Was just driving home and dashboard blinked red and said contact customer care...

[SaaSManKS]

We got about 7 inches of snow here in WNY in the last 24 hours, but that's nothing new for us, so I did my usual, got up and drove to the gym at 5am. On my way home to get my son to take to daycare as I pull of the main road, and start up a slight incline, I can tell the car is struggling. Which it's a sedan in the snow, I get it, so it slowly comes to a stop. Not able to climb any further, and I put it in reverse to rock it back a few feet and as I did that, the car chimes; dashboard blinks red and says there's a problem with the drive unit and I need to contact customer care....

This is insane, this level of inoperability is inexcusable, it was pretty annoying when a few months ago I was just driving home from dinner and the windshield wipers randomly turned on and would not turn off (there wasn't a cloud in the sky btw), I don't have confidence that I can take my car places without fear it will break down/be rendered inoperable anymore.

I had to leave my car sitting in the middle of the road, and walk home in the snow, to wait and hear when it will be picked up in the next 24/36 hours was the timeline given by the call center agent.

I honestly don't know how anyone considering a purchase that follows these threads would reasonably be able to consider purchasing this car.

 

[Rogue]

1) Auto wipers do sometimes swipe at imaginary rain. However, you can turn them off completely to fix that. That one sounds like user error.

2) What model year is your car? If it is a 22' or 23', drive train faults were a somewhat common occurrence. These typically showed up due to mileage between 12-30k miles.

3) Are you using winter tires, or are you trying to drive in snow on summer 21's?

4) Your choice to walk home without trying to reset the car or take any action seems at best from the information in your post, a preemptive decision of inoperable. A reset will often allow an individual to at least move the car to a safer place vs leaving it in the middle of the road.

 

[SaaSManKS]

1) Auto wipers do sometimes swipe at imaginary rain. However, you can turn them off completely to fix that. That one sounds like user error.

No user error, they had to have a mobile tech come out and fix it; it was a known issue

2) What model year is your car? If it is a 22' or 23', drive train faults were a somewhat common occurrence. These typically showed up due to mileage between 12-30k miles.

2023 with just a hair over 26k miles, does that make this more acceptable that its more common?

3) Are you using winter tires, or are you trying to drive in snow on summer 21's?

why does that make a difference in the car shutting down?

4) Your choice to walk home without trying to reset the car or take any action seems at best from the information in your post, a preemptive decision of inoperable. A reset will often allow an individual to at least move the car to a safer place vs leaving it in the middle of the road.

You're falsely assuming I didn't try to reset the car (multiple times, multiple ways)

 

[Babyrocko1908]

No user error, they had to have a mobile tech come out and fix it; it was a known issue

2023 with just a hair over 26k miles, does that make this more acceptable that its more common?

why does that make a difference in the car shutting down?

You're falsely assuming I didn't try to reset the car (multiple times, multiple ways)

The tires absolutely make a difference. There could have been additional strain on the drivetrain if improper tires were used in the snow. I have 21's and live in Pennsylvania. This is precisely why my car is tucked away safely in the garage until March -- improper tires for the winter season.

 

[msaunders9430]

Sorry this happened to you.
Please let us know how this plays out for you.

 

[Rogue]

We can only infer from the information provided. Either way, it sounds like you have experienced a semi-common issue with that model year. I am waiting for my GT-P to do the same as we enter that mileage territory. My GT had several issues with the battery and flagged for replacement (post-totaling).

Any car can do this though, so my main issue is your stance of no one can own a Lucid in a reasonable manner based on your personal experience of a known issue for specific model years.

I got stranded in the middle of a hurricane evacuation in SC by a Toyota Camry due to an alternator failure. Roads shutdown for 50+ miles headed towards the coast. Gas stations emptied in the usual hoarding frenzy people do during such events. A police officer having to jump the car and make a pass through to get to a family friend's house. My father then trekked 2.5+ hours from a different city weaving between road closures and limited gas stations to finally pick me up...

