Consumer Reports Reliabilty Rankings

[AZLucidGuy]

I have a 2022 AGT with 46,000 miles. Outside of the recalls and "campaigns," I have had only ONE service issue: the cellular modem failed and was replaced. My Air was delivered on 5/5/2022, so it had an "early" VIN. I am truly impressed with how reliable a first-model-year car from a first-year new manufacturer has been. Kudos to Lucid!

I am delighted to learn that the 2025 models are superior to my nearly 3-year-old car. I would be worried if the 2025 models were on par with the 2022.

 

[momo3605]

It's interesting that some describe pre-25 Airs as having a 'sluggish' UI. I've never felt that and I've certainly never found it to be a distraction.

Having experience with an i4 and an i5, i'm surprised you don't notice this. BMW UI while overly complicated is top-notch in terms of speed and stability. I had idrive 8 on an LCI m340 before getting my Lucid, and it's night and day in terms of usability compared to my '23 Air Touring

 

[Blue Lectroid]

We've had absolutely identical experiences with the i4. My wife loved that car and like you we had zero problems during our ownership. We've moved on to the i5 and thus far it exhibits many of the same qualities as the i4, with just more luxury and room. Although the software on the i4 & i5 are more stable than my Lucid, I've still had no mechanical issues with the Air. To be fair, the software issues I've experienced with the Air have always been easily resolved with a reset if it didn't self-resolve.

It's interesting that some describe pre-25 Airs as having a 'sluggish' UI. I've never felt that and I've certainly never found it to be a distraction.

To clarify what I said above, I did not find the UI noticeably different than on my 2025 when doing simple things like moving from screen to screen, however, the length of time Nav takes to reroute is hugely different between the two.

 

[Blue Lectroid]

Having experience with an i4 and an i5, i'm surprised you don't notice this. BMW UI while overly complicated is top-notch in terms of speed and stability. I had idrive 8 on an LCI m340 before getting my Lucid, and it's night and day in terms of usability compared to my '23 Air Touring

But the BMW interface is just sooooo NOT intuitive and cumbersome (from my perspective) that I never enjoy driving those cars. Maybe it’s just a stigma I have from “the good old BMW days” when the cars were almost minimalist and it was all about the driving. Now the UI absolutely kills the driving experience for me. I know this may be just my own take…

 

[HC_79]

But the BMW interface is just sooooo NOT intuitive and cumbersome (from my perspective) that I never enjoy driving those cars. Maybe it’s just a stigma I have from “the good old BMW days” when the cars were almost minimalist and it was all about the driving. Now the UI absolutely kills the driving experience for me. I know this may be just my own take…

Germans do what Germans do best, make everything so convoluted. I’m definitely a fan of the cars Germany pumps out in terms of looks, style, quality etc. but software interfaces is not their jam.

 

[Zinee]

I agree, I don’t think many people read CR anymore. It’s a paid subscription and I don’t know anyone who pays for it.

I also find it a little suspect that they even rated the Lucid. Most low volume unreliable brands are excluded due to not having enough data.

Of course if you’ve seen my posts I’ve been very vocal about the state of the software, but hardware has been good for me. My car has only been in for a misaligned windshield wiper and a clicky steering wheel. If they are combining software woes in reliability, then I can definitely see where the low score is coming from, but I don’t think it’s necessarily fair

I subscribe to Consumer Reports, and very often make buying decisions based on its recommendations. For cars, I will definitely take CR ratings into account, but rely more on dedicated auto publications in purchasing decisions.I expect ratings will improve as more subscriber/Lucid owners experience the newer model year cars. I'm very happy with my Air--notwithstanding frustrating software bugs--but there is no way to spin the CR report as anything other than unwelcome.

 

[HC_79]

I subscribe to Consumer Reports, and very often make buying decisions based on its recommendations. For cars, I will definitely take CR ratings into account, but rely more on dedicated auto publications in purchasing decisions.I expect ratings will improve as more subscriber/Lucid owners experience the newer model year cars. I'm very happy with my Air--notwithstanding frustrating software bugs--but there is no way to spin the CR report as anything other than unwelcome.

I think this is why Consumer Reports has been successful and as you, I know many people who use it to make buying decisions as they often get feedback from those using the product etc.. The problem with auto publications or any publication for that matter is that you "don't bite the hand that feeds you". Yes, you may see some minor gripes thrown in so it doesn't come across as completely biased but if the reviewer goes too hard on the company then they'll never be invited back.

For those who are saying "who cares" etc.. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss.

 

[pyle112]

My 2c- we are still in the tinkering phase with lucid. I would not recommend this vehicle to my parents yet, I get enough calls to fix the Internet and TV. The last thing I need is troubleshooting their car. It's like iPhone vs Android- the iPhone just works.

Edited: not trying to be down on lucid. I think just just get this way every update that doesn't have Android Auto.

