AC compressor failure

[Shane_SLC]

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.

 

[Lucken]

Sorry to hear about this. Although AC compressor failures are certainly not uncommon in any vehicle, it's the first I've heard of it in a Lucid. I'm surprised that it wreaked so much havoc with the car in general, but if it's the same system that helps control battery temperature, I can see why it caused the other issues.

 

[Shane_SLC]

Attached is the service report from Lucid documenting the repairs. It sounds like the AC compressor failure damaged some other HVAC components. Thankfully, Lucid decided to cover the repairs under warranty, despite my vehicle being slightly over the mileage limit. The service teams took pretty good care of me throughout the process.

While my case seems to be pretty extreme, Lucid has told me they're continuing to evaluate this issue as it develops. It sounds like supply issues have been part of the problem, at least initially. Here's hoping no one else has this happen to them!