Some odds and ends

[PhotoEye]

My car was picked up today for transport across the state to the Riviera Beach Service Center in a closed trailer. I was surprised and impressed by the fact that, instead of the transport driver I was expecting, the Manager of the Service Center and another Lucid employee showed up. The manager spent a lot of time going over every problem I was having and also had a list of questions Engineering had sent him to ask me. This was no pick-up-and-get-gone exercise, but a real attempt to develop a thorough understanding of what's going on with the car.

Since I had a senior guy on hand, i asked him about two things about which we've been speculating:

1. The rear trunk panel is a composite material that is bonded to the metal frame of the trunk. That line that appeared to be a paint line or the edge of a plastic wrap is the bonding line between the composite panel and the metal frame. (This means that the paint loss I've had will not introduce any corrosion points to metal, which makes me more comfortable with not trying to touch the paint up and consequently messing with the ceramic coating.)

2. My car does not have the hardware installed for power door operation. He said the pistons for power operation would be visible with the doors fully open, and my car instead had the simple metal bars that limit the door opening width. He was not sure if any of the Dreams had the pistons. He had heard that Lucid had been thinking about installing the hardware for later activation, but some legal issues arose that put everything on pause. He said it may be that my car has the mounts inside the doors to serve as the piston attachment points, in which case the pistons could be installed later, but he could not tell for sure without removing a door panel, which I did not want them to do.

Thank you for sharing this information. My PPL tech just told me the seam was NOT a wrap. So, this explanation makes sense and allays my concerns.

 

[Bill55]

I got out of the car today and left my key fob in the car at home. I was talking to my neighbor for a bit and the door handles retracted with the key fob in the car.

This is a feature. You can still get in the car by pressing the door handle for it to reveal and opening the door.

If that's in the manual I missed it.

Other note I have a tire developing a "bubble" on the side wall. There is no visible damage on the rim or tire and I do not recall any potholes or impact that would have caused it. The service center is going to replace the tire and they are working to have Pirelli warranty it.

 

[SaratogaLefty]

I got out of the car today and left my key fob in the car at home. I was talking to my neighbor for a bit and the door handles retracted with the key fob in the car.

This is a feature. You can still get in the car by pressing the door handle for it to reveal and opening the door.

If that's in the manual I missed it.

Other note I have a tire developing a "bubble" on the side wall. There is no visible damage on the rim or tire and I do not recall any potholes or impact that would have caused it. The service center is going to replace the tire and they are working to have Pirelli warranty it.

Sounds like a clear warranty issue. Glad they are replacing it for you.

 

[PhotoEye]

I got out of the car today and left my key fob in the car at home. I was talking to my neighbor for a bit and the door handles retracted with the key fob in the car.

This is a feature. You can still get in the car by pressing the door handle for it to reveal and opening the door.

If that's in the manual I missed it.

Other note I have a tire developing a "bubble" on the side wall. There is no visible damage on the rim or tire and I do not recall any potholes or impact that would have caused it. The service center is going to replace the tire and they are working to have Pirelli warranty it.

Same thing happened to me. I was startled to see the car lock up with the key fob right there in the car. So much for the guidance to "Take the key with you." I gently pressed in the handle, but nothing happened. Fortunately, I had one of the valet cards in my wallet. Not sure I like the car locking up with the fob inside.

 

[Sandvinsd]

Same thing happened to me. I was startled to see the car lock up with the key fob right there in the car. So much for the guidance to "Take the key with you." I gently pressed in the handle, but nothing happened. Fortunately, I had one of the valet cards in my wallet. Not sure I like the car locking up with the fob inside.

Just nought of this. Do you only get one Fob? Every car I have ever owned has come with two sets of keys (or fobs on the newer cars).

 

[AIR.LUCID]

No, it did not come from the factory that way. And yes, the car got a full paint correction and polish before the Opti-Coating . . . but that was just a week after we got the car, and these scuffs weren't there.

Over the past week or so, I had noticed a lot of dust buildup on the rear bumper. All our cars pick up dust on top of their rear bumpers from some construction and road work out our way, but the Lucid was accumulating noticeably more, probably due to the airflow characteristics over that part of the car. I'm talking a light coating of gritty dust, though, nothing that built up any kind of crust. When I was drying the car after washing it, I pulled the edge of the towel under the trunk lid in the scuffed spot to see if it would clear, and it did. This means the parts are coming into contact due to some deformation that happens when driving, and the dust on the bumper must have been working as an abrasive.

