R1S Subwoofer removal, vibration rattle fix and pics

redantpile said:

For inquiring minds that want to know.

My sub did not rattle all of the time, but annoying when it did. Here are pictures and info on the disassembly. The results are, it's much better now. I can hear slight vibrations from the door panels, but it's not really noticeable. I used a frequency generator on my phone via bluetooth to max out the vibrations. 50 - 70hz worked well. My noise was caused by the sub box touching the acoustical stuff they spray on the sheet metal of the fender. See circles drawn on the pics. You can see the scratches on the back of the box. I applied adhesive felt to the back of the box and to anything else that I thought might cause a noise. Not sure how much of the box might touch so that's why I put several strips on the box. If you push on the outside of the fender and the noise stops, that's probably the/one of the causes. Probably took three hours going slow and careful.

So I removed two panels in the rear door, the main panel and the small one covering the tailgate lock. I also removed the following, but that might not be required. It just made it easier to work. Two of the ducts for the rear vent, the aluminium tie down channel and the felt strip next to that.


Here is some helpful info.

I would lightly lubricate the metal clips after removal to make it easier to push back in and remove.

The vertical panel on the rear of the rear door has three metal clips. See circled pics. They are very tough to pull out. The plastic towers began to tear away from the panel. I would recommend using a tool to pry them out as best as you can instead of just pulling. Not a bad idea for any metal clip if you can. The white plastic ones come out easily.

The main panel, upper right by the lift gate. Mine completely broke off (the little white clip/tower). Not because of pulling, but it was sheared off when I was moving the panel around and it got caught. So it breaks off easily. I removed that panel by doing the front and back first (sides). Three remaining metal clips are at the top close to the window, pull away from the window horizontally. Thanks aw113sgte for the info.

When re-assembling, I would put some stuff back, test it, put a little more back, test it etc...




Anyone know where the audio unit/amplifier is located? Maybe under the dash?

Also saw a plastic tube cut off under the sub? Maybe some sort of vent or something they changed their mind on building. See the pic.

Click to expand...

RexRemus said:

@redantpile How big is the actual sub? If I had to guess from pics I'd say 8"? It seems like a pretty small enclosure, makes me think there's some real truth to people who say the sub is weak

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redantpile said:

For inquiring minds that want to know.

My sub did not rattle all of the time, but annoying when it did. Here are pictures and info on the disassembly. The results are, it's much better now. I can hear slight vibrations from the door panels, but it's not really noticeable. I used a frequency generator on my phone via bluetooth to max out the vibrations. 50 - 70hz worked well. My noise was caused by the sub box touching the acoustical stuff they spray on the sheet metal of the fender. See circles drawn on the pics. You can see the scratches on the back of the box. I applied adhesive felt to the back of the box and to anything else that I thought might cause a noise. Not sure how much of the box might touch so that's why I put several strips on the box. If you push on the outside of the fender and the noise stops, that's probably the/one of the causes. Probably took three hours going slow and careful.

So I removed two panels in the rear door, the main panel and the small one covering the tailgate lock. I also removed the following, but that might not be required. It just made it easier to work. Two of the ducts for the rear vent, the aluminium tie down channel and the felt strip next to that.


Here is some helpful info.

I would lightly lubricate the metal clips after removal to make it easier to push back in and remove.

The vertical panel on the rear of the rear door has three metal clips. See circled pics. They are very tough to pull out. The plastic towers began to tear away from the panel. I would recommend using a tool to pry them out as best as you can instead of just pulling. Not a bad idea for any metal clip if you can. The white plastic ones come out easily.

The main panel, upper right by the lift gate. Mine completely broke off (the little white clip/tower). Not because of pulling, but it was sheared off when I was moving the panel around and it got caught. So it breaks off easily. I removed that panel by doing the front and back first (sides). Three remaining metal clips are at the top close to the window, pull away from the window horizontally. Thanks aw113sgte for the info.

When re-assembling, I would put some stuff back, test it, put a little more back, test it etc...




Anyone know where the audio unit/amplifier is located? Maybe under the dash?

Also saw a plastic tube cut off under the sub? Maybe some sort of vent or something they changed their mind on building. See the pic.

Click to expand...

LL75 said:

Man, you should definitely send this to Rivian !!! So many folks have this problem with subwoofer rattling at high bass. I personally took it in for service 2 months ago and they claim to put some damper in the area but it did not improve much. I doubt many of us are capable of DIY for this

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redantpile said:

I would think they know the cause, but who knows. It was easy to diagnose once the panels were off. I could push and pull on the sub box and hear it barely tapping something behind it, and touching the box while music is playing stopped it also.

Yes, it was a little work pulling that stuff out, and I may have done more than needed. Someone might try just loosening the sub box bolts and stuffing something behind it. I did not want to chance it not being fixed and having to do it over.

Click to expand...

redantpile said:

For inquiring minds that want to know.

My sub did not rattle all of the time, but annoying when it did. Here are pictures and info on the disassembly. The results are, it's much better now. I can hear slight vibrations from the door panels, but it's not really noticeable. I used a frequency generator on my phone via bluetooth to max out the vibrations. 50 - 70hz worked well. My noise was caused by the sub box touching the acoustical stuff they spray on the sheet metal of the fender. See circles drawn on the pics. You can see the scratches on the back of the box. I applied adhesive felt to the back of the box and to anything else that I thought might cause a noise. Not sure how much of the box might touch so that's why I put several strips on the box. If you push on the outside of the fender and the noise stops, that's probably the/one of the causes. Probably took three hours going slow and careful.

So I removed two panels in the rear door, the main panel and the small one covering the tailgate lock. I also removed the following, but that might not be required. It just made it easier to work. Two of the ducts for the rear vent, the aluminium tie down channel and the felt strip next to that.


Here is some helpful info.

I would lightly lubricate the metal clips after removal to make it easier to push back in and remove.

The vertical panel on the rear of the rear door has three metal clips. See circled pics. They are very tough to pull out. The plastic towers began to tear away from the panel. I would recommend using a tool to pry them out as best as you can instead of just pulling. Not a bad idea for any metal clip if you can. The white plastic ones come out easily.

The main panel, upper right by the lift gate. Mine completely broke off (the little white clip/tower). Not because of pulling, but it was sheared off when I was moving the panel around and it got caught. So it breaks off easily. I removed that panel by doing the front and back first (sides). Three remaining metal clips are at the top close to the window, pull away from the window horizontally. Thanks aw113sgte for the info.

When re-assembling, I would put some stuff back, test it, put a little more back, test it etc...




Anyone know where the audio unit/amplifier is located? Maybe under the dash?

Also saw a plastic tube cut off under the sub? Maybe some sort of vent or something they changed their mind on building. See the pic.

Click to expand...

twraps said:

I myself am wondering where is the amplifier... could it be one of these two? (from your photos, circled in red). Alternatively, if it's not these 2, there is a similarly looking thing near the driver side fuse box (where the pedals are).

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redantpile said:

No, I think that is the transmission communications box. It has several coax going into it from antennas, and not wires from a bunch of speakers. I'm guessing under the dash. I have only glanced under there so I need to look again. I wrote down the color code of the speaker wires from the rear panel so I was going to look for those on the other end.

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twraps said:

Ah, I see. Okay if you find out, please do share.

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redantpile said:

Best guess now is behind the center screen. I pulled off just a few panels but mostly used a scope camera. I can't get a good look at that area. I did see a few coax cables there, but can't see where they terminate. I found the Body Control Module, Vehicle Control Module and Central Gateway Module up against the firewall. What a beating. The dash is buttoned up tight.

Click to expand...