Lucid Air's Number One Software Issue?

[Buffalo Bob]

I think most people's frustration is not that the mobile app fails to auto open the door, but that it takes too long to do so. On my first trip to the car in the morning, my '23 Pure used to reliably unlock the doors as I was about ten feet away. Perfect! Now, I stand by the car twisting my phone for several seconds before I see a small flash of light, followed by doors unlocking. That's not the worst thing in the world, but it's hardly elegant. My guess is that the lag comes from the combination of the car first having to wake before it can unlock the doors, so I figure the culprit is either that it now takes longer for the car to wake, or that the car is not recognizing the Bluetooth signal until the phone is much closer to the car.

 

[Steve181]

When I read these posts, it looks like half (unscientific view) of the gripes are key fob, mobile key, or AA.

Why doesn't Lucid work on quick fixes, or at least talk to its audience??

The key fob issue could be solved by working with their vendor to provide (sell) a push button key that uses the existing BLE radio system to interface with the car electronics.

The AA issue could be solved by providing aftermarket access to the big screen via an HDMI switch.

The 'Silence of the Lucid' management is the largest over-arching problem!!

I really love the car, and love driving it - when I can get into it.

 

[hydbob]

When I read these posts, it looks like half (unscientific view) of the gripes are key fob, mobile key, or AA.

Why doesn't Lucid work on quick fixes, or at least talk to its audience??

The key fob issue could be solved by working with their vendor to provide (sell) a push button key that uses the existing BLE radio system to interface with the car electronics.

The AA issue could be solved by providing aftermarket access to the big screen via an HDMI switch.

The 'Silence of the Lucid' management is the largest over-arching problem!!

I really love the car, and love driving it - when I can get into it.

Because contrary to popular belief, none of what you mentioned can be fixed quickly.

 

[BS8899]

When I read these posts, it looks like half (unscientific view) of the gripes are key fob, mobile key, or AA.

Why doesn't Lucid work on quick fixes, or at least talk to its audience??

The key fob issue could be solved by working with their vendor to provide (sell) a push button key that uses the existing BLE radio system to interface with the car electronics.

The AA issue could be solved by providing aftermarket access to the big screen via an HDMI switch.

The 'Silence of the Lucid' management is the largest over-arching problem!!

I agree with you regarding Lucid's (mis) handling of its SW issues.

The mobile key issues and AA have been here a long time with little to no communications. Some moderator kept dismissing the concerns as "user error". AA has been promised over and over again with no outcome. The last-straw for me was blaming Google for certification delays.

The lack of ownership and lack of communication fuel speculation and conspiracy theories. Like it or not, SW is a key part of the car experience. Competitive and reliable SW is part of the product. Lucid needs to do a lot more than what it is doing to be successful.

 

[Bobc34]

Unusual buggy failures, warnings and faults aside, what do you think is the most pervasive day-to-day software frustration experienced by Lucid Air owners? I think it is the mobile app's inability to efficiently auto open the doors. Before anyone goes nuts, I know there are work-arounds such as carrying the fob and pushing in the door handles, but I want the ease and elegance of just using my phone. If only auto open worked as beautifully when you approach the car as auto close does when you walk away. It's not the end of the world. It never leaves me stranded. It just is the one thing that frustrates me daily, embarrasses me occasionally, and seems to be something that one really competent software engineer should be able to fix in a fairly short time. That's my number one. For me, waiting interminably for Android Auto pales in significance. Maybe I'm alone in this opinion. What tops your list?

I agree. I have the same issue daily. Also, recently I can’t get wireless CarPlay to connect at all some days. I uninstall and reinstall my phone and still nothing. Then it works for a few days. Drives me nuts

 

[pyle112]

what buttons ?

I hate it when I accidentally come home with one of these. Good job getting it off without damaging the clothing!

 

[BS8899]

Because contrary to popular belief, none of what you mentioned can be fixed quickly.

Obviously....

I recall vividly....I got my AGT in Oct 2022. A couple of weeks later, a mobile tech came to my home to replace the steering wheel because a button has fallen off. He gave me a bag of FAB batteries. I though it was unusual and generous.

AA was promised 3 years ago. in 2024, it was promised for end of Fall.

So, these issues have been around for YEARS(!). Will they ever be fixed?

 

[tarator]

Because contrary to popular belief, none of what you mentioned can be fixed quickly.

Why not?

