Bent Rim, Some Communications Challenges, but Good Service

[petergottlieb]

So. yesterday I was enjoying a beautiful drive down a valley when my right rear tire ended up off of the roadbed around a corner (I am sure it had nothing to do with my driving style /sarcasm). I felt a bump, but didn't think much of it until a few seconds later it became clear my passenger side rear tire was quickly going flat. I pulled into a ditch a bit (there was no shoulder), and checked for damage. The tire looked fine and as as far as I could tell the rim did too. That was wrong as it turned out, once we could get a look at it, I had bent the interior side of the rim significantly.

There wasn't a lot of traffic and no cell coverage either, but luckily a driver quickly stopped and offered to call a towing company for me once they got out of the valley.

The tow truck came and I was able (honestly a bit to my surprise) to get my car back on the road under its own power and just drive it onto the truck bed without further damaging the wheel.

Once we got back into cell range, I read the manual and called roadside assistance, just to see if I could get a free tow the 70 miles between me and the nearest service center. This got bumpy - the service center picked up fast, but also quickly transferred me to a third party to arrange the tow. That third party meant well, and did well, but didn't communicate well. First, I knew that Lucid could tell me I was on my own if they wanted to. This wasn't warranty damage, and I was beyond 50 miles from the service center. It sounded like they were telling me to stay with the towing company I was with, and they would pay, but the towing company didn't believe that was going to work. Then the service center abruptly hung up, I think because they misunderstood a request for clarification on my part as a goodbye. Fine, whatever, I knew I was an edge case, so I went ahead and paid the towing company to get me back to my service center. Then within a couple of minutes I got a call from another towing company that evidently Lucid was sending my way. Oh well, too late for a free tow.

The good news was that my service center was very helpful once we got there. Even though it was 6:30 pm, they had a loaner ready and the cost for replacing the entire rim was a lot lower than I expected (a bit more than $600 installed for a 19" aero wheel).

 

[Miami_Lucid_Man]

Great pic (aside form the car in the ditch!).

 

[petergottlieb]

So, this is a twist. Lucid (it appears to be Lucid, though I am being careful) reached out to me and offered to cover my towing expenses. That goes above and beyond what I would have expected in an edge case like this. Stay tuned, but assuming this is for real, points for Lucid from me for proactively reaching out to me to iron out the one bug in my experience here....

 

[socktucker]

So, this is a twist. Lucid (it appears to be Lucid, though I am being careful) reached out to me and offered to cover my towing expenses. That goes above and beyond what I would have expected in an edge case like this. Stay tuned, but assuming this is for real, points for Lucid from me for proactively reaching out to me to iron out the one bug in my experience here....

Lucid called me to see if I was still interested in buying a Lucid, 2 months after I bought one lol

 

[borski]

Lucid called me to see if I was still interested in buying a Lucid, 2 months after I bought one lol

Please stay on topic.

 

[petergottlieb]

This is just to confirm Lucid did indeed reach out to me and did send me a check for the rather expensive towing bill I had ended up paying for here. They did it entirely on their own - I didn’t even ask them about it. That’s definitely the first time a car company has done something like that for me. Thanks Lucid!

View attachment 33886

So. yesterday I was enjoying a beautiful drive down a valley when my right rear tire ended up off of the roadbed around a corner (I am sure it had nothing to do with my driving style /sarcasm). I felt a bump, but didn't think much of it until a few seconds later it became clear my passenger side rear tire was quickly going flat. I pulled into a ditch a bit (there was no shoulder), and checked for damage. The tire looked fine and as as far as I could tell the rim did too. That was wrong as it turned out, once we could get a look at it, I had bent the interior side of the rim significantly.

There wasn't a lot of traffic and no cell coverage either, but luckily a driver quickly stopped and offered to call a towing company for me once they got out of the valley.

The tow truck came and I was able (honestly a bit to my surprise) to get my car back on the road under its own power and just drive it onto the truck bed without further damaging the wheel.

Once we got back into cell range, I read the manual and called roadside assistance, just to see if I could get a free tow the 70 miles between me and the nearest service center. This got bumpy - the service center picked up fast, but also quickly transferred me to a third party to arrange the tow. That third party meant well, and did well, but didn't communicate well. First, I knew that Lucid could tell me I was on my own if they wanted to. This wasn't warranty damage, and I was beyond 50 miles from the service center. It sounded like they were telling me to stay with the towing company I was with, and they would pay, but the towing company didn't believe that was going to work. Then the service center abruptly hung up, I think because they misunderstood a request for clarification on my part as a goodbye. Fine, whatever, I knew I was an edge case, so I went ahead and paid the towing company to get me back to my service center. Then within a couple of minutes I got a call from another towing company that evidently Lucid was sending my way. Oh well, too late for a free tow.

The good news was that my service center was very helpful once we got there. Even though it was 6:30 pm, they had a loaner ready and the cost for replacing the entire rim was a lot lower than I expected (a bit more than $600 installed for a 19" aero wheel).

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

I don't see the need to call Lucid over a bent wheel as there are many places to get it inspected/ straightened/diagnosed (if it's too far gone to repair).

It's good to check the inside of the rims for bends = that's where I found mine; opposite the outside curb/pothole rash. Good idea to get a new rim though.

The Lucid is a challenge for tow truck drivers. Make sure you turn off the shock and tilt warning... and the "hold" feature sometimes confuses them when loading / unloading.
Also unlocking the car can be a thing for newbies. Carry the fob with you and a fresh set of batteries in the glove box.

For those with low-profile wheels like the 21"s the tire bubbles/bulges usually appear on the outside, but the bends are often on the inside. I just did a seasonal swap and found three small bubbles in my 21"s and one slight bend on an inside front wheel. All of the roads near me are under major re-construction such that it's impossible to go anywhere without running over hazards at any speed. The hard lip transitions from ablated roadway to new concrete are particularly harsh. Had all 4 tires thrown out (3-seasons on the summers and still lots of tread left but thought it was time for a fresh set anyway) and the bend repaired and the wheels refinished / painted to fix minor curb rash. This was done by a local specialist.

The 19" A/S wheels/tires are on now = there are all nice going into my 4th season. I miss the handling / tracking / grip of the 21" staggered summer set-up though; it's quite noticeable. For me it's definitely worth the bi-annual swap and gives me a chance to really look over the tires/wheels/brakes/etc. Oh, and the front aero dam wedges...(damn wedges). I keep forgetting to get a couple of the fasteners for spare.

It's good practice to have your wheels/tires inspected regularly, especially if you have low-profile tires and/or know you've hit a road imperfection.
Rim rash is a good indicator that the pothole you thought was not a big deal has bent the inside rim or broken the tire cords (rare on the 19" wheels) = will result in a bubble.
I run the 21" at 44 psi to give a little more cushion against the soft wheel alloy. It's good to keep tire pressures up to at least recommended cold pressures ( see driver's side B pillar).

I don't think poorly of Lucid for trying to sell you another car. It's what car companies do. I know a guy who took his Mercedes in to replace his dome light bulb: came back with a new Mercedes.

Nice photo!