Worst New Car Ownership/Customer Experience Ever

[DavidMiyashiro]

I received my Air Grand Touring a few months ago and it's been nothing but problems. The roadside tech Frank has been responsive and really great, but the frequency I've needed him to fix/repair things has been ridiculous. For months I had alerts and errors flashing and the last time I had an alert they said to pull over and not drive it.

The specific issues I've had in my first 90 days since receiving my Lucid Air GT are failure to charge while on vacation, driver assist failure, camera failure, screens frozen multiple time w/ no display, trim and details not fastened to the vehicle during production, door handle failure/replacement, dream drive failure, rapid battery depletion (even when not driving), regenerative driving failure, parking brake and drive hold failure requiring me to use the brakes to stop, and now whole system battery/charging failure.

The Costa Mesa center sent a tow truck to pick it up on the side of the road and they brought me a beat up Toyota Avalon and economy rental to drive. It's now been a week and I can't get anyone from corporate or management to respond. They gave me a lemon and I'm stuck with an embarrassing car to drive to work not to mention the gas station. I've been told it may be weeks before I get my lemon back. Who wants a car that needs major hardware fixes and a complete replacement of the battery and main charging machinery out of the gate? Is anyone else having this kind of experience. I've had bad experiences in the past with Porsche and BMW, but this is by far the worst.

David

 

[blueice89]

Are you a verified owner if so why not just curious?

 

[Bobby]

Are you a verified owner if so why not just curious?

He is indeed an owner but has not gotten a badge yet.

 

[Igor]

He is indeed and owner but has not gotten a badge yet.

How does one get the badge?

 

[BobFM]

How does one get the badge?

Verified Owner Badge

Hello everyone! By popular demand we have instituted a Verified Owner badging system. It is completely optional. If you would like to have a verified owner badge shown by your username, please fill out the form. It will require a screenshot from your Lucid app that shows the VIN. Your personal...

lucidowners.com

That's the thread @Bobby set up showing the process of getting a verified badge...

 

[DeaneG]

I received my Air Grand Touring a few months ago and it's been nothing but problems. ... Is anyone else having this kind of experience. ...

Sorry for your pain. A few on this forum have experienced what sounds like the same battery/Wunderbox combination problem. Hope service can resolve everything quickly for you.

 

[Bobby]

I received my Air Grand Touring a few months ago and it's been nothing but problems. The roadside tech Frank has been responsive and really great, but the frequency I've needed him to fix/repair things has been ridiculous. For months I had alerts and errors flashing and the last time I had an alert they said to pull over and not drive it.

The specific issues I've had in my first 90 days since receiving my Lucid Air GT are failure to charge while on vacation, driver assist failure, camera failure, screens frozen multiple time w/ no display, trim and details not fastened to the vehicle during production, door handle failure/replacement, dream drive failure, rapid battery depletion (even when not driving), regenerative driving failure, parking brake and drive hold failure requiring me to use the brakes to stop, and now whole system battery/charging failure.

The Costa Mesa center sent a tow truck to pick it up on the side of the road and they brought me a beat up Toyota Avalon and economy rental to drive. It's now been a week and I can't get anyone from corporate or management to respond. They gave me a lemon and I'm stuck with an embarrassing car to drive to work not to mention the gas station. I've been told it may be weeks before I get my lemon back. Who wants a car that needs major hardware fixes and a complete replacement of the battery and main charging machinery out of the gate? Is anyone else having this kind of experience. I've had bad experiences in the past with Porsche and BMW, but this is by far the worst.

David

David: sorry to hear your story. As a fellow owner, and fellow San Diegan, I feel your pain. I wish we had a service center right here in town so these things could be handled more expeditiously. Thankfully, we have Frank, who I think is the best service man I've ever had on any car that I have owned, and it's a long list that I posted here. https://lucidowners.com/threads/time-for-something-fun-a-car-memory-test.4411/. You probably don't care, but at least it'll give you something else to do while you're waiting for your car!

I do have a couple of questions for you and points to make if you don't mind.

1. How many miles on the car? What's the manufacture date (label in door jamb)? The reason I ask is: some of the older batteries ("Gen 1") had these failures. The newer spec one resolves the problem, you will have the latest and greatest. Believe me, I almost hope my (Gen 1) battery fails around 10,000 miles so I can get a brand new one! That said, I should be careful what I wish for.
2. Is your rental through Hertz? Usually they are. If this is true, contact them directly for upgraded car! I'm not sure that I would call the Toyota Avalon embarrassing. Maybe it's just me, but I don't get embarrassed by which car I drive. I do understand that some people buy certain cars just to impress strangers and a Toyota Avalon is not very impressive.
3. I'm not sure why you expect corporate management to respond. Although your experience sounds horrible and frustrating, cars break. Like it or not. This kind of stuff is handled through customer service. Have you tried texting the customer service number and describing the fact that your rental car is not acceptable?
4. I'm not sure why you are referring to it as a lemon when one system is broken and will be replaced. A lemon is when a car requires an unreasonable amount of service visits with no resolution. It sounds like you are on your first one and a resolution is forthcoming. I would respectfully suggest that you let them fix the car and return to enjoying it. My Jaguar I Pace required a new front drive motor and suspension components, and it was in the shop for weeks just to get a diagnosis (they had to have the "engineer" come in to town) and months waiting for the parts to arrive. They finally did, they were installed, and the car is been perfect since. I had a rental Camry to drive from Enterprise during that time. It sucked while it was happening, but in hindsight, I got a brand new drive motor at 36,000 miles.

