Wind noise

[Bobby]

Thank you Bobby..I'm trying to understand this a bit better. What does 'drilling edge of driver door' mean? Where is this striker? How do I move this striker? Sounds like this is about a screw not threaded in properly and I have no issues with working on it but please help me understand what to do exactly..I'll owe you a beer case if you can help me fix the only real issue I have with my lucid! Thanks again...

Sorry, I dictated that one and did not read it over carefully enough. I meant the trailing edge.

 

[lucidtouringman]

Sorry, I dictated that one and did not read it over carefully enough. I meant the trailing edge.

Ok trailing edge ..got it..no problem. Now, what is the striker and how do I adjust it?

 

[lucidtouringman]

Ok learned about door catches today... now how do I move this sucker in?

 

[Bobby]

Ok learned about door catches today... now how do I move this sucker in?

Does your door sit a little bit out at the trailing edge in comparison to the forward edge of the rear door? If it does, try loosening that striker and moving the door in to compensate. Perhaps the additional pressure on the seal will help.

 

[lucidtouringman]

While I don't think it sat outside what id consider flush..I loosened the striker, closed the door, pushed in on the closed door to see if it goes in any further and it didn't...so I tightened the striker as best I could while moving it closer inside towards the car. Not sure I made a big difference but I shall see tomorrow while driving to work.

 

[kpbhat]

Does anyone hear lot of wind noise when driving above 40-50 mph ?

There are some black strip of foam looking material in the door right around glass seal that kind of starts coming out. I was about to snip them with scissor as it was looking a little ugly (you can see it) and had a mobile mechanic come home for fixing soft door close and pilot panel retraction mechanism. He told me immediately that this foam material is crucial to block wind noise.

Just in case you removed it or cut it or it just fell off calling them would solve the issue. They would redo it under warranty. At least that’s what the mechanic told me and he fixed on both front doors.

I was also experiencing some wind noise but now it has just gone back to quiet.

 

[lucidtouringman]

There are some black strip of foam looking material in the door right around glass seal that kind of starts coming out. I was about to snip them with scissor as it was looking a little ugly (you can see it) and had a mobile mechanic come home for fixing soft door close and pilot panel retraction mechanism. He told me immediately that this foam material is crucial to block wind noise.

Just in case you removed it or cut it or it just fell off calling them would solve the issue. They would redo it under warranty. At least that’s what the mechanic told me and he fixed on both front doors.

I was also experiencing some wind noise but now it has just gone back to quiet.

I did cut that material off a few months ago! It became a squiggly little three that seemed like it had gotten squeezed out .. I've had an email now sitting with the service center for over 10 days but no response. I'll call them tomorrow to look into this.

 

[Buffalo Bob]

Yesterday, out of nowhere, my left rear passenger window/door started getting noisy. I can't see anything amiss, but it's a big enough change that I would have expected to see something different.

 

[Wolfman]

FWIW, I finally had a chance to drive a GT in Germany and it was easy to compare the noise levels with the BMW IX.
First off, BMW does a great job insulating their cars. I noticed the Lucid having a pronounced motor whine at low speeds while the BMW is silent. Both cars have similar window seals and frameless window designs.
Besides the whine, the Lucid was still a quiet car. We drove the car on the Autobahn for an extended period of time, mostly at 120-130mph but also quite a bit at 150-170mph (top speed is a touch above 270km/h). Car is super stable, very controllable at speed. Car had the 21" wheels with Pirellis. A fun car to drive.

I should mention that the German cars have no demo mode all offer the full power sprint mode.

Then we drove the BMW to its top speed, which is limited to 125mph (200km/h).
When it came to wind noise, there was a light wind noise on the Lucid drivers front door but it was neither intrusive or bothersome. The BMW was initially quieter but the wind noise (and tire noise - 20" Goodyear EV tires) became significantly louder at speed about equal at 80 miles and much worse over 100mph.

