The good, bad and the ugly

[Ampere]

We were driving the 150 miles from home near Champaign to Chicago for a radio appearance last night (12/30), on WFMT with a 10-mile detour to drop off the dog with my partner's sister while we proceeded into the city for dinner with friends and the broadcast. We had hoped to do a little shopping on the way. Since the radio station has a slow, L2 charger in its parking lot, we decided to boost 20 percent at the new Electrify America charging station in the Meijer's parking lot in Bradley-Kankakee, IL about a half mile off I-57.

The six gleaming new 350kw "hyper" charging stations were unoccupied, so there was no problem plugging in. We chose #4 about in the middle.
After about 90 seconds of hand-shaking the car started charging. For one minute. Then everything went haywire and the dash started flashing "critical fault" or whatever and the entire car went complete dead. We were on a tight schedule.

I called the Lucid customer care number and immediately reached a very nice person, Yama, in California who offered to assist. He said we had to vacate the car and walk away 30 feet (with Circe) so the car would go to sleep. Then after sleeping he would reawaken it. Didn't the Brothers Grimm write a fairytale about this? Although apparently I walked back too close to the car during its nap, it came back to life. Then we moved to a different charger and attempted to charge with my free charging. Unfortunately, once you start charging at EA and then stop, you are locked out for some period of time. So Yama called EA for us, waited on hold for ten minutes and asked them to reactivate my car on the new charger. The EA woman tried multiple times without success. Further, I had to keep plugging and unplugging the charging cable (thank goodness the weather was good). These new chargers had the stiffest, heaviest cables and it required a great deal of strength and finesse to keep plugging it in. Finally, after 10 minutes of authorization attempts, the Yama just told us to use a credit card and Lucid would reimburse us. That worked and we charged for 20 minutes. I just noticed that EA has not charged me for the charge, thus far.

Incidentally, we planned to charge for 60 to 80 percent. We preconditioned. Yet finally, when the electrons started flowing our charging speed was 75kw/h at this new, probably, state-of-the-art EA charger. So we sat there another 20 minutes.

We were able to drop off our dog and make it to dinner only five minutes late. During dinner near the radio station and the radio appearance, the WFMT charger managed to bring us up to 90 percent, which was more than enough to get us home, where we finally arrived at 12:45 am after picking up the dog. The car functioned normally the rest of the day.

Yama was not sure whether the EA unit generated the fault, he said he'd seen that before. I suspect there may have been too much tension from the cable shorting out the port. Yama stuck with us until the car finally was successfully charging. He showed real concern. He also was relieved that the weather was good.

In any event, I'd rate Lucid's customer service an 11 on a scale of 10.

At the same time, and this is not a knock on Lucid, I think I'm done with EVs. I've owned eight ICE/hybrid cars over 50 years and never faced a complete failure that immobilized the car, or even anything close. I'm glad I was dealing with Lucid, not one of the "Big Guys," who probably would have been far less concerned and helpful. I understand that if I had popped an extra $35K for the Grand Touring I'd have the real range I desire. Sorry, I didn't have the extra coin. As it was, I stretched for the Touring, since my original plan was to buy the $85K Pure with AWD. My Lucid SA and DA said I might wait a long time for the Pure. (Which I actually would have receive 90 days later.)

I chose Lucid not only because of its superior technology, but because I wanted a car that would go round-trip between my home downstate and Chicago, about 300 miles, without recharging. Even on a 70 degree day with no wind, my Touring is incapable of that without draining the battery to five percent.

I realized yesterday that I'm just not ready for an EV. Until they extend the range to a guaranteed absolute 400 miles (even in 32 degree weather) for under $75K (ha, ha) and place charging stations every 30 miles or so along the Interstate, I'm going back to a hybrid. Before y'all jump all over me, I still believe that the Lucid is the best EV on the market. I just think the overall market is not truly ready for prime time.

 

[Adnillien]

I think your reasoning is sound. Thanks for posting your experience.