 

[Mossnado]

I think this thread just goes to show why it can be difficult to prioritize features, as if you ask 10 different people about their "most important issue", you're likely to get 10 different responses. E.g. for me, the mobile key issue is something I literally care nothing about - if anything, for any gripes I have about the car (and this is a gripe I have about most modern cars, not just Lucid) is when I think it tries to be "too clever" about what you want to do, then ends up being a worse user experience for things that were easy to do for decades. E.g. the auto open door handles that are finicky when we had, you know, regular door handles for decades. The geo-fenced home link drop-down, when physical buttons on my other car are more desirable in every way to me. Someone mentioned the auto-profile detect - I wish there was a way to just fully disable this (maybe there is and I missed it) so you just had to choose to switch profiles upon entering the car - right now it's an absurd dance where if me and my partner are both entering the car, we make sure the passenger holds back before getting too close so it doesn't select the wrong profile. To be clear, these are all very minor gripes for me, just a general theme of "tech for the sake of tech" that is a bit of a pet peeve for me in the auto industry.

If anything, my biggest software feature request is probably some ability to record camera activity as a dash cam. But again, wouldn't be surprised if lots of folks don't care about this at all.

Agree. While I don’t trust Tesla as holder of its customers’ camera footage, I do envy Tesla owners’ ability to see recorded footage of what goes on around their cars.

 

[Steve181]

Because contrary to popular belief, none of what you mentioned can be fixed quickly.

Bob: I dont quite believe that. For example: 1- Is the large screen driven by HDMI? 2 - Where is the connector? 3- Can I pay a service center to put in a splitter switch so I can drive it from my phone? 4- Can we get or buy a wiring diagram of the connections to the large screen?

I am seriously thinking about adding another screen so I can get AA via my phone.That would be a waste, given the already beautiful large screen.

 

[Mossnado]

Unusual buggy failures, warnings and faults aside, what do you think is the most pervasive day-to-day software frustration experienced by Lucid Air owners? I think it is the mobile app's inability to efficiently auto open the doors. Before anyone goes nuts, I know there are work-arounds such as carrying the fob and pushing in the door handles, but I want the ease and elegance of just using my phone. If only auto open worked as beautifully when you approach the car as auto close does when you walk away. It's not the end of the world. It never leaves me stranded. It just is the one thing that frustrates me daily, embarrasses me occasionally, and seems to be something that one really competent software engineer should be able to fix in a fairly short time. That's my number one. For me, waiting interminably for Android Auto pales in significance. Maybe I'm alone in this opinion. What tops your list?

CarPlay disconnects randomly.

 

[Miami_Lucid_Man]

Unusual buggy failures, warnings and faults aside, what do you think is the most pervasive day-to-day software frustration experienced by Lucid Air owners? I think it is the mobile app's inability to efficiently auto open the doors. Before anyone goes nuts, I know there are work-arounds such as carrying the fob and pushing in the door handles, but I want the ease and elegance of just using my phone. If only auto open worked as beautifully when you approach the car as auto close does when you walk away. It's not the end of the world. It never leaves me stranded. It just is the one thing that frustrates me daily, embarrasses me occasionally, and seems to be something that one really competent software engineer should be able to fix in a fairly short time. That's my number one. For me, waiting interminably for Android Auto pales in significance. Maybe I'm alone in this opinion. What tops your list?

I'm with you. Coming from Tesla where it wasn't ever even a thought, it can be a bit embarrassing when people are admiring your car and you can't get into it! That said, lately I've been unlocking my phone as I approach and it's been more responsive. Try that. Not as seamless as leaving it in your pocket but better than waiting 30 seconds.

 

[Miami_Lucid_Man]

I think this thread just goes to show why it can be difficult to prioritize features, as if you ask 10 different people about their "most important issue", you're likely to get 10 different responses. E.g. for me, the mobile key issue is something I literally care nothing about - if anything, for any gripes I have about the car (and this is a gripe I have about most modern cars, not just Lucid) is when I think it tries to be "too clever" about what you want to do, then ends up being a worse user experience for things that were easy to do for decades. E.g. the auto open door handles that are finicky when we had, you know, regular door handles for decades. The geo-fenced home link drop-down, when physical buttons on my other car are more desirable in every way to me. Someone mentioned the auto-profile detect - I wish there was a way to just fully disable this (maybe there is and I missed it) so you just had to choose to switch profiles upon entering the car - right now it's an absurd dance where if me and my partner are both entering the car, we make sure the passenger holds back before getting too close so it doesn't select the wrong profile. To be clear, these are all very minor gripes for me, just a general theme of "tech for the sake of tech" that is a bit of a pet peeve for me in the auto industry.

If anything, my biggest software feature request is probably some ability to record camera activity as a dash cam. But again, wouldn't be surprised if lots of folks don't care about this at all.

