Late last year, Jason Fenske from the Engineering Explained YouTube channel detailed several faults encountered during just six months of leasing a Lucid Air sedan. In January, he reported that Lucid had reached out and explained how it intended to fix the flaws, but in the five months since, things have only gotten worse, as he explains in another new video (embedded below). As if that’s not frustrating enough, when Lucid offered to replace the car under Lemon Law, Fenske discovered that finding an exact match to his current spec in an effort to maintain his current lease payments was impossible. So Lucid offered to compensate him for his past payments, buying the car outright to let him start a new lease with a new car. But even that didn’t work out, and there’s still more to the story, including how Lucid’s offer of a Gravity SUV as a long-term loaner only added to his inventory of irritations.

Weekend From Hell: 8 Unique Lucid Air Glitches in One Trip

After Lucid offered to address Feske’s multiple earlier issues with software updates, some problems still persisted, and on a single weekend trip over four days and roughly 400 miles, eight unique new problems appeared from a Thursday to a Sunday. You can watch the full video above for more details, but in a nutshell, these were the issues:

1. All of the Air’s electronic door handles popped out, but the rears would not open.
2. One rear vent was measured to be blowing 50 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the other, despite temperature testing being carried out in a garage out of sunlight, and with equal settings for all four zones of the climate control system.
3. Dynamic white lines to assist with parking using the display from the rearview camera did not load.
4. Apple CarPlay booted up, but navigation did not work, despite leaving the car, coming back, and trying again.
5. On another occasion, CarPlay simply would not load at all.
6. With around 7,000 miles on the odometer, Fenske noted that the car’s stop mode, despite being set to ‘Hold’ instead of ‘Roll’ (enabling one-pedal driving in tandem with regeneration set to ‘High’), randomly switched to the opposite after just a few minutes inside a nearby store, causing the car to roll forward after being started and pressure being taken off the brake pedal.
7. The car indicated that the speed limit in a 45-mph zone was 75, despite neither the zone before nor after the 45-mph zone being a 75-mph zone.
8. Music randomly stopped playing, on one occasion pausing three times during a single song and never resuming playing automatically, despite good cell coverage.

Fenske documented all these problems so he could email Lucid for assistance, with the most concerning being how the car changed its stop mode after he spent just a few minutes inside a nearby store. Picture this: when starting the car, you put your foot on the brake and select Drive or Reverse, and with ‘Hold’ selected instead of ‘Roll,’ the car should slowly creep away in the selected direction. Normal, right? As Fenske was on a slight decline and the car had changed its setting without warning, he rolled forward. Trying to go back into Park and into Reverse again didn’t solve the issue (he didn’t know the setting had changed at this point), and on the third try, he used the accelerator pedal, and the car finally moved back. As Fenske notes, if this setting changes when someone is on a steep hill, especially when they’re accustomed to the car behaving as they had selected, this could cause a crash or worse. Unfortunately, the problems didn’t end there.

Other Problems Appearing on Fenske’s Lucid Air

While all the above happened over one weekend, other issues have appeared in Fenske’s short time with the car. The audio system was particularly buggy, sometimes not working at all, and sometimes sounding tinny. On other occasions, only the front speakers would stop working, and these audio issues were separate from the regular but random pausing of music. Another problem was that the heated seats would keep turning off, and sometimes, the car would select neither Drive nor Reverse, despite all other functions working – Fenske theorizes that the car thinks it’s connected to a charger when this happens. Finally, on that one weekend trip while skiing, the Lucid mobile app was operating in the background and consumed a whopping 46 percent of Fenske’s new iPhone 17’s battery charge, despite only one minute of screen time, while a GPS-tracking app that was running simultaneously in the background only used 7 percent.

Yet another issue discovered later on is that, after leaving the frunk and trunk open for roughly 10 minutes or more (as many do while packing for a trip), the apertures would not close, regardless of whether Fenske used the buttons in the storage spaces, the screen on the dashboard, or his smartphone app. This was despite the car showing on-screen confirmation that the openings weren’t closed and that the app wasn’t working. Furthermore, after closing manually, the trunk would sometimes not reopen. Since the people at Lucid are reasonable, they agreed that these numerous issues were too big to live with on an $85,000 car, and they tried to make the “popular YouTuber,” as the engineer laughingly admits he is, happy with a replacement.

