Too much steering wheel feedback over bad pavement

[Kiafoulis]

Hello Folks,
New to this group, thank you for the addition.
I have a new to me 22 R1T w/20’s. It unfortunately has an unnerving amount of steering wheel feedback over bad pavement, even while driving on a fairly new paved smooth road there is still slight steering wheel feedback. I wouldn’t equate it to ‘bump steer’, it does exhibit some of those characteristics. I can’t imagine that the ride and handling engineers would approve this and call it acceptable for release to production. Having spent months researching this vehicle (expert reviews both white papers and videos) and then finding what I thought was the perfect used one with only 1400 miles - fast forward, I‘m having a bit of buyers remorse. Of course the vehicle is an amazing feat for a start-up, and this isn’t the end of the world, but it certainly does overshadow the great things the vehicle can do and achieve…

I’ve cycled through the suspension full upright position to make certain all of the suspension/steering components are ok (that are actually visible without any teardown), of course everything seems OK. This could simply be a case of an out of specification alignment, I’m curious as to what you members have found with your trucks and whether you found root cause or correction?

Thanks in advance for your input!

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[usofrob]

You might need to be more specific, because having steering wheel feedback sounds like a good thing to me. Vehicles that don't have any feedback are too boring and insulated for me. So, this makes me want the Rivian more.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Neither of mine do that. Others have reported it. I think getting the alignment done has fixed it for them.

Make sure you're not confusing the steering weirdness with the lane keep assist.

 

[Kiafoulis]

You might need to be more specific, because having steering wheel feedback sounds like a good thing to me. Vehicles that don't have any feedback are too boring and insulated for me. So, this makes me want the Rivian more.

This is not a good thing by any means. What you’re referring to is sports car related and is what you receive behind the wheel of any modern Corvette and others. I own a C8, and trust me that is a different thing.
This is a case of a jolt (movement left or right) to the wheel depending upon the severity of the impact. This seems more like a lack of tunning the steering to dampen impacts. Think grocery cart over rough pavement.

 

[Kiafoulis]

Neither of mine do that. Others have reported it. I think getting the alignment done has fixed it for them.

Make sure you're not confusing the steering weirdness with the lane keep assist.

Oh thank you for that insight!
I of course have thought an alignment check would put my mind at ease and hopefully uncover the root cause. Glad to hear that others have reported corrections with an alignment.

 

[Ripped]

This is not a good thing by any means. What you’re referring to is sports car related and is what you receive behind the wheel of any modern Corvette and others. I own a C8, and trust me that is a different thing.
This is a case of a jolt (movement left or right) to the wheel depending upon the severity of the impact. This seems more like a lack of tunning the steering to dampen impacts. Think grocery cart over rough pavement.

If it's that notable, then you should be able to do a video of the steering wheel movement over a prescribed bumpy road.

Driving slow? or road speeds?

I'd have the service department check the front suspension, to make sure all the components are within spec, from the caster to to the lug nuts.

 

[seanocono]

I would open a ticket and take it to a Service Center. As you know from your research, this is not a widespread complaint, so it's possible that the issues you are encountering are unique to your vehicle. I wish you luck!

 

[ironpig]

I don't have any issues with mine. The ride and steering is way better than any other pick up on ATs I've driven. Just take it to the service center and they will have a tech drive with you so you can show them. Likely just needs an alignment.

 

[mikehmb]

Get it in for service. They’ll diagnose it asap if it’s out of spec.

If the steering is inconsistent, or easily disrupted by small bumps, or acts erratically esp on road crowns, it is alignment-related. There are myriad underlying causes, most easily solved by adjusting alignment.

If it’s really bad and the alignment isn’t responding to adjustments, it could be subframe, but only your SC can determine this.

I had mine in for alignment 3x, and they fixed it. Some of the earlier trucks were “tricky to align” according to the SC manager I spoke with.

 

[Throwdown]

This is not a good thing by any means. What you’re referring to is sports car related and is what you receive behind the wheel of any modern Corvette and others. I own a C8, and trust me that is a different thing.
This is a case of a jolt (movement left or right) to the wheel depending upon the severity of the impact. This seems more like a lack of tunning the steering to dampen impacts. Think grocery cart over rough pavement.

Every one I've ever driven does that, it's not great but they all do it

 

[strykerwsu]

This is not a good thing by any means. What you’re referring to is sports car related and is what you receive behind the wheel of any modern Corvette and others. I own a C8, and trust me that is a different thing.
This is a case of a jolt (movement left or right) to the wheel depending upon the severity of the impact. This seems more like a lack of tunning the steering to dampen impacts. Think grocery cart over rough pavement.

I have never had anything similar so I definitely would have a ticket opened.

 

[Kiafoulis]

Neither of mine do that. Others have reported it. I think getting the alignment done has fixed it for them.

Make sure you're not confusing the steering weirdness with the lane keep assist.
[/QUOT

Get it in for service. They’ll diagnose it asap if it’s out of spec.

If the steering is inconsistent, or easily disrupted by small bumps, or acts erratically esp on road crowns, it is alignment-related. There are myriad underlying causes, most easily solved by adjusting alignment.

If it’s really bad and the alignment isn’t responding to adjustments, it could be subframe, but only your SC can determine this.

I had mine in for alignment 3x, and they fixed it. Some of the earlier trucks were “tricky to align” according to the SC manager I spoke with.

Great to hear that alignment will fix it. Not so good that it took them 3X.
Maybe I should just pay out of pocket and have a local shop do it.

 

[usofrob]

This is not a good thing by any means. What you’re referring to is sports car related and is what you receive behind the wheel of any modern Corvette and others. I own a C8, and trust me that is a different thing.
This is a case of a jolt (movement left or right) to the wheel depending upon the severity of the impact. This seems more like a lack of tunning the steering to dampen impacts. Think grocery cart over rough pavement.

It is possible that the front wheels are out of alignment, possibly too much castor. Hopefully you can find the right kind of bumpy road near the service center for testing.

I have a Lotus Elise. By comparison, C8's are known for their lack of steering feedback. They have a lot of precision, just not feedback. Many of Rivian's engineers came from McLaren where steering wheel feedback is essential. So, it's very possible that this is how it's been designed.

 

[k3g]

Oh thank you for that insight!
I of course have thought an alignment check would put my mind at ease and hopefully uncover the root cause. Glad to hear that others have reported corrections with an alignment.

Definitely get it aligned. For my R1T, the rear toe was out (???!). Each time I'd hit a bump it would pull the rear of the vehicle a little right, leading to what felt like bumpsteer, but was actually the rear wanting to shimmy.

The front was also off, but that only showed up as a bit of extra pull on heavily crowned roads.

After being aligned, it drives like a dream.

 

[zefram47]

I have a Lotus Elise. By comparison, C8's are known for their lack of steering feedback. They have a lot of precision, just not feedback. Many of Rivian's engineers came from McLaren where steering wheel feedback is essential. So, it's very possible that this is how it's been designed.

This. The Rivian's steering feedback is quite good compared with most modern vehicles, but still doesn't hold a candle to my C6 Corvette with a proper hydraulic steering rack. And early reviews from folks like Jason Cammisa did praise Rivian for their on-center steering feel, for instance. To others' points, I don't experience anything like the OP mentions. Sounds like an alignment issue or not recognizing that LKA is doing stupid things, as it does.

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