Living with the Lucid Gravity: A Tesla Owner’s Journey

[allenmhc]

I'm old enough to remember when cars didn't have OTA updates yet somehow the proximity keys worked.

That's a particularly Luddite reductionist perspective. Cars didn't have security vulnerabilities where a key signal could just be replicated to unlock the vehicle with a simple tool, and cars also weren't controlled via apps and be expected to soft-sleep their OSs in anticipation for a user to show up. You can quibble about the reduced reliability, but our current systems are trying to do a lot more as well.

 

[allenmhc]

Wait….it’s not normal to read the forum daily? Perhaps, more than once a day?

I get it, but it doesn’t absolve someone from doing any research before throwing down $100,000+…again, I don’t want to get in the fray hear.

Also, I am OUTRAGED that the Gravity doesn’t have Lucid logo lights coming from the side mirror for puddle lights like Rivian. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

Also, my X farts whenever I want it to. Why doesn’t the Lucid? Again, it just doesn’t measure up. And the Lucid absolutely needs more cowbell.

Okay, I am done.

That was legit what my kids were complaining about this weekend as I swapped out my Model X → Gravity. No easter eggs! No more games and "entertainment" on the back screen! I told them they can drive themselves on their own road trips if they wanted, otherwise I'm prioritizing my own sanity and satisfaction over 10-year old mobile games that the car happens to run.

 

[merveille07]

Lucid Gravity Day 5

32. What is Lucid’s goal — sell more cars, or drive people away with small unresolved issues?​

I keep asking myself this. Is Lucid focused on selling cars, or are they unintentionally turning people off by failing to fix relatively small but important issues?

33. Who would I recommend this car to?​

I originally wanted to recommend the Gravity to a longtime minivan user in their 60s. After seeing the software bugs and usability problems, I no longer feel comfortable doing that. This level of software instability is not something many older drivers would tolerate.

34. Key detection is unreliable​

Even when the keyfob is right there and positioned in the cup holder, the car sometimes fails to recognize it or unlocks very slowly. That’s a serious trust problem. If a premium car can’t reliably detect the keyfob, it undermines confidence in the whole system.

35. Face-detection warnings are annoying and unnecessary​

The car repeatedly warns that it “can’t see my face,” even while I’m looking straight ahead. That warning is intrusive, confusing, and feels like a false alarm. It shouldn’t be popping up during perfectly normal driving.

36. Navigation is genuinely problematic​

Lucid’s navigation often fails to show the correct locations. I constantly have to cross-check with my phone. Its ETA estimates are frequently off. Tesla’s routing also had flaws, but at least Tesla’s ETA tended to be more accurate — Lucid’s nav is less reliable overall.

37. Climate control heat-up is very slow​

Last night I turned the heater on and the car took a long time to deliver warm air. It took at least three minutes before I actually felt heat. That’s far too slow for comfort in cool conditions.

38. Seat heaters vs steering-wheel heating design​

The seat heaters work immediately and well. The steering-wheel heater, however, seems poorly designed. Heat appears on parts of the wheel you don’t normally hold, while the parts you actually grip don’t warm noticeably. You only really feel it when steering hard left or right. That needs rework.

These are the main issues I discovered this weekend. I’ll continue documenting problems and fixes I find. I want to be constructive, but I also worry about getting roasted in the thread.

I inferred that you're numbering this to elucidate the number of issues you have found with the gravity, but you're updating the numbers when something is determined to be user error and you keep repeating things you have previously assigned number to with a new number. I am not following, what's the purpose of the numbering?

 

[Elfin]

That's a particularly Luddite reductionist perspective. Cars didn't have security vulnerabilities where a key signal could just be replicated to unlock the vehicle with a simple tool, and cars also weren't controlled via apps and be expected to soft-sleep their OSs in anticipation for a user to show up. You can quibble about the reduced reliability, but our current systems are trying to do a lot more as well.

I just think that functionality automakers used to be able to debug before delivering to customers, like proximity keys, should not have bugs nine months into production. I'm skeptical that the reason they can't get them to work has anything to do with security holes of previous implementations. I continue to believe that OTA updates have made developers sloppier.

 

[allenmhc]

I just think that functionality automakers used to be able to debug before delivering to customers, like proximity keys, should not have bugs nine months into production. I'm skeptical that the reason they can't get them to work has anything to do with security holes of previous implementations. I continue to believe that OTA updates have made developers sloppier.

Oh, for sure—provide some optionality and ability to fix things after-the-fact, and people will eventually learn to take it. Software development can of course be better; my point was simply that we're not really comparing apples to apples from the old days of simple keyfobs.

 

[Elfin]

Oh, for sure—provide some optionality and ability to fix things after-the-fact, and people will eventually learn to take it. Software development can of course be better; my point was simply that we're not really comparing apples to apples from the old days of simple keyfobs.

