The latest electric vehicle to be recalled for potential fires is the Lucid Air.
On Friday, August 28th, Lucid issued a recall for 27,185 Air sedans produced between Oct 11, 2021, and July 27, 2026. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s official recall report states that the exterior lights could overheat and catch on fire. The software for the low-voltage exterior lighting circuits, powered by an eFuse, may not provide sufficient overcurrent protection, allowing the circuit to reach excessive amperage.
This could lead to overheating, smoke, and maybe a fire. Lucid was aware of 33 reports of damaged wiring harnesses that could be related to this recall.
Lucid Air recall is basically solved
While the Lucid Air recall sounds serious at a glance due to the number of possible impacted sedans, it’s an easy fix.
An over-the-air software update has already been sent out, which includes a lower eFuse amperage and the disabling of a function that was allowing a faulty circuit to re-energize. You’ll need to update your Lucid to version 2.10.0 or later to ensure the fix applies.
Lucid will notify customers who haven’t updated their software by October 16th. If you are unsure how to update the software, you can reach out to Lucid or take your vehicle to a local dealership.
As always, you can check NHTSA’s site to see whether your vehicle is part of this recall (or any others).
Are EVs more dangerous when it comes to fires?
For now, Lucid drivers are advised to charge their vehicles outside. But are you actually in danger?
It’s a common misconception that electric vehicles catch on fire more often than gas-powered ones. It may seem more likely since the news loves to latch onto these stories as scrutiny over EVs continues, but catching fire is extremely rare.
In fact, most of the fire-related recalls are not EVs, but gas and diesel vehicles, The Washington Post found. More gas-powered vehicles are getting “park outside” recalls than EVs. Still, there are 17 “park outside” recalls in 2026 so far. Why the increase, if not EVs?
“It’s a mix of things causing this,” said Sean Kane, president of Safety Research and Strategies, to The Washington Post. “It’s messy. It doesn’t lend itself to simple description of what’s happening. But it boils down to growing electronic systems and the number of components.”
While rare, an EV fire is something you want to avoid at all costs.
“Your big risk is the chemical reaction that’s occurring if you have damaged cells. That chemical reaction, you’re going to end up with thousands of degrees Fahrenheit,” National Waste & Recycling Association Michael E Hoffman told AutoNotion.
Because of that chemical reaction, EV fires spread quickly and can become large. The toxic fumes it emits pose an additional health hazard that could be deadly.
While the risk of your Lucid catching fire is low, Lucid is still warning drivers to park and charge outside until the over-the-air update takes place. What could start as a small wire issue could end up burning down half your house before you can even react.