Lucid’s Solution to a Buggy Air Touring Backfires with the Gravity SUV

Lucid offered to replace the car under the existing lease agreement using a similar spec, but legally, for Fenske’s payments to stay the same, Lucid would have to provide the exact same spec, not similar. With Fenske finding over 4,600 unique builds based on the Air Touring alone, and with Lucid being a relatively low-volume company, that would be impossible. To Lucid’s credit, the company still didn’t give up, offering a full buyback and a new lease, providing a Gravity SUV as a long-term loaner while a suitable vehicle was being sourced, but Fenske was at his breaking point and declined for three reasons.

Firstly, the lease signed in August 2025 was at $865, and speccing the same build now is $265 more, at $1,130. Secondly, Fenske only wanted a three-year lease, and at this point is already 11 months in; not only would a new lease restart the term, but a signing two-year lease would increase payments even more dramatically, to $1,440. Finally, the experience left a bitter taste in Fenske’s mouth, and he knew that if the replacement was bad, it would make things even worse for Lucid. If the replacement was good, critics would suggest Lucid had provided a flawless car just because of Jason’s publicity, impossible as that would be for software-related issues. Even though he declined, Lucid kept trying to make things right by maintaining the offer of a long-term Gravity loan.

Related: New Lucid Gravity Recall Isn’t Even Lucid’s Fault

So, Fenske took delivery of the electric SUV and planned an in-depth long-term review, but shortly after editing the video, the Gravity had to return to Lucid Service because a passenger-side window would not roll back up even after multiple vehicle resets. As if the experience couldn’t get much worse, the cruise control “cancel” button would only work sporadically, and the cameras would repeatedly fail to load images. Sigh. Lucid may be brilliant when it comes to engineering and packaging, but its software still has a long way to go, as Fenske’s closing statement sums up nicely.

“While Lucid has been very understanding and supportive, I am not sure if I will complete the long-term loan. While I believe Lucid has continuously innovated in the EV space and delivered impressive engineering throughout their vehicles, unfortunately, my personal experience has been overshadowed by glitchy software.” – Jason Fenske, Engineering Explained

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• InsideEVs contributor and charging expert Tom Moloughney put Hansshow’s latest Tesla Supercharger extension cable to the test.
• In real-world testing, the 8-foot NACS to CCS1 DC fast-charging extension cable fell short of expectations.
• The cable is aimed at non-Tesla EV owners who often need to double park when using V3 Tesla Superchargers

Tens of thousands of Tesla Superchargers are now open to non-Tesla EVs in the United States, which can make life a lot easier for everybody, especially on long road trips. However, Superchargers were designed for Teslas, which have the charge port on the left rear of the car, whereas other EVs might have it somewhere else. 

It’s not the end of the world, but some EV owners are forced to double park at Superchargers because Tesla’s third-generation stalls have a pretty short cable designed exclusively for Teslas. 

To fix the issue, a company called Hansshow is selling an extension cable that also doubles as a DC fast charging adapter, promising to make life a lot easier for some EV owners. The second-generation version of the product was put to the test by Tom Moloughney, charging expert and InsideEVs contributor.

Tom put the first-generation product through its paces and found that it was a safety disaster waiting to happen,. He also tested the prototype for the second-gen model, which fixed all of its predecessor’s problems. Recently, he got his hands on the final version, but after a testing session that was unexpectedly cut short, he discovered that the prototype worked better than the finished product.

The cable is available in 5-foot and 8-foot lengths, and is rated for 1,000 volts and 350 amps. To really put it to the test, Tom wanted to keep the 8-foot version under stress for an hour straight, charging his Rivian R1S and Ford F-150 Lightning from a low state of charge, where both EVs ask for 500 amps at the beginning of the session. 

However, that plan didn’t work out. The Rivian stopped charging after 17 minutes while using the extension cable, despite the surface temperature of the cable never going over 100 degrees. A second attempt did not work, either.

The cable was plugged into the F-150 Lightning, and after eight minutes of charging, the session automatically stopped again.

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Moving over to another Tesla Supercharger stall didn’t help, either. Weirdly enough, the pre-production version of the cable, which looks exactly like the finished product, worked flawlessly in Tom’s charging sessions multiple times. It’s not clear why this latest product has missed the mark.

