New Bay Area AT Owner

RAF42

New Member
Verified Owner
Joined
Sep 19, 2024
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Location
SF Bay Area
Cars
2025 AT, Audi Q8 E-Tron
Referral Code
TGN5B2OG
Hi, new owner in SF Bay Area (San Carlos) of a 2025 Air Touring. This forum has been incredibly helpful throughout the decision/purchasing/and now post purchasing experience.

Apologies, this is a *really* (really, really) long post, but if you can make it though, there is a bit of drama…

Currently own a 2018 Tesla Model S 100D and a 2024 Audi Q8 E-Tron (wife’s car and *was* our road trip car). Tesla was a fine car for over 6 years, though the ride, minimal interior, and interior sound level could have been better. Still, I generally enjoyed the driving experience and was essentially trouble free for over 6 years with almost no maintenance. Will be selling now that I have the AT.

Audi is quite enjoyable to drive, beautiful and quiet interior, nice ride, though the range and infotainment system could be better (though Apple CarPlay support helps considerably with the latter). Road tripped it a few times and besides a few sub-optimal EA charging experiences, it’s been great (though not without a few minor irritations).

Been following Lucid for years and decided to bite the bullet and order one. Decided on a 2025 due to the processor and other improvements. Went to the Millbrae studio to check them out. Took a test drive and was hooked! Had great trouble deciding between Quantum Grey and Stellar White, though all the colors are nice. Ordered a Quantum Grey AT 19’s/platinum/Mohave/ Purluxe/20 way/DD Pro and was told 1 to 3 months. While driving home from the Studio I saw a Stellar White on 280 freeway and thought “wow, that looks nice”. Few days later an “available in 2 weeks” white AT in the exact configuration I wanted showed up on the website. Emailed my SA and asked if the order could be changed to that one and he replied no problem, done. Great!

About 3 weeks later it was ready for pick up. Went down and picked it up. Had already read most posts here, read the owner’s manual cover to cover, and watched just about every Youtube Air review, so I was reasonably prepared. Finally seeing my AT in person, I could not have been more excited. Stoked! Took about 30 minutes setting it up, CarPlay etc., and drove it off. Awesome!

Now for the NOT so awesome part (though I’m still stoked) …

Took a short trip to do some grocery shopping the next day. Returned to the car to drive back and was greeted with warning message “Drive System Warning, call Customer care”. Drove home w/o incident. At home, tried “air” reset, no change. Tried mic, x, brake reset. No change. Tried turn signal exit reset, No change. Called Customer Care and after telling them I already tried multiple resets, they said they would open service ticket with Millbrae service, and someone would call me. Day later nobody called me. Called Millbrae service several times, could never get through. Finally called again with main option and got someone (SA likely). Told them my one-day old car had issues and was having trouble getting a response. They said they would have someone from service call me back ASAP. No call. Also had texted Studio Manager, but it turned out he was away (though we did eventually have a great text chain where he acknowledged the communication issues and that were in the process of correcting them).

Next day decided just to drive down to Millbrae and told them my story. Service guy (head?) came out immediately and was very responsive. Apologized for no response, said they are swamped but should have responded. Gave me a loaded glass roof GT loaner (21’s) and said they would look at my car. Great, and at least I have a Lucid to drive. And, though it’s not the same as driving “my” car, still tons of fun.

Next day, different service guy texts me and says they confirmed issue, but likely a 7-10 day wait till then can get to my car to analyze the problem (but would try to expedite). At this time, in response to the manager texting me, I did ask if there was any way to at least take a quick check of the car to see if there was a “quick fix”, but not adversely impact other services, that would be greatly. He said he would try. 6 days later nothing, and looking at my car remotely via the app (and Home Assistant – which I set up with the great support here!) and it does not seem to have moved from the west parking area there (GPS for a while did show it exactly where I left the car across the street, so GPS accuracy seems pretty good but I realize that’s not a sure thing).

So there we are. I had my beautiful AT for one day and am waiting to hear something. I harbor no ill will, I understand that it’s a young company with growing service network (at least I live close to one!), and that delays and issues happen. Still a bummer, but I know this will ultimately get resolved to my satisfaction.