 

[no gas]

We were driving the 150 miles from home near Champaign to Chicago for a radio appearance last night (12/30), on WFMT with a 10-mile detour to drop off the dog with my partner's sister while we proceeded into the city for dinner with friends and the broadcast. We had hoped to do a little shopping on the way. Since the radio station has a slow, L2 charger in its parking lot, we decided to boost 20 percent at the new Electrify America charging station in the Meijer's parking lot in Bradley-Kankakee, IL about a half mile off I-57.

The six gleaming new 350kw "hyper" charging stations were unoccupied, so there was no problem plugging in. We chose #4 about in the middle.
After about 90 seconds of hand-shaking the car started charging. For one minute. Then everything went haywire and the dash started flashing "critical fault" or whatever and the entire car went complete dead. We were on a tight schedule.

I called the Lucid customer care number and immediately reached a very nice person, Yama, in California who offered to assist. He said we had to vacate the car and walk away 30 feet (with Circe) so the car would go to sleep. Then after sleeping he would reawaken it. Didn't the Brothers Grimm write a fairytale about this? Although apparently I walked back too close to the car during its nap, it came back to life. Then we moved to a different charger and attempted to charge with my free charging. Unfortunately, once you start charging at EA and then stop, you are locked out for some period of time. So Yama called EA for us, waited on hold for ten minutes and asked them to reactivate my car on the new charger. The EA woman tried multiple times without success. Further, I had to keep plugging and unplugging the charging cable (thank goodness the weather was good). These new chargers had the stiffest, heaviest cables and it required a great deal of strength and finesse to keep plugging it in. Finally, after 10 minutes of authorization attempts, the Yama just told us to use a credit card and Lucid would reimburse us. That worked and we charged for 20 minutes. I just noticed that EA has not charged me for the charge, thus far.

Incidentally, we planned to charge for 60 to 80 percent. We preconditioned. Yet finally, when the electrons started flowing our charging speed was 75kw/h at this new, probably, state-of-the-art EA charger. So we sat there another 20 minutes.

We were able to drop off our dog and make it to dinner only five minutes late. During dinner near the radio station and the radio appearance, the WFMT charger managed to bring us up to 90 percent, which was more than enough to get us home, where we finally arrived at 12:45 am after picking up the dog. The car functioned normally the rest of the day.

Yama was not sure whether the EA unit generated the fault, he said he'd seen that before. I suspect there may have been too much tension from the cable shorting out the port. Yama stuck with us until the car finally was successfully charging. He showed real concern. He also was relieved that the weather was good.

In any event, I'd rate Lucid's customer service an 11 on a scale of 10.

At the same time, and this is not a knock on Lucid, I think I'm done with EVs. I've owned eight ICE/hybrid cars over 50 years and never faced a complete failure that immobilized the car, or even anything close. I'm glad I was dealing with Lucid, not one of the "Big Guys," who probably would have been far less concerned and helpful. I understand that if I had popped an extra $35K for the Grand Touring I'd have the real range I desire. Sorry, I didn't have the extra coin. As it was, I stretched for the Touring, since my original plan was to buy the $85K Pure with AWD. My Lucid SA and DA said I might wait a long time for the Pure. (Which I actually would have receive 90 days later.)

I chose Lucid not only because of its superior technology, but because I wanted a car that would go round-trip between my home downstate and Chicago, about 300 miles, without recharging. Even on a 70 degree day with no wind, my Touring is incapable of that without draining the battery to five percent.

I realized yesterday that I'm just not ready for an EV. Until they extend the range to a guaranteed absolute 400 miles (even in 32 degree weather) for under $75K (ha, ha) and place charging stations every 30 miles or so along the Interstate, I'm going back to a hybrid. Before y'all jump all over me, I still believe that the Lucid is the best EV on the market. I just think the overall market is not truly ready for prime time.

Understand your frustrations. But, understand that Tesla NACS has now become the default in US. Tesla will open up its superchargers to everyone. This will obviously improve availability and put pressure on other charging companies. The Inflation reduction act charging subsidies are also leading to more chargers, but at a slower than expected pace. This will only pick up from here....I mean who doesn't want free money from the GOV?

