Drive System Fault - Car stopped dead in the middle of the road

[joec]

Yes, the wiper controls are in the wrong place! Both of these design flaws could be solved by putting the wiper control on that right stalk and moving the P/R/N/D engagement to the left cockpit panel... push button transmission selectors are not a new idea and would be a better arrangement than the problems created by the current arrangement.

Anyone who has owned a Tesla is quite familiar with the drive selector on the right stalk.

One person’s design flaw is another’s familiar feature.

 

[joec]

My point being, cars have never had what one would call a “standard” user interface. Different manufactures have been putting controls in different places since the dawn of the automobile.

 

[MoniputerLM]

Anyone who has owned a Tesla is quite familiar with the drive selector on the right stalk.

One person’s design flaw is another’s familiar feature.

The Lyriq's selector is also on the right stalk, but you have to pull then go up or down, which is a nice touch.

 

[MoniputerLM]

My point being, cars have never had what one would call a “standard” user interface. Different manufactures have been putting controls in different places since the dawn of the automobile.

My "famous/infamous" Navigator has a push button selector and after five years, I am still not a fan.

 

[njg-agt]

My point being, cars have never had what one would call a “standard” user interface. Different manufactures have been putting controls in different places since the dawn of the automobile.

Sure, but having wiper controls that you have to take your eyes off the road to use is a design flaw that creates an unsafe vehicle.
And holding Tesla up as a UX to emulate is sad (sick, laughable).
I am no fan of the idea of a push button gear selector, but it is better than the current UX design.

 

[joec]

Sure, but having wiper controls that you have to take your eyes off the road to use is a design flaw that creates an unsafe vehicle.
And holding Tesla up as a UX to emulate is sad (sick, laughable).
I am no fan of the idea of a push button gear selector, but it is better than the current UX design.

You can try activating the wipers by pushing in on the left stalk, as if to initiate the wiper fluid. Just don’t hold it in, and the wipers will start up. Usually, I find with auto wipers, once you get them going like that, the “auto” tends to kick in. Not sure if Lucid’s do or not.

But I agree, a dedicated physical control for the wiper system would probably be better. Lucid tried to strike a balance with physical controls, but I don’t necessarily agree with where they drew the line in every case. I think the left panel with dedicated buttons that don’t change is miles ahead of Tesla’s completely nuts tendency to hide the wipers in more and more difficult to find places in their UX.

If you read me at all on this forum, you’d know I’d never hold up Tesla as anything to emulate. I believe I’m on record for criticizing Tesla more than anyone here by a long shot.

The point is, just because Lucid didn’t consult you specifically and make every control exactly the way it existed on whatever car you had last, that doesn’t mean their choices are all design flaws.

There is no interface for a car that would be perfectly familiar for everyone. Because car companies have never standardized on much of anything.

 

[MoniputerLM]

You can try activating the wipers by pushing in on the left stalk, as if to initiate the wiper fluid. Just don’t hold it in, and the wipers will start up. Usually, I find with auto wipers, once you get them going like that, the “auto” tends to kick in. Not sure if Lucid’s do or not.

But I agree, a dedicated physical control for the wiper system would probably be better. Lucid tried to strike a balance with physical controls, but I don’t necessarily agree with where they drew the line in every case. I think the left panel with dedicated buttons that don’t change is miles ahead of Tesla’s completely nuts tendency to hide the wipers in more and more difficult to find places in their UX.

If you read me at all on this forum, you’d know I’d never hold up Tesla as anything to emulate. I believe I’m on record for criticizing Tesla more than anyone here by a long shot.

The point is, just because Lucid didn’t consult you specifically and make every control exactly the way it existed on whatever car you had last, that doesn’t mean their choices are all design flaws.

There is no interface for a car that would be perfectly familiar for everyone. Because car companies have never standardized on much of anything.

IMHO, there are a lot of control and UI flaws. Just lack of good human factors design.

 

[joec]

IMHO, there are a lot of control and UI flaws. Just lack of good human factors design.

Yeah, I just didn’t find that to be the case when I test drove the car. It was one of the rare times when I got into an unfamiliar car and figured out everything I needed in seconds. Everything made sense to me right away. So I’d call the interface rather intuitive.

I’m sure I’ll have nitpicks when I’m driving it every day, though.

 

[MoniputerLM]

Yeah, I just didn’t find that to be the case when I test drove the car. It was one of the rare times when I got into an unfamiliar car and figured out everything I needed in seconds. Everything made sense to me right away. So I’d call the interface rather intuitive.

I’m sure I’ll have nitpicks when I’m driving it every day, though.

I have 9800 miles and 11 months with my car. Again, just my opinion.

 

[hydbob]

You can try activating the wipers by pushing in on the left stalk, as if to initiate the wiper fluid. Just don’t hold it in, and the wipers will start up. Usually, I find with auto wipers, once you get them going like that, the “auto” tends to kick in. Not sure if Lucid’s do or not.

But I agree, a dedicated physical control for the wiper system would probably be better. Lucid tried to strike a balance with physical controls, but I don’t necessarily agree with where they drew the line in every case. I think the left panel with dedicated buttons that don’t change is miles ahead of Tesla’s completely nuts tendency to hide the wipers in more and more difficult to find places in their UX.

If you read me at all on this forum, you’d know I’d never hold up Tesla as anything to emulate. I believe I’m on record for criticizing Tesla more than anyone here by a long shot.

The point is, just because Lucid didn’t consult you specifically and make every control exactly the way it existed on whatever car you had last, that doesn’t mean their choices are all design flaws.