The first proximity key was the Mercedes s-class in 1998. It’s been pretty common for 20 years. Just sayin’
If I were architecting it I would put the key stuff in the category of stuff that always has to work like the brake, steering, and throttle firmware. I guess I’m becoming a grumpy old man. lol.

 

[Bdr100]

The first proximity key was the Mercedes s-class in 1998. It’s been pretty common for 20 years. Just sayin’
If I were architecting it I would put the key stuff in the category of stuff that always has to work like the brake, steering, and throttle firmware. I guess I’m becoming a grumpy old man. lol.

I 100% absolutely agree. Every car that I have had since 2002 has had a proximity key fob and NEVER ONCE have any of them refused to open the door or start the car. I have never approached my car and worried that it might not open. Releasing the Gravity with the key fob issue was a major f-up. (Especially considering all of the fob issues with AIR). Even with the 3.3.1 update that supposedly improves key fob issues, it is my biggest worry by far with my upcoming Gravity delivery. I am willing to deal with the ongoing HUD teething issues, squeaky back seat, glitchy navigation, but key fob reliability needs to be job one until it is as reliable as my past cars.

 

[JoeSchmo]

I would assume that the vast majority of early adoption is by those of us in a technology field of one sort or another. While it is possible that someone as a content creator could consider themselves in the tech industry by definition, i am specifically looking at those in software development of one role or another from QA to Infra.

if the vast majority of the early adopters are of this group, i have a hard time understanding the gripes.

if your not in the tech field, why are then an early adopter? or is perhaps because you didnt do enough research to validate what is still on the "board" as a bug/issue?

 

[hydbob]

I 100% absolutely agree. Every car that I have had since 2002 has had a proximity key fob and NEVER ONCE have any of them refused to open the door or start the car. I have never approached my car and worried that it might not open. Releasing the Gravity with the key fob issue was a major f-up. (Especially considering all of the fob issues with AIR). Even with the 3.3.1 update that supposedly improves key fob issues, it is my biggest worry by far with my upcoming Gravity delivery. I am willing to deal with the ongoing HUD teething issues, squeaky back seat, glitchy navigation, but key fob reliability needs to be job one until it is as reliable as my past cars.

I'm curious if you both are defining proximity fob as not actually needing to get the key out of your pocket or that it unlocks before you get to your car. 2002 seems like a long time ago where it was auto-unlocking without you needing to touch the door handle. If you still need to touch the handle, the Gravity works 100% of the time when you push it in, which personally in functionally the same as touching the handle to unlock.

 

[socktucker]

Lucid Gravity Day 5

32. What is Lucid’s goal — sell more cars, or drive people away with small unresolved issues?​

I keep asking myself this. Is Lucid focused on selling cars, or are they unintentionally turning people off by failing to fix relatively small but important issues?

33. Who would I recommend this car to?​

I originally wanted to recommend the Gravity to a longtime minivan user in their 60s. After seeing the software bugs and usability problems, I no longer feel comfortable doing that. This level of software instability is not something many older drivers would tolerate.

34. Key detection is unreliable​

Even when the keyfob is right there and positioned in the cup holder, the car sometimes fails to recognize it or unlocks very slowly. That’s a serious trust problem. If a premium car can’t reliably detect the keyfob, it undermines confidence in the whole system.

35. Face-detection warnings are annoying and unnecessary​

The car repeatedly warns that it “can’t see my face,” even while I’m looking straight ahead. That warning is intrusive, confusing, and feels like a false alarm. It shouldn’t be popping up during perfectly normal driving.

36. Navigation is genuinely problematic​

Lucid’s navigation often fails to show the correct locations. I constantly have to cross-check with my phone. Its ETA estimates are frequently off. Tesla’s routing also had flaws, but at least Tesla’s ETA tended to be more accurate — Lucid’s nav is less reliable overall.

37. Climate control heat-up is very slow​

Last night I turned the heater on and the car took a long time to deliver warm air. It took at least three minutes before I actually felt heat. That’s far too slow for comfort in cool conditions.

38. Seat heaters vs steering-wheel heating design​

The seat heaters work immediately and well. The steering-wheel heater, however, seems poorly designed. Heat appears on parts of the wheel you don’t normally hold, while the parts you actually grip don’t warm noticeably. You only really feel it when steering hard left or right. That needs rework.

These are the main issues I discovered this weekend. I’ll continue documenting problems and fixes I find. I want to be constructive, but I also worry about getting roasted in the thread.

 

[Bdr100]

I'm curious if you both are defining proximity fob as not actually needing to get the key out of your pocket or that it unlocks before you get to your car. 2002 seems like a long time ago where it was auto-unlocking without you needing to touch the door handle. If you still need to touch the handle, the Gravity works 100% of the time when you push it in, which personally in functionally the same as touching the handle to unlock.

