Resolved (my) excessive wind noise 2023 R1T (cause: corner window plastic trim)

[Prime]

Success! Cuts out 95%+ of the wind noise. Not totally silent, but then no car is. Made a HUGE difference.

Interesting ... I only really noticed the noise on the driver side. When i went to stuff the rubber sealing on the passenger side, it would not fit (unlike the drivers side). That would chime with the lack of wind noise there. Wonder if it a manufacturing thing?? I also ran the pipping up both windows (see pics)

Anyway, huge thanks to you @Prime for solving this.

Super happy this helped someone else. Identifying source of wind noise on this truck has been a journey to say the least…

Sponsored

 

[RWerksman]

So, I've done a bit of testing with this earlier today. I ordered the same item that OP identified:

And I decided to test it on a 10 minute or so loop, twice in a row. Once with the gap-filling foam installed and once without. Each loop was driven in portions ranging from 60 mph to 75 mph (allegedly).

During each run, I used a sound level meter to determine if there was an overall difference between having the foam installed and not. The phone was installed on my NextGen Phone Mount, which is close to the window:

I also listened with my own two ears to determine if there was a wind noise difference as the sound meter might not show anything.


All that said, here are my results:

• There was no difference for me using the sound meter. Average dB inside of the truck was between 65-75 on both runs.
• There was a difference in the amount of wind noise. I would consider it easily perceivable. Somewhere between slight a moderate. The noise was not completely removed.
• Wind noise in the truck is very much not the peak or the floor. Road noise, tire drone, traffic, and road imperfections account for nearly all of it, so it seems.
• There was a clear elevation in both the dB level and the wind noise based on speed. At 60mph, there was little. At 75mph, there was a bunch. The difference was around 6-10 dB.

I think my vehicle might also be a bit of an outlier here, or there is clear variability in the Rivian vehicle fleet. For instance, here is my passenger triangle:

I could not get the foam in there even if I tried:

On the flip, here is the driver side (with some really weird reflections):

I could probably due with an 8MM or 10MM bit of foam:

To sum up, this additional foam weatherstripping IS likely helpful for a bunch of folks, but not for everyone. Some folks need none of this. Some others need a larger diameter product.

I'm going to see if 8MM or 10MM work better for me. I'll post an update after I'm able to test.

Also, the foam really smells. Alot...

 

[defcon888]

We have a ticket to get it looked at. The mobile guy that came to our house to replace the 12v battery a couple of weeks ago said that the SC can fix it. I guess it is a known issue. I put in a ticket and they called and said they can do a mobile service.

We have the manual tonneau cover and when I pulled the cable down to disconnect the spring clips, the one on the left snapped off. Of all the great designs Rivian did, the manual cover wasn't one of them. I don't see why they needed to have it snap shut since I would venture a guess that 99% of the time, you if your tonneau cover is installed, the tailgate is also up and locked.

 

[Ken Z]

I have tried to have the SC resolve my wind noise since day 1 of getting my truck 1 year ago. It’s taken away from enjoying the vehicle as it was turbulent and excessive at anything over 55 mph. Nothing worked to resolve it and SC didn’t do anything to help either (all within spec). I watched a few YouTube videos and posts about using rubber weather stripping tubing around the top of the vehicle. Rubber inserts along the roof rails, I taped up all the corner windows to see if it was them causing the noise.. nothing worked.

Recently I noticed the edge of the corner window plastic trim piece a few mm outboard of the left and right driver side doors (pic attached). I placed a small piece of leftover cylindrical weatherstrip into that lower plastic edge and BAM.. my wind noise is 90% gone. I thought it was a fluke. But have driven about 100 miles highway and with crosswinds near the coast and it’s much improved.

Up to this point the wind noise was so bad (and I’ve had a number of other issues with my truck come up) I was ready to get rid of the Rivian, not sure now as the ride is much more enjoyable when it’s quiet on the highway.

Pretty sure this is a build/ door alignment issue which is why some trucks are dead silent and others are super noisy. Hope it helps others, though I’ve realized not all solutions work for everyone.

Link from Amazon for weatherstrip 6mm

https://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Weather-Stripping-Tubing-Closed/dp/B0B813RSPK/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=bRf9b&content-id=amzn1.sym.0e5c7f8b-153f-45ea-a1fd-9585fc3a0cd5:amzn1.symc.2b06b7e8-a86c-4e6e-b02c-90d58278f4f1&pf_rd_p=0e5c7f8b-153f-45ea-a1fd-9585fc3a0cd5&pf_rd_r=ME2MH065D0015EQEMYJV&pd_rd_wg=bGTWU&pd_rd_r=aeee0098-e6f2-4213-ae60-0b2ef7c770b8&pd_rd_i=B0B813RSPK

It is hard to see where you actuallly placed the foam roll piece. Is it just on top of the little weatherstrip below the vent glass? If yes, what happens in the car wash? Thanks

 

[Prime]

It is hard to see where you actuallly placed the foam roll piece. Is it just on top of the little weatherstrip below the vent glass? If yes, what happens in the car wash? Thanks

youre just placing it below the plastic trim as seen in the pictures, not much pressure to get it in. I havent car washed, although I usually hand wash so I dont see it being much of a problem. If it does fall out, luckily you'll have tons more weather stripping since the amazon roll is huge.

