PSA for all Gen 1 owners! Check your carpets for signs of moisture

[onesoil]

So I read this post on Friday and got worried and started a service appointment immediately. Got a call from Rivian Service a few mins ago and they said that my VIN was not affected. He said he checked several databases to make sure.
2022 LE VIN 104xx
Maybe mine was built with a better one? Not sure. But at least it is documented now (asked him to write it up and attach it to my vin for verification reasons).

That’s interesting. I find it hard to believe that my truck with VIN 10264 and your truck (which may well have been built the same day!) would have different HVAC drains, but I suppose anything is possible

I am also wondering how they determine which VINs have been affected by this issue. Since they proactively replaced some and not others, they must have thought at some point that it was a smaller pool of vehicles than it clearly seems to be (based off of our three trucks, replies to this post, and the general sentiment from SC staff I’ve spoken with who indicated that they have been seeing a lot of vehicles with this issue recently).

I’m charging on my way to Chelsea right now to drop my truck off and pick my dad’s up. I’m hoping I’ll get some more information about the issue and whether or not they feel that the new parts solve the problem (it’s a bit alarming hearing reports about it being a repeat issue, which would indicate that there isn’t a substantially revised/improved part).

Sponsored

 

[SadHill]

Ya. I don’t get it either. My closest SC is 2 hours away but they are building one 35 mins away and it should be open soon. Once it is I am going there for a list of “plz check all these” items to make sure my truck is not included with these problems. Although I only have 30,000ish miles on it but I want to make sure.

 

[Revtruk]

tl;dr - Three of our four 2022/2023 R1Ts so far have wet carpets under the floor mats due to plugged HVAC condensate drain lines. One of them was bricked as a result of this issue. The sooner this is noticed, likely the sooner damage can be avoided. It can be hard to tell under rubber mats, which we all have. I'm not sure if this is limited to Gen 1 trucks, but according to the Service Bulletin, it should be. Check your carpets for inexplicable dampness folks!

On July 13th, my father's 2022 Launch R1T (VIN 5852, May 2022 build) started making a constant dinging sound with a warning on his screen that said "Electrical Hazard Possible - Drive to servbice center immediately. Avoid driving through water."

This was on a Sunday, so I called roadside for him (we happened to be together when it first happened). The soonest they could schedule a tow was the following Wednesday. Over the course of the next day the truck went from driveable (albeit very annoying, with the constant dinging), to being completely bricked. We are about to pick his truck up, but so far it has needed an entire HVAC system replacement, a heater core (which I guess isn't the part of the "HVAC system?"), 12v batteries (and possibly more within that system), a high voltage fuse, and I'm guessing some or all of the carpetting.

Before this official diagnosis, a little research seemed to me to indicate that my dad's truck was having tell-tale signs of a plugged HVAC drain line—something that has a Customer Satisfaction Campaign Bulletin for, but I had not yet noticed rumblings about. I didn't think to check his carpets before it was towed off, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were wet.

My truck was scheduled for an August 1st appointment prior to my father's truck throwing this non-driveable fault—it has had an ongoing problem where none of the proximity sensors work, which we think is a failing AXM module (also I no auto high beams, camp leveling, and I can't update my firmware). After a failed mobile appointment earlier in July (to fix the proximity sensor thing), I had noticed that my front driver's side carpet was wet (when I went to clip my floor mat back in, since the mobile tech had been accessing something under there and forgot to), but I didn't really think anything of it. After the incident with my dad's R1T occurred, I decided I should see if my truck still had wet floors. It sure does! Both the front and rear driver's side carpets are soaked under my rubber mats. This also explains the damp smell that's been going on for around a month (my partner and I had unfairly been attributing this to our toddler's car seat—which I had taken apart and cleaned, which now not surprisingly, hadn't helped with the smell).

