Major Failure on Brand New Lucid Air Touring

[jaythree]

I didn’t want to be hasty, so I gave it a week. But I’m still without my car and feeling completely isolated in how this is being handled.

My vehicle was delivered from the Chicago Studio on Sunday, June 15th. I was excited to finally take delivery and immediately drove to my father’s house to show him the car. When I returned home, I was sitting in my driveway learning the system and exploring the features when, after just a few minutes, a warning appeared on the center screen: “Vehicle Not Drivable” “Do Not Tow” “Contact Customer Care”

I contacted Lucid Service first thing Monday morning the 16th. They arranged for the car to be picked up and transported to the Coldwater Service Center later that evening. The driver arrived Monday evening and had to drag my car onto a tow truck, then drag it onto a flat bed. (two trucks).
The following morning (Tuesday), the tow truck driver, who was not part of Lucid’s service team, texted me to say he stayed overnight at a hotel and had just dropped the vehicle off. Diagnostics had apparently started. Then crickets.

Since then, communication was nonexistent. I had to call the service center yesterday morning the 23rd (a week later) just to get an update. I was told by a tech that the supervisor wasn't available, but "he would get back to me later that evening". Evening? It was 9am. I asked him to check the status for me. I was then informed that the team is looking at replacing the front and rear drive units and possibly the high-voltage batteries. The three core systems of the vehicle may need to be replaced. The car has 48 miles on it. By the way I never received a call back that evening.

I did not pay for a brand-new luxury vehicle only to have it disassembled and rebuilt in its first week of ownership. I have zero confidence in this car now. I didn’t even make it to my first charging session before a catastrophic failure occurred. And now I’m supposed to trust it won’t happen again?

I expect Lucid to replace this vehicle with a new one. Same trim, same specs. I will not spend the next two years anxious every time I drive, wondering if I’ll be stranded. This situation is beyond frustrating.
Lucid is not living up to the standards it promises.

I sent an email to customer care yesterday so to have the issue in writing. No response yet.

 

[Westchester Air]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Not a great way to start off your ownership! Hope things work out and you're able to experience and enjoy a more worry-free experience moving forward!

 

[Halodde]

Definitely sucks. Sorry to hear this. It may put your mind at ease about replacement of the HV battery to know that I had mine replaced 2 years ago and no problems since. I'm pretty sure others have had good results with replacement drive units also.

 

[Beast]

Sorry for your inexcusable experience. I agree with you, pursue a new Lucid replacement.

 

[L-Dude]

Man so sorry to hear this

 

[AirQuality]

Wow, sorry to hear about this. I hope and trust that Lucid will come through for you.

 

[newkidontheblock]

Car fail sometimes but it sucks to have a brand new car have problems like this. Poor communication makes it worse. I hope they will take care of you.

 

[Bdr100]

Just to give you reference that this is not unique to Lucid, back in Feb. 2021 I purchased a Mercedes E450 convertible. Got it home without issue but when I tried to start it an hour later, it was dead and got error messages. Get it towed back to dealer and diagnosed as bad 48 volt battery (car is a mild hybrid). After sitting at dealer for more than a week, found out that due to covid supply chain issues, the 48v battery was 2 month back ordered. Started looking around at possible replacement cars and could not find similar blue top over white car configured like ours. Fortunately dealer realized they could pull a 48v battery from a CLS450 on the lot (CLS’s were not selling well) and put it in our car. 4 years later, car has been virtually trouble free.

 

[hellolucid]

why does it say "Do not Tow". how are you supposed to get it to the service center if you can't tow the car?

sorry to hear about your experience OP. they probably won't replace the car but the car is as good as new once they finish the repairs. fwiw i had my HV battery replaced and never had an issue since (or before, their early diagnosis caught something and they replaced it under warranty). customer service can be a hit or miss depending on the service center location. i'm in the Bay Area and we have good customer service reps here.

 

[lucidtouringman]

This absolutely sucks ..so sorry ..but I will say that Lucid has taken care of me through several issues and have gone above and beyond. Hopefully after the repairs you can rest easy and enjoy the car. But I and others 100% share in your frustrations...hang in there and come back to this forum often to keep us updated...often people can provide helpful insights..good luck!

 

[Batteryman]

Once you get new battery and drive units, it will be like new. Nothing to worry about.

 

[coma24]

This is a major failure, to be sure, and it's a major QA issue that it left the factory like this, HOWEVER, I would encourage you to let them take care of the issue that is known to exist and verify that it's fixed so that it is DEFINITIVELY fixed.

