Cold start stalling

[Sentinel]

This issue is battery voltage related. If the battery voltage drops below about 12.5V, it will start happening. Put your car on a trickle charger and you’ll see the issue goes away.

I think the ECM that controls the fuel pump is sensitive to voltage and is not priming when the battery voltage is low.

 

[danmessy]

While ECU / software is the underlying problem I am now pretty sure that the type of fuel used does make a difference. I have generally used Good quality E5 Fuel (Shell / similar) and had cold starting issues but having switched to lower octane E10 is has started fine every time (once the higher octane stuff was fully cleared through).

Wait, if someone could chime in and confirm as our fuel ratings read different in Australia to UK:

E5 = 98?

E10 = 95 ?

And if so, you are stating that the lower octane E10 (i.e. 95) has reduced your cold start issue? I thought 98 was recommended minimum?

This issue is battery voltage related. If the battery voltage drops below about 12.5V, it will start happening. Put your car on a trickle charger and you’ll see the issue goes away.

I think the ECM that controls the fuel pump is sensitive to voltage and is not priming when the battery voltage is low.

What are you using to check battery voltage? I let my Scorpion Tracker subscription lapse after the free period, that was the only way I was reading my battery really.

For visibility, as I have previously posted, my cold start issue entirely resolved several months ago (i think post-summer for my location), and I attributed it to changing to CALTEX/AMPOL 98 only. The issue has now came back and is 100% cold start on first attempt every new day at the moment, which is really frustrating. Second start is perfect.

Recently I emailed the dealer to when for a fix and the dealer stated in an email (quote): "the issue appears to be related to atmospheric conditions. As the warmer weather has started the issues seems to get worse. I am being told lotus is still working on the issue". I'll follow up in the new year.

Cheers all, stay safe over the Christmas / New years!

 

[Andrew P]

And yet the one of the 1st questions asked was 'you are using premium fuel'. The Ecu, engine wiring loom, various sensors, solenoids and coil packs have been replaced in the quest for a solution. Hopefully, I can pick the car up on Friday as it is being tested tomorrow after all work was finished today.

Premium means branded non supermarket fuel so it has better additives whether 95 or 97-99 octane rating. I have been told by someone with good knowledge of the facts on this at Hethel that the lower octane rating actually helps this issue.

 

[danmessy]

Premium means branded non supermarket fuel so it has better additives whether 95 or 97-99 octane rating. I have been told by someone with good knowledge of the facts on this at Hethel that the lower octane rating actually helps this issue.

I will give 95 a tank or two, will report back if positive results or in 4-8 weeks

 

[Man.v.Cars]

Premium means branded non supermarket fuel so it has better additives whether 95 or 97-99 octane rating. I have been told by someone with good knowledge of the facts on this at Hethel that the lower octane rating actually helps this issue.

Yet my car will have been at the dealers for 9 weeks on Friday, they had no idea and so contacted Lorus to have them walk through what they wanted doing. Data collection from everywhere possible led Lotus to approve a new ECU and wiring harness.

The problem started when we got the first cold snap in October, 1st start the rpm were all over the place, turn off and restart was fine.

Lotus state you can use a lower octane but performance will be affected and over time seals may corrode quicker.

 

[Andrew P]

Yet my car will have been at the dealers for 9 weeks on Friday, they had no idea and so contacted Lorus to have them walk through what they wanted doing. Data collection from everywhere possible led Lotus to approve a new ECU and wiring harness.

The problem started when we got the first cold snap in October, 1st start the rpm were all over the place, turn off and restart was fine.

Your issue sounds different to the one that a lot of us have been experiencing. There will be multiple different issues across thousands of cars I am sure. The fuel change is worth a try for many people - judge it after 2nd fill. Mine went from bad start every time to absolutely perfect every time. It is not related to battery health or anything else. I don’t use a trickle charger & it starts fine after a week unused

 

[Man.v.Cars]

Your issue sounds different to the one that a lot of us have been experiencing. There will be multiple different issues across thousands of cars I am sure. The fuel change is worth a try for many people - judge it after 2nd fill. Mine went from bad start every time to absolutely perfect every time. It is not related to battery health or anything else. I don’t use a trickle charger & it starts fine after a week unused

If the problem is still there oll give it a go, fingers crossed my problem has been solved.

As a slight aside the service manager told me the wiring harness is booked in by Lotus to be a 5 hour job, it took them 15 hours. Every repair has been way over Lotus booked time for a job.

 

[Sentinel]

Wait, if someone could chime in and confirm as our fuel ratings read different in Australia to UK:

E5 = 98?