All the best. If you'd like to get a cup of coffee or a beer together and vent, I'm happy to do that. People tell me I'm a good listener.

 

[borski]

I got a two minute warning on the highway, and I pulled off the highway and into a driveway - the two minutes were very accurate (and updated as I drove). Then I reset the car, and it drove fine - apparently a reset does “fix it” temporarily.

Service responded to my text within 60 seconds, offered a tow, but since the reset made it drive fine, I drove it straight to Millbrae. When I got there 30 minutes later, they had a rental waiting (even if it was a Genesis), and I was in and out quickly, and they had the car back to me around 7-10 days later (I don’t remember, tbh) after replacing the HV battery and Wunderbox. There is a v2 that they are using for replacement and I’ve never heard of anyone having issues afterward.

Totally painless service experience, which is what I’d hope for for everyone else.

Your experience, while not the typical one, sucks. I’m really sorry to hear that.

Breakdowns aren’t unique to Lucid, but it does sound like you’ve had a bad first go of it. The upside is that once the replacement occurs, it should hopefully be smooth sailing from there.

Good luck.

 

[DavidMiyashiro]

Verified Owner Badge

Hello everyone! By popular demand we have instituted a Verified Owner badging system. It is completely optional. If you would like to have a verified owner badge shown by your username, please fill out the form. It will require a screenshot from your Lucid app that shows the VIN. Your personal...

lucidowners.com

That's the thread @Bobby set up showing the process of getting a verified badge...

Thanks. Just uploaded my app screenshot. Yes. I received my car 2 1/2 months ago.

 

[DavidMiyashiro]

Are you a verified owner if so why not just curious?

I just uploaded my app screenshot for verification. Didn't know that was a thing. Thanks.

David

 

[DavidMiyashiro]

Sorry for your pain. A few on this forum have experienced what sounds like the same battery/Wunderbox combination problem. Hope service can resolve everything quickly for you.

Thank you Deane.

 

[ARamsdale]

Unfortunately, Lucid is having a lot of self-inflicted customer service issues, so this is not surprising.

I just got my car back from 32-ish days in repair - all repairs from the Waybill way back from taking delivery in late October. They have too many people involved in the various processes, and not enough people individually assigned to users to address issues.

I think they would greatly benefit from a CRM tool, or getting some training on using one... I'm finding that I often have to chase things down, follow-up with multiple people, heck, I even had to pay $1200 for part of the Hertz rental (funny enough, i got a Genesis also), because they failed to extend the PO w/ Hertz even though we discussed it in writing multiple times that it was going to get done. I was getting called by Hertz's Vehicle Recovery Department because the bill hadn't been paid.

One of my repairs wasn't actually fixed correctly, so now they have to order an entire new glass panel for the roof and reseat it, PLUS the rear (and probably) side trim pieces - self-inflicted cost/learning experience. And I'm pretty sure that the reason my repair went from 4-7 days to 30+ was because one of the techs chipped the rear window and they had to pull the window of another AGT that was in the shop... Of course, that wasn't marked on any of my repair information, but one of the techs slipped up and told me that they "made sure to get both windows retinted", although only 1 needed servicing and replacement, so I got the larger story purely by accident. Another self-inflicted wound, and at the cost of roughly $3500 in rental fees...

Of course, none of this was communicated back to me, just vague, "We're still addressing the issues on your car, and I'll let you know when I get an update from the shop..."

I would rather know precisely what's going on, good/bad/ugly, versus getting the run-around or unanswered calls.

/endrant

Otherwise, I love the car - I luckily haven't had any mechanical issues yet, but I felt the need to show a bit of compassion as I know how frustrated you are.

 

[SDHacker]

Yeah, I'd be frustrated and unhappy too given the long list of issues. And unfortunately, yes, there have been a few owners that have reported having an assortment of issues with their cars with a couple returning their car for a refund. I hope you stick it out a little longer and give Lucid a chance to get your car right. High battery drain when not driving could be due to your fob/mobile key being too close to the car and keeping it awake/frequently waking it up. When you had the regen failure, were you at a very high state of charge?

I hope that with the battery/Wunderbox replacement, your experience with the car improves and that Frank has been able to resolve your other issues.

 

[DavidMiyashiro]

HI Bobby,

For sure. Thanks for taking the time to respond. I don't have my car now so I only have partial information. Yes. Frank is now a family friend. He's personable, thorough, and I feel very trustworthy. He also works very hard. Will in Costa Mesa has also been very responsive, but the questions and requests I've made aren't their call.

The mileage I think is about 7500 miles.

