Shockingly, once the Lucid was unloaded from the tow truck, it seemingly fixed itself and was able to drive like normal (albeit with one warning light still on). The temptation to drive it home was strong. We explained the situation to a Lucid rep, who made the decision to have the vehicle towed to a service center in Los Angeles. After a few hours, our Lucid was on tow truck number two of the day and would be out of our hands for about two weeks while it got repaired. We ended up getting our Air back within nine days. Lucid helpfully provided us with a loaner while our car was out of commission.

What Happened?

It's been months since the incident, and unfortunately Lucid has yet to provide a diagnosis of the issue. Associate editor Justin Banner, who witnessed the ordeal, theorized it was a similar issue that affected the Ford Mach-E and led to a recall of close to 50,000 vehicles. Banner's reporting of that recall found that the problem stemmed from "the Mach E's contactors—essentially an electrically controlled switch for the high-voltage battery to connect to its motor system—that are either overheated and deformed to prevent them from making contact (and staying open, killing the power) or welding itself closed." Ford concluded that the issue was caused by repeated use of DC fast charging and driving at wide-open throttle. Ford released a software update to resolve the recall. At this point we can only hope Lucid is working on a similar solution to prevent what we went through. We'll update this report when the automaker responds.

For More on Our Long-Term 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance:

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MotorTrend's 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance
Service Life	9 mo/13,203 mi
Base/As Tested Price	$180,650/$180,650
Options	None
EPA City/HWY/CMB Fuel ECON; CMB Range	109/110/109 mpg-e; 446 miles
Average Fuel ECON or Average Miles/KWH	2.4 mi/kWh
Energy Cost Per Mile	$0.08
Maintenance and Wear	$15.90 (three key fob battery replacements)
Damages	$0
Days out of Service/Without Loaner	9/0
Delights	Ample storage, lots of legroom, sharp sheet metal
Annoyances	Clunky adaptive cruise control, finnicky key fob, temperamental trunk
Recalls	None