R1T CV Axle Boot Issues (Q&A)

[ja_kub_sz]

Hello all,

Got 1,700 miles on my two week old R1T and noticed a slight wobble in high speed driving (80+mph) and thought my alignment seemed to pull to the left.

Had my alignment checked and was told/shown the my rear passenger CV joint had a boot leak (grease everywhere). To what degree they didn't say, because this was an incidental finding since they were looking at the front suspension and steering.

None the less called Rivian (4 times now) and scheduled service, but wanted an answer as to if it was safe to drive with this issue, and whether or not driving the truck would make the situation worse causing greater damage?

Asked Rivian service now 4 times (every day) as my car sits in my garage if I can drive it.

Pictures below of a good CV axle and the bad one

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[Dark-Fx]

Depends on how they decide to fix it. Just repacking it and replacing the boot is possible, but if you run it dry for a long time, the damage will require changing out the entire CV axle.

 

[ja_kub_sz]

Depends on how they decide to fix it. Just repacking it and replacing the boot is possible, but if you run it dry for a long time, the damage will require changing out the entire CV axle.

Thanks!

Yeah was told it didn't look like a tear, but rather a leak and that maybe they could repack it and place new clips.

I drive a ton (40k miles a year for work) sometimes put 350 miles on my R1T on a bad day.

@Dark-Fx what would you consider "a long time"?

 

[bigtex]

I too have a wobble / shimmy in the steering wheel (not the truck) above 80. Not consistent, but maybe 70% of the time. 1 week since delivery, 1000 miles. I'll check my CV boots.

I'd drive the R1T but have them get it in for service ASAP.

 

[Rasputin]

I wouldn't drive it too much, considering the vehicle weight and high torque at each corner. Everything is sent through what should be a sealed bearing underneath that dust boot. Grease acts as the lubricant and coolant. Given the supply side woes I would really be careful. Definitely not 350 miles in a day. If its clicking or making any other sounds when you are driving/turning/applying torque I wouldn't drive it all. If you grab that half shaft and can twist it even a little, or move it in any way I wouldn't drive. Such a critical component. Like the ankle of your vehicle...

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Meh, I guess I'm different... I'd still drive it. I've seen CVs leak for a LONG time before they have serious issues.

 

[crashmtb]

Unless CV/axle is showing other signs of failure, I’d drive it until that cv joint pops or rivian fixes the leak. Whichever comes first.. Then they’ll actually address it.

After all, they haven’t said don’t drive it. ?

 

[Dark-Fx]

Meh, I guess I'm different... I'd still drive it. I've seen CVs leak for a LONG time before they have serious issues.

Metal works okay as a lubricant for quite a while...

 

[Dark-Fx]

I’d drive it until that cv joint pops or rivian fixes the leak. Whichever comes first.. Then they’ll actually address it.

After all, they haven’t said don’t drive it. ?

The gal at the Rivian service center said I could drive with a missing axle bolt. Actual person who worked on the truck said he'd only consider doing it on his own vehicle for short distances and would never tell someone else to do it. He said the axle had started to migrate out of the hub.

 

[ja_kub_sz]

All good advice, thank you.

@Rasputin think a local ford service center could maybe do something for me?

I have a not so good feeling about Rivian getting this resolved any time soon.

 

[AxelR]

Axel is a name (mine for example).
Axle is a mechanical component

I would drive it as well unless you can see a significant amount of grease all over.

And yes, you might want to get it checked by another place to get a better sense of the damage (if any) and keep bugging Rivian and get them to fix it.

 

[Rasputin]

All good advice, thank you.

@Rasputin think a local ford service center could maybe do something for me?

I have a not so good feeling about Rivian getting this resolved any time soon.

Not sure. Doubt it’s a standardized bearing from what I have seen but wouldn’t hurt to ask. Worst case they could repack the bearing and seal it. Might not be a bad second option if the local service center is too busy PDI'ing vehicles.

 

[sierraskier]

The gal at the Rivian service center said I could drive with a missing axle bolt. Actual person who worked on the truck said he'd only consider doing it on his own vehicle for short distances and would never tell someone else to do it. He said the axle had started to migrate out of the hub.

? very confidence-inspiring

 

[sierraskier]

All good advice, thank you.

@Rasputin think a local ford service center could maybe do something for me?

I have a not so good feeling about Rivian getting this resolved any time soon.

Wouldn't having some shop other than Rivian do something void your warranty with Rivian? I can't imagine Rivian being too fired up about that plan. You probably just need to scream louder.

 

[ironpig]

Personally, I’d probably not drive it for your long daily commute and just take it to the service center if they aren’t responding.

as someone mentioned above, it’s one thing to know you are covered by warranty but it’s another to know that parts might be in short supply. So if the axle fails your truck could be sitting around for a long time waiting on parts.

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