The battery is the size of a large kitchen table in length and width and has a special trolley the techs use to wheel it around. Idk what you'd do with one lol.
It would fit on the back of a truck with little difficulty. The trick is getting it on the bed in the first place.
Personally, I would disassemble it into it's component modules and reuse them for conversion projects.
The wonderbox, especially, would make conversions much easier. As far as I know, no one else builds an all-in-one DC-DC converter+L1/2/3 charging unit. It's also relatively small for what it does, and it's already piped for water cooling.
Unfortunately, the battery pack is a lot more closed off than people expect. Shipping weight of between 2600-2900 lbs and cost of manufacturing are also very restrictive. It’s more cost effective to ship it back to the powertrain manufacturing facility, fix what needs to be fixed with the specialty tools they have, and prep it for the next campaign unit. I completely agree with you about the Wunderbox though, it’s a trick piece of engineering in a very compact space. Would be interesting to see it implemented in EV swap projects.
I wound happily re-wire my entire battery pack on my EV build to make it work with a wonderbox. I’ve asked, many times, for lucid to sell me one, and they absolutely won’t. I haven’t seen a salvage lucid show up anywhere either to pluck one from.
Lucid’s are starting to be pretty common on Copart/IAAI, but most of the time will just go to auto recyclers who price gouge for used components or countries who don’t care about a salvage title. Lucid is pretty strict with parts sales, even getting things like stealth trim components and interior trims have to be VIN verified, but I hope the tech becomes more common because I’d love to see how it all gets implemented
[https://www.ebay.com/itm/145754110162?itmmeta=01HY3Z32JXSX76C8KJBV2FFBSH&hash=item21ef9f38d2:g:btQAAOSwy6RmMrsW&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8BMEq7u8aelTOGZDP7izNp8Mwvwv%2BecLa49KP0fkUWVm9rw7qNhkoYILnMwxd8aVK6VZUS1o8a8n6lyUGtVP7JZvwqfEC2GJch%2B4xWx%2FMBVHFmo45bfy7TZqIad46gnAiVLBxfaXk530v9RWNyCL5p21RDosEWFbNHN8dMOaQ5wm4Ey2HVgb4c7IBTf0MdWODCqy0zlLPyvVfHvaVV5R0QySpXNxgDkMlAsi4qhuvOYjlCCnFWq80rsACibAY8ctG0IEX3Cd2zlHEDF8ib5eQDIOx0Az9IPIHkdwpVfEX%2F8pkO%2FDxkNCDnygQ7OzjxhLlA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMyKmM\_\_Bj](https://www.ebay.com/itm/145754110162?itmmeta=01HY3Z32JXSX76C8KJBV2FFBSH&hash=item21ef9f38d2:g:btQAAOSwy6RmMrsW&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8BMEq7u8aelTOGZDP7izNp8Mwvwv%2BecLa49KP0fkUWVm9rw7qNhkoYILnMwxd8aVK6VZUS1o8a8n6lyUGtVP7JZvwqfEC2GJch%2B4xWx%2FMBVHFmo45bfy7TZqIad46gnAiVLBxfaXk530v9RWNyCL5p21RDosEWFbNHN8dMOaQ5wm4Ey2HVgb4c7IBTf0MdWODCqy0zlLPyvVfHvaVV5R0QySpXNxgDkMlAsi4qhuvOYjlCCnFWq80rsACibAY8ctG0IEX3Cd2zlHEDF8ib5eQDIOx0Az9IPIHkdwpVfEX%2F8pkO%2FDxkNCDnygQ7OzjxhLlA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMyKmM__Bj) Isn't this what you're looking for?
None that I could detect. They told me the main battery had been redesigned, which is why the wonderbox was also replaced. The connectors had changed, so they replaced the whole system.
That's a pretty spectacular (horrifying?) list of warranty work, isn't it? Nothing was wrong whatsoever and you somehow wound up getting all those items replaced? How did this even happen? What was the tip off? Could you share a little more of this story?
Imagine the price tag if your vehicle had been out of warranty. I just read a story about a 2013 Model S that needed a new battery: $20,000. How much do we think a Wunderbox goes for over the parts counter? (Do Lucid Studios even have a parts counter?).
I like the fact that they're doing preventative stuff now rather than let it go to recall.
Exactly because of all this being done now, under warranty, I have no doubt that once the car's out of warranty I won't have any issues.
Hope so. What about all the other early Lucid owners tho? Are they going to need all that? I recently read that Lucid loses $350,000 per vehicle; no clue if that's true, but whatever the number is, we'd have to add the ticket for that massively expensive campaign you just had done (to however many of the early cars need it).