The Lucid was the quieter car to drive at speed and the whine only noticeable at city driving. It's a bit annoying but easy to ignore. The Lucid rep mentions that this is a common comment but then most Germans drive Diesels which are much louder anyways.

I like the software layout/design but recognize that it's pretty rough vs the BMW iDrive software.BMW also uses better system sounds than Lucid. I could appreciate a quieter turn signal or if not, at least a better sound clip.

Couple other items:
The center screen was laggy and the rep did a software reboot. I thought I had read of a different method but the way he did it was by turning on the left turn light, exit the car and lock it with the card. The software was reset once the turn light turned off. Nothing else.
The speed limit recognition sucks vs other German cars. It often read conditional speed limits as the one to use (during night or rain) or doesn't update as needed. This can cause speeding tickets or issues with other drivers.

Overall I find the car a compelling performance car that will improve with every software update. In regards to the wind noise, we have had plenty of cars that have the same issue (BMW, Mercedes) and if a future seal replacement will fix this I wouldn't fret it. A Mercedes dealer will tell you that it's normal

 

[lucidtouringman]

Car is going in for a third trip to see about the wind noise issue...drove it at about 75mph a few days ago and noise was worse than ever. Almost a whistle now around 75mph mark. Let's see how it goes...

 

[tjhappel]

I am in the same situation with wind noise from the front left that is just so irritating when driving into a head wind into incredible. It honestly feels like a window is open. Luckily they gave me an amazing loaner and the noise is not present on this unit.

Lucid is by far the most luxurious vehicle on the road next to a rolls Royce. And btw i say in a 2023 culinan this week and I think the seats are sourced from the sanee supplier.

That’s how high end lucid is!! Now fix my wind noise please

 

[ajroxstar]

I used to have excessive wind noise as well mostly from the driver side window. It felt like a slight draft mostly noticeable at highway speedy or on a windy day. I called servicing. They sent a mobile van out. The tech placed a couple of small metal clips in the seal that helps clamp the door tighter against the body of the car when door is closed. It certainly helped. I would say it’s a 50% reduction for sure. Now the wind is not an issue. The motor whine does become more noticeable now since I’m paying more attention to it. I wish Lucid would come out with a fake motor exhaust noise in the cabin (have an option in the menu) as I would rather prefer that then a motor whine.

 

[Artsam]

My Air Pure has 3,500 miles on it since buying on December 23. 2023. The car is a driving marvel. I always enjoy it. However the wind noise on the driver side is not fixable. The really fine folks at Lucid have tried but can’t come up with a fix. My car has been picked up and transported 500 miles back to Chicago TWICE and had TWO mobile service calls. And each time it is better for a bit and then starts to degrade. There is a whistle or wind sound that appears around 40 MPH. Low level to be sure but there nevertheless. The service folks get 10 stars out of 10 in my book for patience and trying to resolve. It’s just a thing. Sure you can turn up the tunes and cure but sometimes I like to drive in quiet. Interesting that the second loaner also made the same turbulent wind sound at speed. At this stage of the game I think Lucid should offer an incentive to get me in a new vehicle but that’s not likely to happen.

Overall I would choose Lucid over my previous vehicle, a Porsche Cayman. However, the Cayman was not expected to be dead quiet whereas the Lucid is. And in this one area, the Lucid is not world class .

 

[hmp10]

However, the Cayman was not expected to be dead quiet whereas the Lucid is. And in this one area, the Lucid is not world class .

I don't mean to minimize the issues some here are reporting with excessive noise in their Airs, as some cars do seem to have wind noise issues. However, I don't think it's fair to expect a Lucid to be "dead quiet". A Rolls Royce probably gets as close as any car does, but it has literally a couple hundred pounds of sound insulation stuffed into every nook and cranny of its structure. In fact, some recent models were so quiet that Rolls backed away from excessive sound isolation because drivers and passengers found it disorienting to be in a moving vehicle with too few aural inputs from the car.

