Unresolved Suspension Clunk 5 Months Later

[mustafam1]

Hello everyone! I’m not entirely sure what I’ll get from sharing this, but here it goes –

I leased my 2023 Lucid Air Pure AWD back in early April, and overall, it’s been a great experience—except for one frustrating suspension issue that remains unresolved.

Whenever I drive over rough roads or through parking lots at speeds between 5-20 mph, there’s a persistent clunking noise coming from the front driver’s side. It sounds like something might be loose, possibly a sway bar. If I hit a moderate bump at higher speeds, the clunk happens once, more suddenly and louder than the usual noise. Additionally, I often find myself gripping the steering wheel tightly and constantly making small corrections to avoid ‘ping-ponging’ within the lane, especially on the highway.

I reported the issue to service shortly after getting the car, and they diagnosed it as a defective ‘damper spring assembly,’ which they replaced. Unfortunately, that didn’t fix the noise.

After getting the car back, I informed them the clunk was still there. Remote technicians came out but couldn’t replicate the sound. On my third complaint, they compared it with another Lucid Air at a nearby shop and concluded the clunking must be ‘normal,’ as the other car had the same issue.

I’ve also seen other threads mentioning a similar issue caused by loose tie rod ends, but the remote technicians checked mine and said they were fine.

Has anyone else dealt with this and found a solution? Is a persistent clunk from the front driver’s side really considered normal? I’m thinking about taking it to an independent shop to investigate further, but I’m unsure of what to do next. My lease is 18 months, and while I could tolerate this until the end, I’m questioning whether I should have to.

 

[segbrk]

I have no unusual sound that I'm aware of aside from that of the tires hitting bumps. Can you get a video? Try to get sound from inside with a view of outside to give a reference point for how bumpy and how fast.

 

[A Fischman]

Hello everyone! I’m not entirely sure what I’ll get from sharing this, but here it goes –

I leased my 2023 Lucid Air Pure AWD back in early April, and overall, it’s been a great experience—except for one frustrating suspension issue that remains unresolved.

Whenever I drive over rough roads or through parking lots at speeds between 5-20 mph, there’s a persistent clunking noise coming from the front driver’s side. It sounds like something might be loose, possibly a sway bar. If I hit a moderate bump at higher speeds, the clunk happens once, more suddenly and louder than the usual noise. Additionally, I often find myself gripping the steering wheel tightly and constantly making small corrections to avoid ‘ping-ponging’ within the lane, especially on the highway.

I reported the issue to service shortly after getting the car, and they diagnosed it as a defective ‘damper spring assembly,’ which they replaced. Unfortunately, that didn’t fix the noise.

After getting the car back, I informed them the clunk was still there. Remote technicians came out but couldn’t replicate the sound. On my third complaint, they compared it with another Lucid Air at a nearby shop and concluded the clunking must be ‘normal,’ as the other car had the same issue.

I’ve also seen other threads mentioning a similar issue caused by loose tie rod ends, but the remote technicians checked mine and said they were fine.

Has anyone else dealt with this and found a solution? Is a persistent clunk from the front driver’s side really considered normal? I’m thinking about taking it to an independent shop to investigate further, but I’m unsure of what to do next. My lease is 18 months, and while I could tolerate this until the end, I’m questioning whether I should have to.

Has anyone checked the strut?

 

[mustafam1]

I have no unusual sound that I'm aware of aside from that of the tires hitting bumps. Can you get a video? Try to get sound from inside with a view of outside to give a reference point for how bumpy and how fast.

I was only able to get a recording of the louder, more sudden clunks/knocks at higher speeds -

0:05
0:08
0:14
0:20

 

[mustafam1]

Has anyone checked the strut?

I'm assuming they have, supposedly the car was put on on a lift and they "put a wrench to everything" during my last service appointment a bit over a month ago.

 

[A Fischman]

I'm assuming they have, supposedly the car was put on on a lift and they "put a wrench to everything" during my last service appointment a bit over a month ago.

I listened to your video. It does sound like a suspension issue.

 

[A Fischman]

I'm assuming they have, supposedly the car was put on on a lift and they "put a wrench to everything" during my last service appointment a bit over a month ago.

Have them check that you don't have a loose wheel.

 

[scal_air]

I had a recurrent problem with a loose stabilizer bar that kinda sounded like that. It's been fixed but took a couple visits...

 

[scal_air]

Did you ever solve your issue?

 

[mustafam1]

Did you ever solve your issue?

