Health experts and influencers often emphasize that drinking plenty of water is the secret to healthier skin, a sharper mind, smoother digestion, and a longer life. However, there’s one entity that should absolutely avoid “drinking water,” and that’s modern electric vehicles. Even a few drops can lead to a massive repair bill. A Reddit user, u/raging_onyx, recently shared a cautionary tale that illustrates this perfectly.
The user rented a Lucid Air electric vehicle for Thanksgiving. The trouble began during a routine trip to the grocery store to refill a water jug. On the way back, the car hit a pothole, causing the water jug in the trunk to spill. This triggered a cascade of errors, ultimately rendering the vehicle completely immobile.
Electric car immobilized by spilled water in the trunk (illustrative image).
According to the driver, just seconds after the spill, warning lights illuminated on the dashboard. The car entered Limp Mode, regenerative braking ceased, and the driver was alerted to pull over. After finding a residential area to stop and attempting to restart the system, the Lucid Air remained stuck in Park (P) mode.
Lucid’s customer support team, in a memorable “Happy Thanksgiving” gesture, offered two pieces of advice: file an insurance claim and prepare for the possibility of the car being declared a total loss.
The bad news didn’t end there. When the first tow truck arrived, the driver discovered the car couldn’t be towed because it wouldn’t shift into Neutral (N) mode. Fortunately, by the next day, Neutral mode was activated, and a second tow truck finally managed to haul the car away.
The vehicle was taken to a service center, where technicians initially estimated the repair cost at just under $1,000. However, this figure was wildly off the mark—by an amount roughly equivalent to the price of a used Toyota Corolla. Lucid later confirmed the actual repair cost to be around $15,000. To add insult to injury, the manufacturer refused to honor the warranty, citing the spill as driver error.
Repairing the Lucid Air costs as much as buying a used Toyota Corolla.
At the time of the Reddit post, the Lucid Air renter was still awaiting confirmation from their insurance company regarding coverage. While many assume insurance would cover such incidents, reality often proves less straightforward.
Just last month, a similar incident involved a Hyundai Ioniq 5. A small amount of water spilled on the rear floor, damaging the vehicle’s electrical system. Both the manufacturer and the insurance company refused to cover the $11,882 repair bill for the Hyundai Ioniq 5 owner.
The Lucid Air, a luxury electric vehicle launched in September 2021, is the flagship model of the young automaker Lucid Motors. It has garnered praise from critics for its powerful performance and impressive range.
The Dream Edition R variant boasts a range of up to 520 miles (840 km) on a single charge, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This makes the Lucid Air the longest-range electric vehicle ever rated by the EPA. In 2024, the Lucid Air set a Guinness World Record for the most countries visited by an electric vehicle on a single charge, crossing nine countries over 567 miles (912 km).
The base Pure model features an 88 kWh battery, rear-wheel drive, 430 horsepower, and 600 Nm of torque. Meanwhile, the Dream Edition Performance variant delivers a staggering 1,111 horsepower and accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds.
In the U.S. market, the Lucid Air starts at $70,900.
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