Need honest feedback from current owners

Z-Squad

Member
Verified Owner
Joined
Mar 12, 2022
Messages
36
Location
Scottsdale, AZ
Cars
Lucid Grand Touring
DE Number
0
I don't mean to provoke the haters, but I am in analysis paralysis and need some honest feedback. I just got my VIN assigned for my AGT Gray/Mojave/20 in wheels, and have been trolling the blogs and reading all the current issues on the forum regarding both minor and major issues with the Lucid GT, some requiring service for weeks/months in some cases. I have no desire to deal with service issues and the hassle of it. Of those of you who took delivery in the last few months, has anyone had no (or almost no) issues whatsoever? I would expect that issues in this car would be in the minority, however, not the impression I am getting from all of the posts.

I also posted a question about DDP Highway Assist - I currently have a 2014 Tesla S and I if I have to go backwards on the Autopilot functionality, it is a non-starter. Any input from anyone who has already done the 2.0 upgrade and tested this out?

Also concerned about the heat and glare in Arizona through the glass roof -- has that been improved yet or is it even an issue in the Arizona summer sun? I also have a second Touring reservation, so contemplating letting go of my AGT and forfeiting the $1000 and letting Lucid get more of the kinks out in the next several months before going with the Touring and potentially the hard roof.

I would appreciate any thoughts or insights from anyone who has been contemplating any of the same issues (remember kindness always is the better road).

Thanks in advance.
 
I haven’t since a highway failure of my Buick. But this GM Hummer EV is looking so damn inefficient aggressive beast that made me turn my cheek. I can only fancy, but Air is more elegant and practical. Besides, GM is only able to produce 2.9 Hummer EV per day in 2022 year to date.

Some years ago my mother needed a new car. She had owned a Buick Electra in the 1970's and had not liked her subsequent cars as well. So she insisted on a Buick despite my urging her to consider a Toyota Avalon or some other car with a similar reliability record. I gave in and bought her a Buick. I was living in Connecticut, and she was in Georgia. So I purchased the car over the phone for her to pick up at her local Buick dealer.

She called late that afternoon to say the car overheated on the way home and had to be towed back to the dealer. It turned out they had delivered a car with no coolant in the radiator. In the ensuing months, I got calls from her about water pooling in the trunk, water dribbling down the inside of a rear side window, and the A/C going out. Finally I told her she had to quit calling me about these things, as there was nothing I could do from across the country. She wanted a Buick, so she would have to deal with the Buick dealer.

I'm ashamed to admit this was a couple of years before I succumbed to the temptation to try the new C6 Corvette, which the auto press was hailing as a structural and handling breakthrough with its new hydro-formed longitudinal box beam on which the suspension components were mounted. Fortunately, it was a car provided by my company, so they had to deal with turning it back in to GM after eight months of constantly escalating issues, as I refused to get back in the car after the "limp mode" experience on I-95.
 
I don't mean to provoke the haters, but I am in analysis paralysis and need some honest feedback. I just got my VIN assigned for my AGT Gray/Mojave/20 in wheels, and have been trolling the blogs and reading all the current issues on the forum regarding both minor and major issues with the Lucid GT, some requiring service for weeks/months in some cases. I have no desire to deal with service issues and the hassle of it. Of those of you who took delivery in the last few months, has anyone had no (or almost no) issues whatsoever? I would expect that issues in this car would be in the minority, however, not the impression I am getting from all of the posts.

I also posted a question about DDP Highway Assist - I currently have a 2014 Tesla S and I if I have to go backwards on the Autopilot functionality, it is a non-starter. Any input from anyone who has already done the 2.0 upgrade and tested this out?

Also concerned about the heat and glare in Arizona through the glass roof -- has that been improved yet or is it even an issue in the Arizona summer sun? I also have a second Touring reservation, so contemplating letting go of my AGT and forfeiting the $1000 and letting Lucid get more of the kinks out in the next several months before going with the Touring and potentially the hard roof.

I would appreciate any thoughts or insights from anyone who has been contemplating any of the same issues (remember kindness always is the better road).

Thanks in advance.
I tinted the windshield and ceiling also. It made a huge!!!! difference.
 