They will if they are in an accident like I was in a Model 3. The recorded footage was instrumental in the he-said she-said world we live in. I do hope they bring this feature to our cars.

 

[Miami_Lucid_Man]

I agree with the phone delayed unlocking up the door says the most frequent and annoying problem for me. I often sit for five seconds or so waiting for the door handles to open after getting groceries or coming back from a restaurant. What so odd, though, is how reliably and annoyingly quickly it works whenever I pass within 25 feet of my car in the garage! Why so reliable there and unreliable most everywhere else?

Hah! Same for me. The darn thing locks and unlocks at will (with only my mobile key) in my garage as I'm squeezing by the car to take out the trash etc.

 

[pyle112]

Bob: I dont quite believe that. For example: 1- Is the large screen driven by HDMI? 2 - Where is the connector? 3- Can I pay a service center to put in a splitter switch so I can drive it from my phone? 4- Can we get or buy a wiring diagram of the connections to the large screen?

I am seriously thinking about adding another screen so I can get AA via my phone.That would be a waste, given the already beautiful large screen.

Thread 'Getting Android Auto into the Lucid' https://lucidowners.com/threads/getting-android-auto-into-the-lucid.8258/

 

[Buffalo Bob]

Hah! Same for me. The darn thing locks and unlocks at will (with only my mobile key) in my garage as I'm squeezing by the car to take out the trash etc.

The thing is that when it keeps unlocking and locking while you are puttering about in the garage, you don't notice the unlocking lag, but it's still there.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

I'm puttering in the garage almost every day, often listening to podcasts on my phone. Car is asleep.
I'm puttering in the garage with my key fob in my pocket. Car is asleep.
When I walk up to the car with the key fob in my pocket, the door handles present before I reach them.
When I walk away, the car locks.

My key fob battery gets replaced by Lucid at annual inspection, but I know it goes at least 1.5 years.

... I'm 75 but I do know how to search a website.

Michael Faraday.

 

[borski]

Why doesn't Lucid work on quick fixes, or at least talk to its audience??

They do, and they do. None of these are quick fixes.

The key fob issue could be solved by working with their vendor to provide (sell) a push button key that uses the existing BLE radio system to interface with the car electronics.

The current key fob has a push button. The issue is not a lack of buttons.

To be clear: your first thought as to how to fix this is, hopefully you would agree, also Lucid’s first thought. Clearly that hasn’t happened yet, which should indicate there are things underlying the high-level idea that make it harder.

Lucid has no interest in continuing to have a crappy keyfob. The rumor mill / grapevine says there is some contractual thing that has prevented a change, thus far.

Can they fix it? Yes. Will they? I hope so. Are they allowed to? I have no idea. At some point, certainly. If they’re locked in by a terrible contract and the vendor has met the letter of the contract but not the spirit, and still has exclusivity they cannot break?

I have no idea if that’s true; I made it up.

But my point is that not *all* problems are purely technical. And the non-technical ones are the problems that take much longer to solve, and are much less predictable.

The AA issue could be solved by providing aftermarket access to the big screen via an HDMI switch.

Lucid doesn’t do hacks. AA is coming, and I see no reason they would hack up a separate aftermarket switch when the right thing to do is wait for AA to finally be released. (Yes, I know you may not believe it, and I respect that; but I’m taking about Lucid’s perspective).

For example: 1- Is the large screen driven by HDMI?

Don’t know.

2 - Where is the connector?

Don’t know.

3- Can I pay a service center to put in a splitter switch so I can drive it from my phone?

No.

4- Can we get or buy a wiring diagram of the connections to the large screen?

I wish, but not today.

I am seriously thinking about adding another screen so I can get AA via my phone.That would be a waste, given the already beautiful large screen.

Just get a carlinkit. It works fine, and would be a fine holdover before the car gets AA.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

So Bobby and Borski are phone freaks. I prefer the fob = works every time / battery lasts years. Phones are for telling time and podcasts.

My son is home so I think I'll have him show me how to use my phone to make a video of how the fob works, since so few understand the written word.

 

[borski]

So Bobby and Borski are phone freaks. I prefer the fob = works every time / battery lasts years. Phones are for telling time and podcasts.

My son is home so I think I'll have him show me how to use my phone to make a video of how the fob works, since so few understand the written word.

I just always already have my phone on me. If I had keys to anything else, I’d carry the fob. I’m not a hater

I just don’t have office keys (because I don’t currently have an office) or house keys (“smart” locks), so I carry my phone and wallet (which has the keycard as a backup).