Actually, there have been numerous reports of people not being able to unlock Gravity even by touching door handles, hitting unlock button on fob, etc. Also reports of once in car, not recognizing fob and refusing to shift into drive. I am cautiously optimistic that 3.3.1 might have fixed this but will need more time see if this is a 99.999% fix.

 

[mswlogo]

I think why it’s new, is most car manufacturers have switched / switching to Bluetooth LE. Tesla did 8 years ago. So that your phone can work as a key as well. The FOB’s are using the same tech as the phone.

Even after Tesla proved BLE could work Bluetooth was was updated to support true proximity and that standard is still fairly new and what newer Teslas I’m sure use now. It’s part of the standard.

Still no excuse but that’s why they are flaky.

Phone as key had been pretty rock solid on 3 Teslas. A 4th Tesla had the old style KeyFob only but that always worked.

Appreciate the OP’s ongoing list. I had a Gravity on order but canceled after seeing consistent patterns of serious software issues that typically take years for them to resolve.

I suspect I’d be in the same boat as OP. You grow accustomed to what should work. Tesla did the hard work already proving out the tech as a guide to clone and see what’s possible. Simply no excuse for 3rd or 4th gen car from Lucud using PROVEN tech to still not have it right.

Stop giving them a free pass.

Same applies to sone other basics OP brings up. Navigation should be near flawless. And shouldn’t REQUIRE CarPlay/Android Auto to get around.

I don’t miss CarPlay one bit in my Teslas because every native works pretty dam good. I also hate jumping in and out of CarPlay on cars.

Saying it’s new to Lucid is like saying when Android came out after iOS. Oh we don’t have virtual keyboards working quite right yet. Give us some time.

 

[hydbob]

Actually, there have been numerous reports of people not being able to unlock Gravity even by touching door handles, hitting unlock button on fob, etc. Also reports of once in car, not recognizing fob and refusing to shift into drive. I am cautiously optimistic that 3.3.1 might have fixed this but will need more time see if this is a 99.999% fix.

Yea and almost all those cases are going to be a hardware issue with the center console and pinched wire. It's not that Lucid hasn't made the entry better, but I suspect now they know the cause of some of the problems with entry that it will be smooth sailing. I have only had 1 entry issue in the 3 months of owning the car and it was due to the fob battery being dead.

 

[merveille07]

I think why it’s new, is most car manufacturers have switched / switching to Bluetooth LE. Tesla did 8 years ago. So that your phone can work as a key as well. The FOB’s are using the same tech as the phone.

Even after Tesla proved BLE could work Bluetooth was was updated to support true proximity and that standard is still fairly new and what newer Teslas I’m sure use now. It’s part of the standard.

Still no excuse but that’s why they are flaky.

Phone as key had been pretty rock solid on 3 Teslas. A 4th Tesla had the old style KeyFob only but that always worked.

Appreciate the OP’s ongoing list. I had a Gravity on order but canceled after seeing consistent patterns of serious software issues that typically take years for them to resolve.

I suspect I’d be in the same boat as OP. You grow accustomed to what should work. Tesla did the hard work already proving out the tech as a guide to clone and see what’s possible. Simply no excuse for 3rd or 4th gen car from Lucud using PROVEN tech to still not have it right.

Stop giving them a free pass.

Same applies to sone other basics OP brings up. Navigation should be near flawless. And shouldn’t REQUIRE CarPlay/Android Auto to get around.

I don’t miss CarPlay one bit in my Teslas because every native works pretty dam good. I also hate jumping in and out of CarPlay on cars.

Saying it’s new to Lucid is like saying when Android came out after iOS. Oh we don’t have virtual keyboards working quite right yet. Give us some time.

Yes, yes , yes; why haven't Intel copy paste what NVIDIA already did? No excuses.
Let's be honest, is it actually the way to write an objective review of a newly purchased vehicle/product?. Like if I buy an electronic and encountered some issues; I go on an owners forum and make a big list with Caps of things I find wrong. No manual checking, no customer service contact; straight out labelled everything as a fault. You don't need to look hard to see that the software issues affecting the early adopters have been listed countless times here ; heck there's even a thread called "gravity bugs/issues". If the op is faithfully reporting issues and updating the list accordingly after receiving feedback, or if he has checked the manual or contact support; what he is doing can be taking as objective but he isn't and you're likely basing opinions on what he says not what people who have owned the cars longer are saying.

 

[borski]

I suspect I’d be in the same boat as OP. You grow accustomed to what should work. Tesla did the hard work already proving out the tech as a guide to clone and see what’s possible. Simply no excuse for 3rd or 4th gen car from Lucud using PROVEN tech to still not have it right.

Stop giving them a free pass.

Nobody is giving them a free pass. However, there is a very long list of things Lucid does right that Tesla doesn’t. Lists like this don’t include those, and are thus a very myopic view of what a car “should” be.