Extensive use of sound deadening material in pursuit of dead quietness is not going to be done with an EV which is already carrying the weight burden of its battery packs and for which keeping weight down is critical to range. Nor, in fact, would it be a desirable goal for most drivers.

The Lucid Air is as structurally solid a sedan as will be found. Its motors are not the quietest in the industry, and there seem to be as many owners and reviewers who like that fact as don't. (I'm among those who like it.) As for wind noise . . . I hear it in our Air, and it may be a little more pronounced than in other luxury cars I have owned, but mostly due to the relative lack of engine noise those cars produced to mask wind and tire noise.

 

[xponents]

I don't mean to minimize the issues some here are reporting with excessive noise in their Airs, as some cars do seem to have wind noise issues. However, I don't think it's fair to expect a Lucid to be "dead quiet". A Rolls Royce probably gets as close as any car does, but it has literally a couple hundred pounds of sound insulation stuffed into every nook and cranny of its structure. In fact, some recent models were so quiet that Rolls backed away from excessive sound isolation because drivers and passengers found it disorienting to be in a moving vehicle with too few aural inputs from the car.

Extensive use of sound deadening material in pursuit of dead quietness is not going to be done with an EV which is already carrying the weight burden of its battery packs and for which keeping weight down is critical to range. Nor, in fact, would it be a desirable goal for most drivers.

The Lucid Air is as structurally solid a sedan as will be found. Its motors are not the quietest in the industry, and there seem to be as many owners and reviewers who like that fact as don't. (I'm among those who like it.) As for wind noise . . . I hear it in our Air, and it may be a little more pronounced than in other luxury cars I have owned, but mostly due to the relative lack of engine noise those cars produced to mask wind and tire noise.

Although I agree with everything you said, I think there is a chance the owner above could have an issue with their seals (eg: out of the normal operating window, where some wind noise is still heard). @Artsam , what do you mean by a "turbulent" wind noise?

 

[hmp10]

Although I agree with everything you said, I think there is a chance the owner above could have an issue with their seals . . . .

It could be, as I acknowledged at the start of my post. However, my post was a reaction to the assertion that the Lucid should be "dead quiet".

A lot of people expect electric cars to generate no noise at all. In fact, they are susceptible to the same tire, wind, suspension, and body noises of ICE cars, actually even exacerbated by the absence of combustion engine noises to help mask them.

Lucid should be expected to address issues with defective seals, whistling, and aberrantly high localized wind noise. They should not be expected to produce a noise-free ride.

 

[Buffalo Bob]

Here is the experience I've had...

First off, I think there are certain crosswind conditions wherein the driver's side mirror can be the cause of some buffeting. That sound comes and goes, but it is also low level. Also, a really significant crosswind will cause more generalized sounds, but they are also at least somewhat muted, and also come and go. I think these traits are the nature of a highly aerodynamic car.

More significantly... A few weeks ago, sound from the car's driver's side passenger window suddenly appeared. It became quite loud at speed, such that even my wife remarked about it, and things like that just don't bother her. I took the car to the Scottsdale Service Center to have it checked out. After my service advisor checked out the physical alignment and gaps on all of the doors, which he said was fine, he opened that passenger door, grabbed the black horizontal top of the door frame from the outer side with both hands, and sort of 'rolled' it away from him. When he did this, I could see some physical movement of that horizontal black piece, which surprised me. He did it, closed the door, and then repeated the same process one or two times. What he then pointed out was the flexibility of that top door frame component will cause it to move over time, such that it sticks out a bit further than the same piece on the driver's door, and that it's the resulting interruption to the air flow that can cause noise. Sure enough, the sound went away.

Since then, if I think the sound is starting to reappear after a while, I look to see if that black piece is sticking out (aka 'sitting proud'?) relative to the rear of the driver's door, and if it is out the slightest bit, I 'roll' it myself.

