R1S ventilated seats issue?

[AspenDriver]

I have a concern about our ventilated seats; they seem to have stopped functioning. We have a 2026 R1S; I've searched the forum and have seen a few posts about ventilated seat issues for earlier models.

Context: Where I live, we have been experiencing a few weeks of very hot days, in the 90s (F) and with occasional heat index of near or above 100F. Recently, I seem to get no benefit from turning on the ventilated seat, regardless if I am a front-seat passenger or a driver. The heat function for those seats is still working properly.

Has anyone else with a 2026 vehicle been experiencing similar issues? I know it takes time to "clear" the hot air inside the cabin when turning on the A/C, but prior to this year, I experienced cool air through the ventilated seats nearly right away. This past week, although I hear the fan kick in when I activate the ventilated seats, I feel absolutely no difference, whether the seat function is on zero, 1, 2, or 3.

Rivian has arranged for a mobile visit but in the meantime, I thought I'd post here in case any of you have thoughts or have had similar experiences.

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[Dark-Fx]

They are just fans that pull from the space behind the seats. Turn on the rear floor vents and you'll get more conditioning.

 

[3wisemonkeyz]

It’s one of my top 4 gripes about my 23 R1S. The top are:

1. Rattles
2. system can’t (or won’t?) remember to keep passenger vents off and bottom vents on from drive to drive, which exacerbates the wimpy ventilation issue
3. Ventilated seats
4. Wind noise

 

[Bob Kruger]

My (new 9/26) R1S ventilated seats were always amazing. Level 3 was typically way too cold. Then one day my passenger turned theirs on and poof- the driver’s side wasn’t cooling. It’s been intermittent since. Ugh.

 

[TollKeeper]

Its one of the biggest gripes I have on my 24 R1S. I just got it back from service where the were supposed to fix it... It still isnt working.

 

[jrmbadger]

As others have said, the R1 has ventilated seats NOT cooled seats. The difference is that with cooled seats the car actively cools the air being blown into the seat using something like a Peltier cooler. Ventilated seats just suck up air from the cabin into the seat. Cooled Seats will be colder than ventilated seats.

If you are having trouble with the ventilated seats - turn off everything that makes noise in the cabin and listen to see if the fans start and have three speeds corresponding to the three settings. So, if you hear fans and there are no error codes (there is an error on the dash if the ventilated seats dont work - I've had it), mechanically you are fine.

So if the fan works, then the only other problem is a lack of airflow through the seats or high cabin temperatures (e.g., its sucking up hot air). Check to ensure nothing is blocking the air under the seats, try turning down the backseat temperature and setting it to come out the lower vent, and make sure nothing rolled into the backseat lower vent (that happens). Also, you can try and use a vacuum to clean the perforations in the seats where the air comes out. Sometimes those can get clogged.

 

[Zoidz]

Make sure your vent selection includes lower level and 2nd row cooling.

 

[JacobAZ]

As others have said, its just a fan (ventilation), does not actually cool. The fan is similar to the fans in a desktop PC. If your butt is sweaty then it will feel cool when you turn it on, due to evaporation. If your butt is dry, you won't feel any coolness since there is no evaporation and its very little air movement. As others have said, if it is silent in the car, you can hear the fan if you put your head near the floor in the back seat.

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