We drove Ford and Toyota vehicles. ;)
We used to get stranded on the side of the road all the freaking time in my mom's Ford Econoline Van growing up. Once we even had the bonus of my step-father's Chevy truck dying right next to my mom's van when he came to pick us up.
 
I have never had a car stop dead while driving. What I posted was that some of my cars had problems that rendered them temporarily undrivable. Such was the case with the transmission failure in the Jaguar, the brake-by-wire failure in the Mercedes, the recurrent dead batteries in the Audi S6, the Passat driver seat jammed into the steering wheel, and the weld break in the Tesla battery pack.

The closest I came to having a car stop dead was the Corvette, which had a bad engine sensor that kept putting the car into "limp mode" which restricted its speed to 8mph. Chevrolet attempted several repairs, but none succeeded. The last time it happened I was driving in Connecticut on the high-speed inside lane of I-95 next to a concrete median barrier with no shoulder. I thought I was going to die trying to get the car across three other lanes to the right shoulder. I was several hundred yards from an exit ramp, which I walked down to a service station to call a tow truck and a taxi. I never got in the car again.

That car also dropped a tie rod whose bolt had not been properly torqued during assembly, warped two sets of rear brake discs, and leaked so badly from the top of the driver's window that I kept a roll of paper towels in the car to stuff into the top of the window during rains or going through a car wash. I have never owned a GM vehicle since and never will.

To MoniputerLM:

It is too late to edit my earlier post, but I owe you an apology. In re-reading the post to which you were responding, I find I did write later in the post, "unlike some of the above cars, the Air has not yet left us stranded on the side of the road."

When I wrote that, I was thinking about the time the Corvette went into limp mode. I see how what I wrote could be interpreted as the car having stopped dead on the roadway. Although it did allow me to proceed at 8mph, for all intents and purposes that is being stopped dead when on a busy 8-lane interstate.
 
Part 1 of 2:

So in return for all of you who weighed in while I was trying to make the decision whether to purchase my Air Grand GT, I figured I would return the favor for anyone else who finds themself in my prior position. I am a previous 2014 Tesla Model S P85D owner (still have it and soon going to be selling it) and I have now owned by Air GT with 20 inch wheels for about 1 month and here is my overview. I offer some comparisons to when I was driving the Tesla, since that is my reference point:
  • In general, I love the car. The acceleration and smoothness of it is great and the interior is very luxurious. Road noise is minimal.
  • Lucid Scottsdale, AZ service center was great at delivery
  • Seats: Super comfortable and very customizable and LOVE the massage seats. My wife thinks they were worth the $150K alone, but I'm a little more discriminating....
  • Highway Assist: Works really well (similar to Tesla's autopilot), and in some ways better since it takes a very minimal light touch and almost unnoticible movement to clear the "hands off wheel" periodic warnings. However, I would like to see the enhancement added that would allow the vehicle to change lanes on its own after initiating the turn signal. I also want to see the approved roads for Level II highway assist increased to non-highway roads with speed limits > 45 mph. This was available on my 2014 Tesla and I miss it.
  • Motor whine: No matter what anyone out there tries to dispute, it is real, present, and louder than it should be for this level of vehicle. Not sure if this is a hardware issue or can be fixed in the future with software upgrades, or perhaps a hardware update/recall, but I do think it is something Lucid should address. While my Tesla did have a subtle electric motor whine, it was more audible outside the vehicle and barely audible inside the vehicle, however, I feel that for the Lucid, it is the opposite. With that being said, with the music playing and conversation, over time you get used to it and just come to accept it, but should really be addressed and the whine should be attenuated inside the vehicle in my opinion.
  • Parking cameras: So this is a real issue on two fronts. When backing out of a spot or my garage, and then putting in Drive, the video image stays up on both the upper and lower screen way too long before reverting back to the Main display screens. Apparently, it is set to stay up until the car reaches 15 mph driving in the forward direction. You have to manually "X" out of the screens to restore the Main displays if you would like to adjust radio, make a call, change temperature, or do anything that requires the menus. The worst part of all of that is that there is no way to close your garage without manually closing the video screens since the "Homelink" menu does not appear until you are driving forward at 15 mph -- now down the street away from your house. I did contact Customer Service, and they did say that there have been several complaints and on the developers' list to address in future software update.
See next post Part 2 of 2
 
