AC compressor failure

[Dhimiter]

I'm bringing mine into service this week for a similar issue. When it is warm outside (85-90ish) and DCFC, my rate slows WAY down and AC performance is practically nill. Even today, out doing errands around town with it 85 degrees outside, my AC barely cools the interior. This is with it at max, top glass sunshade, sunshade on windshield when parked AND keep AC on while I'm in the store (4x stops). I really hope that they properly diagnose this and don't brush it off as "working normally". I don't think I could trust the vehicle on a road trip to Palm Springs or Vegas at this point.

I live in Palm springs. I no longer trust this vehicle for pets so if I ever travel with the dogs, we get into a real car with real AC. I'd so love to see the testing Lucid did to justify that the AC performance of this vehicle is safe for hot environments. If the car has been sitting in the sun for 4-5 hrs during the summer here (and I have 3M crystalline tint and mesh roof covers), I cannot get the cabin to a comfortable temperature for at least 2 hrs. Max AC is pathetic. It just blows warm air slightly harder.

Before everyone from San Diego jumps down my throat about how great the AC works for them....please just come spend 4-5 days in 110+ degree heat with your Lucid and we'll see how comfortable you feel about putting your newborn in that car and truly "trusting" the AC.

Lucid: if there is an improved AC blower or compressor that can be retrofit into older vehicles, you owe it to your customers. Just saying....

 

[Tim-in-CA]

I live in Palm springs. I no longer trust this vehicle for pets so if I ever travel with the dogs, we get into a real car with real AC. I'd so love to see the testing Lucid did to justify that the AC performance of this vehicle is safe for hot environments. If the car has been sitting in the sun for 4-5 hrs during the summer here (and I have 3M crystalline tint and mesh roof covers), I cannot get the cabin to a comfortable temperature for at least 2 hrs. Max AC is pathetic. It just blows warm air slightly harder.

Before everyone from San Diego jumps down my throat about how great the AC works for them....please just come spend 4-5 days in 110+ degree heat with your Lucid and we'll see how comfortable you feel about putting your newborn in that car and truly "trusting" the AC.

Lucid: if there is an improved AC blower or compressor that can be retrofit into older vehicles, you owe it to your customers. Just saying....

My AC was low on refrigerant. You should get your Air into service to check it out

 

[Dhimiter]

My AC was low on refrigerant. You should get your Air into service to check it out

Sadly, I’ve had this issue for 2 yrs since I moved to the desert and the vehicle has been in for service a handful of times. I will bring it up again, but have a feeling this is just normal for this car.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

Sadly, I’ve had this issue for 2 yrs since I moved to the desert and the vehicle has been in for service a handful of times. I will bring it up again, but have a feeling this is just normal for this car.

I always felt my AC was weak but was “convinced” by posters here that it was normal. After having issues with slow DCFCing as previously mentioned, service found the issue. AC is much better, but still doesn’t match other vehicles I have had.

 

[Dhimiter]

I always felt my AC was weak but was “convinced” by posters here that it was normal. After having issues with slow DCFCing as previously mentioned, service found the issue. AC is much better, but still doesn’t match other vehicles I have had.

It didn't take much convincing on my part. I travel extensively for work and therefore drive a lot of rental vehicles. Getting into a Hyundai sonata and being bathed in chilly air within minutes with an ambient temp of 106 while in Albuquerque convinced me that, despite its many admirable qualities, my Lucid was a pathetic underperformer when it came to getting the cabin cool. Specifically, the blower, even at its highest setting is still weaker than an average vehicle at the middle setting. In their pursuit for efficiency, perhaps human survival while inside this vehicle in hot weather was lost on the Lucid engineering team.

Hope the Gravity is better.

 

[Miami_Lucid_Man]

They are supposedly fitting the larger Gravity compressor on 2026 Airs. It's needed. It's not currently enough in hotter climates. I would die with the glass roof down here.

 

[DaisyFresh]

Hey forum friends!

I just wanted to make other owners aware of the possibility of an AC compressor failure I just experienced with my car. For me, at least, it caused the vehicle to completely shut down, so hopefully this can help others avoid the same situation. I haven't heard of any others having this issue, so it's possible that mine is just an extreme or isolated case.

The failure occurred while I was driving out to California with multiple DC charging sessions and warm weather (95-100F). I first noticed weak charging performance on my 2nd and 3rd charging stops when temperatures were at their highest. On my final charging stop, I began to notice the AC compressor making unusual noises in addition to the poor charging performance. Also, air conditioning had stopped working at this point, so it seemed likely something was wrong with the cooling system.

After resuming my trip on the highway and about 30-45 minutes of driving, I received the dreaded "Battery System Fault" message and was given 2 minutes to pull off the highway before the vehicle shut down. The vehicle was then towed to the nearest service center where it is currently being worked on.

Per Emad Dlala himself, this was caused by an AC compressor failure, which is a known issue. Per his email, this was resolved 1.5 years ago, which is I assume means any Air produced before December 2023 (including mine) could have this faulty AC compressor. For reference, my car had a little over 51,000 miles when this occurred.

