Paint blistering on the Rear Quarter Panel...!!! Am I the first??

[Yas.totti10]

I have had a phone call from my local dealership today (Whilst it was in to have a paint blistering drivers door replaced).

I was informed my car would have to stay at the body shop for a longer time! 4 weeks have already passed.

I was informed that the bodyshop had detected paint blistering around the petrol cap on the drivers side & also on the rear quarter panel of the passengers side!!!!!!

Next Question I asked..... how would this be addressed........??

I was disappointingly informed that Lotus Customer services (Warranty Team) deemed it only necessary to sand it down and re-spray...!!!!!!!!!!

I was fuming! On one hand we replace paint blistering door because the panel is deemed defective.... but the rear quarter panels... Not necessary!!!???

Last question..... So you are going to paint and blend 60% of the car? Answer was "yes"!!!!!!!!!

I called Lotus Emira Customer service and said this is not good enough for a car that cost nearly £100k.

They should replace the rear quarter panels! and re-spray the whole car as a minimum.

Or else..... I am rejecting the car now.

Thoughts?????

 

[kitkat]

The doors, rear quarter panels, and tailgate are all made of the same material that seems to be prone to this paint bubbling issue. Sanding the rear quarter panel down won't do anything, it will fix it temporarily and it will bubble again.

 

[Yas.totti10]

The doors, rear quarter panels, and tailgate are all made of the same material that seems to be prone to this paint bubbling issue. Sanding the rear quarter panel down won't do anything, it will fix it temporarily and it will bubble again.

My thoughts exactly

I think my time as an Emira owner is nearing to its end.

 

[Green]

No way I would accept that from Lotus. Is it too late to reject the car? The resale value has to take a big hit after repairs. If I was in the market I would never buy a 100k car that was resprayed due to bubbling paint. Do you guys have a lemon law? Best of luck.

 

[DaaS]

Sorry to hear that. When was your car built? Is it one of the earlier ones?

 

[Nick in Sydney]

The doors, rear quarter panels, and tailgate are all made of the same material that seems to be prone to this paint bubbling issue. Sanding the rear quarter panel down won't do anything, it will fix it temporarily and it will bubble again.

The root cause is still not clear to me. There are several possibilities:

1. Moist air is getting trapped in the resin during Teijin Automotive's compression-molding process. This would be a manufacturing fault, though it could potentially be addressed if Lotus bakes the panels before painting.

2. Micro-cracks occur during molding or through poor handling. These cracks can later cause paint blistering. Teijin references this risk in one of its press releases: Teijin Automotive Technologies’ Ultra Lite technology uses proprietary, treated glass bubbles to replace some of the CaCO3, allowing the resin to adhere to the matrix and increase the interfacial strength between the bubble and the resin. This treatment technology results in a more robust resin mix making molded parts more resistant to handling damage, preventing micro-cracks that cause paint pops, pits and blistering, and improving paint adhesion and bonding characteristics.

2. Moist air is getting trapped between the panel and the paint during Lotus' painting process. It is quite common to see blistering on fiberglass boats or cars that have been repainted without proper baking or in damp and cold conditions.

 

[kitkat]

The root cause is still not clear to me. There are several possibilities:

1. Moist air is getting trapped in the resin during Teijin Automotive's compression-molding process. This would be a manufacturing fault, though it could potentially be addressed if Lotus bakes the panels before painting.

2. Micro-cracks occur during molding or through poor handling. These cracks can later cause paint blistering. Teijin references this risk in one of its press releases: Teijin Automotive Technologies’ Ultra Lite technology uses proprietary, treated glass bubbles to replace some of the CaCO3, allowing the resin to adhere to the matrix and increase the interfacial strength between the bubble and the resin. This treatment technology results in a more robust resin mix making molded parts more resistant to handling damage, preventing micro-cracks that cause paint pops, pits and blistering, and improving paint adhesion and bonding characteristics.

2. Moist air is getting trapped between the panel and the paint during Lotus' painting process. It is quite common to see blistering on fiberglass boats or cars that have been repainted without proper baking or in damp and cold conditions.

It’s the first one, this isn’t even anything new. This was a problem on early evoras and other models. Fixing existing panels requires resealing them, it’s more than just drying them out.

 

[Wonza]

I have had a phone call from my local dealership today (Whilst it was in to have a paint blistering drivers door replaced).

I was informed my car would have to stay at the body shop for a longer time! 4 weeks have already passed.

I was informed that the bodyshop had detected paint blistering around the petrol cap on the drivers side & also on the rear quarter panel of the passengers side!!!!!!

Next Question I asked..... how would this be addressed........??

I was disappointingly informed that Lotus Customer services (Warranty Team) deemed it only necessary to sand it down and re-spray...!!!!!!!!!!

I was fuming! On one hand we replace paint blistering door because the panel is deemed defective.... but the rear quarter panels... Not necessary!!!???

Last question..... So you are going to paint and blend 60% of the car? Answer was "yes"!!!!!!!!!

I called Lotus Emira Customer service and said this is not good enough for a car that cost nearly £100k.

They should replace the rear quarter panels! and re-spray the whole car as a minimum.

Or else..... I am rejecting the car now.

Thoughts?????

In all honesty, reject it right now and move on. Less pain later on. I can more or less guarantee, other panels on your car will bubble as it’s from the same batch. Once it’s past its warranty, good luck with Lotus claims and it would be an extremely expensive repair.

 

[NigeT]

I have had a phone call from my local dealership today (Whilst it was in to have a paint blistering drivers door replaced).

I was informed my car would have to stay at the body shop for a longer time! 4 weeks have already passed.

I was informed that the bodyshop had detected paint blistering around the petrol cap on the drivers side & also on the rear quarter panel of the passengers side!!!!!!