What’s more, there’s the price to consider, with the 8-foot version retailing for $729. That’s a lot of money, especially if you can’t rely on it. Additionally, owners who use something like this need to know that they’re doing it at their own risk, as all EV makers advise against using extension cables or charging adapters that are not manufacturer-approved. In case something goes wrong during a charging session, your warranty will likely not cover damages.

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• After skipping the current model year, the ID. Buzz will join Volkswagen’s model year 2027 lineup. 
• It now gets a new dedicated trim for camping, with a bunch of cool features straight from the factory.
• Volkswagen has finally added true one-pedal driving to the ID. Buzz 

The Volkswagen ID. Buzz will rejoin the German automaker’s model year 2027 lineup in the U.S. with two new trims, updated software, and revised color and wheel options. 

The electric minivan skipped MY2026 for the U.S. market, going from MY2025 to MY2027 due to low demand. Volkswagen Group of America CEO Kjell Gruner told InsideEVs at the New York Auto Show this year that the MY2025 had arrived late, so the MY2026 cars would have had a short run anyway.

Photo by: Volkswagen

Camping fans can now rejoice as Volkswagen is now bringing the Tourer 4Motion trim stateside. This model will get a bunch of features straight out of the factory, including a fold-out mattress and a platform, along with window blinds and ventilation panels. 

There’s also an “Overnight Mode” which will use the high-voltage battery to run functions like climate and the battery even when the vehicle itself is switched off. It will also come with a folding table and chair set.

Photo by: Volkswagen

Another important addition is one-pedal driving, which will allow drivers to bring the vehicle to a complete stop using regenerative braking and without touching the brake pedal. MY2025 vehicles did not have true one-pedal driving, which was a big miss.

The ID. Buzz now also gets the automaker’s latest ID.S 6 software with improved user experience on the infotainment, including a revised navigation screen layout and a new vehicle settings page for easier access to functions. There’s also an updated App Store that will allow owners to download third-party apps like YouTube and Spotify.

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Source: Kevin Williams/InsideEVs

There’s one more change that makes a lot of sense. The dual-tone paint is a huge part of the minivan’s personality, and now you can’t have the ID. Buzz otherwise. The ID. Buzz will now only come with dual-tone paint schemes, along with a new Candy White over Cherry Red paint option and available white wheels inspired by the Type 2 microbus.

Finally, the trim line has been revised to just four models: Pro S RWD, Pro S 4Motion (new), Tourer 4Motion (new), and Pro S Plus 4Motion.

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Volkswagen hasn’t released pricing just yet, but the MY2025 ID. Buzz starts at $60,000 before destination charges. If the automaker brings the price within the low $50,000 range, it could go a long way in making the iconic vehicle more appealing.

Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com

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The 7 Gets An Update

The seventh-generation 7 Series receives its first facelift, what BMW calls an LCI (Lifecycle Impulse) for the 2027 model year, benefiting from Neue Klasse technology and design language from the company’s iX3 and i3 models. This is a heavier refresh than we typically see from an LCI model, and it fixes on of the biggest complaints many online critics had with the pre-facelift model: its ugly face.

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This isn’t a ground-up redesign, but BMW moved around the main headlights and reshaped the crystal headlights, which now look thinner and more stately. The new design is smoother rand more cohesive than before.

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Both the gas-powered 7 Series and electric i7 models still have large kidney grilles, which are illuminated with BMW’s Iconic Glow feature, but the radars, sensors, and washer nozzles are now hidden better.

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Buyers can opt for a hand-finished BMW Individual Dual Finish paint that takes more than 75 hours to apply.

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The interior benefits from the latest Neue Klasse technology suite, including BMW Panoramic iDrive with BMW Operating System X. The pillar-to-pillar projection from the iX3 and i3 has been transplanted, but the 7 Series also adds new passenger screen.

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The rear seat delivers peak luxury with an available Executive Lounge specification and optional BMW Theater Screen. BMW has added Zoom video conferencing to the Theater Screen, which measures over 31 inches.

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The gas-powered 740 and 740 xDrive models get an upgrade under the hood; the B58 inline-six now produces 394 horsepower. A 750e PHEV model is coming in 2027 with 483 hp.

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The all-electric i7 now features BMW’s Gen6 cylindrical battery cells, improving the range to over 350 miles in the 50 xDrive and 60 xDrive variants. A new standard NACS port enables charging speeds up to 250 kW, an improvement from the previous 195 kW peak.

