Wet spot under driver mat

[godfodder0901]

After decades of always having a VAG car with a sunroof in the driveway I thought water leaks were gone from my life after buying Rivian. It’s disappointing to read this thread.

It's not a certainty that you will be affected by this. It seems to be a rather limited number of folks, but it seems to hit them multiple times. Seems like Rivian's fix isn't the fix it should be.

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[EV_Eric]

That's fucking annoying. I'd be getting a little frustrated too with the repeated "fix" of the same issue.

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm just genuinely curious if it's something that can be attributed to a specific underlying cause or environmental condition related.

- How do you use your Rivian? ex. Hwy commuter, farm hauler, weekend off road warrior, or just store and back?
- Do you use air fresheners in the vehicle of any kind?
- What types of cleaners do you use on your interior? (reason I ask is this was something someone mentioned as being a possible cause for the drain clogging)
- When was your R1 manufactured?

I have a January '23 R1T, that hasn't had this issue at all, I commute about 15 minutes in the city each way to work, take it down dusty and muddy FSR's most weekends, don't use any air fresheners, clean typically with Geyon Interior Spray once every month or so, and vacuum the dust.

So just trying to narrow the field a bit as to the commonality between vehicles that have it and the ones that don't seem to..

I work from home, so most of it is just "around town" (groceries, home depot, daycare). It was built in Feb 2023 and I picked it up in March 2023, and I've only put 21xxx miles on it, so by no means heavy usage. I live in the PNW, suburbia. So we get plenty of rain, but it's mostly pavement. I have taken it on road trips and gone off-roading, but that's by far the exception (see overall mileage). I've taken it to both the Seattle and Bothell service centers (I've been to Bellevue as well - but for separate issues)

I don't use any air fresheners, for cleaners I use chemical guys products, but very infrequently - toddler parent life deems frequent cleaning useless.

The drain plug has been replaced with the newest revision of the part, which I believe is supposed to be "better", so I've been told. I've also had the HVAC assembly crack, as well as gaskets fail in the firewall, or whatever the EV equivalent is.

The only thing I've noticed is that every single time the water is intruding from the center console, on the passenger side, and seems to be coming from about 2/3 up the footwell.

Also - I have a small carpet cleaner that I use to suck up as much of the water as I can (I don't spray any cleaner since I've gotten into a habit of checking the flooring every week and when it happens, I don't let it get to the point that it molds). I'd say during these problem flare-ups, I average anywhere between 2-4 cups of water being pulled out of it a week, and it's still quite damp.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

wow @EV_Eric sorry to hear your going through this. Its understandable that your frustrated.

I agree this seems to be hit or miss..thankfully mostly get the miss it would seem. My R1T was a march 2023 build and had no such issue. Wife's R1S a June 2023 build got hit with it. 2024 R1S had no issues. The 2025 did not have this issue but that one was gen 2 ...not seeing anyone with Gen 2 having this issue that I can recall.

From what I have seen there are two different known causes...again someone correct me if I am wrong...1) clogged HVAC condensate drain 2) cracked HVAC assembly (that was the case with my wife's 2023).

 

[jerseyff]

Pulled the driver mat to vacuum around it and noticed this today Not sure how long since I last moved the mat. Also not sure on a source, havent done much digging yet.

Where are you guys getting wet spots these days from the HVAC? Mine has been probably 50k mi since they replaced the entire HVAC unit Sept 2022.

Goes to ATL SC Jan 12...

 

[DaveA]

Pulled the driver mat to vacuum around it and noticed this today Not sure how long since I last moved the mat. Also not sure on a source, havent done much digging yet.

Where are you guys getting wet spots these days from the HVAC? Mine has been probably 50k mi since they replaced the entire HVAC unit in 2023(?).

That's where mine was. Just had the AC replaced due to this.

 

[jerseyff]

Pulled the driver mat to vacuum around it and noticed this today Not sure how long since I last moved the mat. Also not sure on a source, havent done much digging yet.

Where are you guys getting wet spots these days from the HVAC? Mine has been probably 50k mi since they replaced the entire HVAC unit Sept 2022.

Goes to ATL SC Jan 12...

Dropped off in ATL today, they have just confirmed via phone they will be replacing the HVAC case again! Service advisor also confirmed this is not an uncommon issue. And they will also replace the front carpets.

I did get a loaner, for the first time in my Rivian service experience over the last 4 years! It is a little damaged, but I don't care, it is a much better experience than Enterprise

 

[jerseyff]

Pulled the driver mat to vacuum around it and noticed this today Not sure how long since I last moved the mat. Also not sure on a source, havent done much digging yet.

Where are you guys getting wet spots these days from the HVAC? Mine has been probably 50k mi since they replaced the entire HVAC unit Sept 2022.

