Front suspension drops overnight

[DirtyJester]

I have exactly the same issue. The front drops a few inches over a few hours or overnight, when I'm not using the truck. I have similarly noticed that there's slightly more drop on the driver side. And similarly, when I unlock with the fob or sometimes when I'm just nearby with my phone, it will quickly adjust itself back to level.

I put in a ticket for it but my appointment is about five weeks away. If I learn anything useful I'll post about it here.

It’s slouching when you’re not looking. Then when it sees your near it corrects it’s posture.

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[RealBillNye]

I just got mine back from the Bellevue SC and they said my front suspension drop was totally normal. Also said that the rattling and clunking in the front suspension is totally normal, the thing rides worse than the 1990 toyota pickup I had years ago. Stupid for a 80k truck on air suspension to have that kind of movement. Kind of frustrated that they didn't investigate and disregarded all my claims. It still rattles and clunks over every little bump and still sags in the front.

Bellevue and Portland told me the same as well. Took it to the Denver SC when I moved there because you can't gaslight an engineer.

Denver SC found the leak in less than an hour. Replaced the line that was leaky and now it never sags at all while sitting.

 

[Scoop]

This is what the suspension height looked like when I got back home.

 

[madgrey]

^^^ Looks like the front passenger side dropped?

 

[Scoop]

^^^ Looks like the front passenger side dropped?

Yes. This has been going on since last Aug. Compressor runs a lot. They looked at it in Boston and told me “ everything is fine “??? I think the compressor is under sized for a 7000 lb truck.

 

[kylealden]

I believe @jjswan33 had a similar issue (same wheel IIRC?) and it turned out to be a leak (which in turn caused the compressor to run overtime).

 

[madgrey]

Yes. This has been going on since last Aug. Compressor runs a lot. They looked at it in Boston and told me “ everything is fine “??? I think the compressor is under sized for a 7000 lb truck.

Maybe that behavior is Normal in Illinois but it definitely isn't anywhere else!

My advice is document the amount of drop over night or over 24 hours with your R1 in "tire change mode". Do it a few times, write it up and then go to your SC appointment prepared.

 

[White Shadow]

Classic sign of a leak in the air suspension. I'm surprised that the compressor doesn't kick on to bring everything back to proper height though....

But it's not a good sign if we're already seeing people experience air suspension leaks on new vehicles. Hopefully it's not a sign of things to come.

 

[NY_Rob]

Classic sign of a leak in the air suspension. I'm surprised that the compressor doesn't kick on to bring everything back to proper height though....

But it's not a good sign if we're already seeing people experience air suspension leaks on new vehicles. Hopefully it's not a sign of things to come.

These issues seem pretty rare at this point, most times the repairs have identified a not fully tightened air line connector into a device or manifold or a crack in a component. It doesn't seem like components are wearing out prematurely.

 

[jhelmig]

Yes. This has been going on since last Aug. Compressor runs a lot. They looked at it in Boston and told me “ everything is fine “??? I think the compressor is under sized for a 7000 lb truck.

I would recommend you measure the drop on an hourly basis (in tire change mode, offroad). I had a drop of about 1" an hour in the rear. The Richmond SC replaced the airblock about a month ago and no noticeable drop since (+ compressor barely runs).

 

[White Shadow]

These issues seem pretty rare at this point, most times the repairs have identified a not fully tightened air line connector into a device or manifold or a crack in a component. It doesn't seem like components are wearing out prematurely.

That's good to know. Air suspensions are typically a risky proposition, especially for a new manufacturer. The system itself isn't all that complex, but there are quite a few failure points and it just takes one leak and the system is basically broken. Or if it's not entirely broken, the compressor usually dies trying to keep the air suspension properly inflated.

 

[clockwork crane]

Clockwork, your issue does sound the same. I even observe that the truck seems to "wake up" and make adjustments nearly every time I enter the garage. I'd appreciate any info you learn from the SC.

Update on this: I just got my truck back from the SC in San Jose. The first time I went in a couple of months ago, they said it was a "suspension calibration" issue and that it was fixed, but the behavior was still the same. I brought it back in a second time last week, and they identified it as a leaky front left strut, and replaced the strut. Got it back today and so far it works perfectly, no drop at all.

Interesting note from the service writer: I asked why they only replaced the left strut if the entire front end was sagging (though moreso on the left). He said that the front struts are paired, so a leak in one will affect the height on both front corners. Similarly the rear struts are paired, so a leak on one side impacts the other too.

To anyone else reading the thread in the future: sagging issues like the ones we're describing here are not normal, don't accept "expected behavior" or "software issue" as an explanation, tell the SC to find the bad part and replace it. Pictures and measurements are helpful, especially if the truck un-slouches itself whenever it detects a key.


As far as I can tell this doesn't have to do with overuse or wear or anything; some of us just got some bad parts from the factory. I'm not surprised or upset to see these kinds of issues on a first year production run, but I'm glad the SC was eventually able to fix it for me.

 

[madgrey]

Thanks @clockwork crane . ^^^ Good info.

 

[VHRivian]

I just took delivery last week and my R1S rear end is sagging within 30 minutes of parking. It holds enough pressure to drive fine, but clearly there is a leak that needs to be fixed. Thank you @clockwork crane for posting so I know where to start with service.

 

[PNWRIV]

this was after not driving my truck for two days. Have a service appointment in Mid-June. Hopefully they don’t try to tell me that this is the normal rake of a truck again. ?? I’ve been waiting on this service appt for two months to fix all the crap they didn’t fix from the last time. Extremely frustrating.

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