$30K Lease for a Car I Can’t Drive — Lucid Ghosted Me

[stratus]

Motorist’s Vestibular Disorientation Syndrome (MVDS)—Proposed Diagnostic Criteria - PMC

Motorist’s vestibular disorientation syndrome (MVDS) is a disorder in which patients experience dizziness while driving. MVDS is under-reported in the literature, and in clinical practice, it often goes unrecognized. We identified clinical ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Something to consider; however, this would not adequately explain why this happens in only a Lucid.

 

[kopik]

I've seen two ENTs, two audiologists, and a vestibular physical therapist. No one's been able to identify the "medical" cause yet, but more appointments are in the queue.

Also, if your theory were correct, I probably wouldn’t be able to drive other vehicles without experiencing the symptoms. But I can.

I'm glad you are seeking help and hope they find a cause and you will get well soon! I am pretty sure none of the specialists that you mention was able to tell you that they suspect a particular car is causing your symptoms. It just doesn't make much sense medically. Remember Havana syndrome (with many people reporting similar symptoms, and not just one person)? So far, after years of research and much money spent, they have not been able to identify the cause...

 

[knewman]

Can you offer any more details on how Lucid ghosted you? Aside from the validity of your concern, I'm more interested to hear how Lucid has communicated with you. Did they say at any point that they can't help with your medical issue, or did they really straight up stop responding? Communication hasn't been their strong suite in these fringe scenarios unfortunately.

 

[Babyrocko1908]

Have you seen a doctor?

My first thought as well.

 

[joec]

I have a host of inner ear issues, and while mostly minor, I noticed immediately upon driving my new Lucid away from the Torrance lot a month ago that specific pressurization level in the enclosed cabin really made me feel like I was in an over-pressurized 747. If I roll one window down, it warbles my ear canal and would be disorienting if I left it like that for too long. So, I sympathize with your plight.

This happens to me in literally any car with only one window open. I don’t know how anyone drives with a single window even cracked in a car. It feels like my head is going to wobble off my neck. I have to crack a second window somewhere to create a cross breeze, and then it goes away entirely.

Air can’t get in and out of the car simultaneously from the same opening at high speeds.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Thanks for the responses. I want to offer a few clarifications:

First, this issue appears to be unique to Lucid. I haven't experience anything like it in other vehicles. My previous car was an Audi S4, and I’ve also recently driven a Honda Ridgeline and a Tesla Model 3 — none of them caused any symptoms.

Second, the cause of the symptoms remains unknown. What we do know is that they consistently arise when I drive the Lucid Air. My best guess is that it may have something to do with the vehicle’s high- or low-frequency sounds or vibrations, but neither I nor my physicians have been able to identify the exact trigger.

Third, regardless of the cause, Lucid’s response has made their position very clear: they’re indifferent to whether their cars make people sick and seem to believe it’s reasonable for a consumer to bear the full cost of a three-year, $30,000+ lease — even when the issue was reported within the first week.

I understand your pain and sympathize with it. But you may be the only person with this problem which does suggest that somehow the problem is not a design or build problem but an interaction between you and the vehicle.

If it were me, I would be looking for doctors who love a puzzle and will search for the answer. Too many doctors are essentially doing painting by the numbers looking for a match between symptoms and medical needs. You don't say where you are but a place like the Mayo clinic would be good.

Have you tried opening a window while you drive? If your problem does have to do with the vehicles high or low frequency sounds and your reaction to those, perhaps bringing in new sounds and letting current sounds escape the vehicle will work. If nothing else, it will help you make a differential diagnosis.

 

[EVCar]

For unusual symptoms, having a second opinion is worth considering, for new perspectives.
That said, good as medicine is in 2025, there are still patients for whom no diagnosis could be established, frustrating both patients and physicians.

 

[RMSko]

Have you tried disabling regenerative braking?

 

[Ughwhy]

I would be interested to know if your symptoms go away with the windows up, air conditioning on, and you wearing a set of Bose or similar noise cancelling headphones.

 

[Electronic-Lab0]

I think there may be a mixup in terminology here. IANAL, but my understanding is "subletting" is you renting the car to a third party. For example, your nephew wants a new car, but can't qualify for the lease. You have great credit and lease the car, then your nephew pays you the monthly payment while he drives the car. That's subletting.

