Lucid Air Touring. Photo: Lucid Motors
According to a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall notice, Lucid USA, Inc. has issued a recall for 637 of its 2022-2023 Lucid Air vehicles due to a potential issue with contactors.
These electrically activated switches are responsible for transferring energy to and from the drive units during vehicle startup and shutdown.
In a small number of contactors, the spring force may overcome the magnetic holding force, causing the contactor to unexpectedly open. This could lead to a loss of propulsion without warning, increasing the risk of a crash.
The recall, designated as SR-23-01-0, was submitted on March 23, 2023, and is based on an estimated 6% defect rate within the population of affected vehicles. Lucid discovered the issue through an over-the-air software update that enabled the company to remotely identify at-risk contactors in 273 vehicles.
However, owners of 336 vehicles have not yet updated their software to enable contactor analysis. The company expects that approximately 20 additional vehicles may require contactor replacements once all vehicles are updated and analyzed.
To address the issue, Lucid will notify affected vehicle owners via first-class mail, instructing them to schedule a free contactor replacement at a Lucid Service Center.
Replacement contactors have been redesigned with increased magnetic holding force and have undergone additional quality screening to ensure they do not exhibit the double-dip current signature during closing, which is a potential indicator of the defect.
Lucid recently announced Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support for its Air lineup, now a standard feature in electric luxury sedans.
