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Guide- For when you hear a clunk from front suspension going over bumps in an Air

knightsbore

knightsbore

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Colorado
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2025 Lucid Air Touring
I figured i would post this so others can know what exactly needs to be tightened on an Air when a dreaded clunking or metal clanking sound starts occurring when going over bumps.

What you'll need:
A good Jack - Make sure the jack is rated for the weight of the vehicle
Jack stands or a second jack. - also make sure at least the stands are rated for the vehicle as well.
Socket and ratchet to remove wheel and studs
a 16mm wrench, not too big
good light
a piece of soft wood or something similar to put between the jack and the car.

As explained in other posts the common issue is the sway bar end link having a bolt that comes loose, specifically its the one in this picture circled in red:
1771960068489.webp


And here is a little better focused shot:
1771960723474.webp



Now the fun part about this fix is when you jack up your vehicle, you wont be able to tell if its loose or not because the suspension will be fully extended by gravity so you will need find a way to push the wheel up so that the suspension is closer to neutral or horizontal like it was sitting on its tire.

One way to do this is to "carefully" have a jack below the end of the control arm towards the wheel with a soft piece of wood or similar material. Jacking that carefully up will move the arm up to neutral position.

Once there give that sway bar end link a good jiggle and you should notice some significant play in it. The bolt circled will need to be tightened, and unfortunately we don't have the torque specs so i would say tighten it securely but don't crank it down. You can always come back and re-tighten it later if it comes loose so er on the side of caution is my advice.


The one other thing about this is that the bolt is at an almost insane angle to reach easily, and almost certainly you cant use a socket and will have to use a wrench. (also remember the bolt is facing away from you so the directions to tighten and loosen are reversed. This is where that not too large 16mm wrench comes in, and you should be able to fit it in there.
 
silver_surfer_16 said:
Thanks for sharing; I really needed this info. Had this issue shortly after my first 750-mile road trip with the car after purchasing. Now to show to the service center whenever I go back since they said everything was fine when I first brought it in.
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Yup they did the same crap to me. It’s still loose.
 
socktucker said:
Yup they did the same crap to me. It’s still loose.
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The trick is definitely to have the suspension under load when checking the part, like if they put it on a lift from the wheels. When the Wheels are slack from just jacking up the body the bolt appears tight because its being pulled down by the rest of the wheel assembly
 
I think this post should be stickied!!

This is the forum at its best - knowledgeable ppl going through great lengths to share valuable information, and to help fellow owners!!

I'll never attempt this repair (I'm not that mechanically inclined), but I greatly appreciate the detailed write-up, pictures and the willingness to help others 🙏🏾
 
Thanks for this! I was told to keep on driving w/ it like it is until May when they can service my car(sounds grizzly, like a pipe banging on wood and getting worse... so sure.. i'll just keep driving). If this were any other car company, they would want to fix the car so you don't stand the chance of catastrophic failure or driver injury.
 
Joelaron said:
Thanks for this! I was told to keep on driving w/ it like it is until May when they can service my car(sounds grizzly, like a pipe banging on wood and getting worse... so sure.. i'll just keep driving). If this were any other car company, they would want to fix the car so you don't stand the chance of catastrophic failure or driver injury.
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Unless you hit a really gnarly, massive pothole or something there is almost no danger of anything damaging happening. At most you will lose some stability in turns. The part is far enough away from anything to hit something else and its there to transfer movement from the suspension to the sway bar to prevent the body from leaning. there is enough extra bolt to prevent it from fully sliding off unless you have the issue for a really really long time i imagine
 
UPDATE / FYI.. i complained to the customer care at Lucid last week that I would have to wait until May(!) for this to get fixed.. it was SO bad that even smooth roads sounded like a barbell rattling in an oil drum. They agreed that it was insane to tell me that I had to wait 2.5months for simple fix. A service rep contacted me within hours via text and let me know that they can have a mobile tech person thg following day (sat am) to my house to fix this. THEY KNOW WHAT IT IS, AND THAT IT ONLY TAKES MINUTES TO FIX! Mobile tech showed up at 9am, and was gone by 9:45 after replacing BOTH (left and right) 16MM lock nuts on the sway bar and explained that they have to 'over toque' the nuts, but is needed. Also using different lock nut. We're talking about $5 in parts, lifting the car with simple bladder jacks, keeping the wheels on the car, and having some good conversation with the mobile tech. SERIOUSLY LUCID! Complete fail on their part for not communicating within their own service departments.
 
My Air is currently at KOP SC for that issue as well. While they are troubleshooting a clicking noise coming from the rear shortly after acceleration and deceleration, I asked them to investigate the front end clunk noise again, as it has been mentioned multiple times in this forum. The intake tech seemed to be aware of this, so I hope that information reaches the actual repair technician. On a positive note, they have already updated the software to version 2.8.30.
 
Joelaron said:
UPDATE / FYI.. i complained to the customer care at Lucid last week that I would have to wait until May(!) for this to get fixed.. it was SO bad that even smooth roads sounded like a barbell rattling in an oil drum. They agreed that it was insane to tell me that I had to wait 2.5months for simple fix. A service rep contacted me within hours via text and let me know that they can have a mobile tech person thg following day (sat am) to my house to fix this. THEY KNOW WHAT IT IS, AND THAT IT ONLY TAKES MINUTES TO FIX! Mobile tech showed up at 9am, and was gone by 9:45 after replacing BOTH (left and right) 16MM lock nuts on the sway bar and explained that they have to 'over toque' the nuts, but is needed. Also using different lock nut. We're talking about $5 in parts, lifting the car with simple bladder jacks, keeping the wheels on the car, and having some good conversation with the mobile tech. SERIOUSLY LUCID! Complete fail on their part for not communicating within their own service departments.
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FWIW, I had this happen on a brand new Pure loaner (150mi when I picked it up) as well, so it doesn’t seem like it’s a unique issue.
 
