Drive System Fault Megathread

[stratus]

I've had my Touring since Dec 2022, and have loved it. 4K miles so far, mostly on my highway commute. I convinced my wife (currently 8 months pregnant) that it really is a family car and we can take it on a 3 hour trip to her parents' place for a week's vacation. She begrudgingly agreed to leave the ICE SUV at home, and we packed the toddler into the carseat and zoomed off. The car really does have a lot of storage space, and my wife used every cubic centimeter to ensure that we were well prepared for the week.

All went well on our trip down. My efficiency was better given warmer weather; I used about 40% of the battery going from door to door. We enjoyed taking the in laws around in the car as well and I found opportunities to run errands with my father in law a couple times. I used a couple of EA fast charging stations near her parents' home; plug-and-charge worked seamlessly. This morning I charged from 43% to 75% to give myself some buffer for the return trip home.

On our way back home, driving along I-95, we got the Drive System Warning a couple times (a first for me). I snapped a photo the second time, and reported it to Customer Care. About 20 minutes later, we got "Drive System Fault" turtle mode, and the car slowed down on I-95 to about 35-40 mph. I did not love that. I put the hazard flashers on and managed to make it to a service plaza before the car shut down; it was probably 3 or 4 miles after I got the fault.

I parked (near a set of Tesla superchargers, ironically) and called roadside assistance as we were still over an hour from home, somewhere between Baltimore and Philadelphia. We attempted several soft resets but these were unsuccessful. The car would not stay in Drive mode -- it would immediately flip back into Park and I was not able to move it.

We called back into CC. Ray from CC was very understanding and empathetic. She recommended that I have the car towed and offered to arrange a rideshare for us. We took the toddler in for mac-and-cheese while waiting for the rideshare, but being in a remote part of Maryland we didn't have much luck with the first two Lyfts that were ordered. We called CC back and spoke to Thomas, who stated that he would get permission to use Uber, and if that failed, would dispatch a taxi. We explained that we had a lot of luggage and Thomas made sure we had an SUV that could accommodate the carseat and all our stuff. They also arranged a flatbed tow. I had a key fob with me in addition to my mobile key, and Thomas advised me to leave the key fob in the center console and then lock the car with my mobile key after we unloaded. (Apparently they would have had me give the PIN to the tow truck driver if I did not have a key fob with me.) I needed to get my family home, and Thomas assured me that I could go ahead when the Uber arrived, and that I did not need to wait for the tow truck driver.

Having waited for over an hour, we went back out to start unloading the car, and I noticed that the turtle mode error was cleared. I was able to drive it, and did a couple of laps around the service plaza parking lot. We called back to CC but were advised that they could not recommend that I just drive home, as there was no way to assure us that we wouldn't get stuck again, and they wanted to do proper diagnostics to find out what happened.

The towing company called me when they arrived, and snapped photos before, during, and after loading the car onto the flatbed. Unprompted, he asked me to disable the shock/tilt alarm from my phone app. He called again when reaching Tysons' Corner service center and sent more photos of the car being dropped off. I spoke with Darwin from Tysons' Corner who received the car and said it was driving normally, and that he would give me an update on what was going on in the next 24-48 hours.

I asked CC for a loaner, and was advised to discuss with the service center once they called to discuss the service diagnostics. Darwin at Tyson's said that he couldn't arrange a loaner, or set up a rental car for me, but politely offered that I could set up my own rental car and then pursue reimbursement, noting a limit of $100 per day.

Thanks to all the folks on the forum who have posted about their experiences. Hopefully I will have a good resolution! Fortunately my wife was very patient and understanding, although I worry that my chances of getting a Gravity as our next "family car" took a hit today.

Thanks for sharing your experience in a calm
diplomatic manner. Looking forward to learning more information about your situation.