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I’m what you might call an “elder” millennial. We’re the kids who were born in the early-mid ’80s—not quite old enough to be Gen X, old enough to remember the days of land lines and cassette tapes. And like many of my contemporaries, I grew up riding in the back of a minivan.

Technically, I grew up riding in the back of two minivans. Both were Mopars—a late-’80s Plymouth and a 1994 Dodge—and neither was what you’d call flawless. The Voyager was fine, though it had a four-banger and no air bags, so we didn’t keep it long enough for it to fall apart on us; we upgraded to the Caravan. That one had the Mitsubishi V6, and it was kind enough to wait until it had about 100,000 miles on the odo before it really started falling apart on us. That happened just in time for me to leave for college. Guess what I drove there.

By that point, that Caravan was a hot mess, both literally and figuratively. The AC wouldn’t hold a charge, the engine leaked oil from any number of orifices and the charm of its manual windows and just-adequate V6 had long worn off. But hey, I had a car. And despite its flaws, there’s one thing I can say for that oily clunker: it never tried to hit me in the face.

Yep, that’s right. In the face. As you can see in the above clip, GM’s badge-engineered minivans of the early ’90s included a cool little design element. The trailing edges of the front doors were swept back, like the little winglets on a modern jetliner. It looked neat. It also made the top of the door much longer than the middle, where the handle was. It’s not a particularly aggressive rake, but it’s a difference of a couple of inches. You can see it from multiple angles in this retro review from our pals over at MotorWeek:

1990 Pontiac Trans Sport SE | Retro Review

It became so much of a problem that GM designed a whole new part to address the issue. It’s GM part # 10186057. Go ahead and Google it. Yep, it’s a sticker… with a printed warning that reminds passengers to be careful while shutting the door while exiting, lest they hit themselves in the face with trailing edge of the frame.

I feel compelled to point out that GM’s ad campaign for the Oldsmobile Silhouette included a boast about the company’s industrial design prowess. I believe that’s what you call irony—and I’d know, after all. Half my friends are Gen X. They invented irony; just ask ’em.

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• Xiaomi will offer owners a free upgrade to fix the SU7 Ultra’s “fake” hood vents.
• The automaker was sued after owners who bought the $5,800 upgrade and found that the vents didn’t actually move air as expected.
• A three-hour upgrade adds electronically-actuated vanes to fix the airflow problem.

Not long ago, Xiaomi got blasted by owners for a rather expensive performance upgrade that proved to be all show and no go. That upgrade? A $5,800 carbon fiber hood with gigantic vents in the front marketed to provide “track-level cooling” to the flagship performance sedan.

It turns out those vents provided no actual airflow and it resulted in owners demanding refunds for the entire cost of the car. Almost a year after owners revolted, Xiaomi finally has a fix: an upgrade that turns those fake vents into real ones.

Photo by: Xiaomi

The change, as originally reported by Chinese news outlet IT Home, adds electronically-actuated vanes that can open and close to adjust the airflow (and as a result, the car’s downforce at highway speeds), sending air from the car’s front grille through the vents when the owner puts the car in track mode, or automatically at speeds above 93 mph.

Xiaomi says that owners could see a slight range dip at high speeds, but that low-speed driving should be unaffected.

This hood drama dates back to last May when owners first realized that the hood didn’t actually provide the aerodynamic upgrade that Xiaomi promised. Owners took the automaker to court over claims of false advertising where a court in Suzhou, China ruled against Xiaomi and ordered it to pay damages to some owners.

However, last month, Xiaomi scored a win in a separate local court in Changsha. That court ruled that marketing terms like “high-efficiency airflow” used by Xiaomi to describe the function of its hood didn’t actually constitute deliberate intent to mislead customers.

Even if the Xiaomi SU7’s hood vents took all of this drama to become functional, at least Xiaomi is offering an upgrade—especially one at no cost to owners. It’s unfortunate that it had to come to lawsuits and public shaming from owners, but seeing the automaker actually provide an upgrade that is technical in nature and not just adding a rivet or slapping on some adhesive is refreshing in 2026.

Xiaomi says that qualifying owners can schedule the complimentary service in its app to arrange the upgrade. The installation takes about three hours to complete.

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