A number of headlines have made a big deal out of Lucid’s recall of 27k vehicles for an apparent fire risk. But the problem had to do with an electronic fuse controlling LED lights, and a software update distributed last month already fixed the overheating issue.

A long as Electrek has existed, media has loved to make a big deal out of any time the word “fire” is mentioned anywhere near an electric car. Despite that gas cars catch fire at a drastically higher rate than EVs, media pays inordinate attention to single anomalous incidents with EVs and completely ignores the 200,000 gas car fires in the US per year.

And so, here we are again, with Lucid issuing a recall, labeled “Fire Risk Warning,” for 27,185 Lucid Air vehicles from model year 2022-2026. The recall is accompanied by a warning for owners to park outside until the fix can be applied. And of course, most headlines are going with that – Lucids have a fire risk, you better park outside because oooh, these newfangled devices are just sooo scawwy.

But the problem probably isn’t what you think it is. What Lucid found is that the software for low-voltage exterior lighting – which is to say, exterior LEDs – didn’t properly protect against overcurrent.

In certain situation, too much current can be sent to the LEDs, which could cause overheating, which could then result in smoldering/smoking or potentially fire.

The lighting current is controlled by an “eFuse,” rather than a traditional automotive fuse, which means that it can be controlled by software.

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