Jumped right out in front of us!

[BradSholl]

So…yesterday, we were traveling on a small backroad that leads into the back of my neighborhood after a nice dinner. My wife was driving since I had cataract surgery that morning. She moves a bit right due to an oncoming car. I’m thinking…”We’re awfully close to those mailboxes” but what do I know, I just had eye surgery. Bam!!

We stopped and I got out. The right side view mirror lens was shattered and hanging by its wires. Uuuugh! I detached the lens so it wouldn’t bang against the side of the car and we continued home. Tried calling customer service but after 15 min of “we’ll be with you shortly”, I pressed 1 for a callback. Gave that another 15 min…no joy. Texted them and finally got a request for pics of the damage.

The damage and cost aside, we are scheduled for our first major road trip in less than 2 weeks. I was really looking forward to experiencing the Air’s full traveling potential. Now, it’s looking like we either take my Rivian and it’s 280mi epa range, or add to our carbon footprint in my M3, which is decidedly not my wife’s favorite vehicle.

Unless….Lucid can work some magic. Nearest service center is Tyson’s Corner VA, a good 3 hr drive away, but I can’t help but think Tyler might be able to pop a lens into the mirror housing and we deal with the cosmetics at a later date.

Here’s hoping…

 

[RichMalden]

So…yesterday, we were traveling on a small backroad that leads into the back of my neighborhood after a nice dinner. My wife was driving since I had cataract surgery that morning. She moves a bit right due to an oncoming car. I’m thinking…”We’re awfully close to those mailboxes” but what do I know, I just had eye surgery. Bam!!

We stopped and I got out. The right side view mirror lens was shattered and hanging by its wires. Uuuugh! I detached the lens so it wouldn’t bang against the side of the car and we continued home. Tried calling customer service but after 15 min of “we’ll be with you shortly”, I pressed 1 for a callback. Gave that another 15 min…no joy. Texted them and finally got a request for pics of the damage.

The damage and cost aside, we are scheduled for our first major road trip in less than 2 weeks. I was really looking forward to experiencing the Air’s full traveling potential. Now, it’s looking like we either take my Rivian and it’s 280mi epa range, or add to our carbon footprint in my M3, which is decidedly not my wife’s favorite vehicle.

Unless….Lucid can work some magic. Nearest service center is Tyson’s Corner VA, a good 3 hr drive away, but I can’t help but think Tyler might be able to pop a lens into the mirror housing and we deal with the cosmetics at a later date.

Here’s hoping…

If the "only" damage is the mirror unit and not the body of the car you may be in luck. I was told by Service in my area that they generally have the mirror units in stock and can replace them there, it does not need to go to a body shop. This would be for AGTs & Dreams because the color doesn't match the car they're the silver ones. I was told that my car (delivered May 2022) was still using an old silver color that all cars since do not use and they weren't sure they had one of those in stock so that may be a glitch.

So, call your service, decide if its worth a trip and maybe they can fix it same day.

 

[Steveinarizona]

If the "only" damage is the mirror unit and not the body of the car you may be in luck. I was told by Service in my area that they generally have the mirror units in stock and can replace them there, it does not need to go to a body shop. This would be for AGTs & Dreams because the color doesn't match the car they're the silver ones. I was told that my car (delivered May 2022) was still using an old silver color that all cars since do not use and they weren't sure they had one of those in stock so that may be a glitch.

So, call your service, decide if its worth a trip and maybe they can fix it same day.

Alternatively, take one with the least obtrusive color in stock so you can hit the road and when you have more time you can go back and have them replace it with the correct one. You could then store or sell the wrong color mirror.

 

[BradSholl]

Waiting to hear from Tyler in mobile service. Except for the clear plastic window in front, the housing is intact, wires are there and camera works so I’m hoping it’s an quick easy fix…

 

[HackSaw]

Unfortunately do consider that you will need ADAS calibrations and thus a body shop or repair facility with the appropriate tooling, machinery, mats, and targets. Replacing the mirror is the easy part! The ADAS will take longer than the repairs.

 

[borski]

Unfortunately do consider that you will need ADAS calibrations and thus a body shop or repair facility with the appropriate tooling, machinery, mats, and targets. Replacing the mirror is the easy part! The ADAS will take longer than the repairs.

If the camera and housing are intact, he may not need the entire housing replaced, which would mean no ADAS calibrations.

 

[HackSaw]

If the camera and housing are intact, he may not need the entire housing replaced, which would mean no ADAS calibrations.

