R1T LE Turning Whirring Noise

[Mike]

Hi all,

I have a 2022 R1T LE that I got pre-owned about 2 weeks ago. I have a service appointment in a few days because I had an instance where there was a few loud popping sounds once when I was turning in a parking lot. But that only happened once and I've tried reproducing it for days with no avail. I'm still going to the service appointment in case they have any idea about it, and I also have a few bolts missing from the underbody cover which doesn't seem normal based off past posts here and on Reddit.

Anyway, there's another whirring/squeaking sound that comes from what I assume is the power steering. Wondering if people can tell me if this is normal or not? I've owned and driven a few EVs but haven't heard this in any of them, granted they weren't a 7000lb truck so I'm guessing maybe this is normal. It's only noticeable when turning at low speed, like through a fast food drive thru (where it's very noticeable at) or pulling into my driveway. It happens even if the wheel is mostly turned already or is already driving into a slow turn.

Is this something that I should bring up to have checked when I'm at my service visit or no? The truck was purchased with about 4K left on the comprehensive warranty so I want to get any potential issues fixed but also don't want to waste the SC time if it's normal.

Video attached, but here's an external link as well.

Thanks

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[Windblade]

Not entirely clear what you may be hearing from the video you provided, but perhaps that is what's coming from your 4 corner speakers at low speeds

 

[Jonjon09]

Not hearing much from the video unfortunately but I wonder if you are having the same sound I have which I think is related to the gen 1 subframe but they said nothing was wrong when I took it in to the SC for a few other items. Still have a year on the warranty so I am keeping a close eye on it. But search the forum for gen 1 subframe issues and see if that might be what you are hearing, the welds could be the issue.

 

[Microdowns]

The whine that begins 2 seconds into the video is definitely not normal. I would demonstrate it to the service personnel when you bring the truck to the SC.

 

[Mike]

Thanks guys. About the subframe problems, I looked it up and it seems like the sound from my original SC request (not in the video) that I mentioned I could not reproduce.. I'll just ask them to look over things or check the vehicles service history before I got it to see if any work was done on those parts or not.

@Microdowns Thanks, I will especially since this can be reproduced easily... but just driving slowly on turn or sloped surface. I've been around Rivians before and never heard this, but didn't know if it was normal or not.
(for anyone wondering, the high pitch whine in the video, maybe it's too high pitch for some people to hear.)

Also my service appt is in two days on the 3rd, so I'll post back here afterwards with anything that was done or fixed so people know that might come across this.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Popping or clunk sounds are common. Usually attributed to half shaft play and Rivian has a “fix” for this using ting washers to tension them towards wheel hubs. In your recording, what sounds like air flowing through a canyon, that’s normal. The squealing isn’t. Too many possibilities. One could be a service bulletin Rivian has for the hub bolts. Forum search “hub bolt” and you will likely find reference images. Some vehicles did not have these tightened to sufficient torque. Rivian launched a service campaign to check and retighten. Raise ride height and take a glance.

 

[Mike]

Brought it to the SC today and was told the whine noise (in my original video) is fixed via the ting washers so they were keeping it today to do that. I'm picking it up tomorrow and will bring it back in a few days for a front drive unit replacement once they have the parts. Drove around the parking lot with the tech and he pretty much immediately told the other guy it needed a drive unit replacement done for the other sounds that I mentioned (which couldn't be reproduced, but it had other sounds).

Edit 1 day later: Picked up the vehicle today, bringing it back next week when they have all the parts. Was told the tech was also going to replace the half shafts and dampers and said a damper had a leak after looking over everything.

I knew the vehicle would probably need some stuffed replace since it was a preowned LE so I'm glad they're replacing these. Was told it'll take 2-3 days probably.

 

[Mike]

Thought I might as well post an update in case it helps anyone in the future. Picked it up today and it drives great, no issues with weird sounds and turning is actually much more smooth now, surprisingly nearly the same as the 2025 R1S that they gave me as a loaner for a few days. Here's a list of what was done from the final invoice:

Correction/Remedy
- Damper, Front, LH (Remove and Replace)
- Damper, Front, RH (Remove and Replace)
- Halfshaft, Front, LH (Remove and Replace)
- Halfshaft, Front, RH (Remove and Replace)
- Rear Bumpers Other Labor (1 Hour)
- Noise Vibration and Harshness General Diagnostic
- Replace LH and RH front hydraulic suspension jounce lines

The "Other Labor" is unrelated.. they removed a rear panel when inspecting the rear and found a dead rat, presumably that drove with me back from Arizona when I picked it up last month... The inside of a panel was chewed at and there was a note about damage to a hydro pump and vent line for hydraulics that they replaced, but I don't think it was related to the rat that took an indefinite nap inside the panel.

So thanks to the guys at the new Fort Worth service center

 

[VSG]

I also have a few bolts missing from the underbody cover which doesn't seem normal

I'm a little late to reply, but just a note that a few bolts missing from the underbody cover was a not-uncommon problem with early R1T builds. It's not a big deal. I had a few missing too on delivery back in 2022. Rivian replaced them and they haven't fallen out since. I assume that was on your list of things to have them do.

Note that the ting washers are one of the things they do as part of one of their customer satisfaction campaigns - it's not a recall, but if you bring your vehicle in for just about anything (in my case it was a tire rotation) they will check your VIN and see if there are any outstanding fixes that need to be applied. That's one of the reasons I like to go to the service center for tire rotations - I get little updates that I didn't even know I needed.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I'm a little late to reply, but just a note that a few bolts missing from the underbody cover was a not-uncommon problem with early R1T builds. It's not a big deal. I had a few missing too on delivery back in 2022. Rivian replaced them and they haven't fallen out since. I assume that was on your list of things to have them do.

Note that the ting washers are one of the things they do as part of one of their customer satisfaction campaigns - it's not a recall, but if you bring your vehicle in for just about anything (in my case it was a tire rotation) they will check your VIN and see if there are any outstanding fixes that need to be applied. That's one of the reasons I like to go to the service center for tire rotations - I get little updates that I didn't even know I needed.

Ditto on benefits of keeping service within the Rivian system. Unlike most OEMs, Rivian follows MO of continuous improvement / re-iteration. Some service campaigns evolve through new learnings and need to be re-done. For instance, back in January they performed the hub bolt re-tightening campaign on my T. Then, couple weeks ago when I went in for repairs on faulty tailgate latch, they informed me the hub bolts need to be re-tightened again due to specs having been revised since.

 

[Mike]

Thought I'd post an update in case anyone sees this in the future looking for this issue. My original service work that I posted about on December 15th fixed things but were not directly related to the sound in the video in my original post. I let it go for a while since it wasn't a big deal, low high pitch wine with the wheel turned is just a noise complaint but I ended up opening a service for it specifically since I recently realized it only happens when the wheels are turned (i.e. driving in a circle slowly.) A service center tech inspected it again and found "front RH halfshaft boot damaged" per the notes. From what I gather looking into it myself, a cover for it was damaged so basically the grease could leak out and get dirt/moisture in it. The work order parts mentions two wheel hub bearings and front halfshaft being replaced. They replaced it within a day and now all is good! No issues or noises at all.

Attached a better video of the sound in my original post of the video in the dark I took, the sound is more obvious in this one (this is unrelated to the original work done in the first SC visit.)

That's the end of it!

Also the new Fort Worth service center guys are great.

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