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Lucid Air EV Glitches Stop Cars on Road, Drive Wrong Direction

Published

2 years ago

November 10, 2022

A photo of three Lucid Air electric sedans at sunset. — The Lucid Air: Parked or in turtle mode?

After months of waiting, Lucid owners are finally getting their hands on their shiny new Air sedans. The new EVs start well above $100,000 and promise impressive range, luxurious interiors and mile after mile of emission-free driving. One thing owners wouldn’t have been expecting, though, are the bricking glitches.

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According to a report from Insider, new Lucid Air owners are dealing with worrying glitches that cause the cars to suddenly stop in the middle of the road or even drive in the wrong direction — some reported to the NHTSA that their cars are driving forward when in reverse. Not very reassuring for drivers, and not a great look for a new six-figure EV.

Insider spoke to 19 Lucid owners as well as seven current and former Lucid software engineers. Of those interviewed by the outlet, most liked the Air and “chalked up software glitches as inconveniences.”

A photo of the Lucid Air production facility. — Issues have been hitting the Lucid Air once it rolls off the production line.

But some glitches experienced by owners have been more serious. Insider reports:

“Those include drive-system faults, 12-volt battery and other battery-fault errors, and problems with ‘turtle mode,’ where vehicles suddenly lose speed or stop at random, despite being adequately charged. These issues have often required rebooting or towing.”

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A photo of a Lucid Air sedan being painted by robots. — Lucid hopes to build more than 6,000 cars this year.

In response to such issues, Lucid has reportedly serviced and repaired individual cars. It has also rolled out numerous software updates, with 19 over-the-air updates released just in the first half of 2022, and Lucid has 14 more in the pipeline for the rest of the year.

One Lucid developer told Insider they were giving the firm the “benefit of the doubt” as the company fought to improve the software experience for owners. But, many featured in the story seem concerned that the automaker has not yet addressed the issues publicly.

On the other side though, a Lucid owner told Insider: “I don’t know why Lucid is not communicating that or acknowledging that problem in a public way.

“That’s the thing I’m worried about the most.”