While the housing may be intact and the cameras maybe don't need to be replaced I had to deal with this previously and the "rule" at Lucid is if the mirror housing is physically moved in it's mounting position it would mean the cameras may not return to the precise x/y/z axis position they were in before (and where they were calibrated before) - and subsequently for that it will still need to have several calibrations performed.

 

[borski]

While the housing may be intact and the cameras maybe don't need to be replaced I had to deal with this previously and the "rule" at Lucid is if the mirror housing is physically moved in it's mounting position it would mean the cameras may not return to the precise x/y/z axis position they were in before (and where they were calibrated before) - and subsequently for that it will still need to have several calibrations performed.

Huh. Noted!

 

[Haggy]

Waiting to hear from Tyler in mobile service. Except for the clear plastic window in front, the housing is intact, wires are there and camera works so I’m hoping it’s an quick easy fix…

This is more of an experience question than a direct comment on the topic, but since I still don't have the car I was wondering how much people rely on the camera vs the mirror, or whether the mirrors are approaching the vestige stage. From test drives, which were not a lot, I thought that the cameras alone were pretty good.

I'm also curious about Lucid's take on making service manuals available. Has anybody looked into that?

 

[joec]

This is more of an experience question than a direct comment on the topic, but since I still don't have the car I was wondering how much people rely on the camera vs the mirror, or whether the mirrors are approaching the vestige stage. From test drives, which were not a lot, I thought that the cameras alone were pretty good.

I'm also curious about Lucid's take on making service manuals available. Has anybody looked into that?

I always use my mirrors in conjunction with the cameras. Particularly the side mirrors. The cameras are super handy, though.

The reverse / forward camera and 360 view during parking: THAT I rely on quite heavily. I still check my mirrors, mind you, but the 360 is so good I've come to lean on it more than I would any other reverse camera I've used.

 

[borski]

I always use my mirrors in conjunction with the cameras. Particularly the side mirrors. The cameras are super handy, though.

The reverse / forward camera and 360 view during parking: THAT I rely on quite heavily. I still check my mirrors, mind you, but the 360 is so good I've come to lean on it more than I would any other reverse camera I've used.

For parking, it’s almost exclusively cameras now. I use the mirrors when parking in reverse, just because the translation of mirror to muscle memory is stronger/faster than the translation of camera to muscle memory.

For lane changes and general use, mirrors, with a glance at the blind spot cams while I make the change so nothing jumps out.

 

[Rogue]

This is more of an experience question than a direct comment on the topic, but since I still don't have the car I was wondering how much people rely on the camera vs the mirror, or whether the mirrors are approaching the vestige stage. From test drives, which were not a lot, I thought that the cameras alone were pretty good.

I'm also curious about Lucid's take on making service manuals available. Has anybody looked into that?

Oddly enough, the turn signal video can be clearer than a rain droplet covered side mirror. Bad habit on my part, but I give at most a courtesy glance and lean heavily on blind spot monitoring (usually passing at speed so doubtful anyone will come up from behind).

Parking is entirely Bird View with the exception of out of my garage. I can see the angle to clear my other vehicle a whole lot better while the car complains on the proximity (tight squeeze some days).

 

[Amster]

This is more of an experience question than a direct comment on the topic, but since I still don't have the car I was wondering how much people rely on the camera vs the mirror, or whether the mirrors are approaching the vestige stage. From test drives, which were not a lot, I thought that the cameras alone were pretty good.

I'm also curious about Lucid's take on making service manuals available. Has anybody looked into that?

I rely on the camera's a lot. I use them almost 100% when parking, especially backing in. I think they're amazing. While driving I'll glance at the mirrors as well. On the other hand, my husband is old school. He only uses the mirrors, doesn't even check the camera views.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

Waiting to hear from Tyler in mobile service. Except for the clear plastic window in front, the housing is intact, wires are there and camera works so I’m hoping it’s an quick easy fix…

Sorry your car got busted! I'm pretty sure they'd need to recalibrate the ADAS but it's not too time consuming, I think takes a couple hours? They showed me the setup they use to do it at Natick service center, it shouldn't hold up you getting the car back in time for the road trip.

 

[Robbye]

So…yesterday, we were traveling on a small backroad that leads into the back of my neighborhood after a nice dinner. My wife was driving since I had cataract surgery that morning. She moves a bit right due to an oncoming car. I’m thinking…”We’re awfully close to those mailboxes” but what do I know, I just had eye surgery. Bam!!

