RESOLVED Lucid Air Lemon Law Help Needed in Florida/Orlando

[thecodingart]

I've got a bit of a situation with my Lucid Air, and I'm exploring the Lemon Law as a possible solution. I'm not thrilled to admit it, but my Lucid has become the most serviced EV I've ever owned, even surpassing my early 2013 Model S. To give you the full picture, the first day of ownership of this vehicle was nothing short of a catastrophe. You can read all about it in my original post.

Amidst all the rollercoaster rides of service visits and frustrations, I have to say that the Lucid Air itself has been the best car experience I've ever had, except for the reliability issues. It's a fantastic vehicle that I truly enjoy driving when it's not in the shop.

Here's the deal: I've been averaging 1-2 service visits every 2 months for a year now, and it's starting to wear on me. I've heard that many of these issues are being worked on in newer Lucid models, which gives me some hope for the future. But right now, I'm not sure what to do post lemon lawing it.

I'm considering two options:

1. Getting Another Lucid: The lower price and APR rates for newer Lucid models are enticing. I'm hoping that the next one will be more reliable.

2. Returning to Porsche Taycan: On the flip side, I'm thinking about going back to a Porsche Taycan, which comes with its own set of pros and cons.

I'd love to hear your insights, advice, and recommendations. Has anyone else dealt with Lemon Law issues in Florida, particularly in the Orlando area? If so, could you share your experiences and maybe suggest a trustworthy attorney who specializes in Lemon Law cases in this region?

 

[hydbob]

Whoa, what's been going on with your car?

 

[Adnillien]

My thought is to keep what you have if you like driving the car. I had my car in for service 11 times in the first 10 months. For the last 9 months I have been in twice not counting the annual service. For me, the early problems are getting resolved.

 

[thecodingart]

Whoa, what's been going on with your car?

Just ongoing service maintenance.

Initial bang obviously started when driving it off the lot with the motor failure (and a few other sprinkled issues), since then I've had;

• 2x Frunk latch failures
• 1x tire failure
• 1x charge port failure
• 1x entire battery replacement
• Multiple weather stopping alignment issues (small)
• 3x steering wheel replacements
• 1x center console button replacement
• 1x falling trunk material fix

And multiple hardware + software random failures that aren't always solved by one of the reset options - Example; yesterday my entire driver door module went limp (window controls + mirror + door handle on the driver door refused to respond).

It boils down to - I talk to service a lot. This is just the list off the top of my head as well.

My car just came back -- taking another week for repairs -- to have the frunk latch repaired and now has been randomly spamming me with LiDar errors . Ontop of that, my driver door module loosing communication is sort of setting a nail in the coffin for me. All of this in a short period of time as well with multiple critical issues (battery + motor + latch failures) out of the gate.

Trust me when I say I'm not even happy admitting that this car has broken the number of times I had my 2013 Model S repaired over a 6 year ownership period in just a single year...

 

[quantum]

Just ongoing service maintenance.

Initial bang obviously started when driving it off the lot with the motor failure (and a few other sprinkled issues), since then I've had;

• 2x Frunk latch failures
• 1x tire failure
• 1x charge port failure
• 1x entire battery replacement
• Multiple weather stopping alignment issues (small)
• 3x steering wheel replacements
• 1x center console button replacement
• 1x falling trunk material fix

And multiple hardware + software random failures that aren't always solved by one of the reset options - Example; yesterday my entire driver door module went limp (window controls + mirror + door handle on the driver door refused to respond).

It boils down to - I talk to service a lot. This is just the list off the top of my head as well.

My car just came back -- taking another week for repairs -- to have the frunk latch repaired and now has been randomly spamming me with LiDar errors . Ontop of that, my driver door module loosing communication is sort of setting a nail in the coffin for me. All of this in a short period of time as well with multiple critical issues (battery + motor + latch failures) out of the gate.

Trust me when I say I'm not even happy admitting that this car has broken the number of times I had my 2013 Model S repaired over a 6 year ownership period in just a single year...

Sorry, that sucks! But doesn't lemon law apply to the same defect... x 3 and not fixed, you can lemon the car?

 

[Tesla2.0]

Just ongoing service maintenance.

Initial bang obviously started when driving it off the lot with the motor failure (and a few other sprinkled issues), since then I've had;

• 2x Frunk latch failures
• 1x tire failure
• 1x charge port failure
• 1x entire battery replacement
• Multiple weather stopping alignment issues (small)
• 3x steering wheel replacements
• 1x center console button replacement
• 1x falling trunk material fix

And multiple hardware + software random failures that aren't always solved by one of the reset options - Example; yesterday my entire driver door module went limp (window controls + mirror + door handle on the driver door refused to respond).

It boils down to - I talk to service a lot. This is just the list off the top of my head as well.