Transferring the lease means that another qualified buyer takes over the financial agreement completely. This does have to be approved by the lessor (Lucid Financial Services aka BofA). But I don't think they can unreasonably decline this.

There are websites that specialize in this, e.g. https://www.swapalease.com/. (I have never needed their services, so cannot vouch for them.)

Good luck on resolving your issues.

PS: LFS is not part of Lucid. LFS does not care about anything other than making money off the lease. Lucid seems to have very little sway with LFS.

The lease states: "you may not rent, sublease, lend, pledge, or assign the Vehicle or the Lease." That's a pretty broad prohibition and, I would assume, also rules out transferring (i.e., assigning) the lease to someone else.

 

[Electronic-Lab0]

If my right foot is short, I managed to drive Lucid for a few days. However, due to the increased pressure, I had to drive the car for the last few days, which affected my ability to walk without any issues. Now, I go to Lucid and say, “Your car is making my legs hurt because of my short feet?”

There are two options: one is right, and the other is wrong. I need to make modifications to the car to fit my needs. Alternatively, I can call Lucid and say, “Take your car and give me my money back.”

You’ve created a bit of a straw man. I didn’t approach Lucid with, “Take your car and give me back my money.” I started with, “The car is causing this. Let’s figure it out.” Only after a month—and after Lucid made no meaningful attempt to help—did I focus on the lease. Even then, I didn’t limit the question to canceling; I also left the door open to alternatives like allowing a sublet or reassignment.

Also, your example isn’t really analogous for a couple of reasons. First, it assumes I can modify the Lucid so it doesn’t cause pain. Second, it assumes I can continue driving without risking long-term health effects. Both assumptions are wrong.

And yes, I would absolutely want Lucid to work with you on a new lease if: 1) you couldn’t drive the car without significant pain; 2) there were no modifications you could make to avoid it; 3) there was a risk the pain could become permanent; and; 4) you discovered and reported the problem to Lucid within a week.

 

[Electronic-Lab0]

1) does it happen when you are the passenger
2) does it happen when you are sitting in Park
3) does it trigger at certain speeds
4) Is it currently happening in any other vehicles?

There's a lot more to explore here. You should probably see a doctor and seek legal advice. This could be a very unique situation that could be related to a variety of things- maybe it's an allergy to the wool used in the finishes or the leather in the seats. Maybe it's related to the whine that many have reported here coming from the headlights or window switch.

Those are great questions and suggestions. I’ve stopped driving the Lucid, at least until I've finished all my medical appointments, because I’m concerned that the symptoms could shift from resolving after 2–3 days to not going away at all. That said, here are the answers I have:

1) I don't know
2) Yes
3) No
4) It doesn't happen in: Tesla Model 3, Audi S4, Audi S5, Dodge Ram, or Honda Ridgeline.

 

[sri]

You’ve created a bit of a straw man. I didn’t approach Lucid with, “Take your car and give me back my money.” I started with, “The car is causing this. Let’s figure it out.” Only after a month—and after Lucid made no meaningful attempt to help—did I focus on the lease. Even then, I didn’t limit the question to canceling; I also left the door open to alternatives like allowing a sublet or reassignment.

Agree with your approach. Lucid should consider you to sublease or transfer the lease. I think the problem here is BoFa since they are handling them. I hope you find some solution other than loosing total lease cost.

 

[Electronic-Lab0]

Can you offer any more details on how Lucid ghosted you? Aside from the validity of your concern, I'm more interested to hear how Lucid has communicated with you. Did they say at any point that they can't help with your medical issue, or did they really straight up stop responding? Communication hasn't been their strong suite in these fringe scenarios unfortunately.

I contacted my local sales team on June 26 and corporate Lucid on July 4. On July 8, Lucid responded that they’d never encountered this issue before and asked whether it occurred with the windows down and the HVAC off. I followed up twice, and on July 15, they told me there was nothing they could do. That was the last I heard from them.

 

[ChipXpert]

I have a couple of things and questions.
I'm very sympathetic you your issue OP.
1. How are you out $30k? On a lease in general it is a mistake to put a large down payment as cap reduction. That is because of anything happens that money does not come back. It is much better to pay the minimum at signing and using the money that you would have done cap reduction for lease payments.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way.