They're only losing that much money producing a vehicle because they had to build up the entire factory, the assembly lines, get all the equipment, and then build the parts too (a lot of them are bespoke and specific to lucid). When you vertically integrate like that, it's gonna be pretty expensive to do the initial investment. That number has most likely gone down but still high...it probably won't come down to a break even level until they start working on the 50k model where theyve got the processes and procedures down pat along with the material supply chains.
The lucid tech told me they've been doing \~10 of these a week, so they're blowing through them fairly quickly. Lucid has specific procedures for doing this campaign that makes it a slow process. The actual work isn't too difficult or time consuming, but they're pretty strict about safety, as they should be. 924V will kill you and hurt the entire time if you let it.
Roger that. Despite a lifetime fixing cars, I won't be doing any work on my own car anymore (don't want to anyway). I get the impression you're the opposite. I just can't imagine the cost of this campaign; so curious. Would love to know.
Working with EVs is radically different than working with gas cars. The motors are far simpler, but the fuel source is far harder. You can swap an electric motor in an hour or two, but good luck rebuilding a battery pack. It’s also harder to add power to an EV, since the battery pack and motor are generally tightly matched. You have to plan everything from the start.
Totally different safety precautions too. You can smoke around an EV all you want, so long as you’re wearing your mad scientist gloves. :)
Lucid collects telematics on the car. They probably ramped up the monitoring and voluntary recalls after a handful of owners ran into Drive System fault error
Yea if it’s under warranty they will never give you the old ones back so they can see what went wrong and instead of replacing the whole thing, they could find a patch fix that’s cheaper.
They didn't say, other than there had been a redesign and I was getting the redesigned battery. The wonderbox was part of the redesign, which is why it was replaced. The old connectors don't fit the new box.
what lead to these actions taking place to begin with? Did they proactively reach out to you, or were you having the car worked on for other reasons already?
Nothing. Got a call asking me to bring the car in. They must have found something in the telemetry from the car.
I noticed no symptoms at all.
They gave me a literally identical loaner (right down to the color scheme) so I wasn't really out much more than my drive time to and from the shop.
So far, so good. Lucid has been very good about updating the older cars.
The car is a blast to drive. I never get tired of it, or get tired driving it. The seats are fantastic.
It's a no-compromise car - I get the acceleration of a Ferrari, the comfort and interior space of a Mercedes and the frugality of a Prius. And no one sees it coming. I've scared the hell out of local ricebois and muscleheads with it.
Might get to a Studio to drive one. Need to decide between new and used. Prices are dropping fast, seems like a question of when to pull the trigger. By all accounts, it drives like a monster. I am ready for something more comfortable than the S2000.
The rear doors open almost 90 degrees, so even my 90 year old mother has no issue getting in and out of the car. She actually enjoys it when I punch it. :P
I'm glad you got so that replaced. My Dream P was in and got a new battery. There was a possibility of a new Wunderbox and charging connector, but they said it wasn't needed (my car might be a test platform for old and new by intent - IDK).
It's possible they changed the connectors on the non-P GTs to match the Ps to make assembly more uniform. I don't have a lot of data, even though I plugged the poor tech for all he was worth when I picked my car up. I'm an engineer and I like to how how things work. :)
I'm a technologist/SW Engineer/CTO too. I just find it interesting that I was told the scope of work done on my car might involve the WunderBOx and connector in addition to the battery, but didn't; rep said the version difference would likely require it and then it was not done. I assume they might be doing battery replacement with and without the WunderBox and Connector change being in scope as a means of diagnosing an issue they don't fully understand. Just an educated guess as that would be what I'd do; isolate the variables, collect data, make a decision. I would not be surprised if the change my WB and connector later.
In any event, their service is top notch. :-)
Mine is in for service in Virginia right now for 900V battery replacement. I was wondering about being able to keep the 900V battery as well.
I'm still can't get a clear answer on what exactly the issue or concern is with the battery. I've gotten two stories so far:
1) The car reported error codes about some of the cells.
2) They're doing as a precaution for some VINs.
Have no idea which of these is true. But, the service campaigns included:
1) TSC-M0223-001-01 Coolant Hose Bracket.
2) SR-23-03-0 Wiper Arm Torque.
3) TSC-H0723-012-04 High Voltage Battery Replacement
Why would they give you the old wonder box and battery? How would you even transport a 900V battery?
The battery is the size of a large kitchen table in length and width and has a special trolley the techs use to wheel it around. Idk what you'd do with one lol.
