Poll: Tie-rod failures when off-roading (Gen 1).

[Hyro]

Hi all,

Hoping the community can give a pulse check for me, and I suspect we'd all be curious. I've had my R1T since 2022, but due to multiple life events, haven't done nearly as much off-roading or trails as I'd like. That's opening up now, and my toddler loves adventure!!! I'm feeling a bit nervous hearing about tie-rod issues. Let's understand how often it actually happens!

Feel free to leave your tie-rod stories in the comments!

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[1stPlace]

Tie rod failure is a major inconvenience, but the amount of those occurrences I believe are very few. I've seen maybe 2 or 3 stories. Not enough for me to believe this is a common issue, even if some people say the Gen 1 tie rods are smaller than they should be. If you are concerned, you could buy a back up pair from a Rivian service center. Not worth the expense of upgrading IMO or the risk of third party sleeves that could send force to something else that is more expensive to fix.

 

[Lrak1973]

For what it is worth, I bent my tie rod on Hagerman Pass, but it did not fail to the point where I could not drive without fixing it. It was replaced at the Denver service shop subsequently.

 

[CharonPDX]

I've only done "serious off-roading" maybe 3-5 times, no problems. I do "rough gravel and dirt roads" regularly. I picked the "gravel and forest", not the "tougher/jeep"

 

[R1Thor]

I've witnessed a single tie-rod failure, and it was the fault of the driver, not the vehicle.
And really, it wasn't *totally* the fault of the driver. He waded through a deep puddle you couldn't see the bottom of--nailed a rock at a bad angle, which bent the rod. SO, it came down to luck.

Then he continued to navigate some rough terrain which ended it. Which wasn't smart--he probably should have limped back to staging and called a tow at that point.

Here's the thing: tie rods are supposed to be the fuse of the steering rack. Reinforcing them means a more expensive repair. A spare or temporary brace might be the ticket if you're doing some seriously sketchy and extreme off-roading. But in my observation, technical skill is a better upgrade.

Hope to see you out there!

 

[SwampNut]

I’ve been off roading with the Rivian engineers and they had an early gen 1 test that has been everywhere with no failure. Including the Rubicon.

 

[BigSkies]

I've done plenty of sketchy-ish forest service roads, but don't do serious rock-crawling or technical terrain. I haven't had an issue. These are roads that might be listed in the "3" difficulty range on onX.

I'm not concerned with them on the terrain I'm currently driving on. I'd think about it more carefully if I was going on more technical terrain.

 

[Giddy89]

This poll surprises the heck out of me. I’m 1 of the 2 votes for more advanced trails that caused a tie rod failure.

I drove my r1t pretty hard in ocotillo wells one night, blasting through whoops as quickly as it would handle, hill climbs, full throttle sections through sandy washes with cross ruts. It handled it all fine until I did some doughnuts in the sand which snapped the driver tie rod instantly. Bought a replacement from service center and swapped on the trail easily.

 

[superfluid]

I do some fairly rough and technical off-roading. I upgraded my tie-rods as a precaution after a few of my compatriots bent or broke theirs on the trails. I carry a set of inner rods as trail spares.

I posted details here:

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...e-rods-to-stronger-gen-2-16mm-tie-rods.44916/

 

[R1Thor]

I drove my r1t pretty hard in ocotillo wells one night, blasting through whoops as quickly as it would handle, hill climbs, full throttle sections through sandy washes with cross ruts. It handled it all fine until I did some doughnuts in the sand which snapped the driver tie rod instantly. Bought a replacement from service center and swapped on the trail easily.

You answered your own 'why did this happen' and it's not the tie rod.

If you literally took any 101/basic off-roading course, it's drilled into your head 'as slow as possible, as fast as you need to.' Off-roading isn't about speed, it's about skill.

Cowboying your way off-roading is a great way to break something.

Drive well.

 

[SwampNut]

This poll surprises the heck out of me. I’m 1 of the 2 votes for more advanced trails that caused a tie rod failure.

I drove my r1t pretty hard in ocotillo wells one night, blasting through whoops as quickly as it would handle, hill climbs, full throttle sections through sandy washes with cross ruts. It handled it all fine until I did some doughnuts in the sand which snapped the driver tie rod instantly. Bought a replacement from service center and swapped on the trail easily.

I did that there also, and thought I was pretty ridiculous with it, didn't break anything.

You answered your own 'why did this happen' and it's not the tie rod.

If you literally took any 101/basic off-roading course, it's drilled into your head 'as slow as possible, as fast as you need to.' Off-roading isn't about speed, it's about skill.

Cowboying your way off-roading is a great way to break something.

Drive well.

You don't know Ocotillo. There's a LOT of high speed wash fun to be had. The Rivian outperforms some high-dollar dedicated sand cars I've driven there.

 

[usulio]

Hi all,

Hoping the community can give a pulse check for me, and I suspect we'd all be curious. I've had my R1T since 2022, but due to multiple life events, haven't done nearly as much off-roading or trails as I'd like. That's opening up now, and my toddler loves adventure!!! I'm feeling a bit nervous hearing about tie-rod issues. Let's understand how often it actually happens!

Feel free to leave your tie-rod stories in the comments!

Wouldn’t say I regularly rock crawl, but been on lots of trails rougher than a gravel road, rocky obstacles, and some crawling. One flat tire, no tie rod issues yet. Gen 1 quad

 

[JeremyP]

For what it is worth, I bent my tie rod on Hagerman Pass, but it did not fail to the point where I could not drive without fixing it. It was replaced at the Denver service shop subsequently.

What part of the pass did you bend it on? I went over it a few weeks ago and one rocky spot on the east side comes to mind as a bit trickier than the rest.

 

[jrs57]

I installed BroncBuster sleeves as I do a fair amount of off-roading. I understand there’s some increased risk of damage to the rack, but I’ll take that over getting stranded or blocking the trail for an extended repair.

 

[SwampNut]

Each part you harden just means a different more important part will break.

The more you make your rig capable of going farther, the farther you'll be from help when it breaks.

Says the guy who has done this on a dozen vehicles.

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