I drive mostly in the City, the few trips I took, I had no issues. It's not going to be like filling up a gas car right now, but I love the fact I can charge at home.

Regarding your car becoming immobilized, that is a big deal. But it is the cost of adapting to new technology. Good to see Lucid prevailed.

 

[GJC]

I’ve owned multiple BEV‘s, PHEV, hybrid ICE, and Fuel Cell H2 vehicles. It appears to me that road surface, weather, speed, crosswind, inclines, use of HVAC, etc. all seem to affect EV’s range more than ICE’s. IMHO EV’s are better for fixed distance city/limited highway commuting while ICE’s are better for long distance road trips - which is why I often see Elon’s cars tearing up the city streets but cruising in the slow lane on the open highway. Just in my experience.

 

[DeaneG]

EVs are certainly not appropriate for all yet. I've been driving them since 2011, we've been an all-EV household for 2.5 years, and I still think from time to time that a plug-in hybrid would mean less worry. It's a tradeoff to save time with maintenance and gas stations, but to add some angst and time to long road trips.

I should add that generally, charging goes much better that what you experienced.

 

[victoryroad]

I can appreciate the OP's frustration and sentiments about going back to ICE. Sorry that Lucid did not meet his expectations. There are many impressive ICE alternatives in a wide price range.

Yes, the EA network is unreliable, although I made it cross-country on a 2,000-mile drive in freezing temperatures last March with no EA problems. I should note that I never tried to get 400 miles or even 300 miles without charging. My long-range driving seat time tolerance is in four-hour intervals, so I charge every 250 miles or so. The EA network is robust in certain areas, like around Denver, but where I am moving to in VA there are only a few EA stations from Richmond to Newport News. The closest to my home will be 25 miles away. And there are none in West VA so I have to avoid that state on my west-to-east trip that adds another hundred-plus miles.

Despite the EA shortfalls, driving the AGT compensates for me. FWIW, my expectation for a broader and more reliable network for EA stations is zero.

 

[APSenec]

My experience with customer service has also been excellent. Lucid’s CS team is genuinely there to serve the customer. I’m confident any glitches I encounter will get sorted and I’ll be on my way.

 

[borski]

We were driving the 150 miles from home near Champaign to Chicago for a radio appearance last night (12/30), on WFMT with a 10-mile detour to drop off the dog with my partner's sister while we proceeded into the city for dinner with friends and the broadcast. We had hoped to do a little shopping on the way. Since the radio station has a slow, L2 charger in its parking lot, we decided to boost 20 percent at the new Electrify America charging station in the Meijer's parking lot in Bradley-Kankakee, IL about a half mile off I-57.

The six gleaming new 350kw "hyper" charging stations were unoccupied, so there was no problem plugging in. We chose #4 about in the middle.
After about 90 seconds of hand-shaking the car started charging. For one minute. Then everything went haywire and the dash started flashing "critical fault" or whatever and the entire car went complete dead. We were on a tight schedule.

I called the Lucid customer care number and immediately reached a very nice person, Yama, in California who offered to assist. He said we had to vacate the car and walk away 30 feet (with Circe) so the car would go to sleep. Then after sleeping he would reawaken it. Didn't the Brothers Grimm write a fairytale about this? Although apparently I walked back too close to the car during its nap, it came back to life. Then we moved to a different charger and attempted to charge with my free charging. Unfortunately, once you start charging at EA and then stop, you are locked out for some period of time. So Yama called EA for us, waited on hold for ten minutes and asked them to reactivate my car on the new charger. The EA woman tried multiple times without success. Further, I had to keep plugging and unplugging the charging cable (thank goodness the weather was good). These new chargers had the stiffest, heaviest cables and it required a great deal of strength and finesse to keep plugging it in. Finally, after 10 minutes of authorization attempts, the Yama just told us to use a credit card and Lucid would reimburse us. That worked and we charged for 20 minutes. I just noticed that EA has not charged me for the charge, thus far.

Incidentally, we planned to charge for 60 to 80 percent. We preconditioned. Yet finally, when the electrons started flowing our charging speed was 75kw/h at this new, probably, state-of-the-art EA charger. So we sat there another 20 minutes.