 

[thegman82]

I've had my Touring since Dec 2022, and have loved it. 4K miles so far, mostly on my highway commute. I convinced my wife (currently 8 months pregnant) that it really is a family car and we can take it on a 3 hour trip to her parents' place for a week's vacation. She begrudgingly agreed to leave the ICE SUV at home, and we packed the toddler into the carseat and zoomed off. The car really does have a lot of storage space, and my wife used every cubic centimeter to ensure that we were well prepared for the week.

All went well on our trip down. My efficiency was better given warmer weather; I used about 40% of the battery going from door to door. We enjoyed taking the in laws around in the car as well and I found opportunities to run errands with my father in law a couple times. I used a couple of EA fast charging stations near her parents' home; plug-and-charge worked seamlessly. This morning I charged from 43% to 75% to give myself some buffer for the return trip home.

On our way back home, driving along I-95, we got the Drive System Warning a couple times (a first for me). I snapped a photo the second time, and reported it to Customer Care. About 20 minutes later, we got "Drive System Fault" turtle mode, and the car slowed down on I-95 to about 35-40 mph. I did not love that. I put the hazard flashers on and managed to make it to a service plaza before the car shut down; it was probably 3 or 4 miles after I got the fault.

I parked (near a set of Tesla superchargers, ironically) and called roadside assistance as we were still over an hour from home, somewhere between Baltimore and Philadelphia. We attempted several soft resets but these were unsuccessful. The car would not stay in Drive mode -- it would immediately flip back into Park and I was not able to move it.

We called back into CC. Ray from CC was very understanding and empathetic. She recommended that I have the car towed and offered to arrange a rideshare for us. We took the toddler in for mac-and-cheese while waiting for the rideshare, but being in a remote part of Maryland we didn't have much luck with the first two Lyfts that were ordered. We called CC back and spoke to Thomas, who stated that he would get permission to use Uber, and if that failed, would dispatch a taxi. We explained that we had a lot of luggage and Thomas made sure we had an SUV that could accommodate the carseat and all our stuff. They also arranged a flatbed tow. I had a key fob with me in addition to my mobile key, and Thomas advised me to leave the key fob in the center console and then lock the car with my mobile key after we unloaded. (Apparently they would have had me give the PIN to the tow truck driver if I did not have a key fob with me.) I needed to get my family home, and Thomas assured me that I could go ahead when the Uber arrived, and that I did not need to wait for the tow truck driver.

Having waited for over an hour, we went back out to start unloading the car, and I noticed that the turtle mode error was cleared. I was able to drive it, and did a couple of laps around the service plaza parking lot. We called back to CC but were advised that they could not recommend that I just drive home, as there was no way to assure us that we wouldn't get stuck again, and they wanted to do proper diagnostics to find out what happened.

The towing company called me when they arrived, and snapped photos before, during, and after loading the car onto the flatbed. Unprompted, he asked me to disable the shock/tilt alarm from my phone app. He called again when reaching Tysons' Corner service center and sent more photos of the car being dropped off. I spoke with Darwin from Tysons' Corner who received the car and said it was driving normally, and that he would give me an update on what was going on in the next 24-48 hours.

I asked CC for a loaner, and was advised to discuss with the service center once they called to discuss the service diagnostics. Darwin at Tyson's said that he couldn't arrange a loaner, or set up a rental car for me, but politely offered that I could set up my own rental car and then pursue reimbursement, noting a limit of $100 per day.

Thanks to all the folks on the forum who have posted about their experiences. Hopefully I will have a good resolution! Fortunately my wife was very patient and understanding, although I worry that my chances of getting a Gravity as our next "family car" took a hit today.

Spoke to Darwin at Tyson's Corner this afternoon. They are unable to reproduce the fault thus far but are still looking into the logs to see what happened and taking test drives to try to reproduce it. He expressed sincere apology for my frustration with the Drive System Alert issues, and vowed to try to make it right as soon as possible, with the goal of meeting my expectations. I appreciated that. He said that after the test drives, they are going to individually test components in the high voltage system to see if they can isolate the component causing the problem. ETA for return of the car depends on what that testing shows.

