Gravity Service Appointments and Time In Service

[Xminus6]

Half shafts were an issue in early R1Ss. Mine included.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, my rear drive unit in a very early Tesla X P90D failed after a week.

I agree, we hear about them more with EVs because there are fewer EVs and they’re scrutinized more.

There are all sorts of failures and issues with ICE cars, but folks have just gotten used to them.

Early Model S cars and rear halfshaft problems very commonly. I had it on my 2014 S85. I still hear some old Model Ss around town with that weird whining noise coming from the back of their car.

 

[borski]

Very glad they worked you in. I agree with @Bunnylebowski that Lucid service really does their best.

it looks increasingly less likely, though, that we'll not have our car back in time for our trip next week. They told me today that they're still working with the Engineering team on some of the issues and don't have an ETA on getting the car back to us.

I'm going to get the oil changed in the trusty old Honda Odyssey to get it ready just in case. Every time I tried a Supercharger in the Gravity and found it worked seamlessly I thought, "wow, finally, an EV you can road trip in as easily as an ICE car!" Then the NACS adapter arrived for our Air, and it was a different story. It worked at the two Tesla SC's but, as I already knew, too slowly to be of any real use other than an emergency on a road trip where our first day will be 10 hours of driving not including charge stops. And both the Electrify America stations we tried with the Gravity were out of service for equipment upgrades. It seems that EA is following their usual pattern of shutting down entire stations along a major route at once instead of staggering the shutdowns. And I don't want to depend on seeking out charge stations from other providers with which I'm less familiar.

So . . . the Gravity is in the shop; the Air will stay within reach of home charging;, and we'll be keeping the Honda a bit longer than I had anticipated. In fact, I'm rethinking the plan to let it go at all once we have three Lucids in the garage. I thought the time had arrived to go all-EV in the household. Now I'm not so sure.

I would take the Air and just charge at any of the popular stations; because I am not EA-dependent. I just charged at any EVGo yesterday. Flawless experience.

 

[Pragmatic]

Pilot Flying J - EVGo are all over the interstates in FL, GA, NC, SC no reason to limit yourself to EA.

 

[jered]

Early Model S cars and rear halfshaft problems very commonly. I had it on my 2014 S85. I still hear some old Model Ss around town with that weird whining noise coming from the back of their car.

Our model X has had the front half-shafts replaced, and I know people who have had this done 3+ times under warranty even on recent model years. It seems to be a fundamental design flaw of Tesla that they have no interest in fixing -- perhaps many buyers of a $100k car think it should be grinding and rough to drive?

 

[msaunders9430]

Received text today with update on my replacement center console. Shipped yesterday with 3-day expedited arrival.

The personnel change made at the service center this week is showing immediate improvement in response time. No more waiting two three days for a response. Response with minutes now.

 

[Xminus6]

Our model X has had the front half-shafts replaced, and I know people who have had this done 3+ times under warranty even on recent model years. It seems to be a fundamental design flaw of Tesla that they have no interest in fixing -- perhaps many buyers of a $100k car think it should be grinding and rough to drive?

My Model X had them replaced as well. I guess they didn’t wear well if you kept the car in the lowest suspensions setting.

 

[Ron_Burgundy]

Dropped it off this morning and they said “expect a couple of days”…hopefully it’s ready for Friday roadtrip. I got an Air GT loaner, so I am not complaining. It’s fast and has CarPlay! Random thoughts from this morning:

1) Drop off - I drove it into the service center, which is impressive and large. But it was weird because I parked it in the lot outside then went in and they told me they’d open the garage.

1A) Is there a service mode they’ll put it into? I remember the early Tesla days before service mode when folks would activate their horns remotely…As soon as I returned home I checked and the car is now parked way out in the parking lot of the service center. I guess I don’t really care if they get to it asap as I have the loaner…but I can’t roadtrip the loaner as it won’t hold the huge dog crate.

1b) communication - they said they’d call with daily updates. I wish they hadn’t said that because if they don’t, then I will now feel frustrated. I would not have expected daily updates otherwise…

2) Gravity Knowledge - folks at Lucid still seem to need training on the Gravity. Several folks hadn’t seen a “real” one (I guess that’s good?). More importantly, they seemed surprised my PaaK wasn’t working - then I explained it’s not available yet for Gravity. I also had to explain why I needed to bring the fob and the key card. They didn’t seem to expect the fob issue - that is, it seemed like they had not heard of it as an issue. They also didn’t seem to understand my request to
make sure all the window seals are looked at since my front window stops going up sometimes. I heard this was an issue with early Airs, so expected them to understand. I just showed them and it was fine. But these were more “front of house” folks, too.

3) They were helpful and responsive and quick and it reminded me of my Tesla service circa 2013. I’ve serious doubts they can keep this level of service, but hope they do.