 

[Kunzene]

I ordered and tried this a few days ago. I’ve had service work on mine three times without totally resolving it. Still seems to originate from the small triangle window even after replacement. I would say adding this piece of foam did improve the noise further but didn’t totally eliminate. Totally worth a try for the cost.

 

[RWerksman]

As promised, I ordered the 8MM and 10MM size to test. Here are the results:

10MM size was immediately too large. I'd suggest that if you require something that big, it's a clear call for service as something is really wrong. 8MM. alternatively, size seemed to fit well for me. A comparison between the 6MM and 8MM size:

Here is what the 8MM size looks like installed for me:

I ended up moving it up a smidge:

Long story short - clear improvement over not having it. It's the difference between, "a bit more wind noise than I want from my side-view mirror" and, "It sounds like I'm constantly being passed by another vehicle". It's even noticeable on the dB graph. Pay attention to the first half of the graph, which is highway speed at 70 MPH. The run on top is the one without any foam:

So, following up on my prior post, I would absolutely recommend this. While not earth shattering, there is a clear difference. Installation is less than 60 seconds and completely revertable.

I would suggest that you measure the gap and order the correct size (go slightly larger). Alternatively, I think I'm going to add a kit to OpenSourceEV.com for this. Likely 4 inches of both sizes for like $1. If you want to take a flyer on it with another order, that's a lot better than $12. At that $12 price, I still think it's worth it though.

Sign up for the newsletter if you want to get a heads up when it's available.

 

[bendrumin]

So I think I found my issue.....There is a LARGE difference between the plastic trim on my passenger (wind noise with painters tape) vs my drivers (non painters tape)

 

[RockyRoad]

So I think I found my issue.....There is a LARGE difference between the plastic trim on my passenger (wind noise with painters tape) vs my drivers (non painters tape)

Can you describe the differences? They’re not obvious to me in looking at the pictures. Thanks!

 

[bendrumin]

Can you describe the differences? They’re not obvious to me in looking at the pictures. Thanks!

There is definitely some fitment issues on the side with the painters tape (look at the bottom) compared to the drivers side. It seems to be in a LOT more than the drivers.

 

[jeeden]

I just got mine back last week and my noise issue is solved. Service adviser drove it with me on the highway and was careful to say that there is going to be some noise at higher highway speeds, but then recognized the sound immediately (sounds like wind coming through windshield wipers on a car when going through the high speed drying blowers at the car wash). They reseated the triangle window with a new gasket that extends all the way up the A frame.

We are QUIET now!

 

[RockyRoad]

There is definitely some fitment issues on the side with the painters tape (look at the bottom) compared to the drivers side. It seems to be in a LOT more than the drivers.

Thanks for the explanation! I see it now.

 

[AA_Rivian_Socal]

I just got mine back last week and my noise issue is solved. Service adviser drove it with me on the highway and was careful to say that there is going to be some noise at higher highway speeds, but then recognized the sound immediately (sounds like wind coming through windshield wipers on a car when going through the high speed drying blowers at the car wash). They reseated the triangle window with a new gasket that extends all the way up the A frame.

We are QUIET now!

gives me hope to hear this. will open a ticket.

 

[Riviot]

I just got mine back last week and my noise issue is solved. Service adviser drove it with me on the highway and was careful to say that there is going to be some noise at higher highway speeds, but then recognized the sound immediately (sounds like wind coming through windshield wipers on a car when going through the high speed drying blowers at the car wash). They reseated the triangle window with a new gasket that extends all the way up the A frame.

We are QUIET now!

Got a pic? I had mine serviced once and they replaced right like 3 different pieces of foam... I gave up and just jam out instead, but it's been like 30k miles...

 

[jeeden]

Got a pic? I had mine serviced once and they replaced right like 3 different pieces of foam... I gave up and just jam out instead, but it's been like 30k miles...

I'll upload a photo of how the new window gasket looks later tonight when I get the R1S back for my wife. The Gaithersburg service advisor said that he felt the gasket was folded in addition to there being a sealing issue. Maybe you guys could tell your service advisor that he should connect with the Gaithersburg one for advice on a solution?

Sponsored