So my truck (VIN 10264, a July 2022 build) and my dad's truck likely both have this HVAC drain line problem, but neither one of us have been contacted about it. Our heavy equipment mechanic, who drives a 2023 R1T we provide to him, just checked under his driver's side front rubber mat today, and he also has wet carpeting! We have one more R1T left to check, but the employee who drieves that truck has been on vacation—but so far 3/4 Gen 1 trucks likely have this problem, and none have been flagged yet for proactive repair.

My truck will likely need some/all of the carpeting replaced (I am going to push for all since cobbling together carpet in patches as they've suggested they sometimes do—just addressing the effected quadrant—seems less than ideal). This will be my truck's 5th trip to Chelsea, MA (3+ hour away depending on traffic) in just over a year of ownership (we bought a demo with 10k miles on it). My father's truck has been to Chelsea at least four times, though I think this might be his fifth trip. Two of these trips were due to non-driveable issues. If I didn't love so many things about these trucks, I'd be seriously considering trading mine in and moving on... my dad certainly is. I am glad there are some folks on here who have nearly trouble-free experiences, but with our four trucks, we have a combined 12 (or more?) trips to Chelsea in three years (my truck and the other two have only been purchased/leased for around a year). It's getting hard to justify the unreliability, unfortunately, but I keep telling myself that "maybe this will be the last time we'll have to go to Chelsea before they have an SC closer!" This is probably wishful thinking, unfortunately.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2024/MC-11011346-0001.pdf

Copy that, following and starting to monitor it.

 

[onesoil]

I just picked my dad’s truck up and dropped mine off. Here’s the recap for the HVAC issue:

Some not so great news… I was driving the loaner that they gave me, and my partner was in my dad’s truck. A few minutes away from the SC, my dad’s truck threw the same fault I’ve been having for months: “Driver assistance features unavailable.” We were navigating Boston/Chelsea rush hour insanity and already a lot later getting out of there than we’d hoped, so my partner didn’t want to read the fault until traffic cleared up. She did say it wouldn’t go into Driver+ from less than a mile out from the SC, which had me worried since that was one of the issues my truck had been having. If we didn’t have a toddler at home with my parents 3+ hours away, I probably would have insisted we turn around. But by then, we were far enough along and late enough on our journey back home that we decided not to.

I performed a hard and soft reset when we got home, but the fault still persisted. After updating his software and a night of (truck) sleep, it has been back to normal today. I’m concerned because this is how my failing AXM module issue started—intermittently at first, and then progressively worse (eventually constant lack of all proximity/radar sensors, blacking out screens occasionally while driving, inability to update software).

I believe this issue was likely present on the lot. I don’t think they test drove the car at all and this warning takes a bit to come on sometimes. This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve received unfinished/not fully functional vehicles after repairs at the SC

At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if my dad trades his truck in for something with a service center in our area. Currently he’s considering an EX90 or one of the other electric trucks (GM or Ford). At this point, with the amount of service visits required (totaling almost 6 months away over 6 visits in 3 years), I’m not sure I’d blame him

in the year and a few months that I’ve owned my demo R1T, it is on its 4th trip to Chelsea in addition to 7 mobile service visits. It has been away for 49 days.

I love these vehicles and am rooting for Rivian, but I really feel like we’re beta testers at our own considerable expense (time/aggravation/lost productivity/time for family, etc.). The fact that they no longer offer transport to/from the SC (something they promised by dad when he bought his Launch edition) and don’t have plans to build a SC in VT until next summer at the earliest is making this ownership experience increasingly difficult and costly for us.

That all being said, I hope we are the exception not the rule, and that our issues are a combination of having very early VINs and plain bad luck (for everyone else’s sake), but I will admit that I often question whether it’s been worth the headaches and sheer quantity of time I’ve had to devote to keeping our mini fleet on the road…

I do sometimes feel a touch guilty for the referrals I’ve gotten, just hoping that anyone who has bought one with my recommendation did so knowing full well that it comes with its own set of risks and challenges (something I’ve been clear about as soon as I’ve been aware of the myriad issues present with this platform—at least these earlier builds).