Incidentally, apparently this morning (after four days in their shop) a rear tire was found to be flat, with a screw in it. He replaced the tire at no charge, noting that it was not flat when it arrived and that it must have picked up the screw in the shop somehow. (I had no issues with air pressure or flat tires last week when noting my issues, so I appreciated that they did the right thing to fix this at their expense.)

I think they are trying their best. He was apologetic about not being able to provide a loaner or to set up the rental car himself, saying that they are hoping to build out those programs in the future.

 

[thegman82]

On Tuesday (Day 5 after turtle) the engineers found an issue with the cooling pump used to keep the batteries cool, and ordered a replacement, which was supposed to come on Thursday but came in today (Day 8). Darwin kept me updated on the status through the week. He explained today that they planned to replace that part and asked me if he or his team members could drive the car about 50 miles to ensure that no further faults came on. I asked what would happen if something else happened to the car while he was driving it and he said "that would be for Lucid to fix, of course." I had never been asked this question before but since I do prefer to know that the fault won't re-occur immediately, I agreed. (Has anyone ever been asked that? Was I wrong to agree?)

If the testing tonight and tomorrow goes well, they will look into having my car put back on a flatbed and brought back to me in Philly on early next week.

Anyone have any advice on what to ask for in getting the car back soon? I miss my car!

(Though I admit, I am enjoying having Android Auto back in my life in the alfa romeo rental.)

 

[Jefferoo]

Well that is strange. That is exactly the same thing that they told me. Car went into turtle on 4/7. Would only go 35 but was able to limp home. Lucid arranged to have it picked up on 4/11 and taken to Seattle. They contacted me a few days later saying that the oil cooling pump for the front motor had failed and that the entire front drive unit would need to be replaced. Worryingly, they changed their mind a couple on days later and now say that the drive unit is probably ok but that the pump will need to be replaced. They are supposed to have a replacement by mid next week. No clue when I get it back but I'm kind if worried now. If the pump fails but turtle still let me drive around for several miles at 35, wouldn't that have damaged the motor? You are lucky with the Alfa Romeo. Hertz was only able to offer me a Dodge Durango and said I would have to drive an hour out to the airport to pick it up. I said forget it and have been driving one of my kids cars for the last 10 days. Miss the lucid but not sure I am going to really trust it going forward.

 

[PaulC]

Have AT for past 3 weeks - 1600 miles. No faults. Driving home one day heard thumping noise from speakers - no alerts. Stopped car anyway and called customer care who quickly responded, locked car, asked me to exit, wait and then unlock and resume - no further thumping noise. No recurrence since.

 

[borski]

On Tuesday (Day 5 after turtle) the engineers found an issue with the cooling pump used to keep the batteries cool, and ordered a replacement, which was supposed to come on Thursday but came in today (Day 8). Darwin kept me updated on the status through the week. He explained today that they planned to replace that part and asked me if he or his team members could drive the car about 50 miles to ensure that no further faults came on. I asked what would happen if something else happened to the car while he was driving it and he said "that would be for Lucid to fix, of course." I had never been asked this question before but since I do prefer to know that the fault won't re-occur immediately, I agreed. (Has anyone ever been asked that? Was I wrong to agree?)

If the testing tonight and tomorrow goes well, they will look into having my car put back on a flatbed and brought back to me in Philly on early next week.

Anyone have any advice on what to ask for in getting the car back soon? I miss my car!

(Though I admit, I am enjoying having Android Auto back in my life in the alfa romeo rental.)

They asked me once and I gave them permission “for the foreseeable future” to ensure it is fixed before I get it back.

I don’t think it’s an issue.

 

[borski]

If the pump fails but turtle still let me drive around for several miles at 35, wouldn't that have damaged the motor?

That’s the point of turtle mode. Think of it as a “safe mode” in which everything runs cooler and slower, specifically so as *not* to damage the motor or other components.

