Feds probing Lucid’s software program repair for defroster recall


The Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation right into a Lucid Motors windshield defroster recall from January, saying it’s “involved” the corporate’s over-the-air replace answer doesn’t go far sufficient to repair the issue. Lucid, in the meantime, advised TechCrunch that the company “understates the treatment being provided.”

The probe comes as some automakers are more and more counting on software program updates to repair issues that may usually require a go to to a dealership or service heart. Whereas the investigation is just not as high-stakes as, say, the one the company has opened into Tesla’s issues with its Autopilot driver-assistance system, it reveals NHTSA is paying shut consideration to what automakers suppose over-the-air updates ought to — and shouldn’t — be used for. 

The recall entails 2,042 Lucid Air sedans constructed with a excessive voltage coolant heater from provider Webasto AG that, when it fails, removes the flexibility to defrost the windshield. Lucid’s answer for the recall was to ship an over-the-air replace that might determine which automobiles had the half and reactively warn the driving force if it fails.

NHTSA’s Workplace of Defects Investigation now says it’s “involved that by solely offering a notification to drivers that their windshield defroster is just not working, Lucid places the driving force in a scenario the place they might expertise the failure throughout the identical drive cycle as they obtain the notification.” This might hypothetically trigger drivers to search out out the function is unavailable in the mean time they should defrost their windshield — which means they’d additionally not be capable of request a free alternative half till after a failure.

The company notes that Jaguar Land Rover took a extra proactive method with its electrical SUV, the I-Tempo, which briefly used this similar heater from Webasto. Jaguar introduced in 2023 that it will alert all 668 affected homeowners and change the half totally free.

Lucid is framing its method as modern, although. The corporate stated the over-the-air replace launched a “diagnostic software program function” that actively screens the heater for faults, and it “intends to display that the evaluation underlying this method is sound and that buyer security is assured.” The corporate additionally stated it’s alerting all affected homeowners electronically and by mail, so that they received’t discover out after a failure, as NHTSA suggests.

 

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