Brake Systems Replacement Costs - Is this normal?

[PoconoRivianR1T]

I had took my R1T to the Service Center and had them do a comprehensive check. They said that all four brake pads, rotors and rear dampers had to be replaced. The truck has 89,000 miles on it and had the brake pads replaced in June of 2024 because they were wearing unevenly. Is it normal that this much of the brake system has to be replaced at a cost of $5400? Most mechanics that I spoke with thought this was rather unusual. We were thinking about trading upgrading to a newer R1T, R1S or R2 but the cost of ownership of these vehicles has us reconsidering an upgrade.

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[DaveA]

So you didn't feel anything was amiss with the brakes before taking it in to them? I would have told them don't touch a thing before spending that kind of scratch.

 

[PoconoRivianR1T]

I haven't spent that yet. No brake issues that I could feel prior to going to the service center. The cost of the damper modules seems really high and I have seen on other threads that they have upgraded this part several times. My R1T is a 2021 and was one of the last hand built trucks before they automated.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Normal for premium priced cars that you pay someone else to work on. Brake job on my previous car, '13 BMW X5 Diesel, was even more. If you don't believe me, pick a similarly price car and look up OE brake pad and rotor costs on rockauto.com.

Plus, your invoice isn't just for brakes. Looks like the most expensive parts are new rear shocks and hydraulic lines.

 

[beatle]

For reference, replacing a rear air damper on my Model S back in 2022 was $1800. I've seen Model S brake prices quoted at twice what Rivian wants, but that's still too high for something so simple. $400/labor and $1152 for parts. You can find a set of ceramic pads and coated rotors for $370 all in and do them yourself. They probably need to be replaced only because the pins and pad edges weren't greased properly during installation. My first Model S needed brakes at 50k for the same reason.

The dampers are super expensive and probably not user serviceable since you can't bleed the hydraulic lines yourself. This is a big pain point for R1.

 

[godfodder0901]

I haven't spent that yet. No brake issues that I could feel prior to going to the service center. The cost of the damper modules seems really high and I have seen on other threads that they have upgraded this part several times. My R1T is a 2021 and was one of the last hand built trucks before they automated.

The dampers are definitely the largest part of the cost, no doubt. It doesn't seem overly expensive compared to what we have seen before or from other higher-end brands. And FWIW, no saleable R1s were hand-built. There may have been more manual validation, but it was in no way hand-built.

 

[Nixapatfan]

For reference, replacing a rear air damper on my Model S back in 2022 was $1800. I've seen Model S brake prices quoted at twice what Rivian wants, but that's still too high for something so simple. $400/labor and $1152 for parts. You can find a set of ceramic pads and coated rotors for $370 all in and do them yourself. They probably need to be replaced only because the pins and pad edges weren't greased properly during installation. My first Model S needed brakes at 50k for the same reason.

The dampers are super expensive and probably not user serviceable since you can't bleed the hydraulic lines yourself. This is a big pain point for R1.

Bleeding and pressurizing the hydraulics is doable diy once you understand how it works. Did jounce lines at home, bled and refilled without issue.

The harder part is depressurizing the air bags since it's not easy to reach the valves and always risky loosening the fitting under pressure.

Edit: looks like air bag might not be too hard if you loosen the fitting near the air pump

 

[beatle]

That's good to know, I figured this would require the service menu to cycle things.

 

[GamoraR1S]

I wonder why one damper takes 5 times longer to remove than the other damper?

 

[mkg3]

Wow, definitely will get rid of our R1S before 89K miles. In fact before the warrantee runs out.

Thanks for the heads up

 

[cevans]

Short answer: Yes, this is normal.

Long answer: For what you got done I think you got a pretty good deal. As someone above noted, if you've ever owned a Mercedes, BMW or other equivalent 'luxury' car you're used to $800 brake jobs and $1500 shocks.

Like someone else said though - dealer pricing is based on willingness to pay, not cost of parts. If you shop your own parts you'll get a much better deal, then you just need to find a mechanic crazy enough to work on your truck!

 

[Jedimaster109]

Does anyone know if this is more of a Gen1 issue than Gen2? Thought I heard/read that they revised the suspension on their Gen2 cars.

 

[Nixapatfan]

Does anyone know if this is more of a Gen1 issue than Gen2? Thought I heard/read that they revised the suspension on their Gen2 cars.

All these are wear items, Gen2 is not immune to normal wear and tear.

 

[ndmiller]

It's the suspension, $4k to replace 2 dampers, top of the line technology you probably don't want to screw with.

For brakes my only comparison is my Lexus LX570 flagship SUV. Dealer wanted $2K all in, about 400-500 more than the Rivian. I ended up getting parts and that was about $600 and doing the job myself in about 4 hours. I saved $1400 but missed having a Saturday as I was exhausted after. Never did that again.

As another datapoint the 10K service on my Porsche was $2K and it was prepaid, so I had forgotten. Sold the car within the next year.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Does anyone know if this is more of a Gen1 issue than Gen2? Thought I heard/read that they revised the suspension on their Gen2 cars.

The gen 2 revision had nothing to do with service life. It was all about ride comfort and tuning out the bumpiness, and to match damping to the harmonics of the R1S' shorter wheelbase. In gen 1 they grafted the T's suspension straight over to the S. The T has a longer wheelbase, so going over the same bump, between front and rear axles, the chassis has more time to settle. Just like how a 4-door Wrangler feel more planted than a 2-door.

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