PS - no issues with the 2022 AGT fob!

 

[Bunnylebowski]

In my experience you usually drive the car into the garage and they meet you. Front of house service people are more coordinators, some are very savvy but they’re more the liaison between you and the techs so may not be privy to lots of things, if you talk to a tech I’m usually amazed by how much they know. Like these people are very smart, and I likely slow them down asking lots of questions since I love learning what they’ve learned. You will get a Docusign at some point describing the work, sometimes after you get your car back, sometimes before, depends on how busy they are. The Air has a service mode, initially it did not in 2022 so the shock tilt alert would go off in the app when they were working on the car haha. I do not know yet if the Gravity has service mode,, however once you pick up the car be very careful and make sure your settings are the way you have them normally as several times my Air has returned in “roll” mode instead of brake hold mode, which I do not think the service center changed but may be an artifact of service mode.

 

[Ron_Burgundy]

In my experience you usually drive the car into the garage and they meet you. Front of house service people are more coordinators, some are very savvy but they’re more the liaison between you and the techs so may not be privy to lots of things, if you talk to a tech I’m usually amazed by how much they know. Like these people are very smart, and I likely slow them down asking lots of questions since I love learning what they’ve learned. You will get a Docusign at some point describing the work, sometimes after you get your car back, sometimes before, depends on how busy they are. The Air has a service mode, initially it did not in 2022 so the shock tilt alert would go off in the app when they were working on the car haha. I do not know yet if the Gravity has service mode,, however once you pick up the car be very careful and make sure your settings are the way you have them normally as several times my Air has returned in “roll” mode instead of brake hold mode, which I do not think the service center changed but may be an artifact of service mode.

Thanks for the background. Appreciate it.

They DID call me this afternoon to tell me they didn’t get to it but believe they will tomorrow. I appreciated the call and the honesty.

I also still had a huge grin on my face from driving the AGT loaner all over the place - cautiously and below the speed limit, of course.

 

[Ron_Burgundy]

Two key updates that I think folks will find interesting. Will break them up into window (supply chain) and fob in case folks care more about one or the other.

I brought my Gravity in last Monday and got an AGT loaner (thank goodness!).

1) Window - as folks know from reading, my second row passenger window needed a new regulator as it wouldn’t go up or down. This caused a bunch of k oak on errors like the car thinking that door was open, my suspension not adjusting for safety, etc. Mobile tech identified the issue 2.5 weeks ago. The regulator they’d ordered came broken out of the box (one of the three attachment points was broken). They had to get another but they’re back ordered, so they have to get it from the assembly line - literally. That’s where the first one came from. Now they’re waiting for this one. All other minor issues are taken care of now. They had to clear the defaults like the door open, etc - not sure how they did that.

So, here’s where supply chain comes in. Forget HUD units, if one window regulator has to be taken from assembly line, that’s a huge bottleneck. I would expect almost every unique part has this issue. They’re on it. And I can’t complain because I knew it could be an early adopter issue with respect to parts. So my Gravity waits for the piece to be overnighted. It’s been “escalated”. As @msaunders9430 mentioned, overnighted doesn’t mean next day - they need to literally take the part from the assembly line, so we shall see. They do expect it today. But it could be a couple more days…they’ll let me know when they have a tracking number.

2) Fob - they did a reset on the ACT (which I think is the automotive control system - but someone like @jered will know better than I do). Once they did that, fob works to start car and for proximity lock/unlock.

My sense on #2 is it could happen again and that’s likely what the next OTA will address. They know how to reset it, but that’s not a permanent fix. Not sure why we can’t run that type of reset, but I also don’t want to brick my six figure car. And I don’t want to do it weekly, so I am hoping the OTA addresses it. There’s a part of me that feels like they’re also holding the car until the OTA comes out so I don’t immediately have the fob issue in a day or three…

Service has kept me updated and have been very responsive. I got a loaded Air loaner and, while I wanted my Gravity back for a road trip this weekend, we will cram into the air with my dog and his massive crate, and I will likely have less charging to do since EPA range is something like 460 @ 100% SOC versus the 386 on my Gravity.

Annoying? Sure. In the grand scheme, they’re addressing it and making it right.

 

[Ron_Burgundy]

Sorry for the typos. I tried to correct and keep getting the “we’re having issues” prompt…

 

[jered]

2) Fob - they did a reset on the ACT (which I think is the automotive control system - but someone like @jered will know better than I do). Once they did that, fob works to start car and for proximity lock/unlock.

Hmm. Not sure; if I had to guess I'd say "Access Control [T-something]". I agree that it's really annoying there's not a way to do a proper reset of everything in the vehicle without calling service. I get that there's no mechanical way to open the vehicle, so you need to careful with the only computer that's connected to the locking mechanisms, but still...