My car just came back -- taking another week for repairs -- to have the frunk latch repaired and now has been randomly spamming me with LiDar errors . Ontop of that, my driver door module loosing communication is sort of setting a nail in the coffin for me. All of this in a short period of time as well with multiple critical issues (battery + motor + latch failures) out of the gate.

Trust me when I say I'm not even happy admitting that this car has broken the number of times I had my 2013 Model S repaired over a 6 year ownership period in just a single year...

With that many service visit, it is certainly questionable. But I’m no expert at lemon law to chime in. It sucks to have to go to Service Center that frequent in a single year. I share frunk latch issue as you. That item is minor, I suspect the heat in Florida and Texas may affect alignment of hydraulic arms of the hood. I feel blessed don’t have to deal with Service Center much in 18 months. I sometimes afraid to come to forum to read threads to avoid to get myself jinxed. Just saying….

 

[Drendino]

I was very close to going lemon law several months ago due to multiple ongoing issues and poor customer service addressing them. I don’t really want to get into the details, but I reached out to the service manager, who was able to right the wrongs. Obviously many of us are still experiencing software issues, but my hardware issues have been handled and my car hasn’t seen the shop in coming up on two months now. I’m hoping that the software issues get addressed soon.

I’m really glad that I didn't lemon law it because I love the thing and am convinced that anything else would feel like a disappointment, except for a Saphire. I hope you can have a conversation with a senior manager to come up with a satisfactory action plan. The car really is a marvel and has so much potential.

 

[thecodingart]

Sorry, that sucks! But doesn't lemon law apply to the same defect... x 3 and not fixed, you can lemon the car?

Not in the state of Florida. If your car is in the shop for + 30 days under a certain mileage in the first 2 years of ownership — it’s lemon law qualified.

 

[xponents]

Not in the state of Florida. If your car is in the shop for + 30 days under a certain mileage in the first 2 years of ownership — it’s lemon law qualified.

Is this 30 days in a row or 30 days by combining all the times it was in the shop?

 

[thecodingart]

Is this 30 days in a row or 30 days by combining all the times it was in the shop?

All the times it’s in the shop. Not in a row. Cumulative total of 30 days: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0681/0681.html

“The motor vehicle has been out of service by reason of repair of one or more nonconformities by the manufacturer, or its authorized service agent, for a cumulative total of 30 or more days, 60 or more days in the case of a recreational vehicle, exclusive of downtime for routine maintenance prescribed by the owner’s manual.”

 

[Redlucid]

I get you as an engineer myself, what you have went through would wear on me too. That being said, I would love the Taycan esp. the sport tourismo but the reason I got the Lucid was the more comfortable ride/luxurious interior (while still having some handling) and the range. It really does depend on the needs of you/your family for this car.

 

[Electrified]

Not in the state of Florida. If your car is in the shop for + 30 days under a certain mileage in the first 2 years of ownership — it’s lemon law qualified.

I have no idea how long to takes for a lemon law case to start, proceed, and then finish; but with that said it is something I would look at hard before going that route. What I would try to do first is work a trade deal with Lucid that would be very fair to you in which for short money and little to no stress you can get yourself into a 2023 Lucid.

 

[Lucken]

Just as a datapoint for newer manufactured cars, my Pure is approaching 2 months of ownership and aside from the occasional loss of SXM, the car has been as perfect as the best of my previous 5 EVs. Only my current BMW i4 has done as well or slightly better due to more solid software.

As for the overall driving experience, the Lucid tops the list (Tesla MS, Jaguar I-Pace, Audi e-Tron, Genesis Electrified G80 & i4)

 

[EVCar]

All the times it’s in the shop. Not in a row. Cumulative total of 30 days: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0681/0681.html

“The motor vehicle has been out of service by reason of repair of one or more nonconformities by the manufacturer, or its authorized service agent, for a cumulative total of 30 or more days, 60 or more days in the case of a recreational vehicle, exclusive of downtime for routine maintenance prescribed by the owner’s manual.”

Is this 30 business days?

 

[xponents]

Just as a datapoint for newer manufactured cars, my Pure is approaching 2 months of ownership and aside from the occasional loss of SXM, the car has been as perfect as the best of my previous 5 EVs. Only my current BMW i4 has done as well or slightly better due to more solid software.

As for the overall driving experience, the Lucid tops the list (Tesla MS, Jaguar I-Pace, Audi e-Tron, Genesis Electrified G80 & i4)

Wait, even over the smaller i4?

 

[Bel]

All the times it’s in the shop. Not in a row. Cumulative total of 30 days: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0681/0681.html

“The motor vehicle has been out of service by reason of repair of one or more nonconformities by the manufacturer, or its authorized service agent, for a cumulative total of 30 or more days, 60 or more days in the case of a recreational vehicle, exclusive of downtime for routine maintenance prescribed by the owner’s manual.”

