Phantom Rattle fix finally solved, 6 panel culprit

[riivian]

I've been experiencing a persistent rattle noise when going over bumps, and after inspecting and replacing various components, I discovered the source of the issue. The noise wasn't caused by the half shafts, subframe, hub bolts, or washers; instead, it was due to three cosmetic panels covering the underbody on each side. These panels, often removed when installing running boards, were rattling against the underbody or adjacent panels in the corners, edges, and center.

To resolve this, I discretely placed foam floor tiles underneath the panels until tapping no longer produced a rattle on both sides. There are six panels in total, three on each side, and addressing this issue eliminated the mysterious rattle. I now plan to clean the panels, apply self-adhesive black foam on the top side, and replace them. I hope this solution helps others who may be experiencing the same issue and have come to accept it as a characteristic of their Rivian. Would love to hear if anyone has this and if this solves their issue too.

I have attached a pic and put Green Arrows on the panels I am referring to. Keep in mind it is not the ones on the side you see, but the ones under it.

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[VC_Rivian]

Riviglass shell, where did you get that?

 

[riivian]

Riviglass shell, where did you get that?

That is a Wakeshield shell, I just made custom decals for it.

 

[Mellowyellow]

+1 sir your car is beautiful

 

[DaveA]

Mine did that early on but the SC said they weren’t fully clipped in and reseating them resolved it.

 

[riivian]

Mine did that early on but the SC said they weren’t fully clipped in and reseating them resolved it.

Mine had the panels replaced in the last visit also due to them being loose and not clipped in all the way, but it still was doing it since it is plastic on plastic and plastic on metal. It was a little bit better after that, but if you tap on the bottom of yours does it make a vibration noise like mine did?

 

[DaveA]

Mine had the panels replaced in the last visit also due to them being loose and not clipped in all the way, but it still was doing it since it is plastic on plastic and plastic on metal. It was a little bit better after that, but if you tap on the bottom of yours does it make a vibration noise like mine did?

No, its just a hollow plastic sound now. Now I just hear my suspension noises.

 

[riivian]

Okay, mine felt like that but the plastic on metal bottom was still giving me a sound. You could have some other things going on but foam padding is a good option still in my opinion. This R1T has had new:

Sub Chassis(casted no welds)
Half Shafts with washer and bolt upgrade
Jounce Lines

It is now whisper quiet finally!

 

[portdirect]

Sorry to take off topic @riivian but what is your truck wrapped in? It looks fantastic! (Also are your brake calipers green?)

 

[Jakelake]

One other place to look for a rattle source. All summer I had an intermittent rattle on rough roads and when going over bumps at slow speeds, below 25 MPH. Mobile service came out twice and foam taped the dash grill and then removed the lower dash panel under the steering wheel on the driver side to look for the rattle. The rattle persisted for months and seemed to be affected by temperature changes. A week ago I decided to find it myself. It always sounded like it was coming from under the grill area on the top of the dash. After 4 days of removing panels I finally found the source. It was way down by the floor and aft of the accelerator pedal. See attached pictures.

This picture shows the lower center console cover I removed. The arrow points to an aluminum brace that runs all the way up to just under the top of the dash.

The arrow points to a galvanized metal brace bolted to the aluminum brace with two bolts.

The circle shows a piece of neoprene tape I put between the two braces after I loosened both bolts. I tightened the bolts while pushing forward very hard at the joint of both braces. The tape created some tension in the whole brace assembly.

This is a very poor picture but points to the very bottom of the steel brace where it transitions 90 degrees forward along the floor area and is joined by some kind of fastener. I could not see it very good and needed to remove more parts to get better access to the joint area which I did not want to do. By tapping the brace I could still hear a slight rattle so I took a large, very long, flat screwdriver, about 20 inches long, and jammed it into the 90 degree joint and twisted the screwdriver to create a slight bend in the joint area and add some tension on the fastener that holds the two brace parts together. This resulted in no rattle at all when tapping the brace. The noise from the rattle was transmitted all the way up to under the dash which is why it always sounded like the source was under the dash. I test drove the truck for 4 days with the dash and panels under the steering wheel removed trying to discover the rattle source. Every test drive resulted in a deeper dive into the car trying to find the source. Once I solved the mystery I reassembled the interior and when I was done I had 2 screws left over. I took some parts apart looking for holes that I did not fill with the big screws and finally gave up. Total it was 5 days of disassembly and test driving so obviously I did not remember where all 10 of the removed screws went. If you have a persistent rattle and you want Rivian maintenance to do the work of locating the source, show them these pictures. It will save them lots of searching, maybe. If you decide to do it yourself this should save lots of work and there should only be 3 screws to remove. Hopefully you will not have left-overs.

 

[riivian]

Sorry to take off topic @riivian but what is your truck wrapped in? It looks fantastic! (Also are your brake calipers green?)

Thanks and that is satin/energetic yellow Avery satin finish and yes those are brake caliper covers that I custom powder coated with bright neon yellow/green (aka chartreuse) from Prismatic Powders. They slip right over the factory calipers. In order for them to clear the front you will need 6mm wheel spacers from Venum Wheels. Rear is fine without spacers.

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