I have not yet taken this car shopping, to an airport, or done anything else that causes me to use the trunk. Other than washing the car today, I doubt if I have opened the trunk more than a couple of times since we've had the car, and that was just to show some people the space.

What does the Opti-Coat installer say?

 

[Bill55]

Same thing happened to me. I was startled to see the car lock up with the key fob right there in the car. So much for the guidance to "Take the key with you." I gently pressed in the handle, but nothing happened. Fortunately, I had one of the valet cards in my wallet. Not sure I like the car locking up with the fob inside.

I think retracting the handles after some amount of time makes sense. Hopefully it lets you back in as it is supposed too.

 

[Bill55]

Just nought of this. Do you only get one Fob? Every car I have ever owned has come with two sets of keys (or fobs on the newer cars).

2fobs and 2 valet cards.

 

[PhotoEye]

2fobs and 2 valet cards.

Yes, but I'm not planning of having all of them in my pocket. Will replicate this when I get my car back and be more deliberate with pressing the door handle in. Thanks!

 

[borski]

Yes, but I'm not planning of having all of them in my pocket. Will replicate this when I get my car back and be more deliberate with pressing the door handle in. Thanks!

You do have to press the handle with a decent bit of force for it to open. I made that same mistake too and service showed me it required a bit of a push - I was afraid to break them haha but give it a bit of a harder push!

 

[Paladin732]

You do have to press the handle with a decent bit of force for it to open. I made that same mistake too and service showed me it required a bit of a push - I was afraid to break them haha but give it a bit of a harder push!

Same thing on the aero covers. Gotta give them a hefty pull. The service guy told me “you really need to pull them hard. Don’t worry they won’t break, we make them a bit more sturdy then Tesla parts, I used to see those broken all the time at Tesla”

 

[hmp10]

What does the Opti-Coat installer say?

I had the car Opti-Coated almost immediately after delivery. There was no paint loss where the trunk lid met the bumper at that time.

 

[Paladin732]

My car was picked up today for transport across the state to the Riviera Beach Service Center in a closed trailer. I was surprised and impressed by the fact that, instead of the transport driver I was expecting, the Manager of the Service Center and another Lucid employee showed up. The manager spent a lot of time going over every problem I was having and also had a list of questions Engineering had sent him to ask me. This was no pick-up-and-get-gone exercise, but a real attempt to develop a thorough understanding of what's going on with the car.

Since I had a senior guy on hand, i asked him about two things about which we've been speculating:

1. The rear trunk panel is a composite material that is bonded to the metal frame of the trunk. That line that appeared to be a paint line or the edge of a plastic wrap is the bonding line between the composite panel and the metal frame. (This means that the paint loss I've had will not introduce any corrosion points to metal, which makes me more comfortable with not trying to touch the paint up and consequently messing with the ceramic coating.)

2. My car does not have the hardware installed for power door operation. He said the pistons for power operation would be visible with the doors fully open, and my car instead had the simple metal bars that limit the door opening width. He was not sure if any of the Dreams had the pistons. He had heard that Lucid had been thinking about installing the hardware for later activation, but some legal issues arose that put everything on pause. He said it may be that my car has the mounts inside the doors to serve as the piston attachment points, in which case the pistons could be installed later, but he could not tell for sure without removing a door panel, which I did not want them to do.

Any updates from them yet?

 

[hmp10]

Any updates from them yet?

The trunk issues (loose weather stripping, increase clearance between trunk lid and bumper, license plate attachment) have all been corrected.

They have replaced the CCV module that controls the screens, and Software Engineering is now writing a "custom" program for it. I wasn't clear what that means, but I was told it was necessary for my car to communicate with the base team, it would be transparent to me, and the car would receive all standard OTA updates. When this programming is done they will test all the software systems with the newest software downloaded.

They still haven't been able to duplicate the scraping/whistling sounds in the A/C system, so they are going to open up the A/C vents and blower unit to see if they can find any signs of unusual contact or wear. I sent them an audio/video clip that captured the sound clearly, so they acknowledge something is amiss. (I'm a little torn about this. The noise has occurred only a few times, and I'm really leery about opening up the firewall/dash area and possibly introducing squeaks or rattles that were not there before. On the other hand, I don't want to get the car back, have the noise become more frequent, and see the car go back to a Service Center.)

