Continual suspension/alignment issues

[TXChips]

I've had my new R1T in service now for over 2 weeks largely due to alignment/suspension issues.

My vehicle will not track straight on any road surface (steering wheel + vehicle going straight at the same time). I've heard about road crown, but it will not go straight on large open parking lots. The biggest issue with the alignment is that the vehicle will track hard to the right during regenerative breaking, specifically 30mph-0mph. You have to countersteer the vehicle ~10 degrees on any road surface when stopping for a light/stop sign to avoid it going into the right lane.

The other issue is that going over bumps the steering wheel will severely jerk and depending on the bump the vehicle will "bump steer" and adjust its trajectory. These are not massive potholes, I'm talking normal uneven roads.

My rental from enterprise does not exhibit this behavior, no car I've ever owned has exhibited this behavior and that includes pickup trucks to sports cars.

Does anyone have an idea of what this could be? My SC originally thought it was a road force balance + alignment issue (had the highway steering wheel shake from day 1) but they've since replaced all 4 tires and even 1 wheel which they determined was defective from the factory (the wheel itself was not balanced). They've also aligned it at least 3 times.

I have less than 2k miles on this truck and only had it for 2 months. I've been in for 3 test drives with techs to accept the vehicle back where they said it was aligned and drove great but these issues persist, and when they put the vehicle back on the alignment rack it shows out of alignment after just ~5-20 miles of driving.

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[Harvey Mushman]

Your initial issues sound a lot like my '24 R1T, which shipped with the 21s. I had a hard pull to one side on all road surfaces and an even harder pull on regen. At the conclusion of a service visit, the Rivian tech showed me the before/after from the alignment and the original showed no metric in spec. After the alignment, all specs were good. Tracking issues were solved and did not reappear.

However, I recently put 20" Rivian A/S tires/wheels on and now have minor alignment issues (pull to left on crowned roads only) and will probably get it back in for another alignment, which I fully recognize I should have done when I had the new wheels/tires installed.

If I were you I would not be satisfied with this resolution. Lots of threads here and on Reddit where owners question whether Rivian actually has an alignment spec or whether it's all being made up on the fly. Rivian should be able to make the vehicle track straight, and if they can't (considering the newness of your vehicle), they should buy it back and deliver one that can go where you point it.

 

[Megaman0025]

Your initial issues sound a lot like my '24 R1T, which shipped with the 21s. I had a hard pull to one side on all road surfaces and an even harder pull on regen. At the conclusion of a service visit, the Rivian tech showed me the before/after from the alignment and the original showed no metric in spec. After the alignment, all specs were good. Tracking issues were solved and did not reappear.

However, I recently put 20" Rivian A/S tires/wheels on and now have minor alignment issues (pull to left on crowned roads only) and will probably get it back in for another alignment, which I fully recognize I should have done when I had the new wheels/tires installed.

If I were you I would not be satisfied with this resolution. Lots of threads here and on Reddit where owners question whether Rivian actually has an alignment spec or whether it's all being made up on the fly. Rivian should be able to make the vehicle track straight, and if they can't (considering the newness of your vehicle), they should buy it back and deliver one that can go where you point it.

One thing to consider though is that there is no ONE alignment spec that fits when you have a vehicle with different ride heights. The “right” alignment will change with every ride height.

 

[CANCERDOC]

It took three tries for Rivian to successfully align my vehicle. First two times I don’t know if they even did the work since when I asked for the print out they said oh it will be included in your email and of course I never got anything. And as I drove off the lot, it was still pulling (end of day so I couldn’t just drive it back). So it took months of appointments and the third try they got it right. Frustrating but I feel this happens a lot with alignments. They say it’s close enough and never take it for a test drive to confirm.

 

[TXChips]

It took three tries for Rivian to successfully align my vehicle. First two times I don’t know if they even did the work since when I asked for the print out they said oh it will be included in your email and of course I never got anything. And as I drove off the lot, it was still pulling (end of day so I couldn’t just drive it back). So it took months of appointments and the third try they got it right. Frustrating but I feel this happens a lot with alignments. They say it’s close enough and never take it for a test drive to confirm.

They've provided me print outs of each alignment, the problem is there's only ~20-30 miles driven between alignments and it is out of spec each time. I've asked them to align it for normal height, soft suspension as that is the majority of my day to day driving.