 

[borski]

I think this is why Consumer Reports has been successful and as you, I know many people who use it to make buying decisions as they often get feedback from those using the product etc.. The problem with auto publications or any publication for that matter is that you "don't bite the hand that feeds you". Yes, you may see some minor gripes thrown in so it doesn't come across as completely biased but if the reviewer goes too hard on the company then they'll never be invited back.

For those who are saying "who cares" etc.. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss.

I am a subscriber, own an Air, and was not asked my opinion or sent any survey.

Hard to say how legitimate these ratings are when they are a) from small numbers and b) did not cast a particularly wide net, it seems.

 

[HC_79]

I am a subscriber, own an Air, and was not asked my opinion or sent any survey.

Hard to say how legitimate these ratings are when they are a) from small numbers and b) did not cast a particularly wide net, it seems.

So am I and I didn’t get asked either but the fact of the matter is they do have a good reputation from many people I’ve spoken to. For those to say “it doesn’t matter” I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss them.

 

[borski]

So am I and I didn’t get asked either but the fact of the matter is they do have a good reputation from many people I’ve spoken to. For those to say “it doesn’t matter” I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss them.

Oh I agree. I have a subscription for a reason.

That doesn’t mean they’re always right. I’ve disagreed with their assessments before, not just for the Air.

In general, I find them useful for products that have lots of comparison, quantity, and similarity. Cars are too “bespoke” and preference-based. TVs? Printers? Sure.

 

[Batteryman]

Disastrous rating......Lucid should make sure Gravity is perfection! I'm still pissed about the stupid key issue.....why cut corners there?

 

[HC_79]

Disastrous rating......Lucid should make sure Gravity is perfection! I'm still pissed about the stupid key issue.....why cut corners there?

If you want perfection the car will never be delivered! No car is perfect.

 

[borski]

Disastrous rating......Lucid should make sure Gravity is perfection! I'm still pissed about the stupid key issue.....why cut corners there?

This has been discussed a hundred times. There is no need to rehash it on this thread. It is unrelated.

Yes, the fob is an issue. We are all aware. Please leave that for other threads.

 

[Marc]

Yes, I saw that. I don't know where they got their data or how accurate it is. When I saw their "talking cars" review of the Air Touring and read their report I thought they were talking about two different cars. That gave me pause. I know it's anecdotal, but my Air GT had one problem within the first month. The care I (and the car) received was excellent, and other than expected minor software glitches I've had no further problems. The service team in Natick, MA has been responsive and knowledgeable. I've had two Model S Teslas and was treated as if I'd bought a Trabant in the 1960s. Lucid has treated me better even than Lexus in the past. Don't forget we're participating in a start-up, and there will be teething problems, although so far they've been nothing compared to what I experienced with Tesla.

 

[PureVA]

I have to admit I've used CR for auto reliability ratings for 40 years and have based most of my buying decisions at least partly on this, although more so for other family members cars than my own. If this rating was available when I bought my car 1 1/2 years ago, it very well may have changed my decision at the time. But it wasn't, so I'm glad. I am surprised with the low volume of the Lucid Air sales that CR had enough respondents to reply. I'm guessing there were barely enough to meet their minimum criteria and those with less fortunate experiences made a point to ensure they replied to the questionnaire, perhaps biasing results. On the other hand, looking at the details, they say trouble spots are "electric motor, EV charging, electrical accessories, climate system, paint and trim, noises/leaks". They used the last three years of data so early issues would have been counted here. I haven't seen many posts about electric motor related issues in awhile. EV charging is more related to EA than the Lucid. I did have some minor trim alignment issues that I didn't worry about addressing until my one year maintenance appointment and wouldn't even consider that as a reliability issue that I would be concerned about. The presentation is also skewed a bit. There is a highlighted section titled "the least reliable models by category" and the Lucid Air is highlighted here as the least reliable electric car with a score of 7. Yet in the following pages with details for most vehicles, there is a Electric SUVs category where the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevy Blazer EV both only scored 5 but was conveniently not listed in the highlighted least reliable models by category area despite there being twice as many vehicles in that category. Finally, in last April's auto issue CR only gave the Lucid Air a "worse than average" reliability rating (the second lowest rating) along with almost all Volkswagens, Rivians, Model S and X, so this is a change presumably about data they received in lasts year's survey. It's one thing to give it a worse than average rating, and another to say it is only a 7 on a scale to 100.

 

[PaulC]

I am a subscriber and didn't receive a survey. I contacted CR to find out if I could get one/submit my experience. I haven't had any problems after 23K miles. Their response was negative.
Didn't look to see if they give the number of subscribers on which their reliability assessments are based for each model.

 

[Blue Lectroid]

I don’t think any of the people posting here received a survey…which begs the question, what owners did they reach out to?

 

[David Ross]

I don’t think any of the people posting here received a survey…which begs the question, what owners did they reach out to?

I have been a CR member for at least 25 years, maybe 30. I recall receiving only one paper car survey in the mail and never another after that.

 

[sri]

I don’t think any of the people posting here received a survey…which begs the question, what owners did they reach out to?

It seems they sent papers to Tesla owners instead of Lucid