We stopped and I got out. The right side view mirror lens was shattered and hanging by its wires. Uuuugh! I detached the lens so it wouldn’t bang against the side of the car and we continued home. Tried calling customer service but after 15 min of “we’ll be with you shortly”, I pressed 1 for a callback. Gave that another 15 min…no joy. Texted them and finally got a request for pics of the damage.

The damage and cost aside, we are scheduled for our first major road trip in less than 2 weeks. I was really looking forward to experiencing the Air’s full traveling potential. Now, it’s looking like we either take my Rivian and it’s 280mi epa range, or add to our carbon footprint in my M3, which is decidedly not my wife’s favorite vehicle.

Unless….Lucid can work some magic. Nearest service center is Tyson’s Corner VA, a good 3 hr drive away, but I can’t help but think Tyler might be able to pop a lens into the mirror housing and we deal with the cosmetics at a later date.

Here’s hoping…

I am dealing with a similar issue in St. Louis. I was backing up at night to scan for a parking spot, and neither my Lucid nor I saw that the pickup truck illegally parked at the corner had dual wheels at the rear. I was using the side of the truck as my guide and the truck's wheel well caught the rear passenger side panel. Pretty minor damage, but I wanted to get it fixed.

Lucid gave me the name of the only "Lucid approved" repair facility in St. Louis. I made an appointment, and while they hadn't signed a contract with Lucid, they were salivating at the prospect of my repair. When they told me it would take more than 8 hours to complete the appraisal and that I should anticipate it costing more than $15,000 I was beyond shocked and ready to sell my Lucid.

Fortunately, Lucid sent a tech to address the windshield wiper recall. He happened to have worked in Tesla body repair work prior to joining Lucid. He said the repair should be more like $2,000. He suggested I consider using a Chicago repair facility. I am instead trying to find a Tesla-approved autobody shop in St. Louis that may be able to do my repair. If not, I'm looking at a 600-mile round trip and several nights at a hotel.

 

[Haggy]

Fortunately, Lucid sent a tech to address the windshield wiper recall. He happened to have worked in Tesla body repair work prior to joining Lucid. He said the repair should be more like $2,000. He suggested I consider using a Chicago repair facility. I am instead trying to find a Tesla-approved autobody shop in St. Louis that may be able to do my repair. If not, I'm looking at a 600-mile round trip and several nights at a hotel.

Tesla approved body shops aren't necessarily cheap. Ironically, Tesla owned body shops can come in cheaper than approved ones, not that it helps in this case. It comes down to whether or not special training is needed, and in the case of Tesla, it came down to working with aluminum bodies in most cases. There are potential issues with camera calibration, but it's mostly body material.

In my case, I needed a rear bumper on a Model S fixed and Tesla was about half the price of one of their approved shops. So you might still want to shop around and check multiple Tesla approved shops.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Tesla approved body shops aren't necessarily cheap. Ironically, Tesla owned body shops can come in cheaper than approved ones, not that it helps in this case. It comes down to whether or not special training is needed, and in the case of Tesla, it came down to working with aluminum bodies in most cases. There are potential issues with camera calibration, but it's mostly body material.

In my case, I needed a rear bumper on a Model S fixed and Tesla was about half the price of one of their approved shops. So you might still want to shop around and check multiple Tesla approved shops.

Aluminum is hard to work. Someone dented my rear doors on my BMW 5 series and the repair shop was directed by the insurance company to try repairing it. So the autobody shop did try and as they knew, it was unsuccessful and they had to replace the door skins.

The new mega shell aluminum bodies will likely cause monstrous increases in auto body repair costs.

 

[Haggy]

Aluminum is hard to work. Someone dented my rear doors on my BMW 5 series and the repair shop was directed by the insurance company to try repairing it. So the autobody shop did try and as they knew, it was unsuccessful and they had to replace the door skins.

The new mega shell aluminum bodies will likely cause monstrous increases in auto body repair costs.

What surprised me is that the insurance policy quote for a Lucid Air GT came in at more than double what I'm paying for a Model S. Bumping deductibles up to $2000 still left it about 50% higher.

I haven't had anything but rear bumpers to deal with in the past few decades, aside from one car that my son's girlfriend totaled, so there was no body work on that one. I was actually surprised at how cheap it was to get a Model S bumper fixed. The bumper cover itself, new from Tesla, was $200 as opposed to almost double that in the insurance company's initial estimate based on a reconditioned part. The parts underneath were reasonably priced too. I would imagine that getting an aluminum part fixed would be a different story. With the Lucid, I'll be paying the price of that repair in insurance premium alone each year. And my rates are based on zero chargeable accidents.