 

[TXChips]

Your initial issues sound a lot like my '24 R1T, which shipped with the 21s. I had a hard pull to one side on all road surfaces and an even harder pull on regen. At the conclusion of a service visit, the Rivian tech showed me the before/after from the alignment and the original showed no metric in spec. After the alignment, all specs were good. Tracking issues were solved and did not reappear.

However, I recently put 20" Rivian A/S tires/wheels on and now have minor alignment issues (pull to left on crowned roads only) and will probably get it back in for another alignment, which I fully recognize I should have done when I had the new wheels/tires installed.

If I were you I would not be satisfied with this resolution. Lots of threads here and on Reddit where owners question whether Rivian actually has an alignment spec or whether it's all being made up on the fly. Rivian should be able to make the vehicle track straight, and if they can't (considering the newness of your vehicle), they should buy it back and deliver one that can go where you point it.

Thanks for the context. They have aligned it multiple times but it exhibits the same issue every time. I've pushed to explore mechanical options, but they've also closed the ticket 3 times for me to come pick it up and it is the same, if not worse, every time.

 

[TXChips]

One thing to consider though is that there is no ONE alignment spec that fits when you have a vehicle with different ride heights. The “right” alignment will change with every ride height.

I understand this but I've told them what my day to day driving is in and they cannot align it to those specs. I think this is a specific issue with my vehicle, if this was truly the norm Rivian would have a much bigger issue on their hands.

 

[Golfer04]

Rivian has to wish they never used a suspension this complicated. I caught on early and almost never change the suspension from standard and NEVER use auto. I don't even use kneel when I park unless my 87 year old mom is riding with me.

 

[electruck]

They've provided me print outs of each alignment, the problem is there's only ~20-30 miles driven between alignments and it is out of spec each time. I've asked them to align it for normal height, soft suspension as that is the majority of my day to day driving.

There is clearly a problem with the vehicle (or perhaps the techs performing the alignment) if it won't hold an alignment for more than 20-30 miles.

 

[electruck]

Rivian has to wish they never used a suspension this complicated. I caught on early and almost never change the suspension from standard and NEVER use auto. I don't even use kneel when I park unless my 87 year old mom is riding with me.

this is silly, there is no reason to avoid using the different suspension modes. it isn't going to create or avoid any problems. if you don't use those modes because you don't need them, that's a different matter.

 

[electruck]

They've provided me print outs of each alignment, the problem is there's only ~20-30 miles driven between alignments and it is out of spec each time. I've asked them to align it for normal height, soft suspension as that is the majority of my day to day driving.

They don't tailor the alignment to driving style or suspension mode. If they align it to their specs and there are no hardware problems with the vehicle, you won;t have these issues.

 

[electruck]

if it weren't for the fact that the alignment keeps drifting out of spec, I'd wonder if there might be a problem with the differential in the front drive unit.

 

[TXChips]

There is clearly a problem with the vehicle (or perhaps the techs performing the alignment) if it won't hold an alignment for more than 20-30 miles.

I agree, but the service center has said everything is in spec following each alignment. Then we go on a test drive and they go "oh well it shouldn't do that" and it goes back in for service. It has been a very frustrating process.

There's also a disconnect between what is told to me in person and over text. The manager (who was laid off on Thursday) told me he drove the vehicle prior to the start of the 2nd repair attempt and the way it drove was unacceptable. Then over email he says everything is in spec and is to be expected.

Originally they said they had aligned and road force balanced the wheels and it was "perfect", come to find out the alignment they had done showed items out of spec AFTER alignment AND one of the wheels could not be balanced because it was defective from the factory. I question their ability to even diagnose the problem correctly, let alone know what to fix.

 

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

One thing to consider though is that there is no ONE alignment spec that fits when you have a vehicle with different ride heights. The “right” alignment will change with every ride height.

Fair enough. In standard mode the alignment should not be an issue like the OP is noting.

I would continue to go back to Rivian until they fix it or if anything document, by telling them the issues persists. You might be able to find a local tire shop that has the correct alignment machine. Maybe they can fix what Rivian cannot.

 

[TXChips]

if it weren't for the fact that the alignment keeps drifting out of spec, I'd wonder if there might be a problem with the differential in the front drive unit.

That's what I'm wondering too, the fact that the vehicle will pull to one side makes me think it's an issue of power being distributed.

I've already exceeded the repair attempts for a safety issue and if the diff/motor needs to be replaced I'll very likely exceed 30 days out of service. So I'm hopeful Rivian can look to repurchase it so I can either walk away or explore a new truck before the tax credit is gone.

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