Goes to ATL SC Jan 12...

Dropped off in ATL today, they have just confirmed via phone they will be replacing the HVAC case again! Service advisor also confirmed this is not an uncommon issue. And they will also replace the front carpets.

I did get a loaner, for the first time in my Rivian service experience over the last 4 years! It is a little damaged, but I don't care, it is a much better experience than Enterprise

Here's the completed invoice for HVAC case replacement, round 2! Sidenote, my steering wheel heat is not working now, guessing it was a victim from the disassembly of the dash. Coming out in a few days via Mobile to resolve.

 

[SDINSD]

Hi, three days ago I took delivery of a used 2024 gen 1 R1S directly from Rivian (VIN 32xxx) with 23k miles. It's my first EV. Today I noticed the wet spot under the driver mat, and discoloration of the cabin carpet. I suspect this same HVAC issue is the cause, which was probably missed during Rivian's inspection process too.

Questions for you pros here - should I try to get this fixed under warranty, or return this car altogether since still with the 7-day return for preowned vehicles?

 

[MikeWilliams_R1T]

Hi, three days ago I took delivery of a used 2024 gen 1 R1S directly from Rivian (VIN 32xxx) with 23k miles. It's my first EV. Today I noticed the wet spot under the driver mat, and discoloration of the cabin carpet. I suspect this same HVAC issue is the cause, which was probably missed during Rivian's inspection process too.

Questions for you pros here - should I try to get this fixed under warranty, or return this car altogether since still with the 7-day return for preowned vehicles?

I would bring it right back and threaten to return it.

My Gen1 R1T has had 3 HVAC replacements for this. The last go around, after ripping out the interior and extensive testing, they found a problem with the size of the hole/channel where the modified drain plug fit… or at least that’s what they told me. They had to modify the actual hole that’s cut in the floorboard.
They said to test it, they ran the HVAC continuously in the shop over a weekend to see if the water backed up.

Long story short, the published fix they have for this has not been working. If my truck was doing this and I was in a window to abort and switch to another truck, I would.

 

[Ilovejunebugs]

Hi, three days ago I took delivery of a used 2024 gen 1 R1S directly from Rivian (VIN 32xxx) with 23k miles. It's my first EV. Today I noticed the wet spot under the driver mat, and discoloration of the cabin carpet. I suspect this same HVAC issue is the cause, which was probably missed during Rivian's inspection process too.

Questions for you pros here - should I try to get this fixed under warranty, or return this car altogether since still with the 7-day return for preowned vehicles?

I'd probably return it. This was "fixed " in my gen 1 but based on the lack of moisture under the truck (compared to my gen 2 which I traded the gen 1 in for) I suspect it was not a long term fix. Of course I no longer have the truck so can't confirm.

 

[jerseyff]

I'd probably return it. This was "fixed " in my gen 1 but based on the lack of moisture under the truck (compared to my gen 2 which I traded the gen 1 in for) I suspect it was not a long term fix. Of course I no longer have the truck so can't confirm.

The HVAC case has been replaced twice on my Gen1 now. First time, maybe 3k mi, second time just shy of 60k mi.

 

[SDINSD]

Hi, three days ago I took delivery of a used 2024 gen 1 R1S directly from Rivian (VIN 32xxx) with 23k miles. It's my first EV. Today I noticed the wet spot under the driver mat, and discoloration of the cabin carpet. I suspect this same HVAC issue is the cause, which was probably missed during Rivian's inspection process too.

Questions for you pros here - should I try to get this fixed under warranty, or return this car altogether since still with the 7-day return for preowned vehicles?

Update: I decided to keep the SUV. It was repaired under warranty. I was told they replaced the HVAC assembly box, re-sealed the dash, and re-did the insulation to the interior. Carpet was not replaced, but deep cleaned and the stain is gone.

See service recap here. Fingers crossed I did not make the wrong decision with keeping this car.

 

[jerseyff]

Update: I decided to keep the SUV. It was repaired under warranty. I was told they replaced the HVAC assembly box, re-sealed the dash, and re-did the insulation to the interior. Carpet was not replaced, but deep cleaned and the stain is gone.

See service recap here. Fingers crossed I did not make the wrong decision with keeping this car.

Do yourself a favor and remember to check under the mat for moisture once a year. My HVAC case has been replaced two times now...I feel like they have not fixed the HVAC equipment long term (at least Gen1).

 

[EV-by-the-Sea]

Yeah. Had it replaced twice on our R1S now. Though not sure if the second repair (about a month later) was because they screwed up the repair the first time. Oh well, at least got a previously-fixed dashboard rattle back as a reward!

 

[Fmc]

I have had mine replaced twice. My AC drains but I still get moisture under the floor mats. Looks like I am due for a third replacement.

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