Three Months and 2500 Miles

[Steveinarizona]

I should never take a drive after writing a mostly positive review. Here is letter that I just sent to customer care. I am not happy.

Customer Care,

I encountered another false shock and tilt alarm at 4:56PM. Similar situation to prior instances. Level 2 charging, AC set remotely, alarm occurred approaching the car and about 15 feet away. This has happened numerous times and was first reported to Lucid on April 29. When can I expect a resolution?

Second issue was a blank cockpit panel, left and center parts at about 4:58PM. Right cockpit panel and pilot display were active and normal. I was afraid to drive the car in this state but tried to put it into reverse and the rear camera came up on the right cockpit panel and pilot display. Nothing came up on either the left or center cockpit panels. Although I did not drive it, it seemed like it went into reverse and would have backed up. I believe the car is dangerous if it is drivable in that state. I did the turn signal reset (no turn signal audio or indication on the cockpit display). I got out and locked the car and observed the outside turn signals on. After the reset the display was normal.

Third issue was at about 5:33 PM. The right cockpit panel and pilot display were blank except for the Lucid logo and background on the pilot display. The mileage and efficiency since last charge showed dashes instead of numbers, the battery indicator was in miles where I have it set for SOC%.

The screen issues were first reported to Lucid on May 24. The car is becoming un-drivable. I no longer believe that the display issues are software related but rather a hardware issue with my car. I know from the Lucid Owners forum that the screen failures are rare and the only other case was resolved by a hardware change.

I have service scheduled for the drive system warning starting on Friday. I want the display issues resolved at the same time. I will be out of town next week and the service center will have my car all week. I hope and expect that all issues are resolved during that week. The only acceptable answer and action from Lucid is to make sure that happens.

I really like the effort you put in to this forum and the honesty of your posts. Please keep it up. I have reserved a Pure and hope that all these types of problems and initial quality get resolved before they get to me.

 

[DBV]

So, what happens if there is no service center by you? I live in NE Ohio and unless it changed, I think Chicago is nearest service center?

 

[OldAg]

As an Electrical Engineer who spent 35+ Years designing and installing industrial electrical systems this wiring harness issue seems odd. From what I understand the fix is to tie wrap the harness behind the dash to avoid fraying the wires.. What physically moves behind the dash to “fray” the wires protective jacket? I am guessing that the production step to install the harness damages the wiring somehow and won’t be solved until the harness is replaced. It appears that a small percentage of cars are experiencing these issues which points even more to an assembly issue that can vary car by car.

 

[hydbob]

Just got this done today and the tech showed me pics and explained to me what was happening. Essentially, the wire "bundle" are the ones connected to the steering column for the various functions on the steering wheel. So, when it gets fray from catching on something behind there when it's moving it shorts out the screens and they start to flicker. They have a tolerance level and and shortened some other cables to ensure free flowing movement and no chance of any of the wires to catch on anything.

 

[OldAg]

Well at least that makes sense, the steering wheel is about the only thing that physically moves that could damage wiring. So it’s a steering wheel issue really, not a display issue. Thanks for the information. Maybe this ties into the squeaky steering wheel problem.

 

[hydbob]

Oh, for squeaky wheel issue. They are NOT redesigning the steering wheel persay, but there are 2 plastic finish pieces on the top of the steering wheel. The fix for the squeaking is an extra foam tap that goes between the edges of the plastic pieces to prevent the rubbing of the two parts against each other. To fix this, the car needs to be taken to a service center and the steering wheel is dismantled and put back together with the new foam tape.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

So, what happens if there is no service center by you? I live in NE Ohio and unless it changed, I think Chicago is nearest service center?

They will come pick your car up and get you an Uber to the car rental place if you need one and give you a rental car.

 

[digiboxer]

They will come pick your car up and get you an Uber to the car rental place if you need one and give you a rental car.

One wonders how much these expenses were anticipated, and budgeted, by LCID? Surely they have budget/actual P&Ls that have a line item(s) for post-delivery warranty work. I'm curious how those numbers were derived.

A lot of owners here have showed remarkable patience that's based generally on the idea that they knew L was a startup, and they expected what turned out to be a large amount of warranty fixes. But did Lucid see it coming too?

When someone 250 miles away needs a fix and it requires a tow truck, Ubers and rental cars, a weeks time---this just isn't a sustainable business model if the frequency of fixes is significantly above what the budget calls for.

The rejoinder that Tesla was much worse 8 years ago isn't the point. Lucid is here today (with the benefit of 8 years of hindsight) and a big cash burn. If every car they put out ends up costing much more in warranty work than they assumed, they have big problem.

