Following a recent over-the-air (OTA) software update, which seemed to struggle to initiate, a Lucid Air owner received a warning message that the update had failed and the car may not be drivable. The warning message appeared to be on target, as the car was clearly dead.
While getting warning messages in your new car can be very concerning, it's not that uncommon for devices to encounter issues during software updates. Cars are fast becoming the next "screens" in our lives. They're seemingly much more like smartphones or computers on wheels than they ever were in the past, and this is especially true of electric cars.
Air owner Alex reported the issue on the Lucid Owners Forum. It pertained to software update version 1.2.6, which started rolling out on Friday, June 10, 2022. Alex's Air electric sedan provided the following warning message after he started the update and then waited three or four hours:
Alex notes that the situation caused the Lucid EV to go completely dead. He couldn't unlock the doors, and sadly, the OTA update appears to have never been downloaded. The Air indicated that it was 0 percent complete. Moreover, the Lucid owner had to access the car through the trunk in order to get inside and open the doors physically.
Alex says he reached out to Lucid Customer Care, though they weren't able to help right away, aside from alerting the Lucid team about what happened with the OTA update. Interestingly, the car sprung back to life about an hour after the call. Teslarati writes that the Air's alarms came on, and the key fob was successful in stopping the alarms and unlocking the doors. However, the error message was still present on the EV's screen.
The Air owner got into the car and checked out Drive and Reverse, which seemed to be working. Lucid called and explained that it was going to attempt another software update. However, it also failed, and Alex was told that a Lucid mobile technician would be contacting him and making an appointment to come and check out the car.
The problem ended up fixing itself. Following the two unsuccessful OTA software update attempts, the car charged overnight and seemed back to normal in the morning. The above messages remained in the Air's mobile app, but not on its in-car screen.
Again, this type of issue is becoming increasingly common among newer cars. It's certainly not something you want to see, and it could leave you stuck somewhere temporarily. However, being aware that there's a chance it could happen will at least have you prepared.
If and when more details about the situation are revealed, we'll update this article or provide another. In the meantime, we've reached out to Lucid for an official comment.