Resist the urge to get a 'brand new car' with the same specs (which will take a long time)....as there is no OBJECTIVE reason to believe that it will be better.

In the worst case scenario, the same thing could happen again with a replacement vehicle. Let them fix THIS car, properly, then enjoy the hell out of it. It will be worth it...the driving experience is spectacular across all performance levels.

They really should provide a loaner if possible AND they need to communicate what's going on with your car.

 

[jaythree]

I finally got an update from Coldwater. They’re replacing the entire battery and both drive units. Apparently, there was some kind of error that sent too much power to the drives and “fried” them. I’m paraphrasing, I didn’t have a pen handy to take notes. The battery is on its way from Grand Rapids, and they said I should have the car back in a week. Hoping that timeline holds.
Do you think I have any grounds to reach out to Lucid Financial for a credit on the lease? I made my first month payment on a car I technically never received.

 

[coma24]

I finally got an update from Coldwater. They’re replacing the entire battery and both drive units. Apparently, there was some kind of error that sent too much power to the drives and “fried” them. I’m paraphrasing, I didn’t have a pen handy to take notes. The battery is on its way from Grand Rapids, and they said I should have the car back in a week. Hoping that timeline holds.
Do you think I have any grounds to reach out to Lucid Financial for a credit on the lease? I made my first month payment on a car I technically never received.

I would ask if there is any consideration that can be provided, particularly in the form of a loaner. They're not always available, however, this is particularly painful since you literally just got the car and it will be effectively unavailable for 2 weeks minimum by the time this is all done. I would speak with the manager of the studio or delivery center, and bring them up to speed. There is an opportunity here to maintain the customer relationship by pulling out all the stops to make this right. Hopefully they'll do what they can.

I realize most stories here lean towards negative (it's human nature to post about things that require advice/guidance rather than simply reporting good news), so I thought I'd share that I experienced a significant coolant leak the day before yesterday. Alex picked up the phone at KOP and was helpful, as always, and then directed me to Dana, with whom I've worked several times before (she is excellent, and very thorough, especially given the volume of work which happens at that facility). Dana wasn't at her desk, but I was told she'd be calling within 15-20 minutes.....I think her call came 17 minutes later. She was concerned to hear about it and offered a tow back to KOP with a covered rental the next day (Tuesday), or a loaner being flat-bedded out one day later (Wed). I opted for the latter since I have an interstate trip coming up on Friday/Saturday and wanted to avoid a generic Enterprise rental if possible (it's tough to go back after a year of Lucid ownership!).

She just called this afternoon to confirm the pickup time for tomorrow morning.

Can't ask for more than that.

 

[illopp00]

I finally got an update from Coldwater. They’re replacing the entire battery and both drive units. Apparently, there was some kind of error that sent too much power to the drives and “fried” them. I’m paraphrasing, I didn’t have a pen handy to take notes. The battery is on its way from Grand Rapids, and they said I should have the car back in a week. Hoping that timeline holds.
Do you think I have any grounds to reach out to Lucid Financial for a credit on the lease? I made my first month payment on a car I technically never received.

It never hurts to ask, although depending on the fine print in the lease contract it may not work out in your favor. Asking for an additional month, or sort of resetting the start date of the lease based on your fixed car maybe the easiest way to come to a fair compromise....

 

[Batteryman]

It never hurts to ask, although depending on the fine print in the lease contract it may not work out in your favor. Asking for an additional month, or sort of resetting the start date of the lease based on your fixed car maybe the easiest way to come to a fair compromise....

Such lease changes are up to the bank, Lucid can’t do anything about it. But they should get you a loaner.

 

[wa_lucid]

I finally got an update from Coldwater. They’re replacing the entire battery and both drive units. Apparently, there was some kind of error that sent too much power to the drives and “fried” them. I’m paraphrasing, I didn’t have a pen handy to take notes. The battery is on its way from Grand Rapids, and they said I should have the car back in a week. Hoping that timeline holds.
Do you think I have any grounds to reach out to Lucid Financial for a credit on the lease? I made my first month payment on a car I technically never received.

TL;DR I think you should definitely get credit if you took ownership of the car before it failed.

As many here shared similar stories, when my car had an drive fault issue and was towed to the service center, the Seattle center offered a loaner, which I had for the entire 10 or so days it took them to diagnose, repair, and return the car to me (I am also on a lease). This is not the first time I get a loaner for car work - which happened before for either scheduled maintenance or recalls. It significantly reduces my anxieties and eased the experience a lot. I was offered the option of a rental if a loaner was not available (I was fortunate each time). As such, this is not out of the ordinary for owners with problems.