To summarize, if you notice weak DC charging performance in warm weather, odd AC compressor noises, and/or loss of air conditioning, just be cautious and reach out to service to have them evaluate. I've included a clip of the noises I was hearing, in case that helps.

Some questions I still have are:
1. If this is a known issue with a known solution, why isn't there an active recall to have these replaced?
2. Why wasn't the AC compressor replaced preemptively while my car was in for major service (onboard charger and HV battery deplacement) earlier this year?

Again, this might have just been an extreme and isolated failure, and other than Emad messaging me personally I haven't heard anything else from Lucid about the situation yet. I'll reply to this thread with updates as they happen. This seems like a pretty rare situation, but hopefully this helps other owners avoid the situation I found myself in.

All the best.

Hi Shane
Thank you for posting this because I received the same indicator after I heard the same coffee grinder sounds and my AC compressor conked out when I was on a road trip and it was 105° out. I didn’t make the correlation that it was taking a long time to charge, but thinking back now I wondered why it did take so long and I could not be in the car while the car was charging. It got too hot to stay in the car in Bakersfield CA in August in the months leading up to this event. Basically anytime my car was not moving the air conditioner would not work and would make strange noises. But on September 21, it was actually pretty dangerous because it was 106° in my car. I did not have my fob with me and I was on hold for over three hours with Lucid Customer Care trying to get through to someone who could help me. I was running out of water and phone battery and luckily I walked to a restaurant when my car stopped and I was able to have dinner and let my car cool off enough to drive it back home and it shut down as soon as I pulled into my driveway I had to have the windows down and I was getting dehydrated by the time I got home. It was pretty scary.

Got hold of my dealer in Rocklin because nobody from Customer Care got back to me. They brought out a loaner car and took my car to the dealer and four days later they called to tell me I would need to pay for a new compressor and heat pump and with parts and labor. It was over $8000. I’ve never had a car where I had to replace an AC compressor everrrrr…..and I’ve had some old cars with many miles on them….. even my Audi Q5 with 250k miles still has a working AC. My husbands 2000 GS300 has over 500k miles and AC still blows cold!

My Lucid Air Touring is a 2023 that I bought in 2022 brand new it’s got just over 83k miles and of course the warranty expired six months ago.

After seeing your post, I’m thinking this problem is lurking for everyone who drives in high temperatures and or long distances. I think the reason Lucid didn’t do the recall on the known problem is because they figure the problem will most likely happen after most cars are out of warranty. But the problem I have is this could’ve put me in grave danger if I was in a more remote area. When I hung up and finally decided to call roadside assistance the man told me to call 911 and ask the local police to bring me water. I told them I was in Calaveras County border where there are only two sheriffs in the entire county and it would take hours to get a response for water. I’m glad I decided to just wait it out and walk to a restaurant to buy my dinner and get hydrated and luckily the car started and got me home but when I pulled in my driveway I took the photo below.

I think they should do a recall on this AC compressor, and that would help alleviate more unhappy customers in the future. I wouldn’t want somebody going through what I went through. Definitely not a luxury car experience I want to remember! Sweating like a pig windows down dehydrated praying for the car to start again with 4% on my phone from being on hold ignored for hours.

Thank you for sharing Shane!

Daisy B
Copperopolis CA

 

[L-Dude]

I don't have a dog in the fight, but this definitely sounds like something that should be covered under warranty. They were aware of a defect and didn't offer a remedy. Now they want you to pay to repair that defect.

 

[Shane_SLC]

Hi Shane
Thank you for posting this because I received the same indicator after I heard the same coffee grinder sounds and my AC compressor conked out when I was on a road trip and it was 105° out. I didn’t make the correlation that it was taking a long time to charge, but thinking back now I wondered why it did take so long and I could not be in the car while the car was charging. It got too hot to stay in the car in Bakersfield CA in August in the months leading up to this event. Basically anytime my car was not moving the air conditioner would not work and would make strange noises. But on September 21, it was actually pretty dangerous because it was 106° in my car. I did not have my fob with me and I was on hold for over three hours with Lucid Customer Care trying to get through to someone who could help me. I was running out of water and phone battery and luckily I walked to a restaurant when my car stopped and I was able to have dinner and let my car cool off enough to drive it back home and it shut down as soon as I pulled into my driveway I had to have the windows down and I was getting dehydrated by the time I got home. It was pretty scary.

Got hold of my dealer in Rocklin because nobody from Customer Care got back to me. They brought out a loaner car and took my car to the dealer and four days later they called to tell me I would need to pay for a new compressor and heat pump and with parts and labor. It was over $8000. I’ve never had a car where I had to replace an AC compressor everrrrr…..and I’ve had some old cars with many miles on them….. even my Audi Q5 with 250k miles still has a working AC. My husbands 2000 GS300 has over 500k miles and AC still blows cold!

My Lucid Air Touring is a 2023 that I bought in 2022 brand new it’s got just over 83k miles and of course the warranty expired six months ago.

