Service center cannot correct wind noise. How to proceed?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Don't drive over 50 mph. Easy in my area of never-ending traffic jams. ?

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[R1Tom]

it’s very subjective until you measure it. if you are coming from porsche and audi, it is loud for sure. 65 db at 70 mph is normal for the r1s. some say that’s quiet. some say that’s loud.

Sure....but I can say....subjective as can be....I have owned 8 Lexus/Acura, and mine is as quiet or quiter, regarding wind noise, than all those. And I am talking 4 RX Lexus, a known quantity for refinement, level quiet...in mine regarding wind noise.

What I will say....is it is pretty apparent, variation, is normal for Rivian. Some will be noisy...some will be quiet, some have no tok, some do after repairs, some tonneu work, some dont, some have bent hood hinges, some dont......alot of this variation....is probably "normal". But it should be correctable with proper engineering and effort.

You said it's a truck with a big boxy front end....and noisy. I am here to say...mine is quiet...so not all of them are noisy. If yours and others are and you want it to be normal...works for me.

 

[R.I.P.]

it’s just a loud car. it’s a big and boxy front end. you may want to think about selling the car if it bothers you a lot.

My 2nd one is actually very quiet. So yeah, they _can_ make them quiet.

 

[madgrey]

You issue sounds similar to mine. I have a "fluttering" sound on the driver's side near the top of the window. I took it into the SC for a recall and had a tech evaluate it. He heard it right away, and the sound is not heard at any other seating position. The "fix" did nothing and I'm not willing to take it back again for this issue.

Instead, I've been trying to analyze where the noise is coming from and apply fixes. This has been fairly difficult to achieve.

I've been able to isolate issues with black painters tape and smoke. The black painters is stealth and can be left on without people noticing. The smoke can identity leaks. Turn the HVAC fan on high and recirculate off and use the smoke outside near gaps while your R1 is sitting in a garage.

This has been discussed before but I'll give the following advice:

1. Do not follow the other threads that have you add 20-30 feet of sticky "fixes" on every gap of the vehicle. The behavior of the fixes can be very sensitive to position, and once that stuff is applied, it is very difficult to remove and clean off. Also, without knowing the root cause, you will never be able to properly repair your fix, not knowing exactly which portion is the cause.

2. Tape and drive for a few days. Remove the tape and drive for a few days. Repeat. Other factors (temp, wind) seem to affect my issue.

3. Apply fixes to painters tape (not the vehicle directly). If they don't work, they pull right off easily. If they work, I would leave them alone unless they are very straight-forward and repeatable.

4. Smoke machines have been mentioned as a diagnostic tool. I have one for auto applications. Unfortunately they don't work. The smoke comes out at a pretty high velocity (even limited to 1 psi) and small leaks are not detectable. Try incense sticks instead.

I've been messing with this for weeks. There are a few areas that are pretty bad as identified with smoke and confirmed with tape. I've only applied a few inches of neoprene fixes so far but I still have some work to do.

 

[Rivdog]

Do I go thru attorney or contact Rivian directly?
I cannot find how to contact Rivian complaint section.

That was a joke - you’re not gonna be successful with a lemon law claim for some wind noise.

 

[SSteveEV]

Don't drive over 50 mph. Easy in my area of never-ending traffic jams. ?

The advice to sell the R1 just turned into advice to sell the house

 

[Sivaps]

What does that mean?

You issue sounds similar to mine. I have a "fluttering" sound on the driver's side near the top of the window. I took it into the SC for a recall and had a tech evaluate it. He heard it right away, and the sound is not heard at any other seating position. The "fix" did nothing and I'm not willing to take it back again for this issue.

Instead, I've been trying to analyze where the noise is coming from and apply fixes. This has been fairly difficult to achieve.

I've been able to isolate issues with black painters tape and smoke. The black painters is stealth and can be left on without people noticing. The smoke can identity leaks. Turn the HVAC fan on high and recirculate off and use the smoke outside near gaps while your R1 is sitting in a garage.

This has been discussed before but I'll give the following advice:

1. Do not follow the other threads that have you add 20-30 feet of sticky "fixes" on every gap of the vehicle. The behavior of the fixes can be very sensitive to position, and once that stuff is applied, it is very difficult to remove and clean off. Also, without knowing the root cause, you will never be able to properly repair your fix, not knowing exactly which portion is the cause.

2. Tape and drive for a few days. Remove the tape and drive for a few days. Repeat. Other factors (temp, wind) seem to affect my issue.

3. Apply fixes to painters tape (not the vehicle directly). If they don't work, they pull right off easily. If they work, I would leave them alone unless they are very straight-forward and repeatable.

4. Smoke machines have been mentioned as a diagnostic tool. I have one for auto applications. Unfortunately they don't work. The smoke comes out at a pretty high velocity (even limited to 1 psi) and small leaks are not detectable. Try incense sticks instead.

I've been messing with this for weeks. There are a few areas that are pretty bad as identified with smoke and confirmed with tape. I've only applied a few inches of neoprene fixes so far but I still have some work to do.

 

[Sivaps]

Thank you for this and every one’s suggestions.

Will update as to what evolves.

 

[R1Thor]

My RIT has this disturbing wind noise from driver side at speeds above 50 mph .
3 separate service requests over 6 months ( because of time it takes to get an appointment and time to attend on the vehicle takes so long!). They report it’s been fixed on paper, but it still persists.
I am frustrated because they are not diagnosing and correcting it.
How do I proceed with next steps?

