Do you notice a ticking noise during acceleration?

[K_Squared]

So I am loving the Emira and at this point I'm just looking into a few small quirks that are somewhat annoying to see if they are normal or exceptions. One such thing is that whenever I accelerate (doesn't matter if it's light or hard acceleration), I notice a subtle ticking noise that I THINK is coming from behind me somewhere. It's difficult to determine the source and I'm going to have to let someone else drive while I try to locate it. The noise doesn't happen when I'm not accelerating so I'm thinking it's either something within the engine or just something in the car that vibrates only during acceleration.

At any rate, I've heard at least 2-3 others report this on Facebook or in this forum so I wanted to put it out there...do you notice this noise and if so, have you been able to identify or address it? It somewhat detracts from the otherwise glorious supercharger and exhaust notes from the engine under normal acceleration.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DriverMod]

I still have the ticking noise but sometimes it’s there and loud and sometimes it’s completely gone. In one drive I’ll have no ticking, then some slight ticking, then a ton of noise in 3rd and 4th gears, then nothing again; no rhyme or reason.
I’ve learned to ignore it for the most part. Not sure if I want to have the dealership try to monkey with it or not.

 

[crestima]

I still have the ticking noise but sometimes it’s there and loud and sometimes it’s completely gone. In one drive I’ll have no ticking, then some slight ticking, then a ton of noise in 3rd and 4th gears, then nothing again; no rhyme or reason.
I’ve learned to ignore it for the most part. Not sure if I want to have the dealership try to monkey with it or not.

If possible, try to record the ticking sounds close to the source area of the sound (motor, gear shift...) and post it here. Even if no one on this forum can help identify a suspect culprit, that audio would likely be useful to show your Lotus technician , should you decide to have them tackle the problem later on.

 

[Speedy Emira]

Just picked mine up today and mine does the same thing when I drove it couple hours back home. Did anyone find where or what is causing it? @K_Squared we are both local to the same dealer or couple hours away lol. Did you reach out to them?

1st 2nd & 3rd I didn’t hear it. 4th-6th yea for sure with 5th being the worst.

Got mine back from having the HVAC fixed, new doors, rear quarter and guess what I now have the ticking noise in the first three gears.
In defence of Lotus the 5 weeks they had my car for panels and paint was the first time I have gone a moth without reporting something to the dealer. I am sure they dread seeing my number come up.

 

[lotus1974]

Some News Here?

 

[seriously]

I called my lotus service center and they said that the ticking is normal and nothing to be fixed. wasn't too hyped to hear that feedback. at least, they knew what I was talking about.

since mine developed over time, I'm not sure that replacing shifting cables would fix anything. Probably only delay it to return in 1000 miles or so.

would be much better if someone actually figured out the source and adjustment needed to fix.

 

[lotus1974]

My noise getting louder

 

[Speedy Emira]

My noise getting louder

Take it back to your dealer so it is at least logged. At least if it gets worse you don’t have the issue of them saying you had an issue you didn’t report.
If I speak to them in person or on the phone I always back up the conversation by summarising in an email.

 

[lotus1974]

Will do

 

[BlueFE2]

I’m experiencing this as well. Initially, I thought it was some type of feedback from a poor ground playing through the speakers. I’ll have to try the shift linkage troubleshooting. Sometimes it’s loud, other drives its barely noticeable. Dealer said they had no reported cases when I brought it up with them. Following.

 

[EmiraHK]

Does anyone have an update on this or has been able to fix it?

 

[allenyao09]

I had a couple of trips to the dealership for this issue. They have identified rattling noise from the shifter cable in gear 2, 5 and 6 under throttle. But they don't know how to fix this. They sent the claim details and video recording to Lotus HQ but never heard back. It has been several months and they have just emailed Lotus again.

 

[EmiraHK]

So ended up talking to the dealership about it. They said the issue is under the shifter in the interior and thet they will have to take the entire center console apart to address it. Lot of work. So I said I’d wait till my big service for them to do it all at once. Meanwhile, I’ll live with it.

 

[hellasf1]

So ended up talking to the dealership about it. They said the issue is under the shifter in the interior and thet they will have to take the entire center console apart to address it. Lot of work. So I said I’d wait till my big service for them to do it all at once. Meanwhile, I’ll live with it.

What big service are you referring too?

 

[lotus1974]

that is not true, the problem are the cables which can vibrate during accelaration. they must fix the cables from down of the car just release the bottom part aluminium panels under the car not the complete inside of the car

 

[Bimmernate]

that is not true, the problem are the cables which can vibrate during accelaration. they must fix the cables from down of the car just release the bottom part aluminium panels under the car not the complete inside of the car

Has yours been repaired in this way? We have confirmed that the ticking resonates through the cables. You can certainly access the cable as it exits the cabin under the vehicle before it goes to the transmission...but not sure what you are going to do with it once you get to that point.

 

[kitkat]

Like I said 6 pages ago as the very first reply — it’s the shifter area.

It’s actually the cross gate cable rattling. I discovered this when I did my floating console modification and the ticking became a bit more pronounced. The modification allows you to reach into the shifter area while driving and feel around — and the ticking and vibration can be felt on the crossgate shifter. Likely this source of the vibration is actually the transmission traveling through the cable and into the cabin area. I suspect some strategically placed isolation dampers holding the lines would fix this.

It’s probably one of these three places:

 

[silent cilantro]

The cables actually run inside solid flexible conduits that have a rubber/plastic jacket. Vibrations from the trans are transferred through the cable (inside the conduit) and into the cabin. I am pretty sure the noise comes from the knuckle/bearing that attaches to the cross-gate mechanism of the shifter. When you move the shifter to either side, the cable tightens and the vibration goes away.

 

[lotus1974]

not fixed yet :-( dealer told me that way how he want to repair it

 

[seriously]

Ready for someone to Jerry rig something so we can all copy. Feels close!

 

[hellasf1]

Yea interested as well. Have the same issue only below 3k rpms worse in 5th for me. After 3k I don’t hear it and if I put lateral pressure on the shifter it stops but that’s not a fix that’s us self diagnosing the sound and what stops it. So I think you guys are right now we need someone to fix and let us know what to tell our lotus dealership.