American electric vehicle startup Lucid initiated a voluntary safety recall on its Air luxury sedans in the United States over a software issue that could cause loss of power, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s notice on July 1, 2024.
Software issue that can cause loss of drive power
According to the Part 573 Safety Recall Report, more than 5,200 Lucid Air electric sedans’ systems automatically activate the High Voltage Interlock (HVIL) safety mechanism while in Drive or Reverse.
Such an occurrence should not happen as Lucid designed this HVIL safety mechanism for activation only during car assembly, inspection, maintenance, or repair. Therefore, it must only be activated while the electric car is in motion.
The issue causes the affected Lucid Air EVs to encounter a sudden loss of power, potentially increasing the risk of a crash. Other features that do not operate directly off the high-voltage battery, like steering, brakes, and displays, would continue to function.
“When a hardware communication fault is detected, the High Voltage Interlock (HVIL) software could disconnect the high voltage contactors while the vehicle is in motion, causing a loss of drive power.”
NHTSA
Coverage
This latest safety recall affects approximately 5,251 Lucid Air luxury electric sedans in the United States in 2022 to 2023 Model Years.
As per the document, Lucid will produce these units from October 22, 2021, to November 30, 2022. The estimated percentage with defect is only 1%.
NHTSA also disclosed that Lucid will recall another 7,506 of its 2022-2024 Air luxury sedans due to a coolant heater malfunction that could fail to defrost the windshield.
Remedy
Lucid already started rolling out an over-the-air (OTA) software update to affected Air owners on June 24, 2024, free of charge.
Owners who have not yet updated their cars’ software will receive an email and first-class mail with instructions on the process.
Lucid is expected to release owner notification letters on August 15, 2024. Customers can also reach out to Lucid customer service at 1-888-995-8243 with the recall number SR-24-03-0 if they need assistance with the software updates.
Lucid will also reimburse Air owners for any out-of-pocket expenses related to fixing the software issue. However, the repairs must occur from the car delivery through 10 days after they receive their recall notification.
Lucid Air owners can also contact the NHTSA hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) or visit www.nhtsa.gov.
