Cold start stalling

[nelly111s]

Is the “clutch interlock switch” not the driver?

 

[JClem]

not sure if this has been asked already, but is anyone getting this on an auto?

 

[NigeT]

not sure if this has been asked already, but is anyone getting this on an auto?

I have an auto & had it a couple of times when the car has not been started for a few days. But it's random as I can leave the car for a week & then it will start just fine.

 

[981KMAN]

Is the “clutch interlock switch” not the driver?

Nope, that "switch" has a tendency to fail sometimes ..... thus the Clutch Interlock Switch which negates the failure of the "Driver Interlock Switch".

 

[EmiraHK]

Anyone tried putting the ignition on first and waiting a few seconds before turning over? If it’s really fuel pressure this should work fine, no?

Yes I have tried this. Held the start button down for 5 minutes and heard the fuel pump buzz before starting. Same thing happens. I am bewildered.

Attached a video. You can hear I primed the engine (held the start button down for 5 secs) with the wine/buzz before starting and the car will still stall.

 

[Kimmax]

Yes I have tried this. Held the start button down for 5 minutes and heard the fuel pump buzz before starting. Same thing happens. I am bewildered.

Attached a video. You can hear I primed the engine (held the start button down for 5 secs) with the wine/buzz before starting and the car will still stall.

If you didn't touch the gas after the second start something sounds off to me. Usually, you get the cat warm-up with elevated RPMs right away and it's one steady move from high to low. Yours starts high, kind of drops a little and then gets back up. Shooting in the dark here: Do you have your AC on or off? I could imagine the compressor kicking in could explain the little drop in between.

 

[EmiraHK]

If you didn't touch the gas after the second start something sounds off to me. Usually, you get the cat warm-up with elevated RPMs right away and it's one steady move from high to low. Yours starts high, kind of drops a little and then gets back up. Shooting in the dark here: Do you have your AC on or off? I could imagine the compressor kicking in could explain the little drop in between.

Nope. I did not touch the throttle on the second start. Aircond is off. I have the habit of turning off my ac before I shut my car off and turning it on after the car has been started.

Yes something is definitely wrong.

 

[Shahaf2911]

Officially joined the cold start stalling group.
Happened 3 times so far in the past week, it seems to happen only if my car hasn’t been started for more than 1 night (2 nights or more), which is REALY odd to me because it never happened before.
Second start doesn’t seem to have a problem at all and once I reved it a bit as it was about to stall and it “fixed” it.
Doesnt really bother me that much and I really don’t have the time to take the car for the dealer just for that as I’m only on vacation when I’m here, hopefully someone would be able to report what the cause here!

 

[nimbus]

Officially joined the cold start stalling group.
Happened 3 times so far in the past week, it seems to happen only if my car hasn’t been started for more than 1 night (2 nights or more), which is REALY odd to me because it never happened before.
Second start doesn’t seem to have a problem at all and once I reved it a bit as it was about to stall and it “fixed” it.
Doesnt really bother me that much and I really don’t have the time to take the car for the dealer just for that as I’m only on vacation when I’m here, hopefully someone would be able to report what the cause here!

Just had my first cold near-stall start as well. Ive been parking the same place every day, no rain, plugged in to ctek every day (so it's not the battery). Also my car should have the latest software since I collected it 2 weeks ago.

Weird

 

[EmiraHK]

Great! No one seems to care enough to hound Lotus about it except me. My car has been stuck at the dealership for almost a month cause they can’t seem to figure it out.

 

[Shahaf2911]

Great! No one seems to care enough to hound Lotus about it except me. My car has been stuck at the dealership for almost a month cause they can’t seem to figure it out.

I do care, but it’s not enough of an issue to me to make me want to not enjoy the car when I’m with it (as it’s a vacation home). When I’ll need to do the service I’ll let them try and figure out and fix everything (2 months). Really appreciate your dedication and patience!

 

[Wonza]

Great! No one seems to care enough to hound Lotus about it except me. My car has been stuck at the dealership for almost a month cause they can’t seem to figure it out.

I’ve been emailing customer services on a weekly basis for an update to solve these and other issues with my paintwork. So far no solution and very little response, mostly no reply. Absolutely terrible customer services. I don’t know what more I can do.

