Air con known issue -no fix yet [EDIT: now with official fix]

[Eagle7]

My Emira was due in to Silverstone to replace the resistor pack next week (w/c 11th March '24). Got a call from Silverstone today saying that they had not been able to get hold of the part from Lotus so my booking was being shifted in to April when they hoped they might have the part. The "hope" part came from the fact that they went on to say that Lotus was no longer sending out any replacement parts and there was no date when the replacement parts would arrive. There was a view that this was potentially because they were re-engineering the part and there was no point in replacing the part when it would break again.

This is bonkers. A problem affecting most (eventually) Emiras that makes them undrivable except on a not too cold, hot, rainy day (not many of them in the UK!) when the fans aren't needed is not being addressed quickly and as a consequence leaving Emira drivers with, in essence, a nice looking brick.

I love my Emira, I'm fortunate I have another car I could drive this winter, but this waiting is really a wind-up. Come on Lotus, sort it out!

Has anyone taken it in to their own hands and got a 3rd party mechanic to take a look and try and solve it in the meantime? I guess that would invalidate the warranty, but might eleviate a considerable amount of anger and frustration!

I don't expect this would be a simple garage fix. They have to contact the OEM supplier, work out what the fix is going to be, re-negotiate the terms for credit/exchange, then wait for the OEM supplier to make the new parts in the quantities ordered by Lotus.

Obviously they're working on it. Hopefully this will be resolved as soon as possible.

 

[Kimmax]

Obviously they're working on it. … resolved as soon as possible.

 

[chipshopman]

I don't expect this would be a simple garage fix. They have to contact the OEM supplier, work out what the fix is going to be, re-negotiate the terms for credit/exchange, then wait for the OEM supplier to make the new parts in the quantities ordered by Lotus.

Obviously they're working on it. Hopefully this will be resolved as soon as possible.

I'm sure there's a reasonable complex process and it will take some time to re-engineering the part and get it out to the dealers. What irritates me though is the complete lack of transparency or any form of communication. All I want is a bit of information from them that shows things are moving forward and regular updates. Then, just to rub salt in the wound, Lotus Marketing send me a bit of bumpf suggesting I should go to Silverstone to check out some new cars!!

 

[seriously]

I got one of the "re-engineered" ones and a spectacular 17 hours later it failed again. The new seal does not… well seal and you end up with the same problem. Since my box was completely replaced my dealer could reuse some parts from my old box and rebuild it frankenstein style and sealed it themselves. No issues since, maybe they should pass my design up for reference

My ECU was also resealed by them after water damage. Still water tight after about 3/4 year.. Lotus really effed up the water resistance in this car.

How hard can this be? Can’t they just silicone the hell out of it and redo the seal anytime you actually have to get to the electrical which should be never?

 

[Eagle7]

I'm sure there's a reasonable complex process and it will take some time to re-engineering the part and get it out to the dealers. What irritates me though is the complete lack of transparency or any form of communication. All I want is a bit of information from them that shows things are moving forward and regular updates. Then, just to rub salt in the wound, Lotus Marketing send me a bit of bumpf suggesting I should go to Silverstone to check out some new cars!!

Well you should already know what the response would be to "moving forward and regular updates". It is of course... "soon". It's the Lotus way lol.

They may not know yet. It may also be a question of is this an isolated 'fix as the need arises', or do they issue a full factory recall for all cars produced thus far? I doubt they're ignoring it. Right now it's probably in the hands of the OEM supplier, who has to come up with a remedy and test it to make sure it's reliable before letting Lotus know they've got it fixed. Test units would have to be sent to Lotus to evaluate, then if they meet approval, a work order is issued.

It could even be that they're trying to come up with a sealing fix for existing units on the cars that are showing this problem, instead of committing to a full recall. There's all kinds of silliness that can go on in situations like this. They're always trying to save money of course, but they're not going to tell the customer that.