There is no interface for a car that would be perfectly familiar for everyone. Because car companies have never standardized on much of anything.

I really like the static buttons on the left driver panel and the fact that Lucid was able to remove some and add some new functions exhibits why it's a good compromise between physical buttons and screens. The wipers are not necessary all year round, especially for a place like SoCal, so I'm glad it's not tied to a stalk.

And like @MoniputerLM said, I dislike the push button gear select very much. The stalk is easier to use and not have to take your eyes off the road.

 

[njg-agt]

So we drive a car designed for SCal where it never rains and you can shift from D to R without removing your eyes from the road ('cause we do that so often as we barrowdown the road) but you need to take your eyes off the road to keep the windshield clear of this never happens thing called precipitation... its all ok, 'cause this is The USA, where we "drive" with our eyes and hands dedicated to our phones anyway... let the pedestrians beware...

 

[Drdon220]

My GT with 1872 miles flashed the Drive System Fault and just died right in the traffic lane before I went into an intersection. Sat there for almost 2 hours waiting for customer service to get a flatbed. Luckily I was able to speak to a service rep at the service center and they sent out 3 service guys to try to get the vehicle going (no luck). 2 police officers stopped behind me to direct traffic around and call a flatbed. Since its a Saturday late in the day I was provided a Lyft home and a promise of a loaner vehicle (from a car rental agency) on Monday. Feel lucky it was me driving and not my wife, hopeful of a quick repair since this is our only vehicle.

Update on my GT. I just got it back from the service center yesterday. Apparently the fault was in a Module that communicates between the drive unit and the batteries. I was replaced and updated to the current software of the vehicle. It sounds as though they were quite meticulous about testing the data/communication to the modules after each update. So far all is good! Glad to have it back and be on the road again.

 

[EricM]

Anyone who has owned a Tesla is quite familiar with the drive selector on the right stalk.

One person’s design flaw is another’s familiar feature.

Or a Mercedes. It wouldn’t surprise me if this becomes a standard type shifter across the industry. It’s so simple and intuitive.

 

[njg-agt]

Or a Mercedes. It wouldn’t surprise me if this becomes a standard type shifter across the industry. It’s so simple and intuitive.

It is actually very old... remember automatic transmissions "on the column" (p/r/n/d)...
The issue is not if this is a good and reasonable method of shifting, it is that the wiper control is patently unsafe as currently delivered (you have to take your eyes off the road to use it)... an alternative for that wiper control is what is needed (I can think of at least 3, so I'm confident that it can be solved if the UX design team so desires).

 

[LCID4EVA]

Please report to NHTSA. This is the only official way to get lucid to do something about this

Report a Safety Problem | NHTSA

File a complaint with NHTSA if you experienced a vehicle, tire, car seat or equipment safety problem that could be a safety defect.

www.nhtsa.gov

 

[netpark]

This happened to me just now on Christmas Day. I was driving on the freeway when the system has a fault. I quickly got off the offramp and the car just died in the middle lane of the off ramp. I had about a 1000 miles on the odo.
First time this has ever happened to me in any car. I've had 4 Teslas. Never happened.
I'm on the phone with Lucid customer service now. When I got out of the car, the hazard lights and all lights on the car went completely dead. It was dark and the car was just sitting there. When I left the area, I was just hoping no one would hit it being Christmas a day and the car sitting just before a stop light, it would be somewhat visible.
Lucid told me that the tow operator would need my physical key fob in order for him to take my car. I called my office/casino (always open) which was 6 min away and asked if security had my key fob and they did.
When the tow operator got to my car (Air GT) 3 hours later it was gone. Lucid suspects the police problem took it somewhere.
As I wrote this now, I'm on hold with Lucid with them trying to figure out where it could have went.
This is simply inexcusable. If my wife was driving she most likely would have got stuck on the freeway. I was driving over 70 mph when the car started going into limp mode. I noticed the power was mostly gone and there was no regen where I had to use the real brakes to get off the off ramp.
While I wrote this I just got hung up on so now I'll need to call Lucid back for the 4th time.

 

[Bobby]

Welcome to the forum... I'm sorry it's under these circumstance. Could you please describe exactly happened so we can all learn from it? What lights came on? How much time/distance did you have? Please also keep us apprised of the outcome. Thanks.

 

[Bel]

Less severe than stopping in the middle of the road but drive system problems started on my agt Thursday. Good agt isn't my primary car.

 

[lsbuffs]

I realize only a small fraction of Lucid owners encounter these faults, but it's still concerning to wake up to two reports. Because negative issues are overrepresented on these forums, perhaps I need to take a break from reading. I enjoy learning more about my new car, but find myself questioning whether I'm comfortable taking a road trip. Heck, I've even had negative thoughts sitting in rush hour traffic in the fast lanes, far from the shoulder.

I know catastrophic failures happen in ICE vehicles. In my 40+ years of driving those cars, I've never had one nor have I ever worried about having one. I know they won't, but would be nice if Lucid would provide some information on the underlying cause of the issues. Was there a bad batch of hardware that has since been resolved? Are they working on a software update that will address?

This is my first EV and (temporarily) my family's only car, so my concerns may not be shared with others who are more experienced with these vehicles and have alternatives in the event of issues.

 

[Bel]

I dont think its isolated cases. Got my agt back two weeks ago after 34 days in the service center for various discrepencies. They didnt fix it all but it has to go back in for re-repairs, and now i have drive system problems on top of that. I use my agt for errands around town and not for going anywhere important. My communications with lucid have been below average good as is the quality of my agt. I see it as a tendency across the board.