I hope that the usual softball analysts will confront this on the next call. If the answer is a GOOD one, L should be anxious to get it out---making me anxious to buy their car.

 

[TCGT]

Many reasons to buy the car, but you make some good points. No telling what analysts or others may think. Best to keep your own counsel.

 

[hydbob]

One wonders how much these expenses were anticipated, and budgeted, by LCID? Surely they have budget/actual P&Ls that have a line item(s) for post-delivery warranty work. I'm curious how those numbers were derived.

A lot of owners here have showed remarkable patience that's based generally on the idea that they knew L was a startup, and they expected what turned out to be a large amount of warranty fixes. But did Lucid see it coming too?

When someone 250 miles away needs a fix and it requires a tow truck, Ubers and rental cars, a weeks time---this just isn't a sustainable business model if the frequency of fixes is significantly above what the budget calls for.

The rejoinder that Tesla was much worse 8 years ago isn't the point. Lucid is here today (with the benefit of 8 years of hindsight) and a big cash burn. If every car they put out ends up costing much more in warranty work than they assumed, they have big problem.

I hope that the usual softball analysts will confront this on the next call. If the answer is a GOOD one, L should be anxious to get it out---making me anxious to buy their car.

I'm almost certain they anticipated it knowing full well they were a startup. A lot of the warranty work being done is because the assembly line hasn't been tuned to remove these errors. So, the expectation that they would have to do a lot of the work, should have been baked into the cash burn and internal analysis by the company.

 

[Drendino]

One wonders how much these expenses were anticipated, and budgeted, by LCID? Surely they have budget/actual P&Ls that have a line item(s) for post-delivery warranty work. I'm curious how those numbers were derived.

A lot of owners here have showed remarkable patience that's based generally on the idea that they knew L was a startup, and they expected what turned out to be a large amount of warranty fixes. But did Lucid see it coming too?

When someone 250 miles away needs a fix and it requires a tow truck, Ubers and rental cars, a weeks time---this just isn't a sustainable business model if the frequency of fixes is significantly above what the budget calls for.

The rejoinder that Tesla was much worse 8 years ago isn't the point. Lucid is here today (with the benefit of 8 years of hindsight) and a big cash burn. If every car they put out ends up costing much more in warranty work than they assumed, they have big problem.

I hope that the usual softball analysts will confront this on the next call. If the answer is a GOOD one, L should be anxious to get it out---making me anxious to buy their car.

Rivian has made a lot of mistakes, but they were smart to prioritize delivering in areas close to a service center for this very reason.

 

[Volund]

They will come pick your car up and get you an Uber to the car rental place if you need one and give you a rental car.

That's impressive

Great service, and I'm happy delivery is free as well

 

[stratus]

Since I have had my stellar white Air GT with 21”wheels for just over three months it is a good time to post my impressions. This is my first EV. I may have some advantages as an electrical engineer in the semiconductor industry and having designed and installed a couple of off-grid solar installations. Battery care and charging are not new to me.

I am not a car expert but I love a car that is fun to drive. My grandfather taught me to drive in a 1948 Willys CJ when I was 12. The Lucid Air GT is about as opposite as one can get. It won’t go off road but it will do just about anything else.

Nothing compares to the Air design, both interior and exterior. I see and think about this every time I get in it. The materials are of high quality. It looks good and feels good. The design is reserved with a good balance between modern minimalism and functionality. It gets a lot of attention. On the freeway today, the passenger in another car rolled down his window and stuck his head out to get a better look at my Lucid, it was 107 degrees out.

The Air is the best driving car that I have owned. I love flying around corners, looking in the rearview mirror when first at a stoplight no matter what is next to you (yea, the Plaid and Dream Edition are faster but I never see those). Passing a Mclaren on steep winding hill because acceleration is great and it just keeps going no matter how fast you are already going. The Air GT is extremely quick, a whole lot of fun and at the same time very easy and relaxing to drive. As @bunnylobowski said, this car will do any style of driving that you desire and it will do it well.

High regenerative braking is easy to learn and once learned hard to live without. Besides improving efficiency, single peal driving provides a better modulation of acceleration deceleration than you can get with friction brakes and a gas pedal. People who have owned other EVs know this but I needed to experience it for myself to truly appreciate it.

For anyone out there that looks for an excuse to drive their Lucid Air, this feeling does not go away. However, I no longer feel the need to have an excuse. I just go for a drive without pretending there is any reason.