They are optimistic that the car will be returned by February 22 so that it can stay on schedule for the radar/laser detector installation.

 

[idiot900]

Software Engineering is now writing a "custom" program for it. I wasn't clear what that means, but I was told it was necessary for my car to communicate with the base team, it would be transparent to me, and the car would receive all standard OTA updates.

If I understand correctly, Lucid's engineering team is instrumenting your car specifically so they can get debugging information directly from it in case of any further problems, rather than filtering through a CS rep? That seems really above and beyond.

 

[hmp10]

That seems really above and beyond.

I've been a bit frustrated with the level of issues I've had with the car, but I have absolutely no doubt about Lucid's determination to do whatever it takes to make it right.

After driving the car for a month and now having been without it for a week, I've been surprised by how much I miss it. I'm now back to driving and riding in the Model S Plaid more. It was a car I really enjoyed before the Lucid arrived. Now I find it a tad annoying (except for the Google Earth map, which I sorely miss in the Lucid).

 

[MikeTz]

The trunk issues (loose weather stripping, increase clearance between trunk lid and bumper, license plate attachment) have all been corrected.

They have replaced the CCV module that controls the screens, and Software Engineering is now writing a "custom" program for it. I wasn't clear what that means, but I was told it was necessary for my car to communicate with the base team, it would be transparent to me, and the car would receive all standard OTA updates. When this programming is done they will test all the software systems with the newest software downloaded.

They still haven't been able to duplicate the scraping/whistling sounds in the A/C system, so they are going to open up the A/C vents and blower unit to see if they can find any signs of unusual contact or wear. I sent them an audio/video clip that captured the sound clearly, so they acknowledge something is amiss. (I'm a little torn about this. The noise has occurred only a few times, and I'm really leery about opening up the firewall/dash area and possibly introducing squeaks or rattles that were not there before. On the other hand, I don't want to get the car back, have the noise become more frequent, and see the car go back to a Service Center.)

They are optimistic that the car will be returned by February 22 so that it can stay on schedule for the radar/laser detector installation.

Not sure if this is the same issue but I had the whistling sounds in my A/C once and it was due to having the rear A/C full on and the front turned off. I suspect the rear A/C uses the same fans and in this case the fans were fully on to cool the rear and some of the air was passing through the front flaps that may have not closed completely.?

 

[Paladin732]

I've been a bit frustrated with the level of issues I've had with the car, but I have absolutely no doubt about Lucid's determination to do whatever it takes to make it right.

After driving the car for a month and now having been without it for a week, I've been surprised by how much I miss it. I'm now back to driving and riding in the Model S Plaid more. It was a car I really enjoyed before the Lucid arrived. Now I find it a tad annoying (except for the Google Earth map, which I sorely miss in the Lucid).

When you talk to them next, you should see if you can get some info on when/if they plan for a satellite view.

Also: I’m shocked they are implementing custom instrumentation for your vehicle. That speaks to an engineering team that really wants to get it right

 

[hmp10]

Not sure if this is the same issue but I had the whistling sounds in my A/C once and it was due to having the rear A/C full on and the front turned off. I suspect the rear A/C uses the same fans and in this case the fans were fully on to cool the rear and some of the air was passing through the front flaps that may have not closed completely.?

I think my issue is different. There is a scraping and sometimes a rattling component to the noise. It sounds as if a motor bearing might be bad or a fan blade is scraping the housing.

 

[hmp10]

When you talk to them next, you should see if you can get some info on when/if they plan for a satellite view.

Also: I’m shocked they are implementing custom instrumentation for your vehicle. That speaks to an engineering team that really wants to get it right

None of the service people have been able to tell me anything about plans for a satellite view. I did ask Zak Edson about it when I met him at the Miami studio opening ages ago. He told me it was not going to be included at launch but that there had been some discussions about introducing it later. I've been unable to find out anything since.

Lucid can't be happy that the most prolific poster on the Lucid forums has had the issues with the car I've had. Plus I surmise that they recognize that my car, being fairly early in the production run, is a good opportunity to find out if there are latent issues with the computers/software that might show up on a more widespread basis down the production run if they don't get to the bottom of it now.