No... An Avalon itself isn't embarrassing, but a rode hard damaged rental car with an out of state plate and smoke smell inside is. Yes. Will from the Costa Mesa center actually switched it out with a slightly better sedan. I'm waiting on them for a Hertz upgrade if they aren't able to refund or return a Lucid.

These issues became much more significant beginning about 6 weeks ago. Customer Service said "Thank you for contacting us" but failed to respond or deploy Frank until the car completely malfunctioned and the regenerative breaking and parking features stopped working. I've written customer care every day for the last two weeks asking for a call or meeting to address my lemon concerns and still have yet to receive even acknowledgement of my inquiry. That's why I came here to see if this was happening with everyone. I figured they might be overwhelmed with all of their cars malfunctioning w/ complete system failure like mine.

What is your role with Lucid Bobby? I work in El Cajon but live in Encinitas. Yes. Happy to connect.

Sincerely,

David

 

[DavidMiyashiro]

Yeah, I'd be frustrated and unhappy too given the long list of issues. And unfortunately, yes, there have been a few owners that have reported having an assortment of issues with their cars with a couple returning their car for a refund. I hope you stick it out a little longer and give Lucid a chance to get your car right. High battery drain when not driving could be due to your fob/mobile key being too close to the car and keeping it awake/frequently waking it up. When you had the regen failure, were you at a very high state of charge?

I hope that with the battery/Wunderbox replacement, your experience with the car improves and that Frank has been able to resolve your other issues.

Thanks SDHacker. Helps to hear I'm not alone. No. My battery was about 320 miles when the regen and parking controls stopped working. That's when I was forced to pull over and have them pick it up. It felt unsafe to drive at that point. Thanks for the tip about the fob. I don't think that was the case because it was while driving, but good to know. I liked the car when it was working and hope to stay with Lucid. I just want what I paid for.

David

 

[Bobby]

HI Bobby,

For sure. Thanks for taking the time to respond. I don't have my car now so I only have partial information. Yes. Frank is now a family friend. He's personable, thorough, and I feel very trustworthy. He also works very hard. Will in Costa Mesa has also been very responsive, but the questions and requests I've made aren't their call.

The mileage I think is about 7500 miles.

No... An Avalon itself isn't embarrassing, but a rode hard damaged rental car with an out of state plate and smoke smell inside is. Yes. Will from the Costa Mesa center actually switched it out with a slightly better sedan. I'm waiting on them for a Hertz upgrade if they aren't able to refund or return a Lucid.

These issues became much more significant beginning about 6 weeks ago. Customer Service said "Thank you for contacting us" but failed to respond or deploy Frank until the car completely malfunctioned and the regenerative breaking and parking features stopped working. I've written customer care every day for the last two weeks asking for a call or meeting to address my lemon concerns and still have yet to receive even acknowledgement of my inquiry. That's why I came here to see if this was happening with everyone. I figured they might be overwhelmed with all of their cars malfunctioning w/ complete system failure like mine.

What is your role with Lucid Bobby? I work in El Cajon but live in Encinitas. Yes. Happy to connect.

Sincerely,

David

I have no role with Lucid. I just help out here on the forum as a moderator. I’ve had Frank at my house a couple times, too. I live in Poway.

 

[Drendino]

I got a two minute warning on the highway, and I pulled off the highway and into a driveway - the two minutes were very accurate (and updated as I drove). Then I reset the car, and it drove fine - apparently a reset does “fix it” temporarily.

Service responded to my text within 60 seconds, offered a tow, but since the reset made it drive fine, I drove it straight to Millbrae. When I got there 30 minutes later, they had a rental waiting (even if it was a Genesis), and I was in and out quickly, and they had the car back to me around 7-10 days later (I don’t remember, tbh) after replacing the HV battery and Wunderbox. There is a v2 that they are using for replacement and I’ve never heard of anyone having issues afterward.

Apparently, Millbrae has a new policy of no longer providing loaner cars and it’s now up to the customer to secure a car with a $100 per day limit. The customer can then submit for reimbursement. I’m dealing with this right now and the best I can get is a Buick for that price. No more decent cars showing up on the flat bed when they come to haul yours away for repairs.

 

[borski]

Apparently, Millbrae has a new policy of no longer providing loaner cars and it’s now up to the customer to secure a car with a $100 per day limit. The customer can then submit for reimbursement. I’m dealing with this right now and the best I can get is a Buick for that price. No more decent cars showing up on the flat bed when they come to haul yours away for repairs.

What? I haven’t heard of any major change in policy - as far as I know, they still work with Hertz directly.

 

[Drendino]

What? I haven’t heard of any major change in policy - as far as I know, they still work with Hertz directly.

No sir. My car was in the shop for a week two weeks ago and I was provided a loaner. When I got it back I immediately noticed that it wasn’t fixed, so it has to go back. They were supposed to show up with a loaner yesterday. I got a call letting me know about the new policy yesterday morning and needed to delay the repair to give myself time to secure a loaner. I was told that this is how it will be going forward. Makes sense, since others here have reported this in other areas of the country. We had a good run.

 

[Smith1959]

I feel very fortunate. I am at 2,475 miles on my AGT and have not had a single significant issue. Love the car more today than the day I picked it up.