The controls are well laid out with a few exceptions. The steering wheel should extend a little bit further. The steering wheel buttons (not the rotating wheels) have a poor haptic feel. The turn-signal stalk leads to accidentally activating windshield wipers. The lag between pressing the turn-signal and the blind spot camera coming on makes this feature useless for most lane changes. The four screens are intuitive with the most needed controls readily available. Night lighting makes it easy to see the controls while also providing excellent visibility.

The adaptive cruise control is the best I have used. It is very smooth an does not overreact to cars coming into or out of your lane. It quickly detects relative speed to another cars and adjusts correctly.

The car is smooth and quiet although rough asphalt does create some tire noise. The seats are comfortable and massage combined with the sound system keep me in the car for a few minutes after getting home. The surreal sound is awesome. I will take the buggy Tidal interface over SiriusXM DJs promoting their Facebook and Twitter feeds any day. I really like playing any song at any time with just an Alexa command. Did I say that the sound is incredible. On the downside, Tidal does not buffer enough music to handle even short durations without cellular coverage. Using it with spotty cellular coverage is an exercise in futility. I want Apple car play so that I can play from a library on my iPhone outside of good cellular coverage.

I want to take longer trips before commenting on efficiency. The range is more than adequate for a drive from Phoenix to the mountains without worrying about driving conservatively or minimizing the AC. The ability to add 40% to my SOC in 17 minutes without preconditioning the battery amazes me. Unless there is a line at charging stations, DC fast charging is very unlikely to slow down typical road trips.

The navigation system is weak. It does not pick the fastest route nor does it provide an option for an alternate routes. Many others have correctly voiced their disdain for navigation voice prompts and volume.

I have had more than my share of service calls but never a mobile visit. I guess that goes with being 10 minutes from the service center and almost driving past it to and from work. While I may not get to taste the espresso from the machine in the mobile van, I do get a free detail each time they service my car. They do a really great job so I will take this over an espresso. A full list of service visits is below along with a list of software bugs that I have encountered.

Recent issues detract from the driving experience; screen crashes that prevent controlling the AC, drive system warnings with sluggish acceleration and no regen, frunk opening when it should not. I remember a comment from @hmp10 when he was dealing with screen crashes early on and wondering what was not going to work on any particular day. While @hmp10 said it better, not having confidence that important systems will work takes away from enjoying the car.

I will not end this review on a negative tone, my overall summary in one sentence. The car is such a good design and so much fun to drive, I would buy it again in heartbeat.

Service visits:

• Mar 29: Whistling AC – resolved be actuator recalibration and 1.2.1.
• April 19: Right rear window inoperative – resolved by plugging it back in after window tint technician unplugged it. Not Lucid’s fault and they did not charge me for the repair which I really appreciate.
• May 3: False shock and tilt alarms – trouble shooting but not resolved.
• May 18: False shock and tilt alarms – Replaced frunk latches but did not resolve.
• June 1: Wiring harness recall Inspection – no issues.
• June 10: Drive system warning and unexpected frunk opening. This is in the future.

Unresolved issues that may be either hardware or software:

• Left rear radar error parking next to a building
• Screen crashes – both right cockpit panel and pilot panel
• Failure to initiate level 2 charge without valet card reset
• False shock and tilt alarms

My list of bugs

• Doors not unlocking with key fob present or immediately re-locking after unlocking.
• Right cockpit panel display going blank
• Pilot panel blanking out
• Failing to initiate a level2 charge
• Navigation not choosing the fastest route
• Alexa failing with "Something went wrong" response or no response from Alexa when using either steering wheel button or voice command
• Tidal blanking out with "No Active Media"
• Park Assist system errors while backing out of garage
• Incorrect efficiency calculation - discrepancy between efficiency from last charge and trip calculation
• Left rear radar error when parking next to a building
• Switching user profiles in the middle of a drive without user input
• Drive System warning with sluggish acceleration and no regenerative braking

All bugs and timestamps have been emailed to customer care. I encourage everyone to do this so that Lucid can prioritize updates.

Thank you for taking the time to post this summary. I should get my vehicle in the next 60 days or so. I have to admit, all these glitches are really increasing my level of anxiety about this vehicle, as I live so far from just about anywhere. That being said, no plans to change course at this point.
I just hope the car doesn’t decide to completely malfunction in a very inopportune locale.

 

[Adnillien]

I should never take a drive after writing a mostly positive review. Here is letter that I just sent to customer care. I am not happy.