E10 = 95 ?

And if so, you are stating that the lower octane E10 (i.e. 95) has reduced your cold start issue? I thought 98 was recommended minimum?


What are you using to check battery voltage? I let my Scorpion Tracker subscription lapse after the free period, that was the only way I was reading my battery really.

For visibility, as I have previously posted, my cold start issue entirely resolved several months ago (i think post-summer for my location), and I attributed it to changing to CALTEX/AMPOL 98 only. The issue has now came back and is 100% cold start on first attempt every new day at the moment, which is really frustrating. Second start is perfect.

Recently I emailed the dealer to when for a fix and the dealer stated in an email (quote): "the issue appears to be related to atmospheric conditions. As the warmer weather has started the issues seems to get worse. I am being told lotus is still working on the issue". I'll follow up in the new year.

Cheers all, stay safe over the Christmas / New years!

Testing voltage using a multimeter across the battery terminals.

When it drops below 12.5V, cold start issues start. Above that it’s fine. Same with Ampol/BP/Shell 98 here in Aus.

 

[Andrew P]

Testing voltage using a multimeter across the battery terminals.

When it drops below 12.5V, cold start issues start. Above that it’s fine. Same with Ampol/BP/Shell 98 here in Aus.

I have been away so not run the car for over 2 weeks, voltage 12.2 & temperature here -3 degrees. The car started perfectly so I am 100% convinced that the switch to standard octane UK fuel has completely fixed the cold starting issue.

 

[Steve24]

I have to be honest and say that this issue is starting to piss me off.
It’s been known about for so long now yet nothing is happening.

Almost two years into ownership, every time I start the car after anything more than 24 hours it fails to start first time, or at best pops and farts and sounds like a bag of spanners for five seconds before finally catching properly.
And if it fails, the second start is perfect.

It’s not the fuel.
I’ve now used every single type of 98 fuel here in Oz. No difference.
It’s not the battery.
The car is driven regularly and when it’s not going to be driven for more than a couple of days it’s on the C-Tek charger which reports no issues with the battery at all and there is never any “weakness” with the way the start sequence goes.

How can a $200k+ car have such a ridiculous issue, especially after it’s been known about for so long?

Are Lotus actually doing anything about it?

 

[Sentinel]

I have to be honest and say that this issue is starting to piss me off.
It’s been known about for so long now yet nothing is happening.

Almost two years into ownership, every time I start the car after anything more than 24 hours it fails to start first time, or at best pops and farts and sounds like a bag of spanners for five seconds before finally catching properly.
And if it fails, the second start is perfect.

It’s not the fuel.
I’ve now used every single type of 98 fuel here in Oz. No difference.
It’s not the battery.
The car is driven regularly and when it’s not going to be driven for more than a couple of days it’s on the C-Tek charger which reports no issues with the battery at all and there is never any “weakness” with the way the start sequence goes.

How can a $200k+ car have such a ridiculous issue, especially after it’s been known about for so long?

Are Lotus actually doing anything about it?

I had mine serviced at SSC in Sydney 6 months ago. They told me they had had engineers from Lotus head office out trying to figure out what's causing it.

Over it too. The engine shakes itself violently. has to be causing additional wear and tear on things like engine mounts, etc.

 

[Steve24]

I had mine serviced at SSC in Sydney 6 months ago. They told me they had had engineers from Lotus head office out trying to figure out what's causing it.

Over it too. The engine shakes itself violently. has to be causing additional wear and tear on things like engine mounts, etc.

I simply don’t believe that there are engineers trying to figure it out.
If there are, they need to be sacked.

How can an engine that’s been around since the time of the dinosaurs have this issue (and only in this installation) and yet all these professional engineers are stumped?

BS.

 

[danmessy]

I simply don’t believe that there are engineers trying to figure it out.
If there are, they need to be sacked.

How can an engine that’s been around since the time of the dinosaurs have this issue (and only in this installation) and yet all these professional engineers are stumped?

BS.

When I changed to AMPOl 98 (WA based) that seemed to fix it, then perhaps 3,000 km it came back.

Recently moved to try a tank of ULP 95 per some comments from UK owners, has essentially resolved the issue. If I don't drive for like a week+ straight, well then it's a 50/50 on a weak start or stall VS no issue. It's so random I just don't get it.

Not acceptable solution. Really annoyed by it. Please keep posting feedback on issue / fixed / lotus responses.