Here is the second part of the post -- continued...
  • Homelink Garage Opener: LOVE the fact that there are 15 doors it can control. HATE the fact that the garage door can't be set to auto-open and auto-close upon arrival and departure. My 2014 Tesla can do this. Seems like an easier software fix to be done at Lucid. Just annoying. More annoying due to the Parking Camera issue above preventing access to the Homelink menu to close the garage upon exiting. When I reported this to Customer Service, I was surprised when the rep told me he had not yet fielded this concern or request, but was going to add it to the feature request queue.
  • Glass Roof and Tinting: In general, the window glass has a reasonably dark tint, however, it is winter in Arizona so can't really tell anything about how good the heat resistance really is -- Arizona's summer will really test it. I did end up getting the side and back windows tinted to 20% with XPEL XR+ and it looks great. Given the all glass windshield and roof, I did find that there was a glare from the sun, especially at certain times of day where the sun is not obscured by the visor and comes in through the glass around the visor. Therefore, I opted to have my tint shop install a 5% visor strip that starts about 1 inch above the A-line and goes to about the end of the visor, and I find that it works great and has no impact on my forward visibility. You can't really even notice it from outside the car, but does decrease that "Airy" feeling a little from the inside, but that isn't a big deal to me.
  • Mobile Key: In general it works well, however, I have not yet figured out how to consistently keep the App open in the background so it recognizes me approaching the vehicle without having to unlock my phone AND open the Lucid App and then waiting the 30 seconds for the car/App to wake up and recognize the mobile key and unlock the doors. I asked about this at the Lucid Service Center, and the Service tech said that it should work identical to Tesla's mobile App and stay open in the background (settings are correct to Allow Location Always) and they suggested I uninstall and reinstall the App, but this did not fix this issue. Hopefully this will be a software fix sometime soon.
  • Cup Holders: Really a huge miss on the part of Lucid. Placement next to the main lower screen blocks access and the size is way too small. Same with the rear cup holders in the arm rest. Luckily, after much trial and error, I did find cup holders that work well on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BFW8TH42/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 and this has solved the problem. Not sure what the designers were thinking on this one with layout of the whole center area.
  • Cell Phone charger: Very finicky and too tight (especially for phones with cases and those stick on credit card holder on the back). In reality, almost useless. The charging pad area is too small so the phone has to be at just the right placement for the charger to engage and no easy way to confirm that it is charging (would be nice to have a green light or something similar). Placement is also suboptimal and should have been placed where the cup holders are and vice versa.
Overall Impression: After some adjustment period from my Tesla S, and getting used to settings and button location, I really, really love the car. I think it fills the niche of the performance luxury electric car with all of the added features and amenities, like comfortable seats, and the 450+ mile range is critical for me. Do I really think it is worth the $150K ? Realistically, the value driven side of me says probably not, however, aside from the Mercedes EQE and EQS which fully loaded is around the same price point and is still slightly lagging on the mileage range, there is no other real contender out there that comes close. I do think that if Tesla opted to create a Tesla S sedan that catered to the more luxury minded consumer -- i.e. add an option for comfortable luxury seats like that of the Volvo, Mercedes, or BMW, and a more plush interior in conjunction with a range > 450 miles, then Lucid would have a much harder sell and have a real competitor. However, that doesn't exist at this point and all of the luxury makers right now can't seem to touch the efficiency and range of the Lucid. So, in conclusion, my answer for the present is YES -- it may be worth the $ 150 K in the current market ! However, my guess is that in the next 1-2 years, the other luxury automakers will catch up in technology and offerings and battery range, in which case, there is going to be stiff competition for Lucid and at that point, I would have to think twice unless the improvements and enhancements that I think will be forthcoming, keeps Lucid ahead of all its competitors.

Hope this helps anyone out there that is struggling with the decision, as I was a few months ago.
 
They were Enzo-era classics, so kind of in a different category. But the Maser was contemporary and actually very reliable. Much better than our Mercedes and Chevy SUVs
Shocking that you used Mercedes and Chevrolet in the same sentence regarding reliability. Even more shocking: they belong together!
 
