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

[JimH]

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.

The above list is a summary of the service notes that are available for download here for a small charge if you need more details :

Welcome | VSI

vsic.lotuscars.com

 

[Tonygcar]

Update on my car I’ve picked it up from the dealership and the HVAC has been fixed and they changed the wiring harness and i am one of the first to have the new cover of sorts fitted just under the grill between the windscreen and the bonnet (hood)Sorry to the carbon fibre guys probably more weight. see pics my car is very dirty at the moment but you can see the new clean rubber cover that keeps the water off the HVAC unit and wiring harness. I asked the dealership not to wash my car because I got PPF Fitted and wanted to wash it myself.
I asked how much it cost to carry out this repair and it’s just over £14k for parts and labour, Happy its all done under warranty and great to have my car back all the panels are replaced perfectly and no squeaks rattles or scratches
also all updates and my first service done so big thank you to the Bristol dealership, so looking forward for some nice weather and trouble free motoring

 

[JimH]

£14k or £1.4k ?- it's around 10 hours labour maximum and a £40 part for the HVAC resistor replacement, plus the new rubber shield..... £14k sounds like either a LOT or a typo.....

 

[KCMO68_510]

Do we know that this will be a recall? I've been hand washing my car and not taking it out into the rain to try and not have issues, but would like this "fix" to be applied so that I don't have to worry about it.

 

[Go Kart]

I’d like to know if and when this fix was applied at the factory… like, what date did they realize it’s better to apply a rain shield and waterproof electrical to production instead of eventually having 2000 cars recalled. Cuz… does Geely have Toyota money to be to be fixing all these cars??

 

[Tonygcar]

the 14 k was also for the wiring harness and that’s a 25 hour job £150 a hour plus all the parts and it’s a complete strip down of the car all the body parts off

 

[Nova]

Yep, my car is affected, which is why I have not been able to go pick it up. I am glad Lotus of NJ did a thorough inspection of the car instead of delivering it with problems. I hope the parts come soon so they can fix my car.

My sales guy has been keeping me up to date. Makes all the difference in the world while I wait.

Oh, my car also has non functional power steering, but that's a different thread…

 

[Go Kart]

Yep, my car is affected, which is why I have not been able to go pick it up. I am glad Lotus of NJ did a thorough inspection of the car instead of delivering it with problems. I hope the parts come soon so they can fix my car.

My sales guy has been keeping me up to date. Makes all the difference in the world while I wait.

Oh, my car also has non functional power steering, but that's a different thread…

Are you an early or recent production car?

 

[Nova]

Are you an early or recent production car?

My car is in the 1600s, so probably December/January build.

 

[Go Kart]

My car is in the 1600s, so probably December/January build.

So, this sounds like the recent deliveries may all have this flaw and will just be a matter of WHEN the water ingress happens.

If you drive a garage queen you may have an extended lifespan of these parts unless you wash your car frequently. If you have a daily driver in a mixed weather climate you will probably see this issue soonish. You live in Seattle you will see it very quickly, anywhere arid like Arizona maybe won’t crop up (unless you wash your car), etc…

This thread should be stickied so everyone is aware.

 

[seriously]

Based on description it looks like a design flaw that most cars will be vulnerable to over time. Given the extreme fix, they should really fix in the factory now.

Unfortunately, I could see someone with shortsighted priorities, thinking--- no we can't slow down production. Get the cars built and shipped out ASAP. We'll deal with issues later...

I wonder when the issue needs to be fixed, who is impacted most? Obviously the customer is screwed, but who pays for the warranty work? The part is probably cheap and the factory doesn't care when you get it. But if Lotus corp keeps paying huge repair labor bills, maybe they'll pay attention to it.

 

[seriously]

Once I get my car, I'm thinking of washing it a lot or exposing to water to induce the issue. I want my car to be reliable in the rain and I don't want to fix this issue after the warranty period is up.

 

[Go Kart]

Once I get my car, I'm thinking of washing it a lot or exposing to water to induce the issue. I want my car to be reliable in the rain and I don't want to fix this issue after the warranty period is up.

I’m planning on doing exactly this.

The good thing is you can visibly see if the corrected part(s) have already been installed from the exterior thanks to @Tonygcar.

 

[Go Kart]

Harry from Harry’s Garage drove his Emira all over Europe in rain and mixed weather (if you’ve watched that video)… I wonder what his AC is like after being an early customer.

 

[Blackthought_]

Yep, my car is affected, which is why I have not been able to go pick it up. I am glad Lotus of NJ did a thorough inspection of the car instead of delivering it with problems. I hope the parts come soon so they can fix my car.

My sales guy has been keeping me up to date. Makes all the difference in the world while I wait.

Oh, my car also has non functional power steering, but that's a different thread…

What issues were you experiencing?

