Wet spot under driver mat

[Ilovejunebugs]

Yes, design flaw in original units. Crack in HAVC assembly forms allowing water to drain into the floorboard instead of out the condensate drain as designed. I was told Rivian has a revised part number.

Unfortunately my wife's June 2023 build R1S had this issue. Rivian ultimately wound up replacing it to to delays in getting it repaired mold/mildew issue developed.

I made a video documenting what she went through. Ultimately Rivian made the situation right and kept my wife in an R1S the entire time (Half in a rental and half in a service center loaner). Went in February 9th and we finally resolved this on May 20th. My advice is if you discover water in the floorboard have it addressed immediately by Rivian.

Thank you for the informative video!

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[Fmc]

And I just thought my all weather mat was holding moisture..but now I see a little mold..VIN 21XXX

 

[Mysta]

Yes, design flaw in original units. Crack in HAVC assembly forms allowing water to drain into the floorboard instead of out the condensate drain as designed. I was told Rivian has a revised part number.

Unfortunately my wife's June 2023 build R1S had this issue. Rivian ultimately wound up replacing it to to delays in getting it repaired mold/mildew issue developed.

I made a video documenting what she went through. Ultimately Rivian made the situation right and kept my wife in an R1S the entire time (Half in a rental and half in a service center loaner). Went in February 9th and we finally resolved this on May 20th. My advice is if you discover water in the floorboard have it addressed immediately by Rivian.

Did yours cause a "Electrical" warning? I just noticed I had water in floorboard(couldn't tell due to the all weather mats until i cleaned) and then subsequently got an electrical warning. Battery/motor temps were okay and it didn't limit power but still a bit alarming, but Im thinking it may be a ground fault due to the water somewhere.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Did yours cause a "Electrical" warning? I just noticed I had water in floorboard(couldn't tell due to the all weather mats until i cleaned) and then subsequently got an electrical warning. Battery/motor temps were okay and it didn't limit power but still a bit alarming, but Im thinking it may be a ground fault due to the water somewhere.

No not that I recall. The vehicle just slowly started developing a smell. It got so bad that I started smelling the smell on my wife after she got home. She has a 45-60 minute commute. Between the delay in bringing it in and it sitting in the service center parking lot they couldn't get the smell out. It wouldn't surprise me if it caused a problem with any electrical connection in that area.

 

[Ilovejunebugs]

Just got my truck back after being repaired for this. Here's what rivian did. Had a two hour drive home and neither carpet was wet which was good!

 

[GatorRiv]

Hello. Apologies if this is covered somewhere else. Tried searching with no luck.

I too got the soaking wet drivers area carpet. This came on suddenly and the smell has begun. First service appointment in 2 months+.

Wet floor began (I think) day after I drained the frunk for first time ever. Some water accidentally got in there and I tried the drain. It was dark and I now realize some debris went down with the water. Does that drain line share a terminal point with the a/c drain. I wouldn't think so but the timing was weird

I am up to small DIY stuff. Removing frunk or panel. Is there a way to try unclogging the A/C drain myself? I don't think 2 months of this would be great.

VIN is 23xxx and an R1T.

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[jerseyff]

I am up to small DIY stuff. Removing frunk or panel. Is there a way to try unclogging the A/C drain myself? I don't think 2 months of this would be great.

My entire HVAC system got replaced, I'm not sure what specifically there is to do to remediate this if it is indeed cause by your HVAC.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

I was told the problem starts as a result of a crack forming in the HVAC assembly not from a clogged drain.

You need to call Rivian service support and tell them the carpet is wet and a smell is developing.

They should get you in sooner than 2 months.

The water issues needs dealt with immediately, then HVAC disabled (maybe put truck in shipping mode?), then it can sit and wait for service. Otherwise you'll never be able to get the smell out.

 

[KBabione]

We noticed this in our 1-year old R1S last week. We were able to get a service appointment two weeks out (which the service advisor told us was probably due to someone cancelling because they were 6-8 weeks out). I got it dried (also check your passenger side) by running an electric (not USB) fan on it overnight after using my shopvac to get as much moisture out as possible and the carpeting dried.

Not running the A/C has kept it dry. We had a long trip yesterday and it was pretty wet (we needed A/C) but I put a shop towel under the floor mat and swapped it out twice to soak up the water as much as possible and then did the fan thing last night. Small mildew smell, but not unbearable yet.