We were able to drop off our dog and make it to dinner only five minutes late. During dinner near the radio station and the radio appearance, the WFMT charger managed to bring us up to 90 percent, which was more than enough to get us home, where we finally arrived at 12:45 am after picking up the dog. The car functioned normally the rest of the day.

Yama was not sure whether the EA unit generated the fault, he said he'd seen that before. I suspect there may have been too much tension from the cable shorting out the port. Yama stuck with us until the car finally was successfully charging. He showed real concern. He also was relieved that the weather was good.

In any event, I'd rate Lucid's customer service an 11 on a scale of 10.

At the same time, and this is not a knock on Lucid, I think I'm done with EVs. I've owned eight ICE/hybrid cars over 50 years and never faced a complete failure that immobilized the car, or even anything close. I'm glad I was dealing with Lucid, not one of the "Big Guys," who probably would have been far less concerned and helpful. I understand that if I had popped an extra $35K for the Grand Touring I'd have the real range I desire. Sorry, I didn't have the extra coin. As it was, I stretched for the Touring, since my original plan was to buy the $85K Pure with AWD. My Lucid SA and DA said I might wait a long time for the Pure. (Which I actually would have receive 90 days later.)

I chose Lucid not only because of its superior technology, but because I wanted a car that would go round-trip between my home downstate and Chicago, about 300 miles, without recharging. Even on a 70 degree day with no wind, my Touring is incapable of that without draining the battery to five percent.

I realized yesterday that I'm just not ready for an EV. Until they extend the range to a guaranteed absolute 400 miles (even in 32 degree weather) for under $75K (ha, ha) and place charging stations every 30 miles or so along the Interstate, I'm going back to a hybrid. Before y'all jump all over me, I still believe that the Lucid is the best EV on the market. I just think the overall market is not truly ready for prime time.

This is a perfect example of a post where nobody in their right mind would “jump all over you.”

I’m so sorry about your experience; that sucks.

I have had ICE cars die (twice) but not while filling up with gas, lol.

The DE/GT does make things easier, but they’re definitely not cheap.

 

[rogerdodger]

I'm new to this forum and am seriously considering the Lucid Air RWD. A stunningly beautiful car!

I'm sorry to hear of the OP experience.

I have been driving EV for about 18 months now (Mustang Mach-E), with zero issues. Having said that, I only ever charge at home and we never need to drive long distances, so our home charger, overnight, works just fine.

I can understand the frustration of the OP but, I have to say, I will never go back to ICE or Hybrid.

I have owned more cars than I can remember but none compare to the instant torque of electric, not to mention the ride in near silence and never having to visit a gas station.

Again, I'm sorry to hear of your issues.

Roger

 

[karamhanna]

sorry to hear about your bad experience, just remember ICEs have their own issues as well, few years back I was driving from LA to Las Vegas using my Toyota Camry, in the middle of the road the car check engine turned on and the engine was turning off at low speeds, I felt like if I was in the movie (speed) where I had to keep my foot on the gas pedal at certain speed to prevent the engine from stopping,, it was a nightmare and when I arrived to Vegas and dropped my car at the dealership turned out the oxygen sensor malfunctioned and caused all this, however I totally understand your frustration and as you said it is not Lucid fault, we need more chargers on the road

 

[borski]

sorry to hear about your bad experience, just remember ICEs have their own issues as well, few years back I was driving from LA to Las Vegas using my Toyota Camry, in the middle of the road the car check engine turned on and the engine was turning off at low speeds, I felt like if I was in the movie (speed) where I had to keep my foot on the gas pedal at certain speed to prevent the engine from stopping,, it was a nightmare and when I arrived to Vegas and dropped my car at the dealership turned out the oxygen sensor malfunctioned and caused all this, however I totally understand your frustration and as you said it is not Lucid fault, we need more chargers on the road

Yeah, my wife’s 2012 Kia Sorento died dead on the highway, which was pretty damn terrifying. Kia made it right and actually replaced the *entire engine* in a 90k mile car, basically giving her a brand new car.

