnostic on the suspension at that time). There is no fluid leaking either.

There are no warning lights and the truck seems to drive fine. The air suspension does raise and lower on all four wheels. I saw the other post where there was significant sagging, and I would not put my issue/non-issue in that category.

Having said all of that - I'm still not 100% convinced that something isn't a little off. My concerns have been noted in my file, so if something more severe does happen, I am on record with them as expressing concern. Or if I still think it's an issue a month from now, I will schedule an appointment for them to look.

For those that are well-versed in the world of air suspension, what say you? Issue or non-issue?

Have you seen @Jazzyjeff139 ’s story about his passenger side lower than the driver? Here is his photo. I can copy his post from R.S. if you haven’t seen it…

 

[SoCal Rob]

I've had an on-going issue/non-issue, and am just curious if anyone else is seeing something similar. I've been convinced that the front-passenger side is sitting slightly lower then the front-driver's side (maybe 1/2"). I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks, but I took a tape measure to it and it is. I called service, sent them pictures/video, etc. They did their due diligence and pulled the logs. I received a call from Service saying that they'll take the truck in and look, so I said I'd get back to them once I figure out a time that works for me. I then I got a follow-up call yesterday from someone else that was reviewing my file, and they believe the suspension is performing as designed.

Also of note is that I had a suspension service light pop on on Day 2 of ownership, and they took the truck to the SC and fixed that issue promptly (and presumably did a diagnostic on the suspension at that time). There is no fluid leaking either.

There are no warning lights and the truck seems to drive fine. The air suspension does raise and lower on all four wheels. I saw the other post where there was significant sagging, and I would not put my issue/non-issue in that category.

Having said all of that - I'm still not 100% convinced that something isn't a little off. My concerns have been noted in my file, so if something more severe does happen, I am on record with them as expressing concern. Or if I still think it's an issue a month from now, I will schedule an appointment for them to look.

For those that are well-versed in the world of air suspension, what say you? Issue or non-issue?

I’d measure from center cap of wheel to underside of wheel arch on both sides at each height you can select.

If the truck is consistently higher by 1/2” on the same corner then the suspension probably needs to be recalibrated. I know that our LR3 needs to be recalibrated if a height sensor is replaced because they may read differently. Maybe a height sensor was replaced after the earlier error and repair but the calibration wasn’t done?

If the side to side height varies at different settings then it may just be within spec. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[ATL_Canes]

Have you seen @Jazzyjeff139 ’s story about his passenger side lower than the driver? Here is his photo. I can copy his post from R.S. if you haven’t seen it…

Thanks for this - I went and found @Jazzyjeff139 post on RS and read through it. Very helpful. Sounds like he's in the same boat as me - there is definitely a lean, but as of now it doesn't really seem to be impacting performance. Maybe a software update fixes it, or maybe I just need to have it recalibrated at some point. We'll see...

 

[mini2nut]

The sky is falling! Members need to log in to their Rivian account ASAP and cancel their order

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