My 2022 R1T has the same issues. The culprit turns out to be a improperly mounted quarter window and a poorly manufactured Sideview mirror (all on the driver's side) that has a gap which in turn produces a whistling noise. The quarter window and seal was eventually replaced and the side mirror repaired to fix that gap. This is a well known issues with early build R1Ts, per the mobile technician. Pass this info onto the SC to see if this helps refresh their memory
Good luck and keep us posted!
(The picture is from my 2023 R1T not the troubled child 2022 R1T ? )

I literally just got my truck back Friday after dropping it at service in Gaithersburg this past Monday. One of my big ticket items was wind noise.

I, like some have reported here, assumed it being a big ol truck the wind noise was 'within limits,' BUT during my 2nd (of 3) service visit, I was fortunate enough to get a loaner R1T and that thing was appreciably quieter, so I put in a ticket immediately to say "I can hear a difference, and mine isn't right."

SOOO, when I dropped mine off, I had a senior tech ride along with me, and we kept driving (probably 25 minutes all in, including 10 minutes on the highway) UNTIL he could hear what I was hearing and start to identify where he thought it was coming from.

I quoted @RayzorBEV , because THIS is exactly what my problem was. I didn't know where I was hearing it come from (if someone had asked, I might've said near-ish the center rearview mirror, above the windscreen, and I was WRONG). Service replaced both of my front corner windows and adjusted gaskets in those areas. I still get a bit of wind noise around the side mirrors, but it's so much better, that I'm willing to bet THAT noise is normal, but I never heard it before as it was drowned out by the excessive other noise.

Stand up for yourself, guys. I'm certain if you talk to the right person and insist they ride along with you, you'll get someone who's sensitive to your needs. Absolute worst case, they tell you it's 'within spec' and then you ask them to go for a drive with you in a known, good R1T they have set aside for 1st miles or loaners and show you it's the 'same,' and I bet someone will have an 'aha' moment.

 

[ksujeff99]

My 2nd one is actually very quiet. So yeah, they _can_ make them quiet.

This is the comment.

My R1T (early 2022 build) had its triangle windows replaced but the wind noise persists. I‘ve had several loaners since, with later build dates, and they ARE quite WRT wind noise from the door & windows.

So to everyone who claims it’s normal because:
“It’s an EV…”
“It’s a rolling brick…”
“It’s not a luxury vehicle…”
“Well, I don’t notice it…”
go pound sand!

Also, read the account of the guy who just got his R1T back after getting T-boned. They replaced his door and he commented that the new door is way quieter than the old one.

 

[R1Tom]

if someone (in this case, OP) has brought it back for service 3 times and they have been unable to fix it, for me this points more towards the somewhat loud wind noise being just a parameter of the vehicle. If you think the R1S is quiet, and service cannot fix the problem, do you think this is just a failure of service?

I'm happy you are happy with your R1S. i am happy with mine. it's just a bit louder than cars i am used to, which have recently been high end, very low sports cars. It's unfair to hold the R1S to that level. I don't find it 'loud' per say, it's just noticeably louder than the cars i am unfairly comparing it to at 80 mph!

It does seem like this specific issue with the car really does bother OP. Regardless of the underlying cause ('by design' or service failure) it doesn't seem like it is getting fixed. He'd be better off selling it.

All I have said, as many others, these things can be quiet. Mine included. If someone rode in mine and said it has wind noise, I would seriously question their sanity. It would be a serious outlier that would find wind noise in my R1T.

I do think that consumers ultimately have to understand that to some degree, the precision of assembly and parts quality is a bit more varied than many are used to in vehicles. And pursuing solutions to those variances won't always result in success in addressing the problem. Some level of "some are better than others" is going to be the norm with the R1 for a while. And service can't keep up with all the variances, so one either can keep trying till they are fatigued and give up and live with the variances, defer hoping the service teams and solutions get better, or bail and sell it and buy something else.

So not really the service teams fault, but rather the quality variances in production as root cause, but then the service team not being to address the variances to correction, as a secondary cause...ultimately of the customer not finding satisfaction.

 

[bendrumin]

Check the gasket for the drivers side window. My gasket seems to “fold in” when the window is closed and isn’t creating a seal.

 

[aho]

Can you describe the noise?

We had a whistle sound that we only heard at speeds >50 mph and spent hours taping trim trying to localize it.

It turned out it was the HVAC system and only happened when air recirculation was active.

I have the same problem - whistling only when air recirculation was active? Were you able to resolve this? What was the fix? I hadn't taken it in to SC since I keep postponing the appointment (I pushed it out, not the SC). Will likely have the SC address this in Jan.

 

[Prime]

Thank you for this and every one’s suggestions.

Will update as to what evolves.

Have the same issue. Haven’t been able to remedy myself with painters tape (mine has nothing to do with ac / air circulation being on or off). I have no idea where the whistling is coming from and it’s really annoying at speeds over 50 and just gets louder. It’s on my next service ticket. Also have some turbulent and loud wind noise on passenger side (thinking it’s the quarter panel). Tried taping up my drivers side quarter panel but didn’t fix the whistling noise so I’m thinking maybe it’s the rubber trim around the drivers door.

 

[bonedocrob]

Have the same issue. Haven’t been able to remedy myself with painters tape (mine has nothing to do with ac / air circulation being on or off). I have no idea where the whistling is coming from and it’s really annoying at speeds over 50 and just gets louder. It’s on my next service ticket. Also have some turbulent and loud wind noise on passenger side (thinking it’s the quarter panel). Tried taping up my drivers side quarter panel but didn’t fix the whistling noise so I’m thinking maybe it’s the rubber trim around the drivers door.

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