As an aside, after a few days of driving the GT loaner, I’m really happy with my choices. The loaner has the glass roof (which I did not get), and I’m very happy I did not. Just personal preference, but I usually have the cover closed over previous cars with moon roofs, and just having a disembodied visor and tint in my sight-line is not for me. I prefer a more cocoon feeling (though the glass roof is really cool, just not my thing). Also, while the 21’s are considerably stickier, with my brief time on the 19’s I’m happy with that choice too (and I realize the GT is a bit heavier than my AT).

So that’s it for now. Will update when I get any updates. Still extremely excited about my new Air, and happy to be here as this is certainly the most valuable resource for a Lucid owner, new or otherwise.

Cheers!
Rob

PS, random musings…

Driver’s A pillar obstructing line of sight did not seem much of an issue to me.

I’m 6’2” and headroom is a non-issue for me front or back.

Love the blind spot cameras on turn signal, though I have to bend my head a bit to see them fully due to steering wheel (may have to play a bit to see if that can be improved). No, a Yoke is not the answer.

CarPlay is great, though a bit small due to the curved display and wasted space (much more prominent on our Audi).

Mobile key worked flawlessly for the short time I had “my” car, keycard in wallet as backup is great. Fob not great (though functional), probably leave in RFID blocked pouch and never use if this experience continues.

Car does (did) seem to excessively lock, unlock as you are close, farther away, close again. Not a big deal and I could always turn off passive entry if it bothers me.

Geofence/don’t lock for when car is in garage (like Tesla) will hopefully be a future enhancement and that would take care any lock/unlock issue for me.

True multitasking (where you can put what you want on infotainment/pilot screens, and have it stick) which is hopefully coming, would help the software experience IMO.

Sentry mode (also “coming”) would be a fantastic addition.

Wired my Uniden R7 radar detector (which is incredibly sensitive) so it’s on passenger visor (works great there in other cars) and wiring almost completely hidden using one rear USB-C port and easily routed the cable so it’s almost invisible the whole way. 99% Ka band on highways is my use case.

Besides cable routing ease, leaving the two front USB ports free for TWRAPS phone charging plate (already have it, awesome) and USB stick for music (though with CarPlay, not sure which is a better experience, have not tried USB media music yet).

Did not get “stealth” package, as with Stellar White that a bit too much of a Stormtrooper vibe for me (though still looks great).

Have Lucid all-season mats, love the look/quality. I know they don’t have as much coverage, but I like them (had 3D mats in my Tesla, they were great). My car has posts to secure the mats, which I like rather than Velcro that some have.

Have EV Sportline spare, fits in funk under cover with jack and other stuff (tight fit, but it does fit).

Used $1000 credit to get portable charger, plus V2V cable and 30 amp adapter (in case we rent a VRBO with a dryer outlet in garage). All covered by the credit, so no brainer.
 
Lucid needs to improve communication....sorry this happened but Lucid will make sure your car is fixed. They address all issues without a question. But their response times should be better.
 
welcome! does your radar detector work well and easy to maintain/install?
I recommend getting on a first name basis with Millbrae SC folks.
Good job doing your homework and even so a day 1 major fault might have been more than many could accept.
I find I'm a year behind in discovering quirks and fixes because I bought a 9/22 build GT in 10/24; still guessing how a car with 2 prior owners and 700 miles from TN arrives at a San Diego Porsche dealer??
Only clue is the Holman group had 6,000 used cars nationwide
 
Lucid needs to improve communication....sorry this happened but Lucid will make sure your car is fixed. They address all issues without a question. But their response times should be better.
Thanks. Yeah, agree, though I'm not worried it will get addressed to my satisfaction, just wish it was in my possession so I could enjoy it!
 
welcome! does your radar detector work well and easy to maintain/install?
I recommend getting on a first name basis with Millbrae SC folks.
Good job doing your homework and even so a day 1 major fault might have been more than many could accept.
I find I'm a year behind in discovering quirks and fixes because I bought a 9/22 build GT in 10/24; still guessing how a car with 2 prior owners and 700 miles from TN arrives at a San Diego Porsche dealer??
Only clue is the Holman group had 6,000 used cars nationwide
Thanks!