Service has kept me updated and have been very responsive. I got a loaded Air loaner and, while I wanted my Gravity back for a road trip this weekend, we will cram into the air with my dog and his massive crate, and I will likely have less charging to do since EPA range is something like 460 @ 100% SOC versus the 386 on my Gravity.

Annoying? Sure. In the grand scheme, they’re addressing it and making it right.

I agree that service is still great, and I haven't had any issues yet serious enough to have a loaner. I'm told that the "flashing cockpit"/cant-drive issue I hit a week ago is fixed in the forthcoming update. They're definitely out there squashing the bugs that they didn't find with only 25-30 of these on the road (although some of the bugs are pretty embarrassing).

 

[Ron_Burgundy]

With our R1S, there IS a way to do a “hard” reset. They just warn you not to do it often. I don’t mind re: clearing defaults as I’d have know way of knowing if they were legit or not and don’t want to dismiss a legit warning.

I’ve packed the Air for road trip. In reality, our dog will be most displeased with the seating arrangements. Usually he has a minimum of two seats and his crate goes in the back with luggage. Or he gets the third row to himself. And my wife is not happy since we now need two cars for what would have been a one car trip with Gravity. Not helping my “challenge” of convincing her to take our other in production GGT. But, again, champagne problem of having to take our 2022 X and an Air AGT loaner on the road.

Not on topic, but for those wondering, the crate does not fit in the back (unless I put no luggage except a backpack back there) of the X unless 60% of second row is folded. And it definitely doesn’t fit in second row at all unless no one sits in front passenger seat - so points to the Air on fitting it in second row.

 

[GoDestruction]

With our R1S, there IS a way to do a “hard” reset. They just warn you not to do it often. I don’t mind re: clearing defaults as I’d have know way of knowing if they were legit or not and don’t want to dismiss a legit warning.

I’ve packed the Air for road trip. In reality, our dog will be most displeased with the seating arrangements. Usually he has a minimum of two seats and his crate goes in the back with luggage. Or he gets the third row to himself. And my wife is not happy since we now need two cars for what would have been a one car trip with Gravity. Not helping my “challenge” of convincing her to take our other in production GGT. But, again, champagne problem of having to take our 2022 X and an Air AGT loaner on the road.

Not on topic, but for those wondering, the crate does not fit in the back (unless I put no luggage except a backpack back there) of the X unless 60% of second row is folded. And it definitely doesn’t fit in second row at all unless no one sits in front passenger seat - so points to the Air on fitting it in second row.

Shoot.. I was hoping to see a pic of your dog

 

[hmp10]

I'm beginning to see more signs of Lucid Service becoming stretched, something that I had not detected much over most of the past four years.

When we dropped off our Gravity at the Roswell Service Center outside Atlanta yesterday to check out the read drive unit issue, the employee that drove us in our Gravity to Enterprise Car Rental said he did not have time to wait for us to get the rental car so that we could transfer our luggage and numerous personal items we did not want to leave in the Gravity directly into the rental car. So we had to take everything into the Enterprise office. Also, Lucid had told us they reserved a "premium luxury" car for us, and when Enterprise claimed our only choice was a pickup truck or a Nissan Rogue there was no one from Lucid there to handle it even though the rental was on their account.

Our Air was at the Miami Service Center while we were on this trip in order to have the front left turn signal unit replaced and to check out why DreamDrive would not engage since the software update for hands-free drive assist. They told me the car would be delivered to our house today after we returned from our misbegotten Gravity road trip the night before. When we got home late last night in a heavy rain we found the Air parked in our driveway. I could not find the key fob but was able to open car with the mobile key. Lucid Service had not texted me to let me know the car was being returned early and where the fob had been left. I texted them this morning to ask where the fob was and found it had been left in the lower compartment of the frunk (not one of the several places I had looked).

Then later today I opened the trunk of the Air for the first time since getting the car back to load groceries and found this:

None of this is typical of the excellent service we have received over the past few years. I really believe the Gravity introduction with its many problems and lack of both Service personnel training and parts availability is putting a lot of stress on the service network. I am hoping the wheels don't fall completely off the cart as they did with Tesla service upon the Model 3 rollout a few years back.

 

[Ron_Burgundy]

I'm beginning to see more signs of Lucid Service becoming stretched, something that I had not detected much over most of the past four years.

When we dropped off our Gravity at the Roswell Service Center outside Atlanta yesterday to check out the read drive unit issue, the employee that drove us in our Gravity to Enterprise Car Rental said he did not have time to wait for us to get the rental car so that we could transfer our luggage and numerous personal items we did not want to leave in the Gravity directly into the rental car. So we had to take everything into the Enterprise office. Also, Lucid had told us they reserved a "premium luxury" car for us, and when Enterprise claimed our only choice was a pickup truck or a Nissan Rogue there was no one from Lucid there to handle it even though the rental was on their account.