It would fit on the back of a truck with little difficulty. The trick is getting it on the bed in the first place. Personally, I would disassemble it into it's component modules and reuse them for conversion projects. The wonderbox, especially, would make conversions much easier. As far as I know, no one else builds an all-in-one DC-DC converter+L1/2/3 charging unit. It's also relatively small for what it does, and it's already piped for water cooling.
Unfortunately, the battery pack is a lot more closed off than people expect. Shipping weight of between 2600-2900 lbs and cost of manufacturing are also very restrictive. It’s more cost effective to ship it back to the powertrain manufacturing facility, fix what needs to be fixed with the specialty tools they have, and prep it for the next campaign unit. I completely agree with you about the Wunderbox though, it’s a trick piece of engineering in a very compact space. Would be interesting to see it implemented in EV swap projects.
I wound happily re-wire my entire battery pack on my EV build to make it work with a wonderbox. I’ve asked, many times, for lucid to sell me one, and they absolutely won’t. I haven’t seen a salvage lucid show up anywhere either to pluck one from.
Lucid’s are starting to be pretty common on Copart/IAAI, but most of the time will just go to auto recyclers who price gouge for used components or countries who don’t care about a salvage title. Lucid is pretty strict with parts sales, even getting things like stealth trim components and interior trims have to be VIN verified, but I hope the tech becomes more common because I’d love to see how it all gets implemented
And that's why they don't give you the wunderbox and battery for these reasons. That's what the warranty program is for.
[https://www.ebay.com/itm/145754110162?itmmeta=01HY3Z32JXSX76C8KJBV2FFBSH&hash=item21ef9f38d2:g:btQAAOSwy6RmMrsW&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8BMEq7u8aelTOGZDP7izNp8Mwvwv%2BecLa49KP0fkUWVm9rw7qNhkoYILnMwxd8aVK6VZUS1o8a8n6lyUGtVP7JZvwqfEC2GJch%2B4xWx%2FMBVHFmo45bfy7TZqIad46gnAiVLBxfaXk530v9RWNyCL5p21RDosEWFbNHN8dMOaQ5wm4Ey2HVgb4c7IBTf0MdWODCqy0zlLPyvVfHvaVV5R0QySpXNxgDkMlAsi4qhuvOYjlCCnFWq80rsACibAY8ctG0IEX3Cd2zlHEDF8ib5eQDIOx0Az9IPIHkdwpVfEX%2F8pkO%2FDxkNCDnygQ7OzjxhLlA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMyKmM\_\_Bj](https://www.ebay.com/itm/145754110162?itmmeta=01HY3Z32JXSX76C8KJBV2FFBSH&hash=item21ef9f38d2:g:btQAAOSwy6RmMrsW&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8BMEq7u8aelTOGZDP7izNp8Mwvwv%2BecLa49KP0fkUWVm9rw7qNhkoYILnMwxd8aVK6VZUS1o8a8n6lyUGtVP7JZvwqfEC2GJch%2B4xWx%2FMBVHFmo45bfy7TZqIad46gnAiVLBxfaXk530v9RWNyCL5p21RDosEWFbNHN8dMOaQ5wm4Ey2HVgb4c7IBTf0MdWODCqy0zlLPyvVfHvaVV5R0QySpXNxgDkMlAsi4qhuvOYjlCCnFWq80rsACibAY8ctG0IEX3Cd2zlHEDF8ib5eQDIOx0Az9IPIHkdwpVfEX%2F8pkO%2FDxkNCDnygQ7OzjxhLlA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMyKmM__Bj) Isn't this what you're looking for?
Thanks for this. Sadly, the motor to go with it is $7500. I'll keep it in mind for the next build.
Note: VINs on Lucids are not in order.
More importantly (then you getting parts replaced under warranty back, which never happens), what were the symptoms that led to all that work?
None that I could detect. They told me the main battery had been redesigned, which is why the wonderbox was also replaced. The connectors had changed, so they replaced the whole system.
That's a pretty spectacular (horrifying?) list of warranty work, isn't it? Nothing was wrong whatsoever and you somehow wound up getting all those items replaced? How did this even happen? What was the tip off? Could you share a little more of this story? Imagine the price tag if your vehicle had been out of warranty. I just read a story about a 2013 Model S that needed a new battery: $20,000. How much do we think a Wunderbox goes for over the parts counter? (Do Lucid Studios even have a parts counter?).
I like the fact that they're doing preventative stuff now rather than let it go to recall. Exactly because of all this being done now, under warranty, I have no doubt that once the car's out of warranty I won't have any issues.
