Lucid Recalls 637 Air EVs – Here’s What You Need To Know!
The US-based Lucid Motors has announced a recall of specific Air electric vehicles from 2022-2023 due to a potential problem that may cause a loss of power and shut down the electric motors. This issue could increase the risk of accidents due to the loss of drive power. The recall affects 637 2022 Lucid Air vehicles, and the company estimates that only 6% of the recalled cars have the defect.
According to Lucid, the issue arises due to contact switches that are activated electrically, also known as contactors. These contactors might open unexpectedly and disrupt the transfer of energy to the drive motors. As a result, the electric motors will lose power.
Lucid Service Centers will address the problem by updating the vehicle software and replacing any required contactor switches at no cost. The automaker will send out notification letters to customers on April 21, 2023. Contactors are switches that are activated by electricity and are responsible for transferring energy to the drive motors when the vehicle starts up and opening when the vehicle is turned off.
In May 2022, Lucid began investigating a problem that occurred when a vehicle lost its motive power and was brought in for service. To identify the issue, a measuring device had to be connected to the vehicle during startup to observe the contactor closing signature. If the signature had a double-dip, there was a risk of the contactor opening, although not all contactors with double-dip signatures experienced unexpected openings.
Sensata Technologies, the EV maker and supplier, discovered that a small number of contactors had a spring force that overpowered the magnetic holding force, causing the contactors to open. Replacement contactors have been redesigned with stronger magnetic holding force and have undergone further quality screening to ensure they do not display a double-dip current signature when closing.
According to Lucid, if a vehicle's contactor opens, it may come to a stop but can be restarted after shutting down the vehicle. The automaker assures that even if this happens, the driving displays, power steering, and power brakes of the vehicle will still work properly.