 

[thegman82]

Well that is strange. That is exactly the same thing that they told me. Car went into turtle on 4/7. Would only go 35 but was able to limp home. Lucid arranged to have it picked up on 4/11 and taken to Seattle. They contacted me a few days later saying that the oil cooling pump for the front motor had failed and that the entire front drive unit would need to be replaced. Worryingly, they changed their mind a couple on days later and now say that the drive unit is probably ok but that the pump will need to be replaced. They are supposed to have a replacement by mid next week. No clue when I get it back but I'm kind if worried now. If the pump fails but turtle still let me drive around for several miles at 35, wouldn't that have damaged the motor? You are lucky with the Alfa Romeo. Hertz was only able to offer me a Dodge Durango and said I would have to drive an hour out to the airport to pick it up. I said forget it and have been driving one of my kids cars for the last 10 days. Miss the lucid but not sure I am going to really trust it going forward.

I think each service center handles things their own way. Southern California seems to have loaners in abundance. Seattle seems to have some arrangement with Hertz for rentals. Tysons in Northern VA said "no loaners, and we are working on a rental agreement, but for now we will just reimburse you, so you can set up whatever is convenient for you." I guess it is part of the process as the company grows.

 

[jet5454]

Lucid Air Dream Performance Edition. Just under 20,000 miles. Drive System Fault today on the highway. Car shut down. Being towed to service center. This is my third time being towed to a service center. I'm done......

 

[Air Touring]

Update: The regional manager, Richard, went so above and beyond that I don't have anything but nice things to say about Lucid. As noted in my original post, he picked up his phone at 7pm on the Friday of Easter/Passover weekend when my loaner got a drive fault light. He got me a new loaner delivered by Monday. I had to charge it at one point, and I couldn't get the car to interface with the charger. Richard picked up right away, told me to drive to work and he'd take care of it. He drove to my building, drove the loaner to a charger, and drove it back fully charged. Throughout the saga, he kept me abreast with frequent updates on my car. Delivery guys were also super pleasant. So after three rental Maseratis and two GT loaners, I now have my car back with a smile on my face after what easily could otherwise have been an incredibly distressing and unpleasant experience.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Update: The regional manager, Richard, went so above and beyond that I don't have anything but nice things to say about Lucid. As noted in my original post, he picked up his phone at 7pm on the Friday of Easter/Passover weekend when my loaner got a drive fault light. He got me a new loaner delivered by Monday. I had to charge it at one point, and I couldn't get the car to interface with the charger. Richard picked up right away, told me to drive to work and he'd take care of it. He drove to my building, drove the loaner to a charger, and drove it back fully charged. Throughout the saga, he kept me abreast with frequent updates on my car. Delivery guys were also super pleasant. So after three rental Maseratis and two GT loaners, I now have my car back with a smile on my face after what easily could otherwise have been an incredibly distressing and unpleasant experience.

This is beyond what luxury service is all about! Kudos to Lucid and especially to "Richard". Calling out a technician for a single error could be cruel (he could have had a bad day) but praising stupendous beyond the call of duty service deserves a last name and a location! Who is Richard and where is he located?

 

[Air Touring]

This is beyond what luxury service is all about! Kudos to Lucid and especially to "Richard". Calling out a technician for a single error could be cruel (he could have had a bad day) but praising stupendous beyond the call of duty service deserves a last name and a location! Who is Richard and where is he located?

Richard Hudak. He's located in the so-called "Main Line" suburbs west of Philadelphia. There will eventually be a Lucid outpost there but not yet. I'm in Delaware, which is like 45-60 mins south, so it wasn't like I was just around the corner. You've spurred me to write to HQ, too.

 

[thegman82]

Got my Air Touring back yesterday on Day 11 after turtle.
Nice to see my old friend!

