Lucid Motors has recently announced a recall of 637 flagship model Lucid Air vehicles due to a defect in one of the contactor switches in the electric motor, which may cause the vehicle to suddenly lose power while driving. The recall covers Lucid Air models from 2022-2023, with 237 vehicles confirmed to have the issue and another 336 requiring remote software updates to check the switch’s functionality.
According to documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the electric motors in the Lucid Air have electrical switches called contactors that close upon starting the vehicle, transferring energy to the drive unit, and open upon shutting down the vehicle. However, in some contactors, the spring force may exceed the magnetic force, causing the switch to accidentally open and cut off power to the electric motor. This could increase the risk of accidents.
Lucid Motors stated that they began investigating this issue in May 2022 when a vehicle was brought to a service center after losing power. Initially, the defect required technicians to manually observe if the contactor was open upon starting the vehicle, but Lucid later introduced a software update that remotely monitored if the contactor was open. After analyzing fleet data, Lucid found that at least 5% of the time, 232 customer vehicles showed a signal that the contactor was open.
Lucid Motors’ product safety team determined at the beginning of this year that vehicles with a signal that the contactor was open for at least 5% of the time presented an unreasonable safety risk and decided to recall these vehicles and replace the contactor. As a solution, Lucid recommends that owners bring their vehicles to a service center, where the company will update the software and replace the contactor switch for free. The new contactors have stronger magnetic force to prevent future issues.
Lucid Motors has been delivering Lucid Air vehicles to customers since October 2021, with 4494 vehicles delivered by the end of last year. The company expects to contact affected owners by mail before April 21, 2023, and provide further information.
This is the third major recall initiated by Lucid Motors since delivering the Lucid Air, with the previous recall involving 1117 vehicles due to a faulty instrument cluster wiring harness.