But it was still terrifying.

Unrelated to the charging issues / OP’s issue, of course, which is also very bad. I just mean to say that total failures are not unique to EVs.

 

[Bill55]

My wife enjoys the Lucid, but the few charging issues we have had make her nervous to take it on her own if a charge is required. Her next car will probably be a plug in hybrid. The one after that will almost certainly be an EV.

Framing your experience as an EV is not for you at this time is a great way to put it. EA has been getting much better and NACS is going to open up many options, it will take time.

The M5 touring plug in hybrid is said to be coming to the US.

 

[no gas]

My wife enjoys the Lucid, but the few charging issues we have had make her nervous to take it on her own if a charge is required. Her next car will probably be a plug in hybrid. The one after that will almost certainly be an EV.

Framing your experience as an EV is not for you at this time is a great way to put it. EA has been getting much better and NACS is going to open up many options, it will take time.

The M5 touring plug in hybrid is said to be coming to the US.

The quicker Americans switch to EV the better, Earth's climate doesn't care about EV range. We all need to sacrifice something.

 

[Bill55]

The quicker Americans switch to EV the better, Earth's climate doesn't care about EV range. We all need to sacrifice something.

The Earths climate also doesn't car if it supports Homo sapiens or not.

 

[no gas]

The Earths climate also doesn't car if it supports Homo sapiens or not.

But homo sapiens do care if they continue existing.

Here is where I stand. Which scenario is better?

1. Climate change supporters are wrong: Countries go all in one EV's, which might be costly, but reduces greenhouse gases. Climate still warms despite this. People criticize the push for Ev's.

2. Climate change skeptics are wrong: Countries shun EV's, promote gas guzlers. Climate continues to warm up with catastrophic effects. People wished leaders pushed more for EV's.

I would rather we err on the side of caution and go all in on EV's. If it does help the climate, hooray! If it doesn't, at least we tried. Imagine not pushing for EV's and then realizing we should of and its too late. The consequences of sitting on our hands is suicidal for humaity.

 

[Unmutual]

We're currently in an ice age (the Cainozoic-Quaternary)--about 8% of the Earth is permanently covered in ice. However, we also are in an inter-glacial period, meaning that, for the most part, glaciers are limited to the poles and high mountains and don't cover huge areas of the Earth like they did as recently as 12,000 years ago. We should be happy that we're facing modest warming rather than glaciation, because if people think slightly rising sea levels are bad, wait until they learn about what glaciers do. The glacier that covered Seattle was more than 3000 feet high ....

 

[no gas]

We're currently in an ice age (the Cainozoic-Quaternary)--about 8% of the Earth is permanently covered in ice. However, we also are in an inter-glacial period, meaning that, for the most part, glaciers are limited to the poles and high mountains and don't cover huge areas of the Earth like they did as recently as 12,000 years ago. We should be happy that we're facing modest warming rather than glaciation, because if people think slightly rising sea levels are bad, wait until they learn about what glaciers do. The glacier that covered Seattle was more than 3000 feet high ....

Interesting, then maybe going to Mars is the right strategy...but I guess we won't see this for another 10000 years. Plenty of time to escape Earth.

 

[Halodde]

I sure hope Lucid makes an EV spaceship!

 

[Electrified]

We were driving the 150 miles from home near Champaign to Chicago for a radio appearance last night (12/30), on WFMT with a 10-mile detour to drop off the dog with my partner's sister while we proceeded into the city for dinner with friends and the broadcast. We had hoped to do a little shopping on the way. Since the radio station has a slow, L2 charger in its parking lot, we decided to boost 20 percent at the new Electrify America charging station in the Meijer's parking lot in Bradley-Kankakee, IL about a half mile off I-57.

The six gleaming new 350kw "hyper" charging stations were unoccupied, so there was no problem plugging in. We chose #4 about in the middle.
After about 90 seconds of hand-shaking the car started charging. For one minute. Then everything went haywire and the dash started flashing "critical fault" or whatever and the entire car went complete dead. We were on a tight schedule.