In WA it's more than 30 days (so 31) in the shop as per the shops repair bill(s) check in and check out dates and for any reason. Yes, doesn't have to be 31 days in a row. It takes about one to two months for the entire process unless you go to court. More than 90 % of the cases are settled out of court. In WA, the value of the car returned to the manufacturer is deducted by your miles driven divided by 120,000 miles counting from the miles the car had before the first repair attempt. For example, if you had less than 1000 miles before the first repair attempt, there's very little deduction and you practically get the new car price you paid back. Depending on how good your attorney is you may get sales tax, registration, and accessories you bought for the car back. And the attorney may have the manufacturer paying all legal fees too. The important trick is to get a good attorney. I used the Seattle Lemon Law. I interacted with three (different companies) before I found the fourth one that was very good. I didn't find it difficult to judge whether an attorney was good or not. I find it's best to hire the attorney on contingency. This means if you lose the case, you pay no attorney fees. I found the entire process being easy. For example, it was questionable whether WA law applied since I believe I paid for the car to CA, the factory is in AZ and the Seattle Service Center delivered the car to my home. However, my attorney involved the WA State General Attorney that said WA law applies. I didn't have to deal with any of this, but it was more a fyi from my attorney. The fourth attorney requested all purchase docs and repair bills upfront before saying he'd take the case -- he didn't charge for this. After a few days he got back and took the case on contingency and also explained the chances of winning, how much I'd (most likely) get back. If he's any good, he can quite easily estimate this since at least the WA lemon law is very clear -- 31 days in the shop for any reason. After four months of ownership, my car already had 64 days in the shop (and four weeks in my garage waiting to get into the shop), so it was a slam dunk upfront. And very likely both the car manufacturer and attorney know this 31 days (law) very well so not much to argue about. I wouldn't try to work with Lucid. I did. They promised me the buy-back program several times. But they also said the car had to be fully repaired before they'd buy it back. To me it looked like a stalling tactic. and I got tired of the promises.

 

[Lucken]

Wait, even over the smaller i4?

Yup. When I say driving experience, I’m factoring in both handling & ride quality. The BMW, being smaller than the Lucid, has somewhat better handling (but not significantly so) but the ride quality of the Lucid is definitely better (smoother) than the i4. So the overall driving experience is better in the Lucid.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I have no idea how long to takes for a lemon law case to start, proceed, and then finish; but with that said it is something I would look at hard before going that route. What I would try to do first is work a trade deal with Lucid that would be very fair to you in which for short money and little to no stress you can get yourself into a 2023 Lucid.

That is essentially what I did with BMW a number of years ago. Service manager agreed with me and helped convince BMW to buy back the car without going through the entire lemon law treatment (but I am a retired litigator and did point that out so that may have influenced BMWs decision) and I then ordered a replacement BMW. Process worked flawlessly. BMW gave me a quotation for the miles I had driven and I thought it was fair and accepted it).

 

[sk8ndad]

I would move toward asking Lucid to take the current problematic car and provide a new one. The devil will be in the details. I have done this in the past and have been very satisfied with the result.

 

[Sam6062]

Just ongoing service maintenance.

Initial bang obviously started when driving it off the lot with the motor failure (and a few other sprinkled issues), since then I've had;

• 2x Frunk latch failures
• 1x tire failure
• 1x charge port failure
• 1x entire battery replacement
• Multiple weather stopping alignment issues (small)
• 3x steering wheel replacements
• 1x center console button replacement
• 1x falling trunk material fix

And multiple hardware + software random failures that aren't always solved by one of the reset options - Example; yesterday my entire driver door module went limp (window controls + mirror + door handle on the driver door refused to respond).

It boils down to - I talk to service a lot. This is just the list off the top of my head as well.

My car just came back -- taking another week for repairs -- to have the frunk latch repaired and now has been randomly spamming me with LiDar errors . Ontop of that, my driver door module loosing communication is sort of setting a nail in the coffin for me. All of this in a short period of time as well with multiple critical issues (battery + motor + latch failures) out of the gate.

Trust me when I say I'm not even happy admitting that this car has broken the number of times I had my 2013 Model S repaired over a 6 year ownership period in just a single year...

Sorry to hear about your issues. I heard someone managed to work a deal with Lucid to take their car back.
That is a lot of issues that by itself should have prompted Lucid to offer you a replacement car.

Like someone said below I try not to come here too often so as to not jinx myself.

I recently had Lucid replace a door panel and the carpet on the trunk door for cosmetic reasons. That padding inside the door is nothing to write home about. Think of it as a 1/2 inch thick pillow with fiberfill and it was a different type of padding than the original door as well as the fact that the tabs to fit the door panel into the metal section have been changed.