 

[FederGigant]

I‘m not completely sure and still checking, but it probably really has something to do with priming the engine (or the lack of doing so).
If I’m going to ignition on with the endlessly long 5 second start button press, and thereafter wait for another few seconds, the car starts completely fine, even in track mode.
If that is the problem, a simple software update could fix it.
My car goes to service in a week and gets all the newest updates, maybe they already addressed it ( ).

 

[EmiraHK]

I’ve been emailing customer services on a weekly basis for an update to solve these and other issues with my paintwork. So far no solution and very little response, mostly no reply. Absolutely terrible customer services. I don’t know what more I can do.

My guess is that Lotus doesn't want to issue or pay for a recall for a bunch of fuel pumps given how much work is involved in replacing this. They are trying to sweep this issue under the rug. Can you get a refund/replacement from Lotus? I heard the UK has a policy for that and that some folks have already gone down this road. I may take legal action and/or goto the press if they refuse to acknowledge/fix these issues given their obligation under warranty.

I‘m not completely sure and still checking, but it probably really has something to do with priming the engine (or the lack of doing so).
If I’m going to ignition on with the endlessly long 5 second start button press, and thereafter wait for another few seconds, the car starts completely fine, even in track mode.
If that is the problem, a simple software update could fix it.
My car goes to service in a week and gets all the newest updates, maybe they already addressed it ( ).

I'm glad you are still hopeful on a software fix. Again, if it was software, all cars would be affected.

 

[nimbus]

I‘m not completely sure and still checking, but it probably really has something to do with priming the engine (or the lack of doing so).
If I’m going to ignition on with the endlessly long 5 second start button press, and thereafter wait for another few seconds, the car starts completely fine, even in track mode.
If that is the problem, a simple software update could fix it.
My car goes to service in a week and gets all the newest updates, maybe they already addressed it ( ).

It just happened to me today after I held start for 5s. It started smoothly the second time.

Maybe the 5s start button press doesn't always prime the fuel pump?

 

[EmiraHK]

It just happened to me today after I held start for 5s. It started smoothly the second time.

Maybe the 5s start button press doesn't always prime the fuel pump?

You will find your cold start stalling will worsen over time, so perhaps at some point you may join the few who have tried to get Lotus to fix it.

On that note: I had forgotten about the whole Denso fuel pump recall until I saw this today: On November 2, Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203) and Daihatsu Motor Co., both belonging to the Toyota group, submitted a report to the ministry regarding a recall of approximately 597,000 vehicles from 28 different models, it added.

I wonder if our Emiras are subject to this as well. Of course, Lotus will not answer me, but they should know there has already been class action lawsuits for these fuel pump recalls.

 

[NicolasB]

Has anyone had the dealer test for a stuck or faulty injector? This is a common thing, even on some new BMWs.

 

[Vpower10]

My car has been at the dealer for a while now. This also includes the cold start problem and some other issues that need to be addressed. I have had this cold start problem from the beginning. Last week I received the following message from the dealer.

"As for your starting problem, we were able to solve that by replacing a module. Many Emiras have this problem and Lotus is currently working on a permanent solution."

So it seems that something can be done about it temporarily, but nothing definitive for the time being. In any case, they indicate that Lotus is working towards a definitive solution. I hope to have my car back soon so I can test it straight away.

 

[EmiraHK]

My car has been at the dealer for a while now. This also includes the cold start problem and some other issues that need to be addressed. I have had this cold start problem from the beginning. Last week I received the following message from the dealer.

"As for your starting problem, we were able to solve that by replacing a module. Many Emiras have this problem and Lotus is currently working on a permanent solution."

So it seems that something can be done about it temporarily, but nothing definitive for the time being. In any case, they indicate that Lotus is working towards a definitive solution. I hope to have my car back soon so I can test it straight away.

Firstly, thank you for your post and update on this issue. Did Lotus come back as to which “module” they were referring to that needed replacing?

 

[raf]

New Owner here, Just picked up my V6 Auto on the 2nd of November and basically from day one I've been having the same cold start issues as everyone else, i.e. wont start on initial start and on the 2nd startup it starts fine. This has happened consistently every single day until yesterday where the car started fine on first go and again today.

It would seem everything is all good now, but as of yesterday afternoon the "check engine" amber light is now fully illuminated. I left the car overnight and on startup again this morning the light was still on. Has anybody else experienced the same issue ie. both cold start issue and check engine light coming on?