My stance today and then isn't that no one should own a Camry. It is a good and reliable car all things considered. My stance isn't no one should own a Lucid because of my experiences of known issues for battery and drivetrain failures/faults on the GT.

Surely this isn't the first time a car has left you in an awkward position?

 

[SaaSManKS]

Surely this isn't the first time a car has left you in an awkward position?

never had a car leave me in an awkward position like this since I started buying cars that cost over $50K and were less than 2 years old

 

[AirDoll]

We got about 7 inches of snow here in WNY in the last 24 hours, but that's nothing new for us, so I did my usual, got up and drove to the gym at 5am. On my way home to get my son to take to daycare as I pull of the main road, and start up a slight incline, I can tell the car is struggling. Which it's a sedan in the snow, I get it, so it slowly comes to a stop. Not able to climb any further, and I put it in reverse to rock it back a few feet and as I did that, the car chimes; dashboard blinks red and says there's a problem with the drive unit and I need to contact customer care....

This is insane, this level of inoperability is inexcusable, it was pretty annoying when a few months ago I was just driving home from dinner and the windshield wipers randomly turned on and would not turn off (there wasn't a cloud in the sky btw), I don't have confidence that I can take my car places without fear it will break down/be rendered inoperable anymore.

I had to leave my car sitting in the middle of the road, and walk home in the snow, to wait and hear when it will be picked up in the next 24/36 hours was the timeline given by the call center agent.

I honestly don't know how anyone considering a purchase that follows these threads would reasonably be able to consider purchasing this car.

What did customer care say when you called them? Normally they walk you through troubleshooting, did none of those work? Would it not move at all? Did they recommend you leave it in the middle of the road inoperable? Did they not offer a taxi/ride share home? This sounds highly unlike them, so you either got extremely poor customer care and this needs to be addressed, or something else is very wrong with this situation.

The windshield wiper experience sounds like an annoyance at worst, definitely not a “break down” or “inoperable”.

 

[SaaSManKS]

The tires absolutely make a difference. There could have been additional strain on the drivetrain if improper tires were used in the snow. I have 21's and live in Pennsylvania. This is precisely why my car is tucked away safely in the garage until March -- improper tires for the winter season.

I guess if you're right it means the motors aren't as durable and efficient as Peter thought, I certainly didn't have any problems driving the car in the winter snow last year, idk why this would be any different; I'm still having a hard time working through "if the tires are insufficient for the climate, then the whole drivetrain shuts down....by that logic then ALL lucids would be in this position and I know there are others in this area with my same tires so I guess they will be commiserating here shortly.

 

[Bobby]

never had a car leave me in an awkward position like this since I started buying cars that cost over $50K and were less than 2 years old

My 2003 BMW M3 left me in a horrible position once. It had the SMG transmission, which is an automated manual. Apparently, my SMG pump failed right as I was in the middle of backing out of a driveway on a reasonably busy road. My car was literally 90° to the flow of traffic and came to a complete stop, the back half of the car in one lane of traffic and the front half in the other lane, and put itself in park. It could not be put into neutral or any other gear. There was no manual override. I had to call the police who showed up to direct the traffic until a tow truck could arrive and put the car up on dollies in order to move it out of the way.

What’s the point? Bad things happen. Because your car had a terrible experience, which sounds like it sucks, does not mean that no one should buy this car. It means that one of them failed. There’s no manufacturer on earth that hasn’t had a complete failure of it a small percentage of their cars. I feel sorry about your experience and I hope they fix it right away, but let’s not make sweeping generalizations out of one story.

 

[DeaneG]

We could have a whole thread on other cars that have left us on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck. Three times for me, in three different cars I bought new. My Lucid has been fine though.

However, I was careful not to drive the Maser in the snow on its summer tires. They turn glassy and markedly lose traction below about 40F.