Mobile Key: In general it works well, however, I have not yet figured out how to consistently keep the App open in the background so it recognizes me approaching the vehicle without having to unlock my phone AND open the Lucid App and then waiting the 30 seconds for the car/App to wake up and recognize the mobile key and unlock the doors. I asked about this at the Lucid Service Center, and the Service tech said that it should work identical to Tesla's mobile App and stay open in the background (settings are correct to Allow Location Always) and they suggested I uninstall and reinstall the App, but this did not fix this issue. Hopefully this will be a software fix sometime soon.
The app does not need to be open or even in the background for you to use mobile key. The phone itself does not even need to be unlocked, just turned on with bluetooth on. The only time the app needs to be used is during the set up of mobile key. Once it is set up, a Bluetooth key is added to the phone that is always on. Try it. If yours is not working this way, delete the mobile key from the phone and reinstall.
 
The app does not need to be open or even in the background for you to use mobile key. The phone itself does not even need to be unlocked, just turned on with bluetooth on. The only time the app needs to be used is during the set up of mobile key. Once it is set up, a Bluetooth key is added to the phone that is always on. Try it. If yours is not working this way, delete the mobile key from the phone and reinstall.
Not entirely true. On iOS there’s certain rules regarding how Bluetooth behaves in an app. Needless to say, iOS can kill this process when the app is in the background and the key will stop working until the app is launched. For the key to perform a handshake, the app does have to actually wake up and run behind the scenes. The only exception to this is when using Apple’s Car Key (the Wallet app will handle everything).
 
Thanks for the in-depth review. Appreciate your balanced and fair assessment.
 
Shocking that you used Mercedes and Chevrolet in the same sentence regarding reliability. Even more shocking: they belong together!

So true. The two most problem-ridden cars I ever owned were a 1998 Corvette and a 2004 Mercedes SL55 AMG. I have stayed away from both brands ever since.
 
I love my Lucid Air GT. Our new Cadillac Escalade has been in for service more times than my Lucid has in the last six months. Software updates are coming which is pretty exciting since the functionality of the car is always being improved. It will not be a finished product when your receive it.
 
Part 1 of 2:

  • Motor whine: No matter what anyone out there tries to dispute, it is real, present, and louder than it should be for this level of vehicle. Not sure if this is a hardware issue or can be fixed in the future with software upgrades, or perhaps a hardware update/recall, but I do think it is something Lucid should address. While my Tesla did have a subtle electric motor whine, it was more audible outside the vehicle and barely audible inside the vehicle, however, I feel that for the Lucid, it is the opposite. With that being said, with the music playing and conversation, over time you get used to it and just come to accept it, but should really be addressed and the whine should be attenuated inside the vehicle in my opinion.
I completely agree with you on the engine whine. For my car, sometimes it sounds like an ambulance is close by.
Would be interesting to know if after-market sound insulation would help.
 
I received the car at the beginning of September and have recently updated to v2.0.20. Has this been glitch-free? No, this is a start-up. The software has come a long way from the original which came with the car. Mobile Service has been timely and excellent: came out to fix one window seal and a frozen Navigation system shortly after delivery and a second time for a major camera issue, fob replacement, and the Navigation again, which occurred early in the update process but has apparently been fixed by the latest update. There are still a few glitches, but the infotainment and camera speeds and functions are much improved. The EA charging system needs some work, but I charge 95% of the time at home and have found a couple reliable EA chargers and have accounts with some other networks for backups in an emergency.

All that being said, the drive performance of the car and interior comfort are excellent, not to mention the range and the really expansive camera systems. The audio isn't too shabby either. The latest updates added improved ACC and Highway Assist (lane-centering). I had a Tesla Model Y for a year (never rode in a Model S, so the Y was pretty basic) with just Autopilot and rented the FSD for one month to test it out, and sold my car shortly thereafter. The ride of the Model Y was pretty rough, I pretty much stopped using Autopilot because of Phantom Breaking, and I never got comfortable with the FSD or trusted the Autopilot, and I grew to actively dislike the single screen display. The Highway Assist seems much more graceful than Autopilot. Once it is on, it is on. It takes minimal effort to move the car into another lane - the system automatically disengages, and then easily re-engages itself once you are in the new lane (or are passing). Signal and then move back to the old/another lane in the same manner. Right now it is limited to major highways, which is fine with me until it matures, but it centers pretty well. I've only had one incident where I almost took over with a particularly sharp curve on a highway at speed. With Autopilot, it was a struggle to move out of the lane and it shut off and had to be manually turned back on. The new headlights' operation in rural areas and windy roads are amazing at night, and the auto high beams also work incredibly well. The only thing I miss about the Model Y was the height of the seats getting in and out and sometimes the hatchback, as well as the SuperCharger network, but I do infrequent long trips and believe the EA network will improve over time.

