Screeching / Grinding Sound from Front End of Car?

[UhOh]

We’ve had our R1S for six months without any trouble, but just encountered a terrible sound coming from the front end of car. We were driving around on residential streets and suddenly it sounded as if the front axle was twisting and breaking. I inspected the wheels and brakes and didn’t see anything weird — the sound is the same on both sides, which makes me think it’s coming from the drive unit. I submitted a ticket and have an appointment for service. But does anyone have any idea what this might be? Video with sound here:

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[COdogman]

That doesn't sound good

I've not heard that before, but there are multiple folks here who have had drive units replaced so hopefully they can add their experiences.

I hope they get you taken care of quickly, whatever that is....

 

[seatosummit]

Man-rough noise for sure.
I’m a bit surprised it isn’t throwing any errors.
Good luck!

 

[240vPlug]

Not good. Sounds like axle but hard to say for sure. Believe it or not people have had some pretty crazy. Sounds coming from a rock getting stuck in the dust guard for the rotor.

 

[UhOh]

Yeah — weird that there are no error codes! I hope it’s a rock in the dust guard! Is that something I can investigate myself?

 

[NY_Rob]

Yeah — weird that there are no error codes! I hope it’s a rock in the dust guard! Is that something I can investigate myself?

Yes, have someone drive the vehicle at low speed in your driveway, walk next to it to determine which side the sound is originating from, then with more testing isolate the sound to one particular wheel, then jack it up and pull that tire and find/remove the pebble. It's happened to me before, it's easy to isolate and fix.

Good luck!

 

[R1Thor]

Best case (which I would try to eliminate on my own) is that you have a small stone in your brake carrier rubbing against your brake disc. Those *do* sound much worse than they are, but will persist until you remove it.

As @NY_Rob mentioned, I'd have someone else drive (slowly) while you walk next to the vehicle and try to ascertain exactly where it's coming from. If it's closer to the wheel, take your wheel and tire off and start looking EVERYWHERE with a flashlight. Clues would be obvious signs of metal scratching/etching.

Good luck--I hope it's innocuous! However to note: If you can't immediately identify what's going on, I'd park the truck and call Rivian. If it is bad, it will only get worse by continuing to use the vehicle.

 

[UhOh]

Thanks, everyone for the replies. I tried to figure out where the sound was coming from while someone else drove it, but I couldn't isolate the sound to one side. Then the sound went away and we wondered if it was OK, but then I heard a different sound which sounded like a bike chain breaking. So I parked the car and called Rivian . The car is now at the service center. I'll report back. Thanks again for the tips.

 

[jayazusa]

Thanks, everyone for the replies. I tried to figure out where the sound was coming from while someone else drove it, but I couldn't isolate the sound to one side. Then the sound went away and we wondered if it was OK, but then I heard a different sound which sounded like a bike chain breaking. So I parked the car and called Rivian . The car is now at the service center. I'll report back. Thanks again for the tips.

What was your issue? What did they diagnose? I had the same thin happen.

 

[UhOh]

Just to close this out, the service center diagnosed the issue. The front wheel hub fastener had backed out and was making contact with (and damaging) the halfshaft. They replaced the hub and halfshaft and everything is working normally again. Hope no one else has this issue. It sounded terrible.

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