 

[SaaSManKS]

My 2003 BMW M3 left me in a horrible position once. It had the SMG transmission, which is an automated manual. Apparently, my SMG pump failed right as I was in the middle of backing out of a driveway on a reasonably busy road. My car was literally 90° to the flow of traffic and came to a complete stop, the back half of the car in one lane of traffic and the front half in the other lane, and put itself in park. It could not be put into neutral or any other gear. There was no manual override. I had to call the police who showed up to direct the traffic until a tow truck could arrive and put the car up on dollies in order to move it out of the way.

What’s the point? Bad things happen. Because your car had a terrible experience, which sounds like it sucks, does not mean that no one should buy this car. It means that one of them failed. There’s no manufacturer on earth that hasn’t had a complete failure of it a small percentage of their cars. I feel sorry about your experience and I hope they fix it right away, but let’s not make sweeping generalizations out of one story.

I hear you bobby, and appreciate your position but I have had so many different cars, and this has just been a nightmare one thing after another, my driver seat had a tear, and the mobile tech agreed it looked like a defect based on the way it was torn, but the service center immediately denied the claim and said my jeans or whatever did it; (I wear mostly lululemon as I work from home) I've never had a seat tear EVER in any car, it's all just Ludacris.

I'm going through a set of tires about every 10-12 months, and this is the worst negative equity I've ever had. But. is the car good looking? of course! Is the stereo better? absolutely! Love the OTA updates (when they go well and are done timely)

It's all chips in a bucket, I'm just saying I've never had this many chips before, and on top of it, for me to do something about it, I'll need to pay down the (sizeable) negative equity (never had that before in a car) and look at getting something with what I'm being told will be ~6% APR even though I'm +800 credit.

 

[sk8ndad]

I guess if you're right it means the motors aren't as durable and efficient as Peter thought, I certainly didn't have any problems driving the car in the winter snow last year, idk why this would be any different; I'm still having a hard time working through "if the tires are insufficient for the climate, then the whole drivetrain shuts down....by that logic then ALL lucids would be in this position and I know there are others in this area with my same tires so I guess they will be commiserating here shortly.

No, your car failed and it really sucks. Hopefully, they'll be able to fix it quickly. I don't think we'll see a bunch of related failures. Please let us know what the end result is.

 

[msaunders9430]

I honestly don't know how anyone considering a purchase that follows these threads would reasonably be able to consider purchasing this car.

I sincerely hope your issue will be resolved.

I'll give you my reason for follwing these threads and still considering (actually looking forward to) purchasing a Gravity.
Following the threads on this forum is actually one of the reasons I feel confident in buying Gravity Touring when they are available.

Maybe most car makers have unaffiliated online forums or groups for their cars. I don't know.
I haven't read every single thread in the "Bugs/Issues" or "Service/Warranty/Recalls" section of this forum.
However, I've read a bunch of them even though I'm not interested in an Air.
I rarely see an issue that isn't ultimately resolved or the owner choses to sell before resolution.

I'm counting on posts like yours to keep me realistic in my expectations of my Gravity ownership.
Caveat Emptor is the common expression when it comes to buying.
Forums like this one empower the buyer to "be aware" not just beware.

Keep us posted on your outcome.

 

[hmp10]

Any car can do this though . . . .

Surely this isn't the first time a car has left you in an awkward position?

So true, as I learned when our 2015 Model S P90D had its HV battery pack and rear drive unit fail when a weld joint gave way.

I've also posted earlier about the brand new Jaguar S-Type transmission that failed and left me stranded on the road, the Mercedes SL55 AMG that had its brake-by-wire system go out twice and render the car undriveable, the Audi S6 in which I carried a jumper cable and traded after one year because a software incompatibility with its GM-sourced On*Star system kept draining the battery and could never be corrected, and the Corvette which I abandoned on the side of I-95 after it went into limp mode yet again after multiple episodes that Chevrolet was never able to resolve.