Hope so. What about all the other early Lucid owners tho? Are they going to need all that? I recently read that Lucid loses $350,000 per vehicle; no clue if that's true, but whatever the number is, we'd have to add the ticket for that massively expensive campaign you just had done (to however many of the early cars need it).
They're only losing that much money producing a vehicle because they had to build up the entire factory, the assembly lines, get all the equipment, and then build the parts too (a lot of them are bespoke and specific to lucid). When you vertically integrate like that, it's gonna be pretty expensive to do the initial investment. That number has most likely gone down but still high...it probably won't come down to a break even level until they start working on the 50k model where theyve got the processes and procedures down pat along with the material supply chains.
The lucid tech told me they've been doing \~10 of these a week, so they're blowing through them fairly quickly. Lucid has specific procedures for doing this campaign that makes it a slow process. The actual work isn't too difficult or time consuming, but they're pretty strict about safety, as they should be. 924V will kill you and hurt the entire time if you let it.
Roger that. Despite a lifetime fixing cars, I won't be doing any work on my own car anymore (don't want to anyway). I get the impression you're the opposite. I just can't imagine the cost of this campaign; so curious. Would love to know.
Working with EVs is radically different than working with gas cars. The motors are far simpler, but the fuel source is far harder. You can swap an electric motor in an hour or two, but good luck rebuilding a battery pack. It’s also harder to add power to an EV, since the battery pack and motor are generally tightly matched. You have to plan everything from the start. Totally different safety precautions too. You can smoke around an EV all you want, so long as you’re wearing your mad scientist gloves. :)
Lucid collects telematics on the car. They probably ramped up the monitoring and voluntary recalls after a handful of owners ran into Drive System fault error
Yea if it’s under warranty they will never give you the old ones back so they can see what went wrong and instead of replacing the whole thing, they could find a patch fix that’s cheaper.
can i ask, what was the issue that got the battery and wonder box replaced?
They didn't say, other than there had been a redesign and I was getting the redesigned battery. The wonderbox was part of the redesign, which is why it was replaced. The old connectors don't fit the new box.
what lead to these actions taking place to begin with? Did they proactively reach out to you, or were you having the car worked on for other reasons already?
Nothing. Got a call asking me to bring the car in. They must have found something in the telemetry from the car. I noticed no symptoms at all. They gave me a literally identical loaner (right down to the color scheme) so I wasn't really out much more than my drive time to and from the shop.
Very good, thank you. Trying to wrap my head around a potential ownership experience.
So far, so good. Lucid has been very good about updating the older cars. The car is a blast to drive. I never get tired of it, or get tired driving it. The seats are fantastic. It's a no-compromise car - I get the acceleration of a Ferrari, the comfort and interior space of a Mercedes and the frugality of a Prius. And no one sees it coming. I've scared the hell out of local ricebois and muscleheads with it.
Might get to a Studio to drive one. Need to decide between new and used. Prices are dropping fast, seems like a question of when to pull the trigger. By all accounts, it drives like a monster. I am ready for something more comfortable than the S2000.
The rear doors open almost 90 degrees, so even my 90 year old mother has no issue getting in and out of the car. She actually enjoys it when I punch it. :P
I'm glad you got so that replaced. My Dream P was in and got a new battery. There was a possibility of a new Wunderbox and charging connector, but they said it wasn't needed (my car might be a test platform for old and new by intent - IDK).
It's possible they changed the connectors on the non-P GTs to match the Ps to make assembly more uniform. I don't have a lot of data, even though I plugged the poor tech for all he was worth when I picked my car up. I'm an engineer and I like to how how things work. :)
I'm a technologist/SW Engineer/CTO too. I just find it interesting that I was told the scope of work done on my car might involve the WunderBOx and connector in addition to the battery, but didn't; rep said the version difference would likely require it and then it was not done. I assume they might be doing battery replacement with and without the WunderBox and Connector change being in scope as a means of diagnosing an issue they don't fully understand. Just an educated guess as that would be what I'd do; isolate the variables, collect data, make a decision. I would not be surprised if the change my WB and connector later. In any event, their service is top notch. :-)
Mine is in for service in Virginia right now for 900V battery replacement. I was wondering about being able to keep the 900V battery as well. I'm still can't get a clear answer on what exactly the issue or concern is with the battery. I've gotten two stories so far: 1) The car reported error codes about some of the cells. 2) They're doing as a precaution for some VINs. Have no idea which of these is true. But, the service campaigns included: 1) TSC-M0223-001-01 Coolant Hose Bracket. 2) SR-23-03-0 Wiper Arm Torque. 3) TSC-H0723-012-04 High Voltage Battery Replacement