Gen2 R1S making loud buzzing noise when heat is on

[jt’s riv]

Hi! New Rivian owner here. Love the car, but been to the shop twice since September and still not fixed. Makes obnoxious noise when its first warming up the cabin and even shakes the dash and steering wheel sometimes. Tech added refrigerant and said the noise is “normal” but there is just no way.

Anyone else experiencing or have any thoughts? Attaching the video.

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[Donald Stanfield]

Mine makes a similar noise, but it is MUCH quieter.

 

[TigerWuxia]

saw multiple posts complaining about noise from heat pump on Gen2 and started to appreciate the quietness of my Gen1 when I jumped into a warm cabin in a cold morning.

 

[bfilippo]

Not normal, my Gen2 R1T warms up in the morning being outside all night in freezing temps and makes an amount of noise I would call ambient, as in, I don’t notice it.

 

[rutiger]

My G2 R1S heat pump is fairly loud if it's in the garage and I've jacked it up to hi to warm it up. Kinda hard to tell how loud yours really is when you're jamming your phone nearly up into the wheel well.

 

[stevieswanderlust]

My G2 R1S makes same noise. It's pretty loud as it startled me the first time when I walked out to it but it doesn't shake anything. And everything seems to work fine. I'm a first time EV owner so I was thinking maybe this is normal ??‍

 

[R1TandMe]

Mine makes the same noise but not as loud.

 

[Johnus]

The Gen 2 R1T I test drove a few months ago also had an incredibly loud heat pump. It almost turned me off from ordering. It sounded exactly like OP's.

My Gen 2 R1T's heat pump is so quiet I don't notice it at all. I don't think the loud ones are normal.

 

[stevieswanderlust]

The Gen 2 R1T I test drove a few months ago also had an incredibly loud heat pump. It almost turned me off from ordering. It sounded exactly like OP's.

My Gen 2 R1T's heat pump is so quiet I don't notice it at all. I don't think the loud ones are normal.

This is good to know! I have a service appointment in 3 weeks to fix my cracked roof so I'll have them look at the heat pump too!

 

[MarkNorman]

If I crank my G2 R1S full tilt the heat pump noise is definitely noticeable but only outside the vehicle (video #1). Nothing inside rattles or anything. During normal operation, it is much quieter (video #2). Inside the vehicle sounds like video #3. I’ll take outside noise for the increased efficiency every day of the week.

Note: at least on my iPhone, putting the volume at 1/2 replicates the sound level in reality. The video sounds like a chainsaw at full volume but that is not accurate.

The heat pump on my 2024 Model 3 is very quiet in comparison so hopefully subsequent Rivian heat pumps will follow suit.

 

[good2go]

Heat pump is loud.

 

[Seano]

Ours is surprisingly loud. Figured I'd put in on the list to check when I finally decide to give it up for a few weeks

 

[Paul Hackett]

Hi! New Rivian owner here. Love the car, but been to the shop twice since September and still not fixed. Makes obnoxious noise when its first warming up the cabin and even shakes the dash and steering wheel sometimes. Tech added refrigerant and said the noise is “normal” but there is just no way.

Anyone else experiencing or have any thoughts? Attaching the video.

It's called a heat pump compressor. Normal.

 

[Zoidz]

Hearing the compressor is just a fact of owning a Rivian. They can be loud. How loud is a function of several things, one of which is how hard the compressor is working. It will be louder if it is very cold outside, the battery is cold, and you have it cranked up for high temperature - vs. 40 degrees outside and the battery is warmed from charging or driving.

You can have it checked, but don't be surprised if they tell you again that there is nothing wrong and it is working properly.

 

[Alawiscious]

Hearing the compressor is just a fact of owning a Rivian. They can be loud. How loud is a function of several things, one of which is how hard the compressor is working. It will be louder if it is very cold outside, the battery is cold, and you have it cranked up for high temperature - vs. 40 degrees outside and the battery is warmed from charging or driving.

You can have it checked, but don't be surprised if they tell you again that there is nothing wrong and it is working properly.

Yup i'm hearing the same thing - i figured it was more pronounced as it is pretty cold here these days - 19F or 3F with windchill. So it's always working right now. It's annoying and definitely more noticeable in an EV with no other noise to cover it up. Even our heatpump on the house is louder these days given how hard it has to work. I put in a service request and got a call back and they asked me to the do the full reset which didn't help. I'll call them and see if what else they have to say. Video attached - I turn the fan speed up and you then the "whirring" matches it shortly after.

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