Lucid Air Suffers First Recall For Suspension Issue

Feb. 25, 2022 10:11 AM ET by Nikesh Kooverjee Recall / 2 Comments

Fortunately, only a small percentage of Air sedans have been affected.

The first examples of the Lucid Air were delivered to customers just a few months ago but it looks like a manufacturing defect has already subjected it to its first recall. The company confirms that just 1 percent of its sold stock is affected which equates to 203 units. Regardless, the notice landed up lowering its share value by nearly 5%, as per Reuters.

According to information on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website, the fault has been discovered in the front strut damper which manages the air suspension. It states that this flaw was due to it being incorrectly manufactured by its supplier. It is understood that so far, there have been no instances of the part failing but it will be issuing a repair, at no cost to the customer, immediately.

As sourced by Teslarati, email communication from Lucid was issued to customers which detailed the defect and explained the course of action for the recall. It states, "This condition may result in sudden loss of ground clearance, vehicle vibration, and front brake line damage, increasing the risk of a crash."

"A snap fail could occur without warning to the driver. If the failure causes damage to the electrical connections to the damper, the driver would receive a warning message station 'Suspension Control Fault. Contact Service Center.' If the failure results in a brake hose leak and the brake fluid level falls below 81.9% of the minimum recommended brake fluid volume, the driver would receive a warning message station 'Brake Fluid Level Low. Refill Required, Contact Service Center,' with an accompanying audible warning."

Lucid confirms that customers should only wait an hour for the repair to be completed, but the process could take four hours in total. During this time, the company will issue loaner vehicles or a means of transport for customers that need to be mobile during this time.

The Lucid Air experience clearly hasn't been without its bumps as just last month, some customers were irate about the fact that their Dream Edition cars were delivered without the DreamDrive advanced driver-assistance system despite being advertised otherwise. Thankfully, this was promptly resolved with an over-the-air update. Unfortunately, no such OTA update will be able to resolve the Air's suspension issue so a small percentage of customers will be inconvenienced until the issue can be resolved.