 

[R1T Preds Fan]

Rivian proactively reached out to me about two months ago to replace mine… I had no issues with wet carpet but the service rep said they are proactively going through all owners possibly affected and replacing the defective part… Took about half a day for them to complete… I dropped my truck off in the morning and picked it up after work!

 

[onesoil]

Rivian proactively reached out to me about two months ago to replace mine… I had no issues with wet carpet but the service rep said they are proactively going through all owners possibly affected and replacing the defective part… Took about half a day for them to complete… I dropped my truck off in the morning and picked it up after work!

Lucky you! This is how it should be. Unfortunately we haven’t gotten a communication about any of the three trucks affected.

It’s also a lot harder to have service done 3+ hours away from the nearest SC. It’s the only SC serving all of Northern New England (I think? At least it’s the only one for MA, VT, NH, ME for a few more weeks, anyway), and they have been backed up for years. On average, our vehicles go away for weeks, not days or hours. I also have to work hard to try to get loaners, and we even have delays in our area for Enterprise rentals. I typically have to be a very squeaky wheel to get service in any reasonable timeframe (for example, I booked our third truck with wet carpet last week and the soonest appt. was Oct. 28th).

I wish all our stories were as smooth as yours… I do have faith that once Canton and Hudson, NH open, things will be a lot better in terms of backlog and loaner availability. Neither will help us all that much in the getting to/from time, but both will be a lot better than Chelsea from a traffic standpoint.

 

[R1T Preds Fan]

Lucky you! This is how it should be. Unfortunately we haven’t gotten a communication about any of the three trucks affected.

It’s also a lot harder to have service done 3+ hours away from the nearest SC. It’s the only SC serving all of Northern New England (I think? At least it’s the only one for MA, VT, NH, ME for a few more weeks, anyway), and they have been backed up for years. On average, our vehicles go away for weeks, not days or hours. I also have to work hard to try to get loaners, and we even have delays in our area for Enterprise rentals. I typically have to be a very squeaky wheel to get service in any reasonable timeframe (for example, I booked our third truck with wet carpet last week and the soonest appt. was Oct. 28th).

I wish all our stories were as smooth as yours… I do have faith that once Canton and Hudson, NH open, things will be a lot better in terms of backlog and loaner availability. Neither will help us all that much in the getting to/from time, but both will be a lot better than Chelsea from a traffic standpoint.

At least in this case Rivian did say they were partnering with select Repair Shops to do this to widen service area coverage and shipping the part directly to them to change. In my case the service center is only about 45 min away; but they were able to find one not far from where I live. This is also easing the burden of long wait times… They are working on it as all of our affected owners group here in Middle TN has been contacted in the last 90 days… So they are working on it; I would expect you should hear something s00n!

 

[1stPlace]

I live 2 miles from a service center (Dec. '22 R1S). I got the electrical hazard possible flash on the screen and drove it to the service center immediately, as instructed. I was given a loaner and just received my R1S back after two weeks. Here is the work order info. Quite expensive repair, thankfully covered. I was in for a comprehensive maintenance inspection and an issue where they had to do a coolant change only a month or two prior--I'm surprised this wasn't caught/checked. Though I only noticed a wet carpet stain once before and assumed it was Winter boot run off.

After getting it back, I had to run a room air purifier in the car overnight because the musty smell I was noticing the few weeks before this event was amplified. But after that, it seems back to being the best vehicle I've ever owned and driven.

 

[onesoil]

At least in this case Rivian did say they were partnering with select Repair Shops to do this to widen service area coverage and shipping the part directly to them to change. In my case the service center is only about 45 min away; but they were able to find one not far from where I live. This is also easing the burden of long wait times… They are working on it as all of our affected owners group here in Middle TN has been contacted in the last 90 days… So they are working on it; I would expect you should hear something s00n!

