Smelly A/C?

[Electrified Outdoors]

The odor will return. This is not a Rivian specific problem though some makes and models do have more of a problem than others. The best long-term solution to keep it from returning is to turn off the AC and recirculate for at least five minutes before reaching your destination, but leaving the fan on to dry the evaporator.

Rivian should be able to do something software wise to prevent this for example by automatically running the HVAC fan for five minutes after the vehicle is turned off when the AC has been in use.

this issue is exacerbated if you park it in a non-climate controlled garage right after running the AC on hot days.

to put it, simply the goal needs to be to prevent the moisture from being able to sit there, and instead drying it out by using the fan to move air.

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[Austiopath]

Good to know. If it's truly as simple as this it seems like this could so easily be solved with a software update. I was hoping the "auto mode" on the recirculate button on a recent-ish update would do something like this but alas it doesn't.

But, nevertheless, I am confident that not everyone's Rivian's smells like this. Nor is it the product of my environment because my other car doesn't smell. So I still struggle with the idea that they can't do anything else about this to fix it.

Can I just ask you to be really prescriptive on what exact combination of buttons/settings in my climate control I should set things to to achieve this mode I should run for 5 mins?

Uncheck the snowflake?
Recirculate, outside air, or auto recirculate?
Fan on full blast speed setting?
anything else?

thank you!

The odor will return. This is not a Rivian specific problem though some makes and models do have more of a problem than others. The best long-term solution to keep it from returning is to turn off the AC and recirculate for at least five minutes before reaching your destination, but leaving the fan on to dry the evaporator.

Rivian should be able to do something software wise to prevent this for example by automatically running the HVAC fan for five minutes after the vehicle is turned off when the AC has been in use.

this issue is exacerbated if you park it in a non-climate controlled garage right after running the AC on hot days.

to put it, simply the goal needs to be to prevent the moisture from being able to sit there, and instead drying it out by using the fan to move air.

 

[NY_Rob]

The best long-term solution to keep it from returning is to turn off the AC and recirculate for at least five minutes before reaching your destination, but leaving the fan on to dry the evaporator.

This 100% will prevent smelly mold growing in the first place. We've been following this procedure for years now and it works even on well known trouble prone vehicles like the Model 3. It just takes a little discipline and possible family "re-education" as they say in the Soviet Union

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