Yes it works very well. Astounding range, even on visor. Had it (R7) in my Tesla for quite some time (V1 before that), and it saved me on numerous occasions. When we took the E-Tron for road trips, I had that pre-wired so just take off the visor and swap into other car and hide the RJ11 connector behind the visor. A few seconds at most to swap.

Love the R7 (direction arrows are a must for me), and you can take it and plug into Mac (or PC) and upgrade firmware or do a full config via GUI. I found once I got it all configured to my liking, I don't do that often, except to update firmware if it looks like something useful has changed.

I'm a former (recently retired) IT Architect, so reading about tech and manuals cover to cover has always been "fun". Yep, I'm a weirdo :-). I'm also used to "things going wrong", that's tech life in a nutshell (though my specialty was in trying to design systems where if something went wrong, nobody would notice).

TN to San Diego and only 700 miles? I'm sure there's a story there, but no doubt a great find.

Your sig says Berkley, fwiw I was born there. Go bears!
 
Car does (did) seem to excessively lock, unlock as you are close, farther away, close again. Not a big deal and I could always turn off passive entry if it bothers me.
If you intentionally lock it (meaning press the door handle, or use the fob) it will stop doing that for a while.

Also keep in mind if it does that 10 times it will stop doing it at all, until you manually push a door handle or the fob. Don’t get surprised by that. It does eventually figure out it’s annoying. :)
 
If you intentionally lock it (meaning press the door handle, or use the fob) it will stop doing that for a while.

Also keep in mind if it does that 10 times it will stop doing it at all, until you manually push a door handle or the fob. Don’t get surprised by that. It does eventually figure out it’s annoying. :)
Thanks. Yes, I was already aware of this from some other posts here - including yours :-)

Already in the habit of pressing the door handle to lock.

Very, very often with my Tesla, which does geofence that auto locking, I'd very often run out into the garage to just open the trunk or doors to put/get something (or plug in or remove charge cable) and it was great that it was just unlocked w/o having to get my key. I've already found this an issue, though an incredibly, incredibly minor one. First world problem for sure.
 
Thanks!

Yes it works very well. Astounding range, even on visor. Had it (R7) in my Tesla for quite some time (V1 before that), and it saved me on numerous occasions. When we took the E-Tron for road trips, I had that pre-wired so just take off the visor and swap into other car and hide the RJ11 connector behind the visor. A few seconds at most to swap.

Love the R7 (direction arrows are a must for me), and you can take it and plug into Mac (or PC) and upgrade firmware or do a full config via GUI. I found once I got it all configured to my liking, I don't do that often, except to update firmware if it looks like something useful has changed.

I'm a former (recently retired) IT Architect, so reading about tech and manuals cover to cover has always been "fun". Yep, I'm a weirdo :-). I'm also used to "things going wrong", that's tech life in a nutshell (though my specialty was in trying to design systems where if something went wrong, nobody would notice).

TN to San Diego and only 700 miles? I'm sure there's a story there, but no doubt a great find.

Your sig says Berkley, fwiw I was born there. Go bears!

Congratulations on your new Air, and I'm sorry for the trouble. I'm sure they will be rectified soon, and you'll get to enjoy this beauty!

I am also a big fan of R7, and I run v159 custom firmware. Can you share more details on how you used the rear USBs and routed the cable? Also, do you have any cable recommendations? I have not had a lot of luck with a USB cable that upconverts for R7. I am currently using USB to sig on the front USB ports.
 
Congratulations on your new Air, and I'm sorry for the trouble. I'm sure they will be rectified soon, and you'll get to enjoy this beauty!

I am also a big fan of R7, and I run v159 custom firmware. Can you share more details on how you used the rear USBs and routed the cable? Also, do you have any cable recommendations? I have not had a lot of luck with a USB cable that upconverts for R7. I am currently using USB to sig on the front USB ports.
Thanks! Can't wait to get it back....

