Rivian Air Suspension concerns?

[rpmtexas]

Anyone else concerned about the air suspension? Just got finished converting a vehicle from adjustable air ride suspension to traditional coil overs after years of problems and far too much money. Having been dropped into deep sand 9 miles from a road due to a suspension computer programming glitch, I'm worried about long term reliability. Anyone know if the R1s can be converted to standard suspension components?

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[IPTV65]

I believe it’s hydraulic vs air. It’s pretty tightly integrated so I would imagine changing components is not possible.

 

[opnwide]

(Don't get me started with my 2 Land Rovers' air suspension--see profile pic. I've ranted plenty on another thread).

Yes, I'm concerned.

 

[rpmtexas]

I believe it’s hydraulic vs air. It’s pretty tightly integrated so I would imagine changing components is not possible.

" all Rivian vehicles have independent air suspension which allows for 6.5 inches of vertical travel — as low as 7.9 inches or as high as 14.4 inches — to optimize a vehicle’s ride height for improved handling, comfort, aerodynamics and stability with varying payloads. Automatic ride-height leveling also balances a vehicle for better handling when towing heavy loads."

 

[BigE]

" all Rivian vehicles have independent air suspension which allows for 6.5 inches of vertical travel — as low as 7.9 inches or as high as 14.4 inches — to optimize a vehicle’s ride height for improved handling, comfort, aerodynamics and stability with varying payloads. Automatic ride-height leveling also balances a vehicle for better handling when towing heavy loads."

I don't fully understand how it all works together, but Rivian is using air suspension combined with a cross-linked hydraulic system for roll control and I believe damping. Many of Rivian's engineers came from Mclaren and the R1T's suspension is similar to a Mclaren 720S.

 

[Rivian_Hugh_III]

I opened this thread because I thought it was about Rivian’s suspension of deliveries.

 

[r1t_kev]

Aaaaaand there it is. 6 posts before a comment about lack of deliveries in a totally unrelated thread.

Better than average actually. ?‍

 

[rpmtexas]

I don't fully understand how it all works together, but Rivian is using air suspension combined with a cross-linked hydraulic system for roll control and I believe damping. Many of Rivian's engineers came from Mclaren and the R1T's suspension is similar to a Mclaren 720S.

Hydraulics by themselves are less concerning to me. They have been used on lots of heavy equipment under grueling conditions forever. However, combining the two sounds even worse as that means there are even more things to monitor and fail. Based on my experience, research, and conversations with off road mechanics, air ride systems are garbage in the long run. Rivians may be a 5 year and out vehicle...

 

[Max]

Anyone else concerned about the air suspension? Just got finished converting a vehicle from adjustable air ride suspension to traditional coil overs after years of problems and far too much money. Having been dropped into deep sand 9 miles from a road due to a suspension computer programming glitch, I'm worried about long term reliability. Anyone know if the R1s can be converted to standard suspension components?

I am very concerned. One of the reason’s I was looking at F150 was simpler suspension. The fact that people keep saying Mclaren people designed it really doesn’t put my mind at ease because I am not sure if I can afford Mclaren maintenance.

 

[Trandall]

I thought Tesla MS had air suspension, no?
and to answer the OP question: I'm sure there are no examples currently of R1's that have been converted however I'm certain that if you void your warranty and apply enough money it could be done. Also you would obviously loose the adjustability of the drive modes. So maybe to answer your question more honestly I doubt if this will be possible without prohibitive effort.

 

[rpmtexas]

I thought Tesla MS had air suspension, no?
and to answer the OP question: I'm sure there are no examples currently of R1's that have been converted however I'm certain that if you void your warranty and apply enough money it could be done. Also you would obviously loose the adjustability of the drive modes. So maybe to answer your question more honestly I doubt if this will be possible without prohibitive effort.

Was wondering more if anyone had looked at the suspension up close and could tell if it looked like coil overs would fit. I dug around a little more and saw something saying they were using air shocks with a history of use in other trucks and SUVs. While this was said like a good thing, sounds very bad to me since most of those are terrible for reliability. As far as actually modifying, I would be looking at doing that after the warranty ran out. That's when the problem becomes intractable. When the system dies, they will just start replacing parts hoping to figure out what is busted. Between 4 shocks, 4 lines, compressor, tanks, motors, height sensors, relays, controllers, etc. it takes forever and costs a fortune. Hence my current ORV now having traditional shocks.

 

[No.92]

Anyone else concerned about the air suspension? Just got finished converting a vehicle from adjustable air ride suspension to traditional coil overs after years of problems and far too much money. Having been dropped into deep sand 9 miles from a road due to a suspension computer programming glitch, I'm worried about long term reliability. Anyone know if the R1s can be converted to standard suspension components?

I have air suspension in my Cayenne and *knock on wood* haven't had any issues with it after 130k miles

 

[opnwide]

Air Sus. is really cool when it works. Auto load-leveling is fantastic, and the obvious Sport to Off-Road. When it's broken, man it's broken and my experience has been mechanics start troubleshooting all aspects from computer modules, relays, to air bags to compressor. When all 3 components are shot, man I'd rather schedule a colonoscopy, because I had multiple repairs with different mechanics and it failed all the time and they couldn't ever get it right.

@rpmtexas , your post just beat mine but we are saying the same thing. I'm not knowledgeable enough about coil-over retrofit, but after my horrible experience with air, it's my main concern of long-term ownership of the Rivian. Not battery degradation, not 400v vs 800v, etc., it's absolutely the air suspension. Your question and concern are VERY valid IMO.

 

[electruck]

Anyone know if the R1s can be converted to standard suspension components?

That would be like buying a Ferrari and swapping in a Honda F20C because the Ferrari motor needs to be rebuilt every 3-5 years.

 

[rpmtexas]

Not really. But thanks

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