MOLD!! Gen 2 - Carpet is saturated with water!!

[PaythePiper]

We didn't have any issues with the A/C for a full year of ownership and Rivian is making good on fixing it for us when we did have an issue. I'm not in Phoenix (although I've spent a summer there) but our car has reached 120F when parked in the sun and the A/C cooled it off just fine. Even when it was soaking my carpeting, the A/C worked to keep the car cool. I think people would notice the wet carpeting much more quickly if the A/C stopped working with this issue. It's also much harder to notice if you have the all-weather (i.e. waterproof) mats in your ride.

You do you...I'm sure Rivian would refund your deposit unless you already have a confirmed build.

I think the horrible demo with the AC here in AZ is what is deterring me the most. I love everything about the car, but let’s be honest- it’s not a 100k vehicle. If it was about 85k with these options, I’d be more willing to deal with these reliability issues. I hadn’t realized how bad Rivian ranked.

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[Brian A]

So not only does the AC suck in these cars, it leaks and causes mold too? I’m about to just write off my $500 and move on to something else at this point.

My AC works fine in my 2024 R1T. Many 105 deg days here in CO plus the altitude adds to the heat.

 

[Voronbrg]

I'm shocked to see they still have issues with this. Also use a dehumidifier it fits on the passenger floorboard.. I used one every summer when mine leaked.

 

[Supratachophobia]

Well, unfortunately when I was changing out my all weather mats, I immediately noticed that the bottom of them were covered in water. Upon further investigation, the driver and passenger carpet is also covered in a white mold (some in the center but most is up along the edge right before going under the seat). I stopped dealing with the mats to figure out what I need to do to get this resolved.

A few questions:

1) Has anyone else dealt with this on either a Gen 1 or Gen 2?
2) If so, what was the fix?
3) How have you guys figured is the best way to get issues like this resolved quickly since it’ll only cause more damage to the vehicle?

Thanks!

Quickly rushes to Gen2 R1S to look for mold....

 

[Voronbrg]

So not only does the AC suck in these cars, it leaks and causes mold too? I’m about to just write off my $500 and move on to something else at this point.

The AC sucks if you have lots of sun and high temps. What makes it bearable is tint and blackout roof sunshade. Otherwise it works fine in Texas heat.

 

[PaythePiper]

My AC works fine in my 2024 R1T. Many 105 deg days here in CO plus the altitude adds to the heat.

That’s great to hear. It’s definitely a two camp answer from owners. Seems you either have too cold AC, or it really sucks. Lol. I can only base my experience off of the demo I had a couple weeks ago here in Phx. It was horrible. We were hot the entire test drive. It was a Gen 2

 

[PaythePiper]

The AC sucks if you have lots of sun and high temps. What makes it bearable is tint and blackout roof sunshade. Otherwise it works fine in Texas heat.

Which is sad considering my 8 yr old Sienna still works fine here in Phx in 115. It was 110 on our demo drive and it really sucked. It definitely left a sour taste in my mouth for this price point

 

[Voronbrg]

Which is sad considering my 8 yr old Sienna still works fine here in Phx in 115. It was 110 on our demo drive and it really sucked. It definitely left a sour taste in my mouth for this price point

It's really the damn roof glass. You feel like getting cooked while driving. It's a huge difference because I've driven the loaner r1t without tint and sunshade and its miserable.

Automakers need to stop this enormous roof glass trend as most end up covering it.

 

[JasonR1S]

Well, unfortunately when I was changing out my all weather mats, I immediately noticed that the bottom of them were covered in water. Upon further investigation, the driver and passenger carpet is also covered in a white mold (some in the center but most is up along the edge right before going under the seat). I stopped dealing with the mats to figure out what I need to do to get this resolved.

A few questions:

1) Has anyone else dealt with this on either a Gen 1 or Gen 2?
2) If so, what was the fix?
3) How have you guys figured is the best way to get issues like this resolved quickly since it’ll only cause more damage to the vehicle?

Thanks!

I just got my R1 Gen 1 back from the Rivian shop in Atlanta for this EXACT same problem. It was explained to me as a crack in the AC condensate drain pipe. They had to replace my carpeting and repair the HVAC drain pipe. To do this service, they had to remove the front dash assembly as well as both front seats. It was in the shop for nearly 3 weeks but I don't think the actual repairs took more than 2 days or so. They gave me a rental through Enterprise for the duration of the repair so it wasn't too bad but I did miss my R1!

 

[PaythePiper]

It's really the damn roof glass. You feel like getting cooked while driving. It's a huge difference because I've driven the loaner r1t without tint and sunshade and its miserable.

Automakers need to stop this enormous roof glass trend as most end up covering it.

Yeah our Model Y with the glass definitely sucks, but the AC does fine. Smaller car though. I would 100% go non-glass roof it was an option

 

[Brian A]

That’s great to hear. It’s definitely a two camp answer from owners. Seems you either have too cold AC, or it really sucks. Lol. I can only base my experience off of the demo I had a couple weeks ago here in Phx. It was horrible. We were hot the entire test drive. It was a Gen 2

Full disclosure - mine wasn't great at first. They had to add refrigerant to it. They said it was short a good amount. Once they added it and checked for leaks, the result was really cold air! I have seen where several people have had new R1 vehicles with too little refrigerant installed at the factory. They should get that one under control.

 

[KBabione]

It was in the shop for nearly 3 weeks but I don't think the actual repairs took more than 2 days or so. They gave me a rental through Enterprise for the duration of the repair so it wasn't too bad but I did miss my R1!

I got lucky and they gave me an R1S that's virtually identical to ours (LA Silver, quad - VIN about 5K higher). It's obviously as comfortable as ours, but there are a couple of things:

• We're getting lots of practice with the key card - I'd only tried it once before to confirm it worked
• I'm surprised to see how much I miss being able to check our Rivian's status through the app - I actually had to walk to the garage to confirm it was plugged in!
• The next time someone whines about PAAK not working perfectly, I'll suggest that they try sharing one keycard with other drivers for a week. The keycard is fine, but you have to remember to lock the vehicle when you leave and, gentleman that I am, I can't unlock the R1S from the passenger side to hold the door for my wife. Nor can you, obviously, open the frunk or trunk without walking to the driver side and unlocking the whole vehicle. First world problems for sure, but we do miss our PAAK!

 

[SSpearsAU]

Just called the Rivian Service line. They said it will take 48 hours to determine if there is a possibility of accelerating the date from 9/20/24 to an early time. I expressed the health issue concerns related to white mold. We will see what they come back with.

Is this standard protocol?

 

[PaythePiper]

Full disclosure - mine wasn't great at first. They had to add refrigerant to it. They said it was short a good amount. Once they added it and checked for leaks, the result was really cold air! I have seen where several people have had new R1 vehicles with too little refrigerant installed at the factory. They should get that one under control.

Well I’m glad there’s at least a chance it could work good!

 

[Sonartech]

I had the moisture issue on my Gen 1 R1S, but just on the driver's side near the footrest. It took 2 service center visits to get it resolved, but on the second attempt they found the problem was due to water walking down wiring coming through the firewall. They sealed around the wires and re-arranged the grommet and I haven't had a problem since. I also have all-weather matts.

I also learned that going through the car wash was an excellent way to repro/test the issue; the underbody sprayer seemed to have a knack for finding the magic spot. Lucky for me mine never got bad enough to cause mold/mildew.

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