Yep, R7 is fantastic. I can't take any cable pics yet (obviously), but I used this:


I may change it, but currently routed along left side of passenger seat. Easily managed to get the cable under the molding where it exits in the passenger footwell. From there it goes under the passenger floor mat, exiting on the upper right side of the passenger footwell where it was (again easy) to route it up the door, a pillar, and all the way to the middle of the visor completely hidden. I guess there are a couple of inches visible on each side of the passenger footwell, but it's reasonably invisible everywhere else.

It *barely reached* (I wanted a bit more slack for routing). So, I bought a 3' USB-C extender cable, added that and it's all still hidden (even the little voltage conversion "box" that's part of the cable fit easily under the side molding of the passenger footwell). Close to perfect now.

While I'm really happy as is (though I'd have to look again as I put it in and then had to take the car in for service so did not live with it much) I'll look when I return and see if there is any alternate way to route the cables (like under the passenger seat and then up the left side) and if that might/probably need a slightly longer extension cable.

Only other thing I might change is the original cable had a right angle USB-C plug, and the extension cable I bought did not. Still looks fine, but would be ever so cleaner if the extension cable also had a right angel at the plug (already bought one to try) - that's really minor though.
 
Congrats on your new car!

I hope Lucid's plan to open a service center in San Jose is progressing. It would take a lot of the load off Millbrae.
 
Congrats on your new car!

I hope Lucid's plan to open a service center in San Jose is progressing. It would take a lot of the load off Millbrae.
Thanks!

Indeed it would. It would also be nice (and I assume they will eventually do this) allow service to be scheduled via the Lucid App (where you can pick a date/time and provide reason, rather than just "annual" or "tire" service). Failing that, just someone that actually answers the service phone so you are not waiting, for who knows how long, for someone to get back to you and at least you know that someone actually will get back to you.

I made those points to the Studio Manager, and he replied " Know that changes are in the works for getting a hold of service." I believe that's likely true, hopefully sooner rather than later.
 
Thanks!

Indeed it would. It would also be nice (and I assume they will eventually do this) allow service to be scheduled via the Lucid App (where you can pick a date/time and provide reason, rather than just "annual" or "tire" service). Failing that, just someone that actually answers the service phone so you are not waiting, for who knows how long, for someone to get back to you and at least you know that someone actually will get back to you.

I made those points to the Studio Manager, and he replied " Know that changes are in the works for getting a hold of service." I believe that's likely true, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Yeah. It’s in the works. Growing pains go in cycles. This is a down cycle. It will come back up again.
 
Update: Finally got my car back, now the fun begins!

“drive system warning” was apparently caused by a suboptimal coolant pump for the front motor. They replaced it and all good now. Shout out to the Millbrae service center, regularly kept me apprised of the situation, and car was fixed within one day of them receiving the part (though it took them several days to get to it due to backlog).

2.5 update appeared while they had it and they installed that. Only weird thing was when we left to go out shopping today, my wife went to turn on the massage seats. Pilot panel was on climate, going back to home resulted in a black screen. Then briefly, the picture of the car (from the pilot home screen) and a bit of the graphics surrounding it appeared in the screen above it (on infotainment screen!) somewhat distorted. A few seconds later all was back to normal. Weird, but everything was as expected after that.

Driving the GT loaner for the week was fun, but just not the same as having mine!

A few pics….

IMG_4250.webp


IMG_4254.webp


Wiring is all hidden for the radar detector except in the passenger foot-well and back usb port. It looks a lot more noticeable in the pic, in person it's fairly benign. Still may try a different routing method, but this one was so easy.

IMG_4253.webp


IMG_4252.webp


Spare, Lucid repair kit, jack, etc all fit in the frunk under the cover

IMG_4256.webp



IMG_4257.webp


TWRAPS charging plate will be nice for longer trips

IMG_4258.webp


Finally, took the WeatherTek pet cover from my model S and it fit almost perfectly (actually better than it fit in the S). Rarely will there be occupants in the back seat, and it's easy to remove/replace if they are.

IMG_4259.webp
 
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