Next Question I asked..... how would this be addressed........??

I was disappointingly informed that Lotus Customer services (Warranty Team) deemed it only necessary to sand it down and re-spray...!!!!!!!!!!

I was fuming! On one hand we replace paint blistering door because the panel is deemed defective.... but the rear quarter panels... Not necessary!!!???

Last question..... So you are going to paint and blend 60% of the car? Answer was "yes"!!!!!!!!!

I called Lotus Emira Customer service and said this is not good enough for a car that cost nearly £100k.

They should replace the rear quarter panels! and re-spray the whole car as a minimum.

Or else..... I am rejecting the car now.

Thoughts?????

When was your car built ? Wondering how long it takes for any blistering to become visible.

 

[Yas.totti10]

No way I would accept that from Lotus. Is it too late to reject the car? The resale value has to take a big hit after repairs. If I was in the market I would never buy a 100k car that was resprayed due to bubbling paint. Do you guys have a lemon law? Best of luck.

I am from the UK.

To get the door approved was an absolute pain.

Now I have another battle on my hands!

I genuinely cba to keep fighting everytime to make Lotus HQ do things properly.

They need to probably change all the panels and re paint the whole thing at factory at this rate

 

[Yas.totti10]

Sorry to hear that. When was your car built? Is it one of the earlier ones?

Built towards the end of 2022.

I still believe there's a manufacturing problem with the technology. Irrespective of build date

 

[Yas.totti10]

In all honesty, reject it right now and move on. Less pain later on. I can more or less guarantee, other panels on your car will bubble as it’s from the same batch. Once it’s past its warranty, good luck with Lotus claims and it would be an extremely expensive repair.

I am definitely spooked.

I dont trust any of the panels of my car... and I only have 1.5yrs of warranty left!!

 

[Yas.totti10]

When was your car built ? Wondering how long it takes for any blistering to become visible.

I think this is a fantastic question.... My car was build October 2022.

I think it takes about 12 months for blistering to come through.

 

[Wonza]

I think this is a fantastic question.... My car was build October 2022.

I think it takes about 12 months for blistering to come through.

The time for the blisters to come through depends whether the car is stored inside or out. Mine was stored outside in the elements, took 6 months for blister to show up on one side of the door and 8 months for the otherside. Together with the cold start issues and occasional break down (non start) after putting petrol in. It’s a complete p*sstake. No one, absolutely no one would be so forgiving if she wasn’t so pretty. I’ve seen the light, I’ve rejected it and moved on after wife thinks I’m crazy with so many issues on a brand new car. Same end of 22 build.

 

[Yas.totti10]

The time for the blisters to come through depends whether the car is stored inside or out. Mine was stored outside in the elements, took 6 months for blister to show up on one side of the door and 8 months for the otherside. Together with the cold start issues and occasional break down (non start) after putting petrol in. It’s a complete p*sstake. No one, absolutely no one would be so forgiving if she wasn’t so pretty. I’ve seen the light, I’ve rejected it and moved on after wife thinks I’m crazy with so many issues on a brand new car. Same end of 22 build.

Your absolutely spot on with this!
I store mine in a garage which undoubtedly slowed the blistering down.

I am genuinely fed up now.... its weird how we cut this car/Lotus so much slack.

I would have keeled over by now if my car was out of warranty!

I made a massive complaint yday and was promised a call from somebody senior from Lotus warranty...

Guess what..... No phone call this morning!

 

[Barrybarrybarry]

Your absolutely spot on with this!
I store mine in a garage which undoubtedly slowed the blistering down.

I am genuinely fed up now.... its weird how we cut this car/Lotus so much slack.

I would have keeled over by now if my car was out of warranty!

I made a massive complaint yday and was promised a call from somebody senior from Lotus warranty...

Guess what..... No phone call this morning!

Mine was also blistered behind the 1st edition badge on the quarter panel when they were PPF'ing it - I'm still waiting to hear from the Lotus dealer about the status of the claim - this was as of last Thursday.

 

[Yas.totti10]

Mine was also blistered behind the 1st edition badge on the quarter panel when they were PPF'ing it - I'm still waiting to hear from the Lotus dealer about the status of the claim - this was as of last Thursday.

The killer question is.....

What is the suitable way to resolve the matter in your opinion?

I dont think a sand down and re spray cuts it.

I really don't want a car that 60% of it has been a blend job

 

[Barrybarrybarry]

The killer question is.....

What is the suitable way to resolve the matter in your opinion?

I dont think a sand down and re spray cuts it.

I really don't want a car that 60% of it has been a blend job

I mean replacing the rear quarter panel would be one hell of a job, no? Changing the door is just unbolt it and remove some wires.

I am in total agreement that getting half a respray is not going to cut it for an adequate repair but will see what the dealer says, will chase them up Thursday for an update.

 

[Wonza]

Your absolutely spot on with this!
I store mine in a garage which undoubtedly slowed the blistering down.

I am genuinely fed up now.... its weird how we cut this car/Lotus so much slack.

I would have keeled over by now if my car was out of warranty!

I made a massive complaint yday and was promised a call from somebody senior from Lotus warranty...

Guess what..... No phone call this morning!

Lotus have never ever called me. Their CS is non existent and they don’t really care. All they want is for you to go away. Trust me. It took nearly 4 months to get my money back (that’s with weekly chasers).

 

[kitkat]

I mean replacing the rear quarter panel would be one hell of a job, no? Changing the door is just unbolt it and remove some wires.

I am in total agreement that getting half a respray is not going to cut it for an adequate repair but will see what the dealer says, will chase them up Thursday for an update.

Rear fender removal is not bad, a bunch of bolts and clips. Honestly you can remove it within 30 minutes if you know what you’re doing.