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Lucid Recalls the Air Due to Contactors That May Cut Off Power to the Electric Motors

Lucid burnt through a lot of cash in 2022 due to many issues, including a few high-profile recalls that are only natural for such a young automaker. The all-electric vehicle manufacturer has recently called back the Air once again over a serious problem caused by a supplier.
Lucid Air 21 photos
Photo: Lucid / edited
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As per the report attached below, Sensata Technologies produced the shoddy contactors that equip 637 units of the 2022 to 2023 model year Lucid Air. The suspect component bears part number P00-HJ4100-00. The condition we’ll detail in a jiffy started rearing its ugly head in May 2022 when a customer brought a vehicle to a Lucid service center following a loss of motive power.

No fewer than 14 contactor openings were investigated through September 2022. In the event of a contactor opening, the electric motors shut down, understandably increasing the risk of a crash and injury. Even so, the power steering, brakes, and displays remain available.

Lucid rolled out a software update in December 2022 designed to screen potentially affected vehicles based on the current signature. Contactor closing data was analyzed through January 2023, determining that 232 vehicles may need replacement contactors. Lucid eventually determined that vehicles with double-dip current signatures at least five percent of the time present a safety risk to the driver, occupants, and other road users.

637 vehicles are called back under campaign 23V-110, vehicles produced in the period between October 2021 and November 2022 at the company’s Casa Grande assembly plant in Arizona. The supplier and Lucid determined that the spring force may overcome the magnetic holding force, hence the double-dip in the current signature. Owners will be notified by first-class mail no later than April 21st with instructions to schedule a service appointment.

Techs will update the software, then replace the contactors at no charge to affected customers if needed. In the meantime, owners are recommended to contact the Lucid customer service at 1-888-995-8243 for more info.

Unveiled as a prototype in 2016, then revealed in series-production form in 2020, the Air started rolling off the assembly line in 2021 for the 2022 model year. Available with single-, dual-, and tri-motor drivetrains, the zero-emission sedan was developed to compete with the likes of the Tesla Model S. A grand total of four specifications are currently available to order, starting with the rear-wheel-drive Pure at $87,400 sans taxes and options.

The Touring and Grand Touring pack two motors, and the Model S Plaid-rivaling Sapphire levels up to three. The latter variant is understandably expensive, although it’s quite a bit more than the Model S Plaid at $249k.

Highlight numbers further include less than two seconds to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) and over 200 miles per hour (322 kilometers per hour), as expected of a tri-motor setup that makes 1,200-plus horsepower.
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 Download: Lucid Air contactors recall (PDF)

About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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