Not yet. The mobile techs came out last week with a demo vehicle to compare with mine. At first, I was told the clunking noise was a normal characteristic of the car, but I think that was because they weren’t listening for the right sound until I showed them the video. They’re scheduled to come back out this Monday to investigate further, though I’m not feeling too optimistic about a resolution. When I first got the car, it took several complaints before they acknowledged an issue with the front footwell woofers. I just wish their initial reaction to any complaint wasn’t ‘that’s normal,’ especially since I’m the one dealing with these problems every day

 

[heisenberg_007]

Not yet. The mobile techs came out last week with a demo vehicle to compare with mine. At first, I was told the clunking noise was a normal characteristic of the car, but I think that was because they weren’t listening for the right sound until I showed them the video. They’re scheduled to come back out this Monday to investigate further, though I’m not feeling too optimistic about a resolution. When I first got the car, it took several complaints before they acknowledged an issue with the front footwell woofers. I just wish their initial reaction to any complaint wasn’t ‘that’s normal,’ especially since I’m the one dealing with these problems every day

I believe I have the same issue. The sound is not as bad as yours but I did report it to Lucid Service center. After almost 2 weeks in the shop - "the concern has been escalated and we are working with engineering to solve it"

Here is what they did so far but the noise is still present:
Replacement of lower intermediate shaft
Installed strut blocks to limit suspension travel but found noise to be more pronounced
Replacement of driver's front brake caliper
Replacement of steering gear rack assembly

What sucks is they had to drive 200 miles to keep figuring out the issue.

 

[TakeDuo]

Our Pure has the same exact noise. Three visits to two service centers. Nothing found to be wrong. The noise does not come from the GT hitting exact same bumps. I’m happy I found this thread… I’ve been fighting them too long on this and now it seems there are more of us.

 

[lpinprov]

I believe I too have this or a related issue. It seems like a bit of a rattle/vibration on the driver's side when hitting bumps or depressions (e.g. manhole covers), doesn't seem as present when the passenger side tires hit similar bumps. I had the car in for service a few weeks ago, they said there's nothing there, but I still feel like I am noticing something. With our local roads a ridiculous source of bumps and dips, it is making me a bit crazy....

Look forward to any insights folks are able to come up with as we investigate this.

 

[mustafam1]

Hey! Sorry to hear you’re all dealing with the same issue, somewhat glad I’m not the only one. The mobile techs came by yesterday and confirmed they’re hearing the clunk too. They spent a lot of time trying to figure out where it’s coming from, which I really appreciate. They’re always incredibly nice so I’m never really frustrated (directly) with them just the situation… I understand that it’s probably really difficult to pinpoint an issue like this.

With that being said, still no solid answers… they’re going to replace the front driver-side damper spring assembly again and see what happens. When I first got the car back after they replaced it the first time, I couldn’t hear the clunk, but it seemingly came back the very next day hence the suggested second replacement. I’m kind of kicking myself for even mentioning that I didn’t hear the clunk right away, because I’m not convinced the damper spring assembly needs to be swapped out again. But who knows, I guess we’ll find out!

 

[mustafam1]

Hello Lucid fam! Still waiting on parts although I do have a question for anyone else dealing with this – does your steering wheel feel like it’s pulsing a bit when you’re inching forward at around 2-3 mph? Or when you’ve got the wheel almost fully turned to the left while moving slowly? It’s not visible to the eye, but I can feel the pulsing get faster or slower as I come to a stop or start moving again. I thought it was the AC causing it, but I've been driving without the AC for the past few days and still notice it (though, minus the usual AC compressor vibrations).

 

[Adnillien]

Hello Lucid fam! Still waiting on parts although I do have a question for anyone else dealing with this – does your steering wheel feel like it’s pulsing a bit when you’re inching forward at around 2-3 mph? Or when you’ve got the wheel almost fully turned to the left while moving slowly? It’s not visible to the eye, but I can feel the pulsing get faster or slower as I come to a stop or start moving again. I thought it was the AC causing it, but I've been driving without the AC for the past few days and still notice it (though, minus the usual AC compressor vibrations).

I do feel that when the wheel is turned all the way. I think it is the feel of the power steering when it reaches the steering limit.

 

[mustafam1]

I do feel that when the wheel is turned all the way. I think it is the feel of the power steering when it reaches the steering limit.

That definitely makes sense and was also my initial assumption. What's odd is that I feel the same thing even when driving straight. Just trying to piece together and figure out what’s going on with my car since it's starting to drive me a little crazy

(Also worried the parts on order might not be the ones that need replacing..)

 

[TakeDuo]

Any answer/resolution on this @mustafam1 ?

 

[suchluke]

Did you try isolate if this happens on left side vs right side only by going over road imperfections with one wheel only? This could be ball joints, sway bar links, control arms. The proper was to diagnose would be to place the car on suspension testing machine. Without driving observe and locate the noise. Use stethoscope to narrow it down. It will be really hard to figure out while driving what's causing this noise.

 

[TakeDuo]

The larger picture is that similar build cars are experiencing identical symptoms. It is not up to me to do what you are asking. Service has told us it’s normal. It appears others are being told the same thing which doesn’t add up. I’m hoping they find a solution so we can share here. I’m still pressing just wanted to see if @mustafam1 had resolution