Balder than Telly Savalis after 11k miles?!?!

[mattrettig]

Got a flat tire yesterday. Pulled off the road and noticed BOTH rear tires are as bald as a q-ball after ~11,000 miles. WTF? I understand a car this heavy will go through tires faster than I’m used to, but I am not at all an aggressive driver, whipping it around corners etc. And anyway, the front tires look fine.

Background: I bought the Air GT in August ‘24. It’s a ‘22 but it was a “demo car,” so it had ~4500 miles on it when I bought it. It had the 21” wheels, but on delivery I had Lucid swap them out for the 19”. After I picked it up I noticed the car was waaaaay out of alignment, so contacted Lucid and they told me to take it to a local shop to get it aligned, which I did and it seemed to have been driving fine ever since. I definitely DID select the proper tire size from the menu on the pilot Panel, and it is still reading correctly.

The car has been struggling with range & efficiency. When I took delivery it was showing ~3.2 miles/kWh, but I chalked that up to it probably being “launched” a lot since it was a demo car. I was getting like 3.8 in the summer but I’ve been struggling to get 3 this winter, which both seem low given the “efficiency” that Lucid touts. I do live in a hilly area, but again, I’m a mellow (my wife says “slow”) driver.

There’s gotta be something wrong with the traction control or something. No way a set of brand new tires should have cord poking through (which is what caused my flat) after a mere 11,000 miles.

Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Pragmatic]

How are the fronts? If only the rear I would say rear toe is not correct.

 

[mattrettig]

Fronts look just fine. As you would expect them to look after 11k miles.

 

[mattrettig]

How are the fronts? If only the rear I would say rear toe is not correct.

What’s a rear toe?

 

[DeaneG]

Could it be that the rears were worn badly before the alignment was corrected at 4500 miles?
Only other explanation is that they are still out of alignment.

 

[jbawden]

That is wild. Doesn't strike me as an alignment issue as the wear is uniform across the entire tread. I think the drop in range/efficiency is a clue something else is going on.

 

[Electrified]

Fronts look just fine. As you would expect them to look after 11k miles.

I'm guessing that the alignment shop only aligned the front end.

 

[Pragmatic]

Rears are either pointed in or out (toe). If it's out of spec significantly you can burn through the tires in 1000 miles or less.

 

[mattrettig]

Could it be that the rears were worn badly before the alignment was corrected at 4500 miles?
Only other explanation is that they are still out of alignment.

Nah all 4 tires were new when I had Lucid swap out the 21s the car came with for the 19s I wanted.

 

[scal_air]

Since you got 3.8 mi/kWh in the summer, I'm assuming you have fairly severe winter conditions to drop it to 3.0. The cold really does number on the battery in terms of efficiency.
The tires are a puzzle though... When you replaced your tire(s), did the tire store have any ideas? The AirGT is an all wheel drive, right? Rotating might have evened it out but still. Did you get new tires with a milage warranty?

 

[scal_air]

The great Telly Savalas

 

[mattrettig]

I'm guessing that the alignment shop only aligned the front end.

And if that was the case, it would still drive straight and “feel fine?”

Since you got 3.8 mi/kWh in the summer, I'm assuming you have fairly severe winter conditions to drop it to 3.0. The cold really does number on the battery in terms of efficiency.
The tires are a puzzle though... When you replaced your tire(s), did the tire store have any ideas? The AirGT is an all wheel drive, right? Rotating might have evened it out but still. Did you get new tires with a milage warranty?

Yes the Hudson Valley of NY gets cold. I’m waiting on the new tires (the shop had to order them) but I will definitely have questions for them!

 

[mattrettig]

View attachment 27276The great Telly Savalas

I stand by my bald tires comparison!

 

[Pragmatic]

If the rear toe was out it would drive fine but energy use and tire wear would be high.