A scary moment for this R1T owner where they experienced some kind of ball joint failure. Seems like something wasn't tightened properly. Hopefully everyone's ok.
Right, looks like a bolt that was attaching the upper control arm just came off. I would suspect that you would feel the extra suspension play (especially when you are turning with the driver's side going up and down excessively) before this would happen. I had a similar thing happen to my Volvo XC90.That's not a ball joint failure. There is a tear in the CV boot but that is because the upper control arm is no longer attached to the mounting point in the vehicle sub frame.
The way things are right now, if they did that all 4 wheels would prolly fall off before you could even get an appointment at a Rivian SC.. Might be a good idea for Rivian to proactively ask customers to bring their vehicles in just for a once-over to make sure.
Somebody had a lot of time on their hands!!The Front Fell Off
[Interviewer:] JR Scaringe thanks for coming in.
[JR Scaringe:] It’s a great pleasure, thank you.
[Interviewer:] This Rivian that was involved in the incident on the corner of Canopy Drive this week…
[JR Scaringe:] Yeah, the one the front fell off?
[Interviewer:] Yeah
[JR Scaringe:] That’s not very typical, I’d like to make that point.
[Interviewer:] Well, how is it untypical?
[JR Scaringe:] Well, there are a lot of these trucks going around the world all the time, and very seldom does anything like this happen … I just don’t want people thinking that Rivians aren’t safe.
[Interviewer:] Was this Rivian safe?
[JR Scaringe:] Well I was thinking more about the other ones…
[Interviewer:] The ones that are safe ... ?
[JR Scaringe:] Yeah, the ones the front doesn’t fall off.
[Interviewer:] Well, if this wasn’t safe, why did it have 135kwh of lithium batteries in it?
[JR Scaringe:] Well, I’m not saying it wasn’t safe, it’s just perhaps not quite as safe as some of the other ones.
[Interviewer:] Why?
[JR Scaringe:] Well, some of them are built so the front doesn’t fall off at all.
[Interviewer:] Wasn’t this built so the front wouldn’t fall off?
[JR Scaringe:] Well, obviously not.
[Interviewer:] How do you know?
[JR Scaringe:] Well, ‘cause the front fell off, and 135kwh of lithium stopped dead in the road, but nothing caught fire. It’s a bit of a give-away. I would just like to make the point that that is not normal.
[Interviewer:] Well, what sort of standards are these Rivians built to?
[JR Scaringe:] Oh, very rigorous ... consumer vehicle engineering standards.
[Interviewer:] What sort of things?
[JR Scaringe:] Well the front’s not supposed to fall off, for a start.
[Interviewer:] And what other things?
[JR Scaringe:] Well, there are ... regulations governing the materials they can be made of
[Interviewer:] What materials?
[JR Scaringe:] Well, Cardboard’s out
[Interviewer:] And?
[JR Scaringe:] ... No cardboard derivatives ...
[Interviewer:] Like paper?
[JR Scaringe:]. ... No paper, no string, no cellotape.
[Interviewer:] Rubber?
[JR Scaringe:] No, rubber’s out ... Um, They’ve got to have a steering wheel. There’s a minimum crew requirement.
[Interviewer:] What’s the minimum crew?
[JR Scaringe:] Oh, ... one, I suppose.
[Interviewer:] So, the allegations that they are just designed to carry as much cargo as possible and to hell with the consequences, I mean that’s ludicrous ... ?
[JR Scaringe:] Ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous. These are very, very strong trucks
[Interviewer:] So what happened in this case?
[JR Scaringe:] Well, the front fell off in this case by all means, but that’s very unusual.
[Interviewer:] But JR Scaringe, why did the front bit fall off?
[JR Scaringe:] Well, a paint stripe hit it.
[Interviewer:] A paint stripe hit it?
[JR Scaringe:] A paint stripe hit the truck.
[Interviewer:] Is that unusual?
[JR Scaringe:] Oh, yeah ... on a road? ... Chance in a million.
[Interviewer:] So what do you do to protect the environment in cases like this?
[JR Scaringe:] Well, the truck was towed outside the environment.
[Interviewer:] Into another environment...
[JR Scaringe:] No, no, no. it’s been towed beyond the environment, it’s not in the environment
[Interviewer:] Yeah, but from one environment to another environment.
[JR Scaringe:] No, it’s beyond the environment, it’s not in an environment. It has been towed beyond the environment.
[Interviewer:] Well, what’s out there?
[JR Scaringe:] Nothing’s out there ...
[Interviewer:] Well there must be something out there
[JR Scaringe:] There is nothing out there ... all there is ... is sea ... and birds ... and fish
[Interviewer:] And?
[JR Scaringe:] And 135kwh of lithium batteries
[Interviewer:] And what else?
[JR Scaringe:] No fire
[Interviewer:] And anything else?
[JR Scaringe:] And the part of the truck that the front fell off, but there’s nothing else out there.
[Interviewer:] JR Scaringe thanks for joining us.
[JR Scaringe:] It’s a complete void
[Interviewer:] Yeah, We’re out time
[JR Scaringe:] The environment’s perfectly safe. ... We’re out of time?.. Can you book me a cab?
[Interviewer:] But didn’t you come in a Rivian?
[JR Scaringe:] Yes, I did, but
[Interviewer:] What happened?
[JR Scaringe:] The front fell off
For the uninitiated:
1.21 giga watts!!!Is this not the hidden back to the future feature?
For the lols? Worth it.Somebody had a lot of time on their hands!!
That's troubling that one person can do that. What is QC doing? Can you imagine being off road and this happening?I got my truck back from service to for a drive line issue. I was discussing my concerns and the service manager asked if I had seen that truck where the front end fell off and of course I said, “yes.” He told men that Rivian has tracked the issue to one specific employee working on the line on a specific day. Maybe they skipped a step or two. I think they plan to track down all potentially effected trucks.
Was he making an illegal u turn that rivian didnt like 😂A scary moment for this R1T owner where they experienced some kind of ball joint failure. Seems like something wasn't tightened properly. Hopefully everyone's ok.
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Funny you say that, I have heard in some countries, people do just that. They buy a brand new car from the local factory and take it to a shop to tighten/torque all the nuts and bolts.Makes me think I should bring the truck in to service center just to do a good "nut and bolt" on the truck to make sure everything is tight. I feel a few little clunks here and there and have read where others have felt the same. Might be a good idea for Rivian to proactively ask customers to bring their vehicles in just for a once-over to make sure.
FTFYHe told me that Rivian has tracked the issue to one specific former employee working on the line on a specific day.
Getting ready to finally try the other set of wheels I have here, hopefully in the next week. While I have the wheels off, definitely going to stick some wrenches in there and give it once-over myself. Especially because of the occasional clunk I feel. Seems to be a common thing that others feel too, but can't hurt to double check.Funny you say that, I have heard in some countries, people do just that. They buy a brand new car from the local factory and take it to a shop to tighten/torque all the nuts and bolts.
That's not a ball joint failure. There is a tear in the CV boot but that is because the upper control arm is no longer attached to the mounting point in the vehicle sub frame.