I know it's frustrating, but all you can do is keep bugging them for a status update.

 

[Tonygcar]

My car is in the lotus dealership in Bristol they are going to change the HVAC unit on the 8th of April and they are going to put the latest software updates for the KEF radio the screen was freezing and sometimes unresponsive, also it failed to start now and again after the previous software update last August when they also changed the steering pump, in the meantime I got a courtesy car to tide me over.
I should be pissed off but the way I look at it is all the cars around and before April 23 are fitted out with the same parts as mine so it’s only a matter of time for most people to have the same problems I got, I don’t think it’s luck of the draw, crap parts are crap parts.
Back to the HVAC it’s a 10 hour job to swap out this unit that’s why I have to wait until a slot is available to tie up a mechanic.
But I got to say what an amazing car I can’t wait to have it back it’s just niggles that can be fixed

 

[Enut]

Well I can add my car to the list. I suspected something wasn't right quite early on (picked it up August last year) when the fan didn't seem to work or worked intermittently, however it them seemed to resolve itself, probably as it is garaged and didn't go out in the rain for a while. Well the other day (a couple of days after I washed it) it started failing and gave a wierd electrical noise as it failed. Now the fan comes on briefly when I unlock it but then nothing, fan controls don't work at all.

I had it booked in at B&C in Guildford for tomorrow to be fixed over the next couple of days but they cancelled yesterday as they can't get the part. They'll be in contact when they can get the part, apparently.

I haven't gone through the whole thread so apologies if this has been covered but where is the unit located and would it not be worth Lotus relocating it to somewhere less prone to getting wet? Or putting a waterproof cover over it? Or is it just the long wait for them to get a waterproofed unit developed? I agree with others frustration that something as straightforward as this can fail for such an obvious reason (it gets wet and isn't waterproof) and is also located in a place where it's a 10 HOUR job to fix. Ridiculous.

 

[luciddaydream]

Anyone else have it blasting when they get back into the car after its been parked?

 

[Kimmax]

Anyone else have it blasting when they get back into the car after its been parked?

That’s expected behavior. I guess to get stalled air moving?

 

[Nellie]

Update - I am booked in for 23rd Apr. Chatting with the tech there has been a modification to the resistor pack comprising another component being added to it as well as sealing the block. Fingers crossed this works

 

[JaviLM]

Take it to your dealer. Mine has the same issue: if I understood correctly, a leak caused by an incorrectly sized rubber gasket makes it lose all the gas used by the AC.

I'm in Japan and the dealer has to wait for the local importer to get the parts from the UK, so for now I'm taking delivery with the AC in this condition and will take it back to the shop once they get the replacement washers. If you're in the UK then it will probably be much easier for you to get this fixed.

 

[chipshopman]

Mine's going in to the dealer workshop on Friday 19th April and Lotus HQ Customer Services have confirmed that the part has been sent out. So, fingers crossed by May this will be a solved problem!

 

[FlashingBlade]

Mine didnt last long. Back to how it was before. I'm just going to wait until it dies altogether now.

 

[Tonygcar]

Mine's going in to the dealer workshop on Friday 19th April and Lotus HQ Customer Services have confirmed that the part has been sent out. So, fingers crossed by May this will be a solved problem!

Hi my car is in the dealership at this moment having the HVAC/resistor module swapped out but they found that the wiring harness is corroded due to water ingress so that needs replacing also but I have to wait another 2 weeks for parts and another week for fitting.
Apparently if you go to the passenger side uk and look between the windscreen and bonnet (hood) thru the grill you can see into that area, here there’s a conduit where the wiring harness runs through facing upwards which funnels water through here along the harness to the fuse box BRILLIANT
And it looks like Lotus are going to design a cover of some sort to remedy this, and it’s going to be a recall for everyone.
In the meantime the dealership are going to put a bend in the conduit to stop the water ingress and then I will have to go back and have a cover fitted as soon as lotus pull their finger out and make this cover of sorts available
it’s a 10 hour job for the HVAC and 25 hours for the wiring harness.
I’ve had a courtesy car since the 6th of March happy days not