I'm not in a hot spot in the country (New England), and the heat/glare from the sun has not been an issue - will probably feel pretty good come winter.

Good luck making your decision. Hope this feedback helped.
Since you are in NewEngland, curious to hear what range are you getting in mi/kWh. I am in Boston and coming close to a delivery date. I do drive fast, 80+ in highways, so wondering what your experience has been this winter. Thanks!
 
Here is the second part of the post -- continued...
  • Homelink Garage Opener: LOVE the fact that there are 15 doors it can control. HATE the fact that the garage door can't be set to auto-open and auto-close upon arrival and departure. My 2014 Tesla can do this. Seems like an easier software fix to be done at Lucid. Just annoying. More annoying due to the Parking Camera issue above preventing access to the Homelink menu to close the garage upon exiting. When I reported this to Customer Service, I was surprised when the rep told me he had not yet fielded this concern or request, but was going to add it to the feature request queue.
  • Glass Roof and Tinting: In general, the window glass has a reasonably dark tint, however, it is winter in Arizona so can't really tell anything about how good the heat resistance really is -- Arizona's summer will really test it. I did end up getting the side and back windows tinted to 20% with XPEL XR+ and it looks great. Given the all glass windshield and roof, I did find that there was a glare from the sun, especially at certain times of day where the sun is not obscured by the visor and comes in through the glass around the visor. Therefore, I opted to have my tint shop install a 5% visor strip that starts about 1 inch above the A-line and goes to about the end of the visor, and I find that it works great and has no impact on my forward visibility. You can't really even notice it from outside the car, but does decrease that "Airy" feeling a little from the inside, but that isn't a big deal to me.
  • Mobile Key: In general it works well, however, I have not yet figured out how to consistently keep the App open in the background so it recognizes me approaching the vehicle without having to unlock my phone AND open the Lucid App and then waiting the 30 seconds for the car/App to wake up and recognize the mobile key and unlock the doors. I asked about this at the Lucid Service Center, and the Service tech said that it should work identical to Tesla's mobile App and stay open in the background (settings are correct to Allow Location Always) and they suggested I uninstall and reinstall the App, but this did not fix this issue. Hopefully this will be a software fix sometime soon.
  • Cup Holders: Really a huge miss on the part of Lucid. Placement next to the main lower screen blocks access and the size is way too small. Same with the rear cup holders in the arm rest. Luckily, after much trial and error, I did find cup holders that work well on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BFW8TH42/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 and this has solved the problem. Not sure what the designers were thinking on this one with layout of the whole center area.
  • Cell Phone charger: Very finicky and too tight (especially for phones with cases and those stick on credit card holder on the back). In reality, almost useless. The charging pad area is too small so the phone has to be at just the right placement for the charger to engage and no easy way to confirm that it is charging (would be nice to have a green light or something similar). Placement is also suboptimal and should have been placed where the cup holders are and vice versa.
Overall Impression: After some adjustment period from my Tesla S, and getting used to settings and button location, I really, really love the car. I think it fills the niche of the performance luxury electric car with all of the added features and amenities, like comfortable seats, and the 450+ mile range is critical for me. Do I really think it is worth the $150K ? Realistically, the value driven side of me says probably not, however, aside from the Mercedes EQE and EQS which fully loaded is around the same price point and is still slightly lagging on the mileage range, there is no other real contender out there that comes close. I do think that if Tesla opted to create a Tesla S sedan that catered to the more luxury minded consumer -- i.e. add an option for comfortable luxury seats like that of the Volvo, Mercedes, or BMW, and a more plush interior in conjunction with a range > 450 miles, then Lucid would have a much harder sell and have a real competitor. However, that doesn't exist at this point and all of the luxury makers right now can't seem to touch the efficiency and range of the Lucid. So, in conclusion, my answer for the present is YES -- it may be worth the $ 150 K in the current market ! However, my guess is that in the next 1-2 years, the other luxury automakers will catch up in technology and offerings and battery range, in which case, there is going to be stiff competition for Lucid and at that point, I would have to think twice unless the improvements and enhancements that I think will be forthcoming, keeps Lucid ahead of all its competitors.