Our Air was at the Miami Service Center while we were on this trip in order to have the front left turn signal unit replaced and to check out why DreamDrive would not engage since the software update for hands-free drive assist. They told me the car would be delivered to our house today after we returned from our misbegotten Gravity road trip the night before. When we got home late last night in a heavy rain we found the Air parked in our driveway. I could not find the key fob but was able to open car with the mobile key. Lucid Service had not texted me to let me know the car was being returned early and where the fob had been left. I texted them this morning to ask where the fob was and found it had been left in the lower compartment of the frunk (not one of the several places I had looked).

Then later today I opened the trunk of the Air for the first time since getting the car back to load groceries and found this:

View attachment 32353

None of this is typical of the excellent service we have received over the past few years. I really believe the Gravity introduction with its many problems and lack of both Service personnel training and parts availability is putting a lot of stress on the service network. I am hoping the wheels don't fall completely off the cart as they did with Tesla service upon the Model 3 rollout a few years back.

I actually think it’s likely the influx of new Airs causing the issue. They’ve been selling a LOT more this year than in the past. There just aren’t enough Gravity out there now (I think) to cause some of the strain we’re seeing. Those that ARE at SCs getting fixed seem to spend most of their time there parked waiting for parts (like mine) - so the service team likely isn’t spending a ton of time there.

Regardless, there really aren’t THAT many Lucid cars on US roads. Maybe 30,000? They have a lot of SCs, so not sure why there would/should be an issue except perhaps they need more staff.

IDK, just a thought. Either way, I went through this with our S and X when Tesla came out with the 3 and it was awful. As I’ve mentioned before, one reason among many we want to drop out Tesla is service has become unbearably long and difficult.

 

[hmp10]

I actually think it’s likely the influx of new Airs causing the issue. They’ve been selling a LOT more this year than in the past. There just aren’t enough Gravity out there now (I think) to cause some of the strain we’re seeing. Those that ARE at SCs getting fixed seem to spend most of their time there parked waiting for parts (like mine) - so the service team likely isn’t spending a ton of time there.

Regardless, there really aren’t THAT many Lucid cars on US roads. Maybe 30,000? They have a lot of SCs, so not sure why there would/should be an issue except perhaps they need more staff.

IDK, just a thought. Either way, I went through this with our S and X when Tesla came out with the 3 and it was awful. As I’ve mentioned before, one reason among many we want to drop out Tesla is service has become unbearably long and difficult.

It's hard to tell. But from what I've read on this forum and elsewhere, I think the newer Airs are much more sorted than earlier models.

I think Gravities, though relatively small in numbers right now, are consuming a lot of service time due to the lack of service and repair directives from HQ Engineering and the consequent need for service personnel to troubleshoot an unfamiliar car. I know that several of our Gravity repairs have required multiple conference call with HQ teams, and our mobile tech says that his colleagues around the circuit are spending more time on Gravities than they had anticipated, with its rollout feeling much more like the early Air days that they had hoped would not repeat.

 

[Ron_Burgundy]

Got call this afternoon they’re waiting for regulator to be pulled from the assembly line. The next one they pull is designated for me. Not sure how they decide when/how to take it from assembly line. Then they’ll overnight it. So probably a next week actual repair.

With our 2016 X, there was a frunk issue and it had to be replaced right when we got it. But it took three months because it wasn’t an emergency - just came all scratched and with a dent. The point is, Tesla wasn’t making extras so I had to wait. It was better for them to put it on a new car to sell. Seems like Lucid is in a similar position but they’re at least trying to get it to me.

 

[johnse]

Not sure; if I had to guess I'd say "Access Control [T-something]".

I'll throw my guess into the ring: Access Control Transceiver. Sounds good at least

 

[borski]

It's hard to tell. But from what I've read on this forum and elsewhere, I think the newer Airs are much more sorted than earlier models.

I think Gravities, though relatively small in numbers right now, are consuming a lot of service time due to the lack of service and repair directives from HQ Engineering and the consequent need for service personnel to troubleshoot an unfamiliar car. I know that several of our Gravity repairs have required multiple conference call with HQ teams, and our mobile tech says that his colleagues around the circuit are spending more time on Gravities than they had anticipated, with its rollout feeling much more like the early Air days that they had hoped would not repeat.

I had my car come back from service with a similarly disconnected 12v, once, last year. I assumed it was because they had disconnected my radar detector while it was in service, which was correct; they just forgot to plug the 12v back in because they don’t do that for almost any vehicle, since very few tap the 12v.

I suspect that’s what happened in your case too.