Steering Wheel Shake at Highway Speeds

[HumanGenome]

Rivian just got done with my car and they couldn't figure out why it shakes above 65 mph. They originally blamed it on America's tire for not doing the tire balance (weights weren't added properly within Rivian spec) and they still were noticing the shake. She recommended new tires (just got Michelin LTX Platinum installed) or to install the new Gen 2 steering wheel as it's slightly heavier.. sigh

Sponsored

 

[khenry]

Rivian just got done with my car and they couldn't figure out why it shakes above 65 mph. They originally blamed it on America's tire for not doing the tire balance (weights weren't added properly within Rivian spec) and they still were noticing the shake. She recommended new tires (just got Michelin LTX Platinum installed) or to install the new Gen 2 steering wheel as it's slightly heavier.. sigh

I have the same issues with the LTX Platinums. Discount Tire replaced the set entirely and still having the same issues. I think it's the tires.

 

[HumanGenome]

I have the same issues with the LTX Platinums. Discount Tire replaced the set entirely and still having the same issues. I think it's the tires.

Weird, the 2 guys that posted right after me in the LTX Defender Platinum thread said no shakes..

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/michelin-defender-ltx-platinum.20822/page-5#post-581861

 

[snowboarder777]

Roadforce balance all the wheels/tires and make sure none of them have more than 15 lbs of road force or you will feel it. Even some Michelins I had in the past were out of spec and got 20 lbs plus of road force and vibrations on my BMWs and Audis. Discount and American tire techs need to share the road force numbers with you and they are told to only replace if its beyond the 26 lbs road force limit which is super high.
They have to match mount the tires properly and spend time to line up the high spot of the tire with low spot of the rim using the hunter road force balance machine. Then add the balancing weights once the numbers are low. Its a combo of tech inexperience and incompetence I have seen at many tire shops. Hence why I just get my tires from tirerack and drop ship to my reputable independent installer. Its glass smooth once you have it properly road force and ruled out any slightly out of round tires.

 

[KRG]

Roadforce balance all the wheels/tires and make sure none of them have more than 15 lbs of road force or you will feel it. Even some Michelins I had in the past were out of spec and got 20 lbs plus of road force and vibrations on my BMWs and Audis. Discount and American tire techs need to share the road force numbers with you and they are told to only replace if its beyond the 26 lbs road force limit which is super high.
They have to match mount the tires properly and spend time to line up the high spot of the tire with low spot of the rim using the hunter road force balance machine. Then add the balancing weights once the numbers are low. Its a combo of tech inexperience and incompetence I have seen at many tire shops. Hence why I just get my tires from tirerack and drop ship to my reputable independent installer. Its glass smooth once you have it properly road force and ruled out any slightly out of round tires.

Discount tire told me the limit was 40 pounds, and that’s what I’m seeing online also. They got mine down to like 20 I think and it’s smoother but I can still feel it. When I said 15 they looked at me like I was insane. Is it really possible to get it below 15 on these tires? I guess I need to find a small tire shop vs discount tire.

 

[kyunam]

Rivian just got done with my car and they couldn't figure out why it shakes above 65 mph. They originally blamed it on America's tire for not doing the tire balance (weights weren't added properly within Rivian spec) and they still were noticing the shake. She recommended new tires (just got Michelin LTX Platinum installed) or to install the new Gen 2 steering wheel as it's slightly heavier.. sigh

I have the same issues with the LTX Platinums. Discount Tire replaced the set entirely and still having the same issues. I think it's the tires.

same issues since Michelin LTX Platinum was put on. I will ask for road forcing balancing which I never knew.

 

[Hillbilly]

It's the tires. There's always some variance in how they're manufactured and some just won't balance right ever. My R1T has no shake at all at any speed. The R1S does above 70. One of my loaner R1Ts during service had the shakes and another one didn't.

 

[ham]

I am on the OEM Pirellis and having issues as well. Apparently jiggling is “in spec” and Rivians solution is to “just drive slower” even though highway on the routes that I drive has a speed limit of 70 mph.

My layman’s theory after having all the tricks in the book done trying to get this fixed:

So with a normal truck or SUV having fat heavy tires is normal and you’re realistically never to get a perfect balance. So with something like a Range Rover or F150 the on center steering is a bit numb.

Rivians have this sporty Porsche like direct steering and there’s way too much jiggling feedback coming back through the steering wheel. Which is where I think this heavy steering wheel trick is supposed to help with.

So for now I have to deal with this problem where my expensive vehicle has worse jiggling than a 1995 Corolla on my commute. Maybe it’ll get fixed via software or something one day.

 

[Armeniandave]

Mine did this shaking also so I road force balanced them this week
and it's a night and day difference. Shake is 95% gone! I do have a
mobile service appointment for the heavier steering wheel so I'm
sure that should take care of the last 5%. So much better now!!

 

[Engineer]

my '23 R1S has been at the SC for going on 4 weeks now for the steering wheel jiggle issue. It is happening for me anywhere above 55 mph. they balanced the tires (not sure what method they used) replaced the steering wheel and its still there, so they escalated to "Engineering" who told them to "replace the rear tires".... I guess its nice to get some new tires for free, maybe that won't work and they will replace the front ones too?

I will give them another week then i will just take it back and find someone to road-force balance it myself.

anyway, i am enjoying the R1T loaner, the truck bed is coming in handy for cleaning out the garage.

 

[Summi99]

Without reading the last 6 pages. Yes, we get the shakes at 80 and above.

Same issue since day 1. 22 inch wheels. R1s LE.
SC says “ we are not allowed to drive over 80mph so we cannot test it”. Smh

 

[timgradywy]

If you have this issue, skip Rivian and start here. It costs some money, but saves a lot of time.

https://www.hunter.com/find-equipment/

I tried having Rivian fix this, but they couldn't drive fast enough and didn't have a smooth road to test on. They tried to fix it anyway and it helped slightly, but I don't think they have the best balancing equipment. I took it to a good local shop with a Hunter Road Force Balancer and it reduced the vibration by 95%. There's still some vibration some times, but not enough that I am worried about it or that I notice it unless I'm looking for it.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

Same issue since day 1. 22 inch wheels. R1s LE.
SC says “ we are not allowed to drive over 80mph so we cannot test it”. Smh

They can't ride with you while you drive fast??? What's the highway speed limit in your area?

 

[Summi99]

They can't ride with you while you drive fast??? What's the highway speed limit in your area?

Yes. I did do that. But they kinda rule it out saying it’s normal with 22 inch.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

Yes. I did do that. But they kinda rule it out saying it’s normal with 22 inch.

Our R1T has 22" OEM tires. It didn't shake at all in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, or Idaho when we drove the speed limit of 80 mph.

Unless you were going well over 80, I'd be inclined to "call BS" on the claim this is normal.

I'm guessing there could be several possible causes including balance, alignment, treadwear, etc. But I don't think the shakes, at any speed, are normal unless the vehicle thinks you're drifting to the edge of your lane.

Best wishes!

Sponsored