Hope this helps anyone out there that is struggling with the decision, as I was a few months ago.
Nice find on the cup holder problem... Will two of the expandable holders fit in the space at the same time?
 
I don't mean to provoke the haters, but I am in analysis paralysis and need some honest feedback. I just got my VIN assigned for my AGT Gray/Mojave/20 in wheels, and have been trolling the blogs and reading all the current issues on the forum regarding both minor and major issues with the Lucid GT, some requiring service for weeks/months in some cases. I have no desire to deal with service issues and the hassle of it. Of those of you who took delivery in the last few months, has anyone had no (or almost no) issues whatsoever? I would expect that issues in this car would be in the minority, however, not the impression I am getting from all of the posts.

I also posted a question about DDP Highway Assist - I currently have a 2014 Tesla S and I if I have to go backwards on the Autopilot functionality, it is a non-starter. Any input from anyone who has already done the 2.0 upgrade and tested this out?

Also concerned about the heat and glare in Arizona through the glass roof -- has that been improved yet or is it even an issue in the Arizona summer sun? I also have a second Touring reservation, so contemplating letting go of my AGT and forfeiting the $1000 and letting Lucid get more of the kinks out in the next several months before going with the Touring and potentially the hard roof.

I would appreciate any thoughts or insights from anyone who has been contemplating any of the same issues (remember kindness always is the better road).

Thanks in advance.
I’m at 14,500 miles with virtually no mechanical problems. I’m still disappointed with the software and occasionally frustrated by EA, but even with some of the new entrants, there is no other EV I would consider over the Air.
 
Nice find on the cup holder problem... Will two of the expandable holders fit in the space at the same time?
just adding my solution, which provides a nice place for phone (though only a 1 cup holder)
CLYMENE Car Cup Holder Expander with Phone Mount, Cup Holder Adapter Adjustable Base Compatible with 14-40 oz Hydro Flask, YETI, Nalgene Bottles & Big Drinks, Fits iPhone Samsung and All Smartphones https://a.co/d/1xfT8ZW
 
I don't mean to provoke the haters, but I am in analysis paralysis and need some honest feedback. I just got my VIN assigned for my AGT Gray/Mojave/20 in wheels, and have been trolling the blogs and reading all the current issues on the forum regarding both minor and major issues with the Lucid GT, some requiring service for weeks/months in some cases. I have no desire to deal with service issues and the hassle of it. Of those of you who took delivery in the last few months, has anyone had no (or almost no) issues whatsoever? I would expect that issues in this car would be in the minority, however, not the impression I am getting from all of the posts.

I also posted a question about DDP Highway Assist - I currently have a 2014 Tesla S and I if I have to go backwards on the Autopilot functionality, it is a non-starter. Any input from anyone who has already done the 2.0 upgrade and tested this out?

Also concerned about the heat and glare in Arizona through the glass roof -- has that been improved yet or is it even an issue in the Arizona summer sun? I also have a second Touring reservation, so contemplating letting go of my AGT and forfeiting the $1000 and letting Lucid get more of the kinks out in the next several months before going with the Touring and potentially the hard roof.

I would appreciate any thoughts or insights from anyone who has been contemplating any of the same issues (remember kindness always is the better road).

Thanks in advance.
Nice find on the cup holder problem... Will two of the expandable holders fit in the space at the same time?
 
I have had my Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance for close to a year. I was contemplating selling it because it lacked the functionality of my Mercedes EQS, but Lucid continues to send software updates to improve some of the issues.

I agree with many of the issues you have raised. The HomeLink issue is very annoying. The cell phone charger is useless, especially with my iPhone Pro Max, and the autopilot still needs a lot of improvement. The Sirius XM receiver is hit and
miss, and I really wish they would get Apple Car Play. I also wish you could send an address to the navigation system through the app, making trip planning easier.

Thanks for your great assessment.
 
Back
Top