Lucid Motors continues to face customer complaints about its Gravity model despite a recent software update and an apologetic email from interim CEO Marc Winterhoff acknowledging the company had failed to meet its standards on software quality.
European deliveries of the SUV are set to begin within weeks as the EV maker looks to gain traction in the region.
Over the last few days, new complaints went viral on X and Reddit with owners highlighting persistent issues with the electric SUV, including key fob recognition failures, navigation malfunctions, and other software glitches — problems Lucid said it had addressed in its 3.3.20 update released earlier this month.
The complaints come as Lucid shares hit a new all-time low of $10.89 on Tuesday — equivalent to $1.089 before the reverse stock split completed in late August.
In after-hours trading, the stock fell further to $10.86, giving the company a market capitalization of $3.5 billion.
Reddit user ‘Particular_Library19’ posted a lengthy account on the r/LUCID forum Tuesday describing numerous problems encountered during a four-hour drive home after taking delivery of a 2026 Gravity Grand Touring.
The owner, who drove four hours to purchase the vehicle, detailed issues across multiple vehicle systems with the post garnering nearly 100 comments in the first 24 hours.
On the HVAC system, the owner wrote: “The passenger front AC unit makes a VERY loud screeching sound if it’s turned on levels 1-5. After 5 it stops, and when it’s off the noise stops.”
The owner reported repeated false alerts from the vehicle’s safety systems: “Any movement in the back seat triggers the seatbelt notification non stop. The kids were buckled up, but even a slight movement was making them repeatedly go off for the entire 4 hour drive.”
“The steering wheel alert is sending out false alerts that my husband’s hands weren’t on the wheel when they were. This happened repeatedly,” the owner added.
The key fob failed to be recognized three times during the trip despite the vehicle never being turned off.
“We’d be driving, pull into a gas station to tend to him, place the car in park, but not leave it, or even open the doors, but as soon as we went to put it in drive, it would say the key wasn’t recognized,” the owner wrote. “Luckily shaking the keys got us going, but considering the car was never turned off, this doesn’t seem right.”
Key fob recognition problems have plagued Gravity owners since the vehicle’s launch.
Last October, Lucid began offering owners the ability to update their key fob firmware wirelessly through the mobile app after numerous reports of “key not detected” alerts.
The navigation system drew particular criticism.
“The navigation system is a disaster. I have no words to even describe how horrendous and wrong it was,” the owner wrote. “It literally was suggesting complete circles, taking exits to get right back on the same highway. It’s unreliable, not based in reality, and clearly not functioning in any normal way.”
“The directions themselves were wrong and ridiculous for the entirety of the trip,” the owner added. “It was also not updating the amount of range left to finish the trip with an ounce of accuracy for the first half of the drive.”
Additional issues included the massage function activating by itself while in energy saver mode, buttons requiring repeated pressing to work, the adaptive cruise control display showing vehicles facing the wrong direction, and the phone charger working inconsistently.
“It took repeated pressing of buttons to get things to work,” the owner wrote. “Windows took a few tries to get them to go down or up. Cruise control took multiple tries to get it to turn on.”
The owner also noted range concerns.
“We left with 95% battery, and barely made it home without needing to stop. We got home with 2 percent battery remaining and that was with energy saver turned on for the majority of the drive. That’s only 227 miles,” the user wrote.
Delivery Experience Criticized
The Reddit post also detailed a frustrating purchasing and delivery process.
The owner described the initial test drive experience at the Tysons location: “Once we got to the Tyson’s location none of the employees seemed to have any idea that we had an appointment.”
A sales associate named Daniel “couldn’t be bothered to answer a single question and was entirely unhelpful,” the owner wrote. “He basically tossed us the keys and left us to figure out how to operate the car ourselves.”
“I’ve never been to a dealership where the salesman had no interest in selling. It was very bizarre,” the owner added.
After working with a different associate, the owner scheduled home delivery for December 27 to avoid an eight-hour round trip. However, the appointment was missed without explanation.
“At 6 PM (three hours after my scheduled delivery appointment) I get a call from a delivery manager letting me know that delivery is not going to happen today,” the owner wrote.
A rescheduled delivery for December 28 was also cancelled. The owner said a Lucid employee suggested sending a private freight company to pick up the vehicle at the owner’s expense.
“I explained to him that I’ve already spent $128,000 on a car. I’m not interested in spending another single penny to get it to me when my delivery appointment has been set in place for nearly 2 weeks,” the owner wrote.
The family ultimately drove four hours to pick up the vehicle themselves.
The owner said the financing process resulted in 18 hard credit pulls between the buyer and spouse after multiple application resubmissions.
“The excitement about getting the car was killed by the false promises, lack of follow through, and poor service,” the owner wrote.
“I want Lucid to succeed, and obviously believe they have potential. But between my husband and I, and our 2 businesses, we’ve purchased A LOT of cars. This has been the single most frustrating, annoying, and unprofessional experience of them all.”
“I hope Lucid will take feedback on their customer service as seriously as they seem to be on software development,” the owner concluded.
Owner’s Post-Service Problems
Separately, X user Coleton Guerin posted a video on X Monday showing his Gravity failing to shift into drive or reverse mode immediately after picking it up from service.
“@LucidMotors desperately needs to get software dialed in on the Gravity. I literally just picked this thing up from service,” Guerin wrote in the post that reached more than 42,000 people as of press time.
In the video, Guerin demonstrated that pressing the X and microphone buttons on the steering wheel while pressing the brake eventually got the vehicle to respond.
“Ah, into reverse. Very premium, a $140,000 experience here in the Lucid Gravity,” Guerin said sarcastically.
The owner said in the comment section that the vehicle had been in service for a “key fix,” adding: “Just so frustrating to see with how incredible the rest of the car is.”
CEO’s Earlier Apology
The complaints come despite Winterhoff’s email to Gravity customers earlier this month acknowledging software shortcomings.
“At Lucid, our mission is to build rule-defying technology to create exceptional experiences to move the world forward,” Winterhoff wrote. “We recognize that we haven’t met that goal for our Gravity customers, especially when it comes to software. We’ve heard the feedback, and we understand your frustration.”
“To be candid, I share that frustration,” he added.
Winterhoff said the 3.3.20 software update addressed several issues including faster startup, better key fob detection, improved camera stability and surround view performance, more reliable navigation and maps, and improved climate control intelligence.
“Lingering software problems have unfortunately affected our customers’ experience and satisfaction,” Winterhoff wrote. “I would like to assure you that we are laser focused on addressing these issues.”
The CEO said a second update is planned to further improve key fob detection and battery life, blind-spot camera responsiveness, steering wheel button consistency, and Bluetooth connectivity.
“And we won’t stop here. We will continue to relentlessly eliminate software issues and add new features regularly,” Winterhoff wrote.
The company also created a dedicated email address for owners to report software bugs and suggest improvements.