As for your communication experience, I am sorry you had to remain in the dark that long. This looks like an opportunity for improvement in the service center you worked with. The Seattle center crew were very responsive, and gave me near daily updates even if it were "nothing new, more tomorrow!" They also were very professional and courteous in dropping the car and the loaner where I work, so I didn't even waste the drive time. True A+ experience that I am thankful for all of them for.

 

[vishwa]

I didn’t want to be hasty, so I gave it a week. But I’m still without my car and feeling completely isolated in how this is being handled.

My vehicle was delivered from the Chicago Studio on Sunday, June 15th. I was excited to finally take delivery and immediately drove to my father’s house to show him the car. When I returned home, I was sitting in my driveway learning the system and exploring the features when, after just a few minutes, a warning appeared on the center screen: “Vehicle Not Drivable” “Do Not Tow” “Contact Customer Care”

I contacted Lucid Service first thing Monday morning the 16th. They arranged for the car to be picked up and transported to the Coldwater Service Center later that evening. The driver arrived Monday evening and had to drag my car onto a tow truck, then drag it onto a flat bed. (two trucks).
The following morning (Tuesday), the tow truck driver, who was not part of Lucid’s service team, texted me to say he stayed overnight at a hotel and had just dropped the vehicle off. Diagnostics had apparently started. Then crickets.

Since then, communication was nonexistent. I had to call the service center yesterday morning the 23rd (a week later) just to get an update. I was told by a tech that the supervisor wasn't available, but "he would get back to me later that evening". Evening? It was 9am. I asked him to check the status for me. I was then informed that the team is looking at replacing the front and rear drive units and possibly the high-voltage batteries. The three core systems of the vehicle may need to be replaced. The car has 48 miles on it. By the way I never received a call back that evening.

I did not pay for a brand-new luxury vehicle only to have it disassembled and rebuilt in its first week of ownership. I have zero confidence in this car now. I didn’t even make it to my first charging session before a catastrophic failure occurred. And now I’m supposed to trust it won’t happen again?

I expect Lucid to replace this vehicle with a new one. Same trim, same specs. I will not spend the next two years anxious every time I drive, wondering if I’ll be stranded. This situation is beyond frustrating.
Lucid is not living up to the standards it promises.

I sent an email to customer care yesterday so to have the issue in writing. No response yet.

Nearly identical situation. I picked up my Lucid Touring a little over a week ago from Rocklin, CA. This was Saturday before last. Monday morning the car bricked and the dash had "Drive System Fault". The car was towed to the Millbrae Lucid service center. Reaching out to customer service is hard. The only option to waiting for a time lower bounded by 30mins was to ask for a callback. This worked. In any case, decided to reach out to the sales associate who helped me and she put me in touch with the service person working on my car. This has helped enormously as I get updates and have his direct number.

Status: The car needs a new Front Drive Unit which is a special order I was told. Once that gets delivered I will have an ETA on when my car will be ready. They gave me a loaner after a week, which was dropped off at my home the day before yesterday.

I love the car and I want Lucid to succeed. I am also willing to deal with teething issues as they get this right. It does take several years for other manufacturers, Land Rover as an example, from the time of model introduction to the time when the cars where relatively problem free. But then having a failure such as this (FDU) or the compound set of failures you are facing Jaythree is something I neither prepared for nor find comforting despite my enthusiasm for the brand.

I stopped checking the app as each time I open it I see my car baking in an open lot with interior temperatures hovering at 120. Quite sad.. On the Monday morning it bricked, I was going to drive the car to get it ceramic coated as this was going to be next long term car (my Jag is 16 years old and still going strong). My hope is that a bug of this magnitude, that renders the car un-drivable, never happens not only to me but to all of you other Lucid owners and enthusiasts out there.

The highest priority for Lucid is to keep bug fixes to software updates given these are quintessential Software Defined Vehicles. Not mechanical issues and hardware faults which erode confidence in vehicle quality and safety. I am still rooting for you all at Lucid. Just make me whole again.

 

[jaythree]

Wow, welcome to the club. That “special order” situation is interesting. As you know, I needed both motors and the battery pack. The rear motor and battery came from Grand Rapids in a day. The front motor shipped from Arizona and was tracked to arrive last Friday, the 27th.
Today marks two weeks since they picked up my car. Nothing really happened in week one. Week two, communication and repairs kicked into high gear. We’ll see what week three brings. Supposed to be returned to me tomorrow or Wednesday. I’ll post an update once she’s back home.
Good luck with yours, Vishwa.