Another question for those of you who have had this: Our Chilewich mats smell like mildew...Did Rivian replace them too in addition to the carpeting?

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

We noticed this in our 1-year old R1S last week. We were able to get a service appointment two weeks out (which the service advisor told us was probably due to someone cancelling because they were 6-8 weeks out). I got it dried (also check your passenger side) by running an electric (not USB) fan on it overnight after using my shopvac to get as much moisture out as possible and the carpeting dried.

Not running the A/C has kept it dry. We had a long trip yesterday and it was pretty wet (we needed A/C) but I put a shop towel under the floor mat and swapped it out twice to soak up the water as much as possible and then did the fan thing last night. Small mildew smell, but not unbearable yet.

Another question for those of you who have had this: Our Chilewich mats smell like mildew...Did Rivian replace them too in addition to the carpeting?

Rivian will replace anything that smells like mildew. Unfortunately in our case they replaced all the carpeting and all the seats in the r1s. Officially they claimed it was fixed, but I talked to a couple Service Center employees who I will not name and they admitted that it still smelled. Ultimately rivian replaced our r1s.

If that water is allowed to sit there for 2 weeks it's going to get bad and a fan is not going to be good enough. Unfortunately you need a dehumidifier. Once the smell gets to a certain point it will spread throughout the vehicle. Before we right before we dropped it off I could smell it on my wife after she Left the vehicle.

The good news is I was told by rivian they do have a redesigned part. So once the HVAC assembly is replaced for this issue, it should not occur again.

Hoping for a speedy resolution for you.

 

[KBabione]

Hoping for a speedy resolution for you.

Thanks - I appreciate it. Because the Chilewich mats aren't waterproof, I think I caught it and dried the carpeting within 2-3 days of it starting and I'm being a bit neurotic about not running the A/C again so I'm hoping it's not as bad as yours got. I only notice the mildew smell if I put my nose to the carpet or the mat - it's there, but it's not like we get in the car and notice it. We'll see - my service appointment is only 8 days away.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Thanks - I appreciate it. Because the Chilewich mats aren't waterproof, I think I caught it and dried the carpeting within 2-3 days of it starting and I'm being a bit neurotic about not running the A/C again so I'm hoping it's not as bad as yours got. I only notice the mildew smell if I put my nose to the carpet or the mat - it's there, but it's not like we get in the car and notice it. We'll see - my service appointment is only 8 days away.

Yeah, mine we didn't notice because we had all weather mats that had a lot of coverage. The smell and then when I went to wash the car and removed the mats. Sounds like you caught it early.

 

[HindolaGuyana]

#metoo. lol. I have the same issue: driver's side floor carpet wet, mat wet, and other mat wet( I have 2 mats) I'm hoping it's the same HVAC drain leak as stated. Unfortunately today is 11/7/24 and I have to wait until 12/27/24 for an appointment at my Orlando service center. I hope there's no further damage in the mean time.

 

[KBabione]

#metoo. lol. I have the same issue: driver's side floor carpet wet, mat wet, and other mat wet( I have 2 mats)

I'll suggest you do a couple of things until they can service it:

• Dry your carpeting completely using towels and fans - check the passenger side as well
• Limit using your A/C as much as possible - that means not at all if you can bear it in Orlando
• Check the carpeting each evening and do the fan thing if needed

We did find we could do short trips (15-20 minutes) with the A/C on without the carpet getting wet again. We didn't push it. When I did the 2-hour drive in August to the SC in Gaithersburg MD, I did it without A/C. Good luck!

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

I'll suggest you do a couple of things until they can service it:

• Dry your carpeting completely using towels and fans - check the passenger side as well
• Limit using your A/C as much as possible - that means not at all if you can bear it in Orlando
• Check the carpeting each evening and do the fan thing if needed

We did find we could do short trips (15-20 minutes) with the A/C on without the carpet getting wet again. We didn't push it. When I did the 2-hour drive in August to the SC in Gaithersburg MD, I did it without A/C. Good luck!

I would add that if you have a dehumidifier that will be the best solution. Put it on high with the door ajar and sit it right next to the truck with the truck in the lowest ride height setting. Should dry it out pretty good.

I definitely don't wish what we went through on anyone else. Rivian resolved it ...but...it was very stressful and took a long time. Once the revised part is installed the problem should not reoccur.

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