After seeing your post, I’m thinking this problem is lurking for everyone who drives in high temperatures and or long distances. I think the reason Lucid didn’t do the recall on the known problem is because they figure the problem will most likely happen after most cars are out of warranty. But the problem I have is this could’ve put me in grave danger if I was in a more remote area. When I hung up and finally decided to call roadside assistance the man told me to call 911 and ask the local police to bring me water. I told them I was in Calaveras County border where there are only two sheriffs in the entire county and it would take hours to get a response for water. I’m glad I decided to just wait it out and walk to a restaurant to buy my dinner and get hydrated and luckily the car started and got me home but when I pulled in my driveway I took the photo below.

I think they should do a recall on this AC compressor, and that would help alleviate more unhappy customers in the future. I wouldn’t want somebody going through what I went through. Definitely not a luxury car experience I want to remember! Sweating like a pig windows down dehydrated praying for the car to start again with 4% on my phone from being on hold ignored for hours.

Thank you for sharing Shane!

Daisy B
Copperopolis CA

I'm really sorry to hear about your experience and that Lucid is expecting you to pay for repairs.

I'd recommend any others that have experienced this and feel it's a legitimate safety concern to submit an NHTSA complaint (linked below). If it's really a repeatable and widespread issue Lucid should be help accountable.

Report a Safety Problem | NHTSA

File a complaint with NHTSA if you experienced a vehicle, tire, car seat or equipment safety problem that could be a safety defect.

www.nhtsa.gov

 

[jedwin]

My AC was low on refrigerant. You should get your Air into service to check it out

Mine had a leak in the refrigerant system, which the service center was able to find, because there’s a UV dye in it. The service people thought there was a good chance it had been gradually leaking ever since manufacture. (“leak at compressor discharge line due to failed o-ring”—or perhaps poorly seated o-ring when manufactured?)

I had just accepted that the AC system was weak. It was only when the level dropped to the point where I got no cooling at all when I wasn’t moving that I took it in. With the fixed and recharged system, the air actually comes out the vents at under 55° and provides a relatively instant sense of cooling on the skin, and effectively cools the cabin in a few minutes. The cooler air in the cabin is also making the seat cooling work much better—for the first time, high cooling is too much!

 

[elin]

Hi Shane
Thank you for posting this because I received the same indicator after I heard the same coffee grinder sounds and my AC compressor conked out when I was on a road trip and it was 105° out. I didn’t make the correlation that it was taking a long time to charge, but thinking back now I wondered why it did take so long and I could not be in the car while the car was charging. It got too hot to stay in the car in Bakersfield CA in August in the months leading up to this event. Basically anytime my car was not moving the air conditioner would not work and would make strange noises. But on September 21, it was actually pretty dangerous because it was 106° in my car. I did not have my fob with me and I was on hold for over three hours with Lucid Customer Care trying to get through to someone who could help me. I was running out of water and phone battery and luckily I walked to a restaurant when my car stopped and I was able to have dinner and let my car cool off enough to drive it back home and it shut down as soon as I pulled into my driveway I had to have the windows down and I was getting dehydrated by the time I got home. It was pretty scary.

Got hold of my dealer in Rocklin because nobody from Customer Care got back to me. They brought out a loaner car and took my car to the dealer and four days later they called to tell me I would need to pay for a new compressor and heat pump and with parts and labor. It was over $8000. I’ve never had a car where I had to replace an AC compressor everrrrr…..and I’ve had some old cars with many miles on them….. even my Audi Q5 with 250k miles still has a working AC. My husbands 2000 GS300 has over 500k miles and AC still blows cold!

My Lucid Air Touring is a 2023 that I bought in 2022 brand new it’s got just over 83k miles and of course the warranty expired six months ago.

After seeing your post, I’m thinking this problem is lurking for everyone who drives in high temperatures and or long distances. I think the reason Lucid didn’t do the recall on the known problem is because they figure the problem will most likely happen after most cars are out of warranty. But the problem I have is this could’ve put me in grave danger if I was in a more remote area. When I hung up and finally decided to call roadside assistance the man told me to call 911 and ask the local police to bring me water. I told them I was in Calaveras County border where there are only two sheriffs in the entire county and it would take hours to get a response for water. I’m glad I decided to just wait it out and walk to a restaurant to buy my dinner and get hydrated and luckily the car started and got me home but when I pulled in my driveway I took the photo below.

I think they should do a recall on this AC compressor, and that would help alleviate more unhappy customers in the future. I wouldn’t want somebody going through what I went through. Definitely not a luxury car experience I want to remember! Sweating like a pig windows down dehydrated praying for the car to start again with 4% on my phone from being on hold ignored for hours.

Thank you for sharing Shane!

Daisy B
Copperopolis CA

Do you know if they replaced the ac compressor with the latest one being used in 2026 models or is it still the less powerful version used prior to 2026 year Airs?

 

[elin]

Do you know if they replaced the ac compressor with the latest one being used in 2026 models or is it still the less powerful version used prior to 2026 year Airs?

found what I was looking for in this post - https://lucidowners.com/threads/ac-compressor.16920/