I have similar issue with my car. What appears are two different noises. One turned out to be coming from FDU and required replacement. I could recreate it with clunking noise by driving slowly and pressing/releasing accelerator quickly. It was more pronounced when driving backwards. While chasing the clunking noise the Service Team performed extensive torque specs checks on the whole front end. I will post the work order for reference since we don't have any specifications listed. This might be helpful for someone who is looking for torque specs.

The clunking noise coming from front end while driving over small bumps like a curb with steering wheel turned slightly is still there. Sometimes it is more pronounced. Sometimes I can't recreate it. I am going to bet it is the sway bar link nut loose. It is surprising that noise is there 4 months after the work was done to retorque all suspension components to factory specs.

Cause: Internal knocking, clunking noise coming from Front Drive Unit.
Corrections: Verified clunk-type noise coming from front end of vehicle during slow speeds when pushing accelerator pedal while road testing with
client. Client noted normal Accelerator Pedal.
First test drive: (w/shop foreman)
12/8/2025 3:08 PM 35272 miles
12/8/2025 3:30 PM 35275 miles
Inspected front sway bar links torque
Following the TSB torque of 57Nm.
Driver: 1 Nm torque more
passenger 1 Nm torque more
Removed contents of frunk, which included a spare tire and compact jack. Removed frunk tub and both shear plates. Performed test drive again, Noise
is still present.
Second test drive frunk removed

12/9/2025 7:30 AM 35275 miles
12/9/2025 7:39 AM 35278 miles
Removed triangulation bars, blower inlet module and blower motor to inspect suspension components.
-front axle nuts at hub were torqued to specification 220Nm
-Driver side bracket of stabilizer bar assembly (2 T-40) 6Nm, was loose 3Nm
-checked sway bar bushings torque
driver side: 33Nm
passenger side: 33Nm
specification is 30 Nm.
Checked FDU mount at the body and nuts
2x13 motor mount bolts (45Nm 2x13mm)
Driver: Needed 6Nm more and 8Nm more
Passenger: Needed 4Nm more to torque at 45Nm
15mm nuts on casting mount 82Nm is specification
Driver: 14Nm more on back nut 10Nm on front nut
Passenger: 13Nm more on each nut
Front subframe (rear bolts (8x15 46Nm spec)
driver side 3/4 moved another 1nm
passenger side 3/4 moved another 1 Nm
checked lower camber link( 21mm nut to 21mm bolt) Spec 134Nm
Passenger side needed 4Nm more torque
Driver side needed 8Nm more torque
Performed test drive after retorquing all noted parts. Slow speeds, parking lot maneuvers.
12/9/2025 9:11 AM 35278 miles
12/9/2025 9:22 AM 35279 miles
Utilizing Wireless ChassisEAR kit, was able to narrow down noise to passenger side of FDU (Front Drive Unit).
Escalated to FTS Case.
Replaced FDU, after replacing FDU perform following :
- Key injection
- OTA 12215 (Inception) - NG
FSEE ID FSEE-47588 -
- Coolant fill
- Coolant purge x2
- VIN lock
Vehicle driven after FDU replacement, for the noise. Noise no longer there.
Perform test drive
12/18/2025 2:13 PM Mileage out 35,280
12/18/2025 2:32 PM Mileage in 35,285
 
suchluke said:
Cause: Internal knocking, clunking noise coming from Front Drive Unit.
Corrections: Verified clunk-type noise coming from front end of vehicle during slow speeds when pushing accelerator pedal while road testing with
Click to expand...
This must be what's going on with mine!! Service said they tightened all the suspenion, but it still does it. Looks like its a problem with the drive unit.
 
I had a problem similar to this with my Audi. It took three visits for them to: 1) acknowledge the problem, 2) address the problem, 3) actually fix the problem.

I miss the good old days when you had a regular local mechanic (not a dealer) who prided himself on being able to find the problem and fix it.
 
I have a Pure so no FDU for me, but the clunk is still there and seems to be more frequent as the days go on. Not to mention the audible click and knock from the RDU upon acceleration and deceleration in slow or regular moving traffic that I was told was normal operation since the RDU has to have play in it. SMH. Hopefully, it will get sorted when I have time to do a road test with the technician during my annual service appointment.
 
Following this. Mine just went into service to hunt down a front left suspension clunk. I can replicate mine nearly every time by driving over the center lane reflector lights. Basically, any short, sharp bump at low speed will produce the sound. My loaner is a 2022 AGT with 25k miles and it is tight as a drum. No rattling. After I watched "Frunk open" messages appear on my app several times on Friday, my SA informed that they isolated the noise to the front left suspension damper, NOT the sway bar links - Which for some earlier cars has a campaign open for it. Technically, my car isn't supposed to have this issue so will see what the final call is.
 
I just experienced this problem in my 2025 Air GT. Heard clunks and rattles from the front end especially over rough road. Did not feel anything unusual in the steering wheel. I shot a short video on my phone to capture audio. I went to Lucid service in San Jose, CA the next day. When I played the video for the Lucid tech he immediately recognized the problem. They were able to fix the stabilizer bar under warranty while I went across the street for lunch. Great service.
 
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