I’m sure we’ll get emails and a call at some random hour (typically around 7-8PM EST) a few months from now about each truck after they’ve already been fo the SC to get the issue repaired

 

[onesoil]

I live 2 miles from a service center (Dec. '22 R1S). I got the electrical hazard possible flash on the screen and drove it to the service center immediately, as instructed. I was given a loaner and just received my R1S back after two weeks. Here is the work order info. Quite expensive repair, thankfully covered. I was in for a comprehensive maintenance inspection and an issue where they had to do a coolant change only a month or two prior--I'm surprised this wasn't caught/checked. Though I only noticed a wet carpet stain once before and assumed it was Winter boot run off.

After getting it back, I had to run a room air purifier in the car overnight because the musty smell I was noticing the few weeks before this event was amplified. But after that, it seems back to being the best vehicle I've ever owned and driven.

I’m surprised they didn’t replace your carpets (given the musty smell and dampness you describe).

For anyone who hasn’t had this done yet—I’d push for carpet replacement since you may not have noticed it getting wet and I’d imagine your carpeting could cycle between wet and dry depending on conditions (ambient temps, humidity, HVAC/HVCH usage, etc.).

It is surprising how many times they haven’t caught something that we’ve had to return to the SC about… I wish they would run down the “Customer Satisfaction Campaign Bulletin” list before sending our vehicles on their way. I think it would save them a lot of logistics time/expense (and likely even more so for us) to more thoroughly/proactively assess and/or address known issues even if they fall outside of the initial work order a vehicle is in for.

If I lived 2 min away from an SC (I’m jealous!), I may not bother, but for anyone far away from your SC, it’s probably worth perusing the list of “Manufacturer Communications” here while building out your work orders: https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2022/RIVIAN/R1T#manufacturerCommunications

There are quite a few items on here that I’ve had addressed, but several I was unaware of, and it seems that asking/complaining gives them the internal authorization necessary to assess whether or not your vehicle qualifies for any given bulletin item.

 

[Wat5]

Welp. Our R1S has this issue on the driver's side. I didn't notice it on the R1T (but also didn't drive it today), so we'll see. Service scheduled for October.

Thanks for posting this.

 

[MikeWilliams_R1T]

I just noticed this yesterday. Crazy part is my truck sat in the Franklin SC in October for two weeks for the same exact thing. They replaced the HVAC and the carpets and insulation then.

it definitely happened in the last two weeks - I pull up my floor mats and vacuum pretty regularly. I immediately got the wet vac and got it sucked up and dry.

Here is an interesting twist: two months ago I went to the Shepardsville SC to replace my tail light bar (my fault) and while it was there, they performed a service bulletin on an HVAC drain valve.

Did that make it worse?

Anyways, it goes back to Shepardsville on Thursday for repair.
I’m a 33xxx VIN.

 

[onesoil]

I just noticed this yesterday. Crazy part is my truck sat in the Franklin SC in October for two weeks for the same exact thing. They replaced the HVAC and the carpets and insulation then.

it definitely happened in the last two weeks - I pull up my floor mats and vacuum pretty regularly. I immediately got the wet vac and got it sucked up and dry.

Here is an interesting twist: two months ago I went to the Shepardsville SC to replace my tail light bar (my fault) and while it was there, they performed a service bulletin on an HVAC drain valve.

Did that make it worse?

Anyways, it goes back to Shepardsville on Thursday for repair.
I’m a 33xxx VIN.

Yikes it’s posts like these and a few others already on this thread with multiple recurring instances/repairs that have me really concerned.

I hope they’ve sorted this out by now and figured out to really fix the issue… though it’s not looking great with all these reports of multiple recurring failures.

It would be one thing if the SC was a reasonable distance, but being 3-4 hours (depending on time of day/luck), it becomes much more expensive/time consuming to be returning multiple times to fix the same things. That, plus we have four in our business, so issues like these that potentially effect all of our trucks just multiply the pain (and expense). A central/northern VT or NH SC can’t come s00n enough.

 

[Matt D.]

I can confirm the new valve is also insufficient. I had a mobile service repair for this issue and the new valve was installed. I continue to have the issue when the AC runs hard for an extended period of time (ie battery conditioning).

 

[Iatros786]

At what point does this become a lemon law issue?

Sponsored