Rivian R1S Wheel Spin Issue: One of the Tires Spin Slower Than the Others

Vincent · 2025-01-10T19:33:15+00:00

A friend needed to support his son who would be running a 'very cold' marathon on Sunday while rucking a 30 pound pack. The outside temps will be around 15F-20F the whole time. The location of the race is nowhere close to any L2 chargers, but he's not worried about driving distance to or from the race - it is 50 miles away from his house. He says he will be sitting in his ruck with his laptop and watching his live track+Garmin inReach data for the duration of the race (about 4 hours). He thought about taking his Honda EB2800i gasoline powered generator, if he can use the level 1 EVSE attached to the generator and keep the truck running with full heat + power - without really consuming much of the truck's main battery? He feels it's super dorky to have a gas generator running while attached to a Rivian in the woods, just so he can stay warm, but don't know if it would work ok this way and 'preserve' the main battery so he doesn't need to worry about driving range when we wants to head home. He talked to me about it and I told him the simple answer is NO. I tested this theory the other night when I was plugged into a 5.9kW charger. To maintain the interior amenities (interior and exterior lights, radio, heater, seat heaters), it took almost all of the charge. I charged for 15 minutes, it delivered 1.6kW, and the truck consumed 1.4kW, delivering only 0.2kW to the truck battery. Told him he would be using a laptop at another 200ish watts. The little trickle charger charges at 1.4kW on a good day, 1.2kW is normal for me. You can slow the bleed, but you cant stop it. My advise to him was for him to charge it up to 100% at home, and roll the dice is what I would do.

Rivian Mom

Active Wheeler

Jan 5, 2025

Just yesterday, I observed something unusual on my vehicle. The rear left wheel of my R1S spins slower than the other three. I have noticed that the motor runs cooler than the rest of them, and the tire pressure was off by around 5 to 8 PSI, not in sync with the other three tires. I have already confirmed and adjusted the tire pressure to be as close as possible to the other tires, but that did not resolve the issue.

To me, it appears that the camber of the left rear wheel is excessively negatively angled. I tried setting it at all ride heights, and it looks the same to me. I know that the four motors are supposed to spin independently, but that variation should only occur on turns or uneven surfaces. However, I notice this issue on regular roads as well as highways.

I spoke to Rivian support, and they are going to take a look at it after I schedule an appointment. The closest service center is about two hours from me, which is inconvenient, but I was aware of this when I purchased the vehicle, so I cannot complain. Has anyone else experienced a similar issue? Can it be ignored, or is it a major risk?

Someone suggested that I remove all the air from the tires and fill them with the same source, noting that nitrogen is better. They had a slow leak in three tires and used a bicycle pump to add 1-2 PSI. Over time, one tire maintained stable pressure, while the other three fluctuated wildly with temperature. They also stated that having water vapor in the tires can cause this issue.

My plan is to deflate all the tires and use my compressor to air them back up. I'm not sure if this will be the solution, but hopefully, it will help.

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