My Chihuahua has an issue with my daughter's Chevy Bolt and only her Chevy Bolt. Both the current one and the previous one. No issue with my i4, Fisker Ocean (now gone) or the current Lucid Air.

I do believe there could be something unique to the Lucid that is causing you issues. I don't know the solution. I don't necessarily think it's a design defect, per se, but it feels like one to you and that's what ultimately matters.

If you were not heavily invested, you could do an early lease end.

I hope you find a solution.
As others have said, have you tried with windows down, air on/off, fresh air only? Things that try to equalize inner ear? Do you ears "pop"?
I have chronic nasal issues and if you have similar issues maybe a decongestant might help.

 

[Lucidicrous]

How about buying out the lease and selling the car?

ICYMI…it’s a good solution.

 

[hydbob]

Those are great questions and suggestions. I’ve stopped driving the Lucid, at least until I've finished all my medical appointments, because I’m concerned that the symptoms could shift from resolving after 2–3 days to not going away at all. That said, here are the answers I have:

1) I don't know
2) Yes
3) No
4) It doesn't happen in: Tesla Model 3, Audi S4, Audi S5, Dodge Ram, or Honda Ridgeline.

So the moment you get in the car you start having issues? And this is even without driving at all?

 

[Blue Lectroid]

I've seen two ENTs, two audiologists, and a vestibular physical therapist. No one's been able to identify the "medical" cause yet, but more appointments are in the queue.

Also, if your theory were correct, I probably wouldn’t be able to drive other vehicles without experiencing the symptoms. But I can.

Have you driven other super-high-performance EV’s? The sensations experienced by your body are completely different between this type of vehicle and either an ICE vehicle and/or lower performance EV’s. I can absolutely drive my Air GT is a way that makes everyone in the car (including me) sick.

I am very sorry for your situation. My wife suffers severe vestibular issues of no known cause and I need to drive any car I am in with her extremely sedately to keep her feeling well.

I wish someone at Lucid would reach out to you and show some human compassion. That said, IMHO, they own you nothing more than that. Their product works exceptionally well for thousands and thousands of people and expecting any company to make it their responsibility for a situation like this is not reasonable or fair IMHO.

I wish you all the best.

 

[ccarroz]

I see your point, but I think there are different ways to look at the product liability aspect. Take, for example, a glass shower door that’s poorly designed and shatters if pressure is applied in just the right spot. If even one person out of 10,000 happens to apply pressure that way and gets injured, it's still the manufacturer’s responsibility even if the other 9,999 had no issue. Design flaws don’t become acceptable just because they don’t affect everyone.

That said, I don’t think there’s much room for interpretation when it comes to Lucid’s response. The company has shown clear indifference to its customers and a refusal to stand behind its product.

As for your suggestion about transferring the lease, I wish I could. Unfortunately, Lucid built a prohibition against subletting into the lease agreement, so that option’s off the table.

Hummm. If the windows are down do you still have the same experience? Have you tried that? It is possible that there's a gap in the windows or windows that's causing a weird pressure thing so I would test that. If there is some sort of humming though get a mic and test and see what frequency is causing the issue. Have you been in a different lucid and still have the same experience? I'm sure if you walked into the service center or into the store and ask to drive another one and see if you get the same frequency in that car they would allow it. Or at least they would talk to you face to face. But if you just call in and say the car makes me sick when I drive it and I don't have this issue another cars and have no level of testing when it happens when it doesn't happen what do you think that they would say? But without putting in any level of effort and troubleshooting if I was support and you called me it would sound like you're just trying to get out of your purchase. If you were customer support and I called you and said the stealing wheel hurts my left hand and nothing sticking out of the steering wheel or falling apart what would you tell me? You got at least be willing to put in some level of minimum effort to give him something to go off of otherwise it just sounds like you're complaining because you don't like something. Drives me nuts when I get emails at work and you look through the thread and you can see that it's been passed between five different people and then comes to me and I have to tell them I don't know why this was sent to me when I have no expertise in this area but a quick 5 minute Google search said this is your answer.

 

[GEWC]

So the moment you get in the car you start having issues? And this is even without driving at all?

This makes me think maybe it's the seat causing the issues?