I called the Lucid customer care number and immediately reached a very nice person, Yama, in California who offered to assist. He said we had to vacate the car and walk away 30 feet (with Circe) so the car would go to sleep. Then after sleeping he would reawaken it. Didn't the Brothers Grimm write a fairytale about this? Although apparently I walked back too close to the car during its nap, it came back to life. Then we moved to a different charger and attempted to charge with my free charging. Unfortunately, once you start charging at EA and then stop, you are locked out for some period of time. So Yama called EA for us, waited on hold for ten minutes and asked them to reactivate my car on the new charger. The EA woman tried multiple times without success. Further, I had to keep plugging and unplugging the charging cable (thank goodness the weather was good). These new chargers had the stiffest, heaviest cables and it required a great deal of strength and finesse to keep plugging it in. Finally, after 10 minutes of authorization attempts, the Yama just told us to use a credit card and Lucid would reimburse us. That worked and we charged for 20 minutes. I just noticed that EA has not charged me for the charge, thus far.

Incidentally, we planned to charge for 60 to 80 percent. We preconditioned. Yet finally, when the electrons started flowing our charging speed was 75kw/h at this new, probably, state-of-the-art EA charger. So we sat there another 20 minutes.

We were able to drop off our dog and make it to dinner only five minutes late. During dinner near the radio station and the radio appearance, the WFMT charger managed to bring us up to 90 percent, which was more than enough to get us home, where we finally arrived at 12:45 am after picking up the dog. The car functioned normally the rest of the day.

Yama was not sure whether the EA unit generated the fault, he said he'd seen that before. I suspect there may have been too much tension from the cable shorting out the port. Yama stuck with us until the car finally was successfully charging. He showed real concern. He also was relieved that the weather was good.

In any event, I'd rate Lucid's customer service an 11 on a scale of 10.

At the same time, and this is not a knock on Lucid, I think I'm done with EVs. I've owned eight ICE/hybrid cars over 50 years and never faced a complete failure that immobilized the car, or even anything close. I'm glad I was dealing with Lucid, not one of the "Big Guys," who probably would have been far less concerned and helpful. I understand that if I had popped an extra $35K for the Grand Touring I'd have the real range I desire. Sorry, I didn't have the extra coin. As it was, I stretched for the Touring, since my original plan was to buy the $85K Pure with AWD. My Lucid SA and DA said I might wait a long time for the Pure. (Which I actually would have receive 90 days later.)

I chose Lucid not only because of its superior technology, but because I wanted a car that would go round-trip between my home downstate and Chicago, about 300 miles, without recharging. Even on a 70 degree day with no wind, my Touring is incapable of that without draining the battery to five percent.

I realized yesterday that I'm just not ready for an EV. Until they extend the range to a guaranteed absolute 400 miles (even in 32 degree weather) for under $75K (ha, ha) and place charging stations every 30 miles or so along the Interstate, I'm going back to a hybrid. Before y'all jump all over me, I still believe that the Lucid is the best EV on the market. I just think the overall market is not truly ready for prime time.

Sorry to hear about your tough go at the EA in Bradley, this past summer we took the AGT up to Eagle River, WI and relied on the Lucid mapping for charging which landed us at a newer EA in Schofield, WI which was 300 miles from our start point, I recall having about having 20% battery left after cruising at 85-95 mph. I did get a little concerned when I had to play musical Lucid's until the the third charger lit the car up.

In a year or so you might be able to find a used AGT for 75K and you would then be able to crush that 300 mile Champaign/Chicago round trip worry free.

Bradley is about 30 miles away from me, I think I'll head down there this weekend for a free charge and walk over to Cozumel for un taco y una cerveza fria!! Hopefully the charging will go smoothly........

 

[rdevillers]

Unfortunately, once you start charging at EA and then stop, you are locked out for some period of time

Have others experienced this? If this is really EA‘s policy and way of thinking no wonder they are so screwed up. They should start charging immediately and figure out the billing stuff while you are charging. If something is amiss then cut off the charging. It is like they want to make charging slow and difficult.

It is too bad VW and the Feds are gIving so much money to such a messed up company.