Road salt and rust on my Texas R1S ... how ?!

[mptx17]

Hi all, longtime reader of this forum and have learned a ton just lurking, but have encountered an issue I'd appreciate thoughts on. Finally received my weistec rock sliders today (full thoughts on those to come soon, I hope) and proceeded to install. Step 1, remove the plastic shields on both underside. Easy enough but what is all this crud packed in here? Texas boy does not recognize road salt...

Currently stuck on step 2, removing the rails the plastic shields clip in to, because of a rusty screw that spins but won't back out (others were rusty but came out reasonably easy). I'll figure that out tomorrow, but am not happy to see rusty components under my new vehicle. I get the vehicle came from up north but how did a new one have such an accumulation? and is the rust just a sucks-for-me thing? Or an issue to be raised with rivian? Is there even anything corrective to do? Appreciate any opinions.

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[bgoldber88]

Hmm would be interesting to see photos if you can. How old is truck?

 

[COdogman]

Is it just surface rust or corrosion?

 

[mptx17]

Hmm would be interesting to see photos if you can. How old is truck?

Feb 25 delivery at houston service center.

 

[Freddie]

Definitely deserves a service ticket so that they can take some corrective action

 

[Duquesne]

Disconcerting for sure…. Something no one would think to look for

 

[NY_Rob]

I was specifically told in writing salt and use in salt water would not be an issue for the Rivian..



--------------- Original Message ---------------
From: [xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: 10/19/2021, 1:33 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Salt Water use

Thank you for your previous reply!
Any way you could escalate this to engineering? It's kind of important and I don't want to find out the hard way that my new $75K vehicle was damaged by improper use.
Beach driving isn't really my concern as I will not be driving near the ocean, it's backing down the boat launch ramp into 1-2ft of salt water to launch or retrieve our boat that's got me wondering?

Thank you!!

Rob

------------------------ Reply -------------------
Hi Rob,

It's good to hear from you again! I totally understand that you want to protect your Rivian from harsher elements by making sure that the Rivian is able to withstand them. The maximum water fording height of the R1T and the R1S is 42.7 inches, so the Rivian should be more than capable of launching a boat in salt water. Furthermore, living in Illinois and having to deal with loads of salt from the roads in the winter, I'm very conscientious of the effects that salt can have on any vehicle. To maintain the paint and coating on your vehicle, we detailed how you can go about washing the exterior to avoid any excessive dirt or salt buildup, which can be found in the R1T Owner's Guide located here<https://rivian.com/support/article/r1t-owners-guide> on page 162.

I do hope that helps shed some light on your concerns. In the meantime, please feel free to reach back out with additional questions - we're happy to help!

Your fellow adventurer,
Eric
Mon-Fri: 7:00am-8:00pm CST
Sat-Sun: 7:00am-3:30pm CST




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If you have a question, you can reach us here<mailto:[email protected]>.
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[R1Tom]

A bit concerning....

 

[mptx17]

I was specifically told in writing salt and use in salt water would not be an issue for the Rivian..



--------------- Original Message ---------------
From: [xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: 10/19/2021, 1:33 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Salt Water use

Thank you for your previous reply!
Any way you could escalate this to engineering? It's kind of important and I don't want to find out the hard way that my new $75K vehicle was damaged by improper use.
Beach driving isn't really my concern as I will not be driving near the ocean, it's backing down the boat launch ramp into 1-2ft of salt water to launch or retrieve our boat that's got me wondering?

Thank you!!

Rob

------------------------ Reply -------------------
Hi Rob,

It's good to hear from you again! I totally understand that you want to protect your Rivian from harsher elements by making sure that the Rivian is able to withstand them. The maximum water fording height of the R1T and the R1S is 42.7 inches, so the Rivian should be more than capable of launching a boat in salt water. Furthermore, living in Illinois and having to deal with loads of salt from the roads in the winter, I'm very conscientious of the effects that salt can have on any vehicle. To maintain the paint and coating on your vehicle, we detailed how you can go about washing the exterior to avoid any excessive dirt or salt buildup, which can be found in the R1T Owner's Guide located here<https://rivian.com/support/article/r1t-owners-guide> on page 162.

I do hope that helps shed some light on your concerns. In the meantime, please feel free to reach back out with additional questions - we're happy to help!

Your fellow adventurer,
Eric
Mon-Fri: 7:00am-8:00pm CST
Sat-Sun: 7:00am-3:30pm CST




[Instagram]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...x4zvItQF7XfwDCqDygRXIdWWVnARop2EVmFusgTl9X4b$> [Facebook] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...x4zvItQF7XfwDCqDygRXIdWWVnARop2EVmFusnP4ROnc$> [YouTube] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...x4zvItQF7XfwDCqDygRXIdWWVnARop2EVmFusjzvY2kR$> [Twitter] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...x4zvItQF7XfwDCqDygRXIdWWVnARop2EVmFusqrMRlGk$>
Please add [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> to your contacts.
If you have a question, you can reach us here<mailto:[email protected]>.
Copyright © 2021 Rivian<https://rivian.com/>, All rights reserved.
15770 Laguna Canyon Rd #100 Irvine, CA 92618 USA

Thank you for posting that!

 

[DaveA]

Well, at least you know what to name your Rivian. Rusty! Jkjk. I’m afraid to look on mine now…this is definitely concerning.

 

[mptx17]

Well, at least you know what to name your Rivian. Rusty! Jkjk. I’m afraid to look on mine now…this is definitely concerning.

That gets a laugh/cry for sure! And I should have said more in original post about how awesome the R1S is. I genuinely love almost everything about it (looking at you useless charging pad and phone holder that let's phone launch into passenger floorboard on slightest turn!). Comfortable, capable, head-turner, etc., it rocks. That's what made today's discovery such a bummer.

 

[Ripped]

Concerning and notable, there is definitely some corrosion not only on the fasteners, but also on the metal where it laps in some areas, trapping moisture or crud.

Typically should not see that on a relatively new vehicle. I would suggest that vehicles that are driven in areas subject to snow/salt/mud etc, do need to have supplemental protection in those areas. There are a few product options. Coatings, rust encapsulating paint, rust protecting paint, etc.
There is something wrong with the grade of metal used for those fasteners/screw/bolts. They need to be plated or have a higher nickel content, or be stainless. I cannot see being able to remove them intact, after a couple of years.

 

[tk21]

You said Feb delivery date but what build date on the door sticker?

 

[MReda]

When I installed my sliders, I had noticeable rust already as well. My truck is over a year old and has been through a winter already, but I was still surprised to see it this soon. One of the frame rail bolts I removed let rusty water out when removed from the hole, so water was pooled up in the frame somewhere.

 

[R1Tom]

When I installed my sliders, I had noticeable rust already as well. My truck is over a year old and has been through a winter already, but I was still surprised to see it this soon. One of the frame rail bolts I removed let rusty water out when removed from the hole, so water was pooled up in the frame somewhere.

Hopefully this doesn't mean we start seeing premature frame failures on these.

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