What might seem like my extraordinary bad luck can perhaps be explained by the fact that I am a automotive early adopter, and every one of these cars was either a first year model, or the first year of a next-generation model. (You could argue the 2015 Tesla was not a new model, but it was the first year Tesla went to a newly-engineered dual-motor drivetrain.)

When the HV battery pack and rear drive unit failed in our Lucid Air Dream Performance, I just wrote it off as another episode in a saga that will repeat until I quit buying new car models as soon as they hit the market.

Mercedes could never resolve the issues with the brake-by-wire system it introduced in the SL and took the system out of production after a couple of years. Chevrolet and Audi were never able to resolve the problems with the limp mode and battery drain, and I had to dump both cars prematurely. Lucid, on the other hand, has promptly and satisfactorily addressed every issue with our early-production Air, including replacing its HV battery pack and rear drive unit just as Tesla did.

 

[Lucken]

never had a car leave me in an awkward position like this since I started buying cars that cost over $50K and were less than 2 years old

My Jaguar I-Pace left me stranded with a no start issue when it was a few weeks old. Unfortunately these things can and do happen to any car.

 

[msaunders9430]

So true, as I learned when our 2015 Model S P90D had its HV battery pack and rear drive unit fail when a weld joint gave way.

I've also posted earlier about the brand new Jaguar S-Type transmission that failed and left me stranded on the road, the Mercedes SL55 AMG that had its brake-by-wire system go out twice and render the car undriveable, the Audi S6 in which I carried a jumper cable and traded after one year because a software incompatibility with its GM-sourced On*Star system kept draining the battery and could never be corrected, and the Corvette which I abandoned on the side of I-95 after it went into limp mode yet again after multiple episodes that Chevrolet was never able to resolve.

What might seem like my extraordinary bad luck can perhaps be explained by the fact that I am a automotive early adopter, and every one of these cars was either a first year model, or the first year of a next-generation model. (You could argue the 2015 Tesla was not a new model, but it was the first year Tesla went to a newly-engineered dual-motor drivetrain.)

When the HV battery pack and rear drive unit failed in our Lucid Air Dream Performance, I just wrote it off as another episode in a saga that will repeat until I quit buying new car models as soon as they hit the market.

Mercedes could never resolve the issues with the brake-by-wire system it introduced in the SL and took the system out of production after a couple of years. Chevrolet and Audi were never able to resolve the problems with the limp mode and battery drain, and I had to dump both cars prematurely. Lucid, on the other hand, has promptly and satisfactorily addressed every issue with our early-production Air, including replacing its HV battery pack and rear drive unit just as Tesla did.

And you've got a GGT on order!

Based on your early adoption issues history, the GGT is bound to have issues simply because you're one of the buyers!

Don't blame Lucid, blame @hmp10!

I need you to have all of your GGT issues occur before I order my G-T.

 

[hmp10]

And you've got a GGT on order!

Based on your early adoption issues history, the GGT is bound to have issues simply because you're one of the buyers!

Don't blame Lucid, blame @hmp10!

I need you to have all of your GGT issues occur before I order my G-T.

I'm of the @borski school of thought on this: the Gravity will not repeat the missteps of early Air production . . . but it will encounter new ones of its own.

I'm an old hand at this. But at least I have this forum to tell anyone who will listen all about it.

 

[msaunders9430]

I'm of the @borski school of thought on this: the Gravity will not repeat the missteps of early Air production . . . but it will encounter new ones of its own.

I'm an old hand at this. But at least I have this forum to tell anyone who will listen all about it.

I'll be listening as the new missteps are encountered.

I'll also be listening if Lucid introduces your coveted captains chairs the year after your purchase. You'll rant some and then trade-in?

 

[hmp10]

I'll be listening as the new missteps are encountered.

I'll also be listening if Lucid introduces your coveted captains chairs the year after your purchase. You'll rant some and then trade-in?

Rant? For sure.

Trade-in? Probably not over captains chairs . . . unless they are really special, of course, and add a couple of hundred horsepower to the car.