Darwin at Tyson's said they replaced a cooling pump, test drove about 47 miles, and no flags were generated. They put the car on a flatbed and brought it back to Philly. I submitted my rental car receipts and will await the final invoice. Based on my scouring of the forum, the "cooling pump" has been identified in several of these drive system fault issues and hopefully, replacing the pump resolves it.
My drive to work this morning was uneventful and enjoyable.
I think Darwin did a pretty good job responding to my questions, giving timely feedback (even when all he could say is "we aren't sure yet") and overall managing my expectations. Hopefully the Tysons' service center continues to gain expertise. Darwin even welcomed my father-in-law (who lives near Tysons) at the service center to look at the car after the testing was done. Overall I was pretty pleased with the service process thus far.
I will definitely reach out to Richard next time when I have issues in Philly, and will swing by the Tysons' shop next time I'm visiting the in laws to say thanks.

 

[nikp]

I got the drive system warning orange color warning about 3 weeks ago. Then it went away and didn’t reappear until this week. Now it pops up every few minutes while driving it. Customer care said a mobile care member will come by but it’s safe to drive. The mobile care guy was supposed to come today but now he said the Houston service center said it needs to be serviced. I’m waiting for SC to call me to figure out rental car as I need a car for daily life.

Anyone know if it’s safe to drive in the meantime? I’m getting the sense that it’s due to recent update and making it sensitive since it constantly pops up at random times. I actually have to pick up someone from airport today and this is the only car I have to do that so a bit nervous driving 60-70 miles round trip.

Also, anyone know what kind of rental car we can get? Paying 1500 per month for a car I probably won’t have for a few weeks is pretty frustrating so hoping to get a comparable car in that time.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

Some service centers have loaners but they’re still ramping that up so yours may not yet. For rental they allow $100/day reimbursement. Did you try any of the reboots to see if the warning went away? As long as you’re not getting turtle limited power mode then it’s not as serious.

 

[nikp]

Some service centers have loaners but they’re still ramping that up so yours may not yet. For rental they allow $100/day reimbursement. Did you try any of the reboots to see if the warning went away? As long as you’re not getting turtle limited power mode then it’s not as serious.

I forgot how to do that lol. I've only done it once. I'll look it up and try that. customer care said theres no limit on car rental cost

 

[Coltonw011]

I forgot how to do that lol. I've only done it once. I'll look it up and try that. customer care said theres no limit on car rental cost

You’d better get that in writing, as there has been a hard cap on rental cost and I haven’t heard any changes to the policy other than some centers having loaners.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

I forgot how to do that lol. I've only done it once. I'll look it up and try that. customer care said theres no limit on car rental cost

Yeah maybe they changed the rental rule. In any case when I needed on they reimbursed me pretty quick. I just emailed the service rep the receipts. Try the logo reset, open the settings menu then on the About screen where there’s the Air Logo, press and hold that for a very long time until it says powering down. It’s a pretty long reboot process so be patient.

 

[nikp]

Yeah maybe they changed the rental rule. In any case when I needed on they reimbursed me pretty quick. I just emailed the service rep the receipts. Try the logo reset, open the settings menu then on the About screen where there’s the Air Logo, press and hold that for a very long time until it says powering down. It’s a pretty long reboot process so be patient.

thanks for that info! I tried the logo reset and it didn't change anything. I did get another update so i'm doing that right now. I noticed this issue popped up after my last update so I'm hoping this one fixes it. If not, I'll try a hard reset. I will definitely confirm via e-mail regarding the rental cost limit. I just want something comparable in terms of quality of car considering how much the monthly payment is on the Lucid. I love the car, but reading how others have had to wait weeks to get their car back is frustrating.

 

[Whidbey_LucidGT]

I had this happen pretty regularly last October - they took it in and couldn't reproduce it. Over the winter it pretty much stopped happening - only to surface for the first time in months this last weekend.

Last time I had it in, they claimed there wasn't any telemetry that would help them narrow it down (?!). I had given them specific times the warning had alerted over the past few days. I hope they have more experience with diagnosing & root-causing it this time around.