I can't say that I like the way the door frame is prone to flexing like that, but as far as getting rid of that loud sound goes, so far so good.

Hope this helps.

 

[Artsam]

Although I agree with everything you said, I think there is a chance the owner above could have an issue with their seals (eg: out of the normal operating window, where some wind noise is still heard). @Artsam , what do you mean by a "turbulent" wind noise?

So as various fixes have been attempted by Lucid the wind noise sound gets different. I’ve come to describe it as turbulence so let me back track a bit for clarity. At first I could feel and hear cold winter air coming in on the drivers side. Then after first fix just noise like the window was ever so slightly open (but you could never close it). Later on fix 3, when crosswinds blew onto drivers side literally sounds like it’s pushing on the window. Currently fix 4, it sounds like a more high pitched whistle, distinct from motor winding up. Tone or DB’s change with speed. In various fixes there was an issue with door catch striker and how window glass was seated. Ultimately I’m just a driver and cannot understand the engineering but here’s my guess: The Lucid needs automatic door closing and latching for a tight seal. That option was not part of my build (my fault for not ordering). Second, the cold, heat, wind speed and daily use cause tiny mechanical and material changes to miss- align the seal around the door and window that affects wind noise sounds.

 

[MFMGT23]

2 trips to service. Lucid acknowledgment that the wind noise is not normal for the car and I still have turbulence. Lucid plugged some gaps with putty and it got a little better but still there. Its a real issue.. and it’s annoying.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

Here is the experience I've had...

First off, I think there are certain crosswind conditions wherein the driver's side mirror can be the cause of some buffeting. That sound comes and goes, but it is also low level. Also, a really significant crosswind will cause more generalized sounds, but they are also at least somewhat muted, and also come and go. I think these traits are the nature of a highly aerodynamic car.

More significantly... A few weeks ago, sound from the car's driver's side passenger window suddenly appeared. It became quite loud at speed, such that even my wife remarked about it, and things like that just don't bother her. I took the car to the Scottsdale Service Center to have it checked out. After my service advisor checked out the physical alignment and gaps on all of the doors, which he said was fine, he opened that passenger door, grabbed the black horizontal top of the door frame from the outer side with both hands, and sort of 'rolled' it away from him. When he did this, I could see some physical movement of that horizontal black piece, which surprised me. He did it, closed the door, and then repeated the same process one or two times. What he then pointed out was the flexibility of that top door frame component will cause it to move over time, such that it sticks out a bit further than the same piece on the driver's door, and that it's the resulting interruption to the air flow that can cause noise. Sure enough, the sound went away.

Since then, if I think the sound is starting to reappear after a while, I look to see if that black piece is sticking out (aka 'sitting proud'?) relative to the rear of the driver's door, and if it is out the slightest bit, I 'roll' it myself.

I can't say that I like the way the door frame is prone to flexing like that, but as far as getting rid of that loud sound goes, so far so good.

Hope this helps.

Could you take a pic of the spot you’re talking about that the service tech adjusted, or that was misaligned? I’m curious but had a hard time visualizing it based on your description. Also, I did try @Bobby trick of lubricating the seals (including the windshield and glass roof seals!) from his YouTube video. While my car did not suffer from the excessive wind noise some have described here, mine did have some buffeting seeming to come from the drivers door corner near the mirror, and Bobby’s fix did noticeably reduce the noise, not making it zero but it did reduce it more than I expected. Before that I had tried stuffing a microfiber towel in the corner by the mirror with zero improvement. This makes me think that the airflow is not going in via an isolated gap, but rather the air is going over some unevenness that develops over time with the numerous seals along the entire door/window/glass roof creating a hard to localize perception of wind noise. At least for my car I really do not mind the wind noise I had before I tried @Bobby fix, it just made me think of a glider flying through the Air. But it does sound like a few owners are having more dramatic air noise issues than my car.