Nobody is saying Lucid shouldn’t fix these issues.

All I am saying is that focusing *exclusively* on the things a Model S or Model 3 does better will lead you to… wanting to buy a Model S or 3, and that is completely fine.

Alternatively, it may be helpful to try and *enjoy* the vehicle for the ways in which it is *different* from a Tesla, instead of focusing exclusively on the ways in which Tesla is a different car.

YMMV, I just don’t want people to misunderstand. These aren’t excuses. The car is different from a Tesla. It has different issues. Tesla has a separate set of issues.

It’s okay to want to improve things and find bugs, etc etc. It is the lamenting that is annoying, as if by not “being a Tesla” (so to speak, insofar as having all the same features) it implies a Lucid is a *worse* vehicle.

There is quite a list of features a Tesla doesn’t have, that a Lucid does … those things also took time to build.

This idea that if it doesn’t have every feature Tesla does it is somehow behind is bananas.

 

[Brian_N]

I hate to say it, but feel like OP is kind of throwing grenades here. Lots of valid points mixed with completely absurd “issues” that seem designed to goad folks into responding. None of which haven’t been covered thoughtfully and constructively in other places on the forum.

That said, I can choose not to pay attention to the thread and that is what I will do going forw

I understand your point. But I’m not trying to throw grenades here. I’m simply documenting my personal experience as a new Lucid Gravity owner, coming from years of Tesla ownership. Some of these things may sound small or obvious, but when you put them together they affect the first impression of the car.

If certain issues have already been discussed elsewhere on the forum, that’s great — it means Lucid is probably aware. But I still think it’s useful to have everything gathered in one place from a Tesla-owner perspective. My goal is not to provoke but to share feedback honestly so others (and maybe Lucid employees reading here) can benefit.

 

[Brian_N]

He is just someone who has not followed the forum for the past year for every day, looks normal to me, someone who does read the forum daily for the past year…

100% agree

 

[Bus Driver]

I don’t know…the software “issues”, or “PROBLEMS”, which is an old fashioned word that I much prefer, have not dimmed my enthusiasm for my Lucid Air. I’m still so captivated by my Lucid Air that even after three years of ownership I scarcely notice all the software glitches that sometimes still arise. Twice in the last week, in a city completely foreign to me and my car, the Lucid navigation system led me to a bramble thicket at the end of a country road and declared its job done. In the first instance this happened we still made it to the wedding on time.

I remain so enthusiastic for the Lucid brand that against my better financial judgement, I’ve placed an order for a Gravity while simultaneously intending to hold on to my Air. My hope is that we will be an all-Lucid household before the end of the year.

We still have a July 2018-build Tesla Model X100D. Tesla’s software is far smoother and far more sophisticated than almost anything Lucid has to offer even now. Adding different driver profiles pretty much only requires that we know how to find letters on a QWERTY board. And even FSD has improved in leaps and bounds, to the point that FSD no longer terrifies me. It impresses me instead.

Still, for me, it’s never been about the software. For all our Model X’s overwhelmingly competence in the area of software reliability and functionality, whenever I have somewhere to go, no matter how near or far, I find myself picking up the glitchy fob to my Lucid instead.

 

[HC_79]

I 100% absolutely agree. Every car that I have had since 2002 has had a proximity key fob and NEVER ONCE have any of them refused to open the door or start the car. I have never approached my car and worried that it might not open. Releasing the Gravity with the key fob issue was a major f-up. (Especially considering all of the fob issues with AIR). Even with the 3.3.1 update that supposedly improves key fob issues, it is my biggest worry by far with my upcoming Gravity delivery. I am willing to deal with the ongoing HUD teething issues, squeaky back seat, glitchy navigation, but key fob reliability needs to be job one until it is as reliable as my past cars.

Cancel your order with the reason “you can’t get a key fob working, I don’t want the car”

If you don’t think Lucid is taking the issue seriously enough and find it unacceptable then simply walk away. The more people that walk away because of fob issues sends a pretty clear message. Buy it then they know you’ll put up with it.

Let’s face it though, most people (if any) won’t cancel, they’ll take the car knowing it’s got potential fob issues then come in here to complain about it even though you all had fair warning.

 

[hydbob]

I understand your point. But I’m not trying to throw grenades here. I’m simply documenting my personal experience as a new Lucid Gravity owner, coming from years of Tesla ownership. Some of these things may sound small or obvious, but when you put them together they affect the first impression of the car.

If certain issues have already been discussed elsewhere on the forum, that’s great — it means Lucid is probably aware. But I still think it’s useful to have everything gathered in one place from a Tesla-owner perspective. My goal is not to provoke but to share feedback honestly so others (and maybe Lucid employees reading here) can benefit.

You make it sound like 90% of the owners here aren't Tesla-owners or ex Tesla owners LOL