Lucid Air faces safety recalls for power loss and defrost failures

Electric vehicles can be seen very often on the NHTSA recall list because they are still at a nascent stage and have a lot of software in them. The latest car to be included in this list is the Lucid Air, an electric sedan that has been cited for severe safety concerns in some models produced between the years 2022 and 2024.

The NHTSA’s recent report also reveals that Lucid has found at least ten cases of sudden loss of drive in its Lucid Air due to a problem in high voltage systems. In a report submitted to the NHTSA on July 1, Lucid detailed the issue: Unfortunately, Lucid has determined that due to the possibility of intermittent hardware connections to the various modules of the HVIL logic, there is an unreasonable risk of loss of drive power while the vehicle is in Drive or Reverse in 5,251 model year 2022 and 2023 vehicles built before December 2022.

Other than the problem of power loss the recall also includes a major safety defect that is related to the windshield defrosting system of the vehicle. During the investigation, Lucid identified at least 74 Air sedans produced before February 2023 that had a malfunctioning windshield defrosting system which may impair the driver’s visibility and thus enhance the risk of accidents. This problem was attributed to a faulty “High Voltage Coolant Heater” (HVCH).

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The report elaborates: “Prior to the software remedy, there was no visual warning indicator for an HVCH failure. A vehicle with a failed HVCH will not produce warm air for the windshield defroster. Drivers would also experience a loss of cabin heat when an HVCH fails. Vehicles with the software remedy will receive a warning that defrost is unavailable upon an HVCH failure, even if the driver has not tried to enable cabin heat or defrost."

While these issues may affect thousands of Lucid Air sedans, the defect rate is estimated to be 1% or less. To address these potential hazards, Lucid announced that all affected vehicle owners will need to update their vehicle software. Owners will be notified via email with instructions on how to perform the update or can seek assistance from dealerships at no cost.