First problem with my R1S, and it's a big one. Bolt backed out

[beyondgravity]

R1S owner, took delivery in June of 2023. Currently 8,000 miles, almost all city/daily driving. Leaving my son's baseball practice, the car started making an awful sound and I could feel a rubbing and the car fighting against me. The sound was like metal rubbing on metal and this is what I ended up finding...

Attention to screw at "12 oclock." Anyone have any insight into this? How did this screw come loose? I'm about to jack the car up and tighten it but this seems like a major problem. Any thoughts/advice would be helpful. Can't imagine if I had been on the highway and/or far from my house.

If I were you, I would just call service; but I am a car nincompoop.

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[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Guessing, it wasn’t thread locked or torqued to spec. Definitely contact service and have it documented in addition to “politely insisting’ that the other CV shaft bolts are checked. Good luck!

Could also be an out-of-spec bolt. It happens. Mass produced and automated production. Not every single one is checked.

 

[Meltdwn]

R1S owner, took delivery in June of 2023. Currently 8,000 miles, almost all city/daily driving. Leaving my son's baseball practice, the car started making an awful sound and I could feel a rubbing and the car fighting against me. The sound was like metal rubbing on metal and this is what I ended up finding...

Attention to screw at "12 oclock." Anyone have any insight into this? How did this screw come loose? I'm about to jack the car up and tighten it but this seems like a major problem. Any thoughts/advice would be helpful. Can't imagine if I had been on the highway and/or far from my house.

Guessing this is on the Driver side of the R1. As wheel rolls forward, the interferance wiht the CV boot is causing the screw to back out further. I would not drive it further without tightening the bolt, and if possible getting service.

 

[HaveBlue]

That's a spindle upright bolt that holds the outer hub on. Not in any world is it aluminum. You may have to back out the stub shaft to get the CV out of the way. That involves removing the front hub cap, likely a cotter pin, and the large stub shaft nut. The nut could be over 30mm in size.

My guess is the torque setting for the spindle nuts is 60-80 ftlb but Rivian has released zero info on anything for the car.

 

[krikiter]

Could also be an out-of-spec bolt. It happens. Mass produced and automated production. Not every single one is checked.

Not sure I agree with this. They should be using electric drivers with torque control on every single critical joint. I’m guessing this might have been overlooked during rework after assembly.

 

[defcon888]

Like eveyone is saying, contact service. More than likely that can be done as a mobile service.

When you open a ticket, add other things that you want fixed (i.e. wind noise, loose bolts, rattling speakers, car pulling to the right/left). Get everything done at one time.

Also, with your issue, they should expedite an appointment at a service center if that is the way you want to go. It is a drivability issue and from firsthand experience, they prioritize those over "Rattling speakers".

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Not sure I agree with this. They should be using electric drivers with torque control on every single critical joint. I’m guessing this might have been overlooked during rework after assembly.

Out-of-spec bolt can still hold, momentarily, for the torque-limited tool to stop and move on to next task, but not hold overtime.

 

[UhOh]

Just writing to say that I think the same thing thing happened to me. (See my forum post here.)

The drivers side front hub fastener bolt backed out and rubbed against the half shaft, damaging both. The sound was absolutely horrible -- it didn't seem safe to drive. Rivian towed it to the service center and replaced the bolt and half-shaft.

So far, n=2 but I would be curious to see if these bolts start doing this on other R1S's.

 

[RoverZac]

Definitely not aluminum. More than likely not TTY. Should have been installed with blue threadlocker. Cars also usually have 4 in the spindle.

 

[Brprewitt]

Add me to the list. Just had mine back out on the drivers side front wheel hub. Bolt head then started rubbing the front CV joint rounding off the bolt plus leaving a bad gash in the hub. 3 hrs away from home. No way this bolt should be just vibrating loose. Only 7k miles on the car (all neighborhood driving and commuting to/from work).

 

[newbilization]

In addition, this torque mark has misaligned.. need to check as well..

 

[Bobrobheimer]

This is not at all on the same level but this thread got my attention because after taking delivery of my truck last week I noticed that all six of the bolts holding the spare tire door to the hinges were totally loose (one had fallen off). No big - tightened them up - but it made me wonder what other bolts might not have been torqued….

 

[kozak79]

The exact same thing just happened this weekend to a friend of mine, 2023 R1S, grinding sound from front end, bolt backed out. Rivian sent a tow truck and arranged a rental, he was on a road trip with family. Rivian service told him not to drive or try to tighten the bolt or he would void the warranty...

 

[Brprewitt]

Mine was the drivers side front wheel on a 2023 R1S dual motor performance with max pack and all season tires. Of the four bolts that hold the hub on, it was the one on the top side of the CV boot towards the front of the car. I’m wondering if it’s actually the exact same bolt for everyone or if all of the hub bolts are susceptible? Also sorry if I’m using incorrect terminology, hopefully you can understand what I’m trying to say.

 

[kdcold]

Me too, or 3, or 4 or 5? This happened to my 2023 R1S Quad Large, driver's front, but in my case it was the front lower bolt.
And yes there are (supposed to be) 4 of these bolts on that wheel.

For me, it became apparent very suddenly on a short trip to the grocery store, and within 3 miles went from a mild noise to loud grinding.
I called Service from the grocery parking lot, not having seen anything unusual on a quick inspection. Service rep asked some questions, suggested I drive it the short distance home and they would send a tech the following week. He assured me I would not void the warranty by following his directions to drive it home.
On the way home, the grinding became unbelievably harsh, then suddenly went quiet.
I never experienced any driving behavior change, felt any "pulling" or vibration, just the loud grinding noise.
When I arrived at home, I found the empty hole where the bolt had vibrated completely out and was presumably lying on the road somewhere.
Rivian had a local hauler pick my R1S up a few days later and haul it to the nearest Service Center (Memphis) and replaced the bolt and the halfshaft the next day.
Unfortunately, and without me understanding prior, I had to drive the 2+hrs to go pick it up the next day. Luckily, Rivian did pay for the rental vehicle to get there, and they took care of returning it to Enterprise after. They also let me pick it up from the parking lot after hours.

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