 

[Kimmax]

Get the cars built and shipped out ASAP. We'll deal with issues later...

We're seeing NA cars with issues known since the early months, so this is exactly what’s happening.

 

[Nova]

What issues were you experiencing?

I didn't experience these issues directly. My dealer caught them as they were prepping the car for delivery. The AC doesn't work - not blowing air, and there is a lack of power steering.

 

[tnbuilder]

I’d like to know if and when this fix was applied at the factory… like, what date did they realize it’s better to apply a rain shield and waterproof electrical to production instead of eventually having 2000 cars recalled. Cuz… does Geely have Toyota money to be to be fixing all these cars??

Mine is at the dealer now as the AC stuff is supposedly fixed (resistor), but they are now chasing an evaporation related CEL. I absolutely do not understand how some (even earlier) cars can be just fine and others have issues at delivery. Did they change the resistor, or did they change the assembly process? Seems if you have a water issue and they are all assembled the same way, you would see this on every car. Especially when the car is developed in a country known for crappy weather. Mine is 11/23 build date...got the car in the middle of March.

I also question how does Lotus relay this information to the US dealers? For example... when I questioned the new updated resistor design I was told there is not an updated part...then they talk to the actual service tech and he says "Yes the new part is different than the one from the factory". This made me feel better that I was getting the new version, but you would think the rest of the department would have been able to relay that there is an update.

They may not have like me saying "I read it on the internet" but some of you guys have had your cars for over a year and closer to the actual factory so I believe the information is valuable. Trying to decide how to handle this wire loom water ingress issue with the dealer and not just get blown off. Is there a way for us to see any of the recalls or bulletins put out related to our cars?

 

[Go Kart]

Mine is at the dealer now as the AC stuff is supposedly fixed (resistor), but they are now chasing an evaporation related CEL. I absolutely do not understand how some (even earlier) cars can be just fine and others have issues at delivery. Did they change the resistor, or did they change the assembly process? Seems if you have a water issue and they are all assembled the same way, you would see this on every car. Especially when the car is developed in a country known for crappy weather. Mine is 11/23 build date...got the car in the middle of March.

I also question how does Lotus relay this information to the US dealers? For example... when I questioned the new updated resistor design I was told there is not an updated part...then they talk to the actual service tech and he says "Yes the new part is different than the one from the factory". This made me feel better that I was getting the new version, but you would think the rest of the department would have been able to relay that there is an update.

They may not have like me saying "I read it on the internet" but some of you guys have had your cars for over a year and closer to the actual factory so I believe the information is valuable. Trying to decide how to handle this wire loom water ingress issue with the dealer and not just get blown off. Is there a way for us to see any of the recalls or bulletins put out related to our cars?

I think the differences between earlier cars and more recent cars not having this AC problem, or having this problem at delivery would be whether the cars were exposed to rain at anytime between production and delivery to the customer.

I really do believe each and every car delivered to this point has this design flaw and will eventually fail… the cars that have not been in rainy whether during storage/transport are the ones that are probably fine (for now). They are ticking time bombs though.

 

[Nova]

Mine is at the dealer now as the AC stuff is supposedly fixed (resistor), but they are now chasing an evaporation related CEL. I absolutely do not understand how some (even earlier) cars can be just fine and others have issues at delivery. Did they change the resistor, or did they change the assembly process? Seems if you have a water issue and they are all assembled the same way, you would see this on every car. Especially when the car is developed in a country known for crappy weather. Mine is 11/23 build date...got the car in the middle of March.

I also question how does Lotus relay this information to the US dealers? For example... when I questioned the new updated resistor design I was told there is not an updated part...then they talk to the actual service tech and he says "Yes the new part is different than the one from the factory". This made me feel better that I was getting the new version, but you would think the rest of the department would have been able to relay that there is an update.

They may not have like me saying "I read it on the internet" but some of you guys have had your cars for over a year and closer to the actual factory so I believe the information is valuable. Trying to decide how to handle this wire loom water ingress issue with the dealer and not just get blown off. Is there a way for us to see any of the recalls or bulletins put out related to our cars?

Yea, we can only speculate. This must not have been a new issue given the age of this thread. Maybe slight variations in assembly process may have caused some cars to be more susceptible. Someone who is experienced with assembling cars may have seen this as a possible issue and bent the loop downwards to make a drip curve and reduce the chance of water going down the opening. Regardless, the proper solution was for someone to point this out and for the issue to be fixed rather than relying on someone's experience on the assembly line. At least they now know of the issue and has the parts to help correct it.

One possible bright spot with US cars is that the water issue is causing a short but it hasn't been long enough to cause corrosion in the wiring harness. So hopefully all that's needed is to replace the resistor pack, install the preventive seal/cover, and the issue won't occur again.

Personally, I'd be curious to see what the open end of the wire loom looks like - if any existing owners can share a photo, that'd be grand.