I too am worried re what damage is that type of regular start doing? Not mechanically minded enough to know the answer

 

[Steve24]

When I changed to AMPOl 98 (WA based) that seemed to fix it, then perhaps 3,000 km it came back.

Recently moved to try a tank of ULP 95 per some comments from UK owners, has essentially resolved the issue. If I don't drive for like a week+ straight, well then it's a 50/50 on a weak start or stall VS no issue. It's so random I just don't get it.

Not acceptable solution. Really annoyed by it. Please keep posting feedback on issue / fixed / lotus responses.

I too am worried re what damage is that type of regular start doing? Not mechanically minded enough to know the answer

Maybe it’s time to mention it to the ACCC?

I absolutely love this car, but this issue is an unacceptable joke.

 

[Eagle7]

I know this isn't something you should have to do, nor is it going to be popular to say this, but I replaced the factory battery with the 40ah Antigravity battery from GRP and I've never had a single issue starting the car. I've gone as long as a couple of weeks without starting it, and it started right up, and that was without ever putting it on a battery tender.

The Antigravity battery isn't cheap, but it will remove about 30 lbs of weight in the back which is a nice extra bonus. There's something about the factory batteries that just isn't up to snuff. I suspect it's similar to what happens with cell phone batteries, where even though they test good, and show they've charged to 100%, over time they steadily degrade and hold less and less of a charge amount. Showing it's charged to 100% only means it's charged to the maximum of the lesser amount of charge it can hold, which is not the full amount it originally could.

This is what I think is happening with the factory batteries that sat on pallets for who knows how long before being charged and installed in cars on the production line. Some of them are weak; some weaker than others. I'm gonna guess that if those of you having these starting issues try an Antigravity battery, your cars will suddenly start fine and continue to start fine.

 

[Blackthought_]

Has to be a software issue. If you haven’t already, can you try to wait 30 seconds for the screen to boot up and connect to whatever it needs to connect to before you try to fire it up?

 

[scc.131.fe]

I know this isn't something you should have to do, nor is it going to be popular to say this, but I replaced the factory battery with the 40ah Antigravity battery from GRP and I've never had a single issue starting the car. I've gone as long as a couple of weeks without starting it, and it started right up, and that was without ever putting it on a battery tender.

The Antigravity battery isn't cheap, but it will remove about 30 lbs of weight in the back which is a nice extra bonus. There's something about the factory batteries that just isn't up to snuff. I suspect it's similar to what happens with cell phone batteries, where even though they test good, and show they've charged to 100%, over time they steadily degrade and hold less and less of a charge amount. Showing it's charged to 100% only means it's charged to the maximum of the lesser amount of charge it can hold, which is not the full amount it originally could.

This is what I think is happening with the factory batteries that sat on pallets for who knows how long before being charged and installed in cars on the production line. Some of them are weak; some weaker than others. I'm gonna guess that if those of you having these starting issues try an Antigravity battery, your cars will suddenly start fine and continue to start fine.

Forgive me if you mentioned this earlier, but was you car a common-offender of this issue before the battery swap?

 

[JonFuller]

My car has the stock battery, is now 7000 miles and 18 months old, and it's never failed to start & run as it should.

 

[SJM]

Purchased a DV Emira 7/2/25 and drove home from Sydney to Adelaide, some 1500km.
Massive thunderstorm half way back. Stopped overnight halfway home and started in the morning with an engine light that stayed on till it go home.
Did go out briefly then back on again.
Zagame Adelaide told me they’re not taking any more bookings for Emiras due to so many already in the system with similar issues.

They printed out a starting procedure, ignition on wait then start.
Has been fine till yesterday when it farted and stalled with light on again.
Apparently some issues with UK and dealers in AUS, and they are waiting for resolution. Until then it drives fine and love the car.
Not ideal but it’s a waiting game atm.

 

[Eagle7]

Forgive me if you mentioned this earlier, but was you car a common-offender of this issue before the battery swap?

No. I had already purchased the battery before my car was ever delivered, so I never experienced any issues with the factory battery since I swapped it out the day my car arrived. My point was how reliable the battery swap has been. I don't even have to use the battery tender on it overnight. The fact that Lotus actually ships a battery tender for these cars to use on them each night tells me the factory battery can have issues supplying enough starting current, and Lotus knows it.

Even if the battery shows the correct voltage, appears to charge correctly and everything else, it may still be marginally able to supply enough amperage to start the entire car, which includes all the computers and systems in addition to the engine.

What I posted is a possible remedy, especially for those who've had their cars awhile and/or received an early production car. Not every battery is going to have these issues, but it appears some do.