 

[Go Kart]

Hi my car is in the dealership at this moment having the HVAC/resistor module swapped out but they found that the wiring harness is corroded due to water ingress so that needs replacing also but I have to wait another 2 weeks for parts and another week for fitting.
Apparently if you go to the passenger side uk and look between the windscreen and bonnet (hood) thru the grill you can see into that area, here there’s a conduit where the wiring harness runs through facing upwards which funnels water through here along the harness to the fuse box BRILLIANT
And it looks like Lotus are going to design a cover of some sort to remedy this, and it’s going to be a recall for everyone.
In the meantime the dealership are going to put a bend in the conduit to stop the water ingress and then I will have to go back and have a cover fitted as soon as lotus pull their finger out and make this cover of sorts available
it’s a 10 hour job for the HVAC and 25 hours for the wiring harness.
I’ve had a courtesy car since the 6th of March happy days not

 

[tnbuilder]

So my blower has never worked since I got the car. About 450 miles on it now 11/23 build date. I was hoping it was built late enough to not have this issue and it was just a software thing. I was definitely wrong. It is at the dealer now getting a new resistor module soon. Not happy about the front end of the car being torn apart to fix this. But per the post above...I want to be sure all the water ingress issues are fixed. I am going to pass this along to the dealer (Nashville, TN).

 

[tnbuilder]

Hi my car is in the dealership at this moment having the HVAC/resistor module swapped out but they found that the wiring harness is corroded due to water ingress so that needs replacing also but I have to wait another 2 weeks for parts and another week for fitting.
Apparently if you go to the passenger side uk and look between the windscreen and bonnet (hood) thru the grill you can see into that area, here there’s a conduit where the wiring harness runs through facing upwards which funnels water through here along the harness to the fuse box BRILLIANT
And it looks like Lotus are going to design a cover of some sort to remedy this, and it’s going to be a recall for everyone.
In the meantime the dealership are going to put a bend in the conduit to stop the water ingress and then I will have to go back and have a cover fitted as soon as lotus pull their finger out and make this cover of sorts available
it’s a 10 hour job for the HVAC and 25 hours for the wiring harness.
I’ve had a courtesy car since the 6th of March happy days not

May I ask what is your build date and what dear you recieved this info from?

 

[Tonygcar]

May I ask what is your build date and what dear you recieved this info from?

I picked my car up the end of April last year, I think it was in the first batch of autos, Bristol dealership
still love the car and can’t wait to get it back

 

[tnbuilder]

I picked my car up the end of April last year, I think it was in the first batch of autos, Bristol dealership
still love the car and can’t wait to get it back

But they are saying every Emira will require this cover fix? Also sucks it has been going on this long and newer cars still have this issue.

 

[tnbuilder]

From the service notes :

1. Depressurise AC system (1 page)
2. Disconnect Battery (1 page)
3. Drain Coolant (1 page)
4. Remove front fender left side (3 pages)
5. Remove front fender right side (repeat of 4.)
6. Remove radiator Duct left side (1 page)
7. Remove radiator Duct right side (repeat of 7.)
8. Remove pollen filter (1 page)
9. Remove cooling fan (1 page)
10. Remove HVAC housing assembly (8 pages of further instructions including undoing AC pipes, moving fuse box and cables, remove wiper motor, loosen power steering pipe and move, undo and move intermediate chassis crossmember to make space, undo coolant pipes, remove HVAC unit from car )
11. Remove 2 bolts and harness connectors from fan speed control module
12. Swap fan speed control module
13. Reassembly is a reverse of the above......

Not really a "made for service" part, is it?....

Does any more of the front end come off than the 2 fenders? I am just hoping the car will be as good as new. Removing the HVAC too....I hope it goes back all sealed together.