Customer Care,

I encountered another false shock and tilt alarm at 4:56PM. Similar situation to prior instances. Level 2 charging, AC set remotely, alarm occurred approaching the car and about 15 feet away. This has happened numerous times and was first reported to Lucid on April 29. When can I expect a resolution?

Second issue was a blank cockpit panel, left and center parts at about 4:58PM. Right cockpit panel and pilot display were active and normal. I was afraid to drive the car in this state but tried to put it into reverse and the rear camera came up on the right cockpit panel and pilot display. Nothing came up on either the left or center cockpit panels. Although I did not drive it, it seemed like it went into reverse and would have backed up. I believe the car is dangerous if it is drivable in that state. I did the turn signal reset (no turn signal audio or indication on the cockpit display). I got out and locked the car and observed the outside turn signals on. After the reset the display was normal.

Third issue was at about 5:33 PM. The right cockpit panel and pilot display were blank except for the Lucid logo and background on the pilot display. The mileage and efficiency since last charge showed dashes instead of numbers, the battery indicator was in miles where I have it set for SOC%.

The screen issues were first reported to Lucid on May 24. The car is becoming un-drivable. I no longer believe that the display issues are software related but rather a hardware issue with my car. I know from the Lucid Owners forum that the screen failures are rare and the only other case was resolved by a hardware change.

I have service scheduled for the drive system warning starting on Friday. I want the display issues resolved at the same time. I will be out of town next week and the service center will have my car all week. I hope and expect that all issues are resolved during that week. The only acceptable answer and action from Lucid is to make sure that happens.

I just dropped my car off at Scottsdale. I am pretty happy with their prep. The Shock and Tilt is getting a lot more attention since more people are seeing it. I was happy to hear the the engineering team is involved and allocated to support troubleshooting on my car next week. It also sounds like the engineering teams have provided guidance on the other issues and are also ready to support the local service team when needed. I feel much better about the situation now.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I just dropped my car off at Scottsdale. I am pretty happy with their prep. The Shock and Tilt is getting a lot more attention since more people are seeing it. I was happy to hear the the engineering team is involved and allocated to support troubleshooting on my car next week. It also sounds like the engineering teams have provided guidance on the other issues and are also ready to support the local service team when needed. I feel much better about the situation now.

You are my local expert. Please keep posting!

Tbanks.

 

[Demosthenes]

I just dropped my car off at Scottsdale. I am pretty happy with their prep. The Shock and Tilt is getting a lot more attention since more people are seeing it. I was happy to hear the the engineering team is involved and allocated to support troubleshooting on my car next week. It also sounds like the engineering teams have provided guidance on the other issues and are also ready to support the local service team when needed. I feel much better about the situation now.

Sounds encouraging!

 

[Switt]

I just dropped my car off at Scottsdale. I am pretty happy with their prep. The Shock and Tilt is getting a lot more attention since more people are seeing it. I was happy to hear the the engineering team is involved and allocated to support troubleshooting on my car next week. It also sounds like the engineering teams have provided guidance on the other issues and are also ready to support the local service team when needed. I feel much better about the situation now.

Let me know what you find out about the Shock and Tilt. Mine just started doing the same thing last week. Seems to come on when the outdoor temp is well over 100. I talked to customer service who called Scottsdale service center before calling me back to say it was a known issue that they are working on.

 

[jsteinb]

So, what happens if there is no service center by you? I live in NE Ohio and unless it changed, I think Chicago is nearest service center?

I also live in NE Ohio. Trying to decide whether to confirm my reservation. I was told Lucid was interviewing for an Ohio-based tech. All the bugs have me concerned. Not sure what kind of support we will get when it has to come from out of state.

 

[Sandvinsd]

I also live in NE Ohio. Trying to decide whether to confirm my reservation. I was told Lucid was interviewing for an Ohio-based tech. All the bugs have me concerned. Not sure what kind of support we will get when it has to come from out of state.

Go ahead an confirm. By the time they finally make your car 8 months later, you will probably have a service tech near you.

 

[BJR]

Hm I had my center pilot panel and right upper panel blank out except the lucid symbol on the pilot panel once as well. Not sure what I was doing but while I was driving both those panels seemed to ‘crash’ and try to reset themselves. But they just never fully made it back to life. It was only a one time occurrence (so far!) and after I got out of the car, left the area to run an errand, and then got back into it, all the screens were functioning regularly again.

I just had my pilot panel blank out. It's been 96 and I had the seat AC on. When I got home and put the car in park and went to turn the seat AC